This trans elder enjoyed immense progress on trans rights in the UK. Then the backlash started.https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/09/this-trans-elder-enjoyed-immense-progress-on-trans-rights-in-the-uk-then-the-backlash-started/ 🔗Alex Bollinger (29 Sep 2025)
Reader Davina explains how much has changed in the U.K. in her lifetime for transgender people.
"When I was younger, I stayed silent and carried shame," she told LGBTQ Nation. "'->-bleeped-<-s' were the butt of jokes, and transgender people lived on the margins. If you were found out, you could lose your job, your home, even your relationships."
Section 28, she said, made things worse: "It told teachers they couldn't even mention people like me." Section 28 was part of the Local Government Act 1988, which made it illegal in the U.K. to "promote homosexuality" in schools.
Section 28 was repealed in 2003. The Gender Recognition Act in 2004 (which created a path for trans people to change gender markers on official documents) and the Equality Act in 2010 (which banned anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in a number of areas) "gave us recognition I never thought possible."
Davina acknowledged that LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. are currently experiencing "a backlash," in part due to the anti-trans rhetoric of people like author J.K. Rowling.
Davina has a message for younger LGBTQ+ people: "Change is real, but it's never secure. Progress can be rolled back. Don't take it for granted, and don't give up when things get hard."
"Hiding might feel safe, but it shrinks your life. Living openly, when you can, gives others hope and builds community. You don't have to carry the weight alone — find your people, hold onto them, and remember your life is part of a much bigger story, one that you help to write."
