Sometimes it’s hard to think of London as an area that may have issues with prejudice and discrimination. It’s difficult to argue that when London is known as one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the world, but different disadvantaged groups know all too well that there are other factors that affect privilege in the modern day.
Women, the working class, and - the group that will be discussed in this article - the LGBT community all also face their own battles in society when it comes to tackling oppression. Whether it takes the form of unequal pay, unjustified stereotypes, or hate crimes.
The LGBT community in London is vocal enough to have a yearly Pride Parade, which is a great achievement. Granted, it’s largely been taken over by big corporations and businesses in capitalism’s attempt to profit and marketize off the ongoing fight for basic human rights, but it exists!
Looking deeper though, what is the truth about living in the capital as a member of the LGBT community? According to Stonewall, the reality isn’t as rosy as we expect it to be. One in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident in the last 12 months. Nearly half (45%) of LGBT pupils - including 64% of trans pupils - are bullied for being LGBT in Britain's schools. These shocking figures show us that being LGBT is no walk in the park - and it’s important to recognise that.
The point of this article is to bring to light the issues that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face while living in London. While yes, there has been quite a lot of progress made, it’s important to remember that, for many, the fight is not over. In recent news there was talks about rewriting the Gender Recognition Act - an important law that plays a detrimental role in determining whether transgender people are legally recognised as their true gender.
So don’t become complacent. Being LGBT and a Londoner isn’t as easy as some have made it out to be.
