Queer & Trans Demo, Manchester, tomorrow (Saturday)

Just got emailed this (kind of late because my email has been playing up). I know it's very short notice (I can't go, i don't have the money to get to Manchester tomorrow), but just on the off chance anyone from Manchester or thereabouts is reading this and hasn;t heard about it already...

Name: QUEER TRANS BLOCK! Reclaiming the night and our rights!
Tagline: 5:30pm Sat.1st March - All genders all sexualities all feminists march for liberation and human rights!
Host: Trans Youth Network
Type: Causes - Rally
Time and PlaceDate: Saturday, March 1, 2008
Time: 5:30pm - 11:00pm
Location: The Retro Bar
Street: 78 Sackville Street
City/Town: Manchester, United Kingdom

QUEER TRANS BLOCK!

Call out for show of trans queer solidarity!

All genders, all sexualities, all ages, all races and all backgrounds together -

Reclaiming the night, reclaiming our rights - and the streets!

When?

5:30pm onwards, Saturday 1st March 2008

Where?

5:30pm - Meet @ Retro Bar, 78 Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3NJ
Map: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=The+Retro+Bar+M1+3NJ&ie=UTF8&ll=53.477345,-2.235761&spn=0.012132,0.029182&z=15&iwloc=A

6pm - Congregate to march @ Sackville Park, Sackville Street, Manchester City Centre. Look out for the giant pink 'QUEER TRANS BLOCK' banner!

7:30pm - All genders rally @ Sackville Street, Manchester City Centre.

Please note: QUEER TRANS BLOCK will share the same start and end points on Sackville Street as the "women" only and "men" only demos, but will be actively queering gender, space and separatism as an entirely unique protest accountable to itself.

Please bring any info/fliers/zines/free resources/vegan cake to hand out which are trans-positive, queer-positive, sex-positive, anti-oppressive and celebratory of biodiversity!

Why?

QUEER TRANS BLOCK is a transfeminist response to the separatism, erasure and censorship of transwomen, transmen, sex workers, gendervariant, genderqueer, non-gender-normative and intersex folk within the populist feminist movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfeminism

QUEER TRANS BLOCK is called in memory of Sam Roberts, genderqueer human rights activist, eco-gender warrior and trans social worker/counsellor, who organised the mixed genders Reclaim The Night March and Rally in Ipswich, December 2006. This gender inclusive RTN rally gave a voice to everyone affected by the Ipswich sex workers' murders, especially the sex workers themselves:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/topics/gender/

As a result of this progressive community-based approach to RTN, Sam received death threats from and was even labelled as a "paedophile" by London Feminist Network, who denounced Ipswich mixed genders RTN. Sam was reviled by separatist feminists until herm death in May 2007.

One example of anti-trans separatist feminist propaganda designed to cause divisions:
http://www.questioningtransgender.org/


Sam's friends will read out some of hir poetry and give their own first hand accounts of Ipwich mixed genders RTN to inspire and provoke debate around the future of political movements actively challenging all forms of oppression and separatism.

The NUS Women's Campaign have publicised Reclaim The Night NORTH as being "women only (including trans women)", although this definition has been edited, erased and left out of all the other publicity materials for this significant national feminist demo for some unexplained reason:
http://www.officeronline.co.uk/women/275060.aspx

Currently, trans people are not protected from discrimination in the provision of goods and services in the UK, transsexual people in Wales are refused healthcare and treatment from NHS Gender Clinics by NHS Wales and there are no legal/cultural protections for trans people under 18, genderqueers, intersex folk and anyone who doesn't fit within the binary gender system of "male" or "female"- Homeless trans people are left for dead on the streets by local authorities who cannot provide safe appropriate housing to any vulnerable minority group.

There are no "official" figures for the amount of trans people who have been abused, raped, assaulted, murdered, suffered transphobic violence, hate crime and discrimination in all areas of their lives because they are all undocumented cases ignored within a system for cisgendered "men" or "women" only.

Reports and feedback on this transfeminist action can be found on:

Manchester Indymedia:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/

Trans Youth Network:
http://www.transyouth.org

G7UK Blog:
http://www.g7uk.com/

Get Bent Manchester:
http://www.get-bent-manchester.com

Quit moochin' on't'interweb, we'll see you on the streets, lovely people of all genders XXX