A group of topless transgender activists gathered in St Peter’s Square on Saturday to raise awareness for and protest recent decisions against their community.
In Mid April, the UK Supreme Court ruled the legal definition of ‘woman’ to be based on one’s biological sex – a decision lauded by author J.K. Rowling who has came under fire in recent years for her views on gender.
Sarah Jane Baker, an activist at the protest, referred to Rowling as a “naughty, naughty narcissist” and sent a message directly to the author – “You are not the Messiah”.
The 55-year-old, who referred to herself as the most hated transgender person in the country after spending 30 years in prison, came under fire from Rowling on X last year for urging crowds at a London Pride rally in 2023 to “punch a TERF”.
The activist said: “The government seems to be distracting the British public from the state of our economy, the rate at which women are being attacked, our NHS being stripped to the bone.
“They’ve gone along with this dog whistle that transgender people, and immigrants, are the reason why the British people have such a hard time nowadays.”
Baker was the UK’s longest-serving transgender prisoner at the time of her release and created the Trans Prisoner Alliance to support incarcerated transgender people.
The 55-year-old said: “I get all these super TERFs with privilege trying to take me down. But my existence is resistance.
“I’m here and I’m not going to disappear any time soon – transgender people have always existed, and they always will.”
This sentiment was shared by Jes Jester, another activist at the protest who delivered a speech on the steps of St. Peter’s Cross next to a sign that read “Man?”.
Jester discussed transgender suicide rates, her journey of self-discovery and the murder of Brianna Ghey, addressing the Manchester public through megaphone.
As marchers from another protest walked by chanting Free Palestine, many raised a hand in the air towards Jester and pressed their fingers to their lips in solidarity.
However, the protest also received opposition, with one civilian approaching the group to compare transgender people with cancer.
On choosing to protest topless, Jester claimed that it was necessary to attract attention to spread the message, and that “getting your boobs out is a really good way [to do it]”.
Jester said: “If we’re men, then it should be fine, but if we’re women, then you agree with us.”
When discussing the murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl who was stabbed to death by two teenagers in February 2023, Jester quickly got emotional.
She said: “Brianna’s death was one of the first things I remember happening as a woman. I went very timidly to a protest in Leeds, a vigil, and as I stood there with my dog, these assertive, bombastic women showed up.
“I realised this is what we need to do. There’s no point in passing and hiding – Brianna was a beautiful girl who passed very well, but she was still killed and stabbed to death.”
For Jester, this taught her a valuable lesson, that “it doesn’t matter how nice and polite you are, you still might get stabbed to death in a park.”
On the reasons for the protest, Sarah Jane Baker said: “When Sir Edmund Hillary was asked why he climbed Everest, he said because it’s there.”
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