Transgender and Non-Binary ‘Rights to the City’
By Cara Chambers,
February 2021
Introduction
Urban areas have the potential to catalyse efforts championing social and climate justice as well as affording real change. However, these spaces also marginalise and exclude an array of people and ideas. It is the concentration of ideas, people, and infrastructure which enables urban areas to act as key drivers of progress and marginalization.
In this article, I explore transgender and/or non-binary (TNB) marginalisation in urban space – with particular exploration into transphobia and the rights to the city in England. Research findings were collected through a series of interviews in the summer of 2020. In addition, a series of global case studies are presented to show the role and effects of climate change on inclusion and exclusion within the city.
Problems and Theories
Trans exclusionary radical feminism (TERFism) has gained momentum in recent years, whereby trans women have been marginalised, verbally attacked, and sidelined as exemplified by ‘anti-trans’ protestors hijacking Manchester’s pride parade (Braidwood, 2019).
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that TNB people are twice as likely to be victims of violence and crime than cisgender people (Walker, 2020). TNB people have increasingly been excluded. The synergies are clear too with the climate emergency, whereby, according to Billy Stockwell, a member of Extinction Rebellion's queer affinity group Rainbow Rebels, ‘seeking safety is a common theme to queer struggle’ and also acts as a ‘central topic of the climate breakdown’.
Three areas for improvement in the city
In my research I discovered three salient and overarching issues and areas for improvement in the city – safety, access to services, and governance.
Safety
80% of participants had experienced verbal abuse and 13% had been exposed to direct physical abuse. Many of the problems stemmed from large congregations of ‘youths and young men’. Also, none of the participants had reported abuse to the police. Insecurity is a pervading barrier to fully accessing and utilising urban space.
Solutions involved more resource dedicated to policing hate crime. The redesigning of urban space with better lighting and street layout was also mentioned. It is important to note tensions between those with an intense mistrust of the police and those who wanted more specially trained officers. TNB people need to feel safe to enact their Right to the City.
In climate-related events, safety can worsen. The 2005 Indian Ocean Tsunami further highlights this burden, whereby non-binary individuals were excluded from disaster shelters and were subjected to ‘physical harassment, abuse, and corrective rape.’
Access to services
All participants recounted not having access to adequate services, whether this be healthcare, inclusive social spaces, non-binary clothing ranges, or affordable housing. People stated that ‘urban space wasn’t made with their (our) needs in mind’.
The Category 5 Hurricane Katrina event in New Orleans in August 2005 further highlights the lack of adequate services in the city and the exacerbation by climate-related events. Academic literature has time and time again highlighted the unequal burden of the hurricane’s impacts on the queer community, including the imprisonment of a trans-woman for using the female bathroom in a disaster relief shelter, and the palpable lack of safe spaces for the community.
Governance
Participants talked of how policies, and messages promulgated in the governance of urban space have eroded their sense of belonging. The trans women in my study group specifically mentioned how the recent rise of TERFism had been spurred on by the British government scrapping reforms to the Gender Recognition Act which would have made self-determination of gender easier and the addition of non-binary as a legal category (BBC, 2020). Trans men and non-binary participants also mention feeling ‘out of place’ within urban space which often has a ‘constricted gender binary’. Participants also bemoaned the lack of community involvement in decisions regarding development of urban space.
Solutions centred around re-energising debates about the Gender Recognition Act as well as better TNB representation in urban decision making. Education was also deemed a crucial vehicle to halt discriminatory practices as ‘ignorance breeds prejudice’. Participants were inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests saying that a movement like that could raise awareness of problems.
Where Next?
My research has uncovered a plethora of problems, lived experiences, and advice about potential solutions. As well as the aforementioned points, it is important to note that BAME participants mentioned how they experienced racial abuse as well as transphobia and gendered hate crime. Clearly, there are many barriers to safe and quality urban spaces for TNB individuals, particularly in urban areas afflicted by extreme weather and climate-related events. This research was only the start, we need to uncover more evidence and barriers to foster a truly inclusive urban space and society. The most marginalised in society need to have their Right to the City realised.
You may also be interested in: Climate Justice is Queer Justice
References:
BBC., (2020). Changes to gender recognition laws ruled out. [online]. BBC News. [viewed 26 September 2020]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54246686
Beebeejaun, Y., (2017). Gender, urban space, and the right to everyday life. Journal of Urban Affairs. 39(3), 323-334
Braidwood, E., (2019). Anti-trans protestors march in front of Manchester Pride parade leaving trans women ‘worried about safety’. [online]. Pink News. [viewed 30 August 2020]. Available from: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/08/26/anti-trans-protestors-march-in-front-of-manchester-pride-parade-leaving-trans-women-worried-about-safety/
Lefebvre, H., (1996) “The right to the city.” [online] Monoskop. [viewed 19 September 2020]. Available from: https://monoskop.org/media/text/AC/ 427-436_Lefebvre.pdf
Walker, A., (2020). Trans people twice as likely to be victims of crime in England and Wales. [online]. The Guardian. [viewed 30 August 2020]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/17/trans-people-twice-as-likely-to-be-victims-of-in-england-and-wales
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