The Drum | These Trans Pride Posters Are Literally Printed On The Gender Recognition Act
Each of the shirts has been screenprinted by hand.
This weekend, the campaign will run across London. It is a collaboration between the creative agency Calling and the queer creative studio Fort London. Titled ‘No Pride Without Trans Pride,’ the project highlights the dangers that debating the rights of marginalized communities can pose to everyone.
“This campaign came about because there’s a need for trans people to be able to tell the truth about our story,” explains Fort London’s creative director Jamie King. “During Pride season, there are so many campaigns that lean into making everything look fantastic and like nothing’s going wrong. The broader conversation around Pride tends to not give us that raw, honest space to say exactly how it is.”
The creatives collaborated with Calling to remind Pride that trans people were always at the forefront in the protest. “It comes back to the idea that trans rights are human rights,” adds EJ Scott, founder of Trans Pride UK. “We need everyone to come together and put this at the top of their agenda.”
The posters are a combination of the basic rights demanded by the transcommunity and the legislative documents that threaten the freedom of people who do not conform to gender norms. The Gender Recognition Act, which limits the rights of transgender people in civil partnership, is shown as a background.
Each one was screen printed by trans people. “We’re trying to lean back into that organic, offline, real and gritty history of Pride – the grassroots, activist history that goes back into protest and feeds the community,” says King. “We had somebody researching and finding all of these places, loopholes and spaces where trans people are legally oppressed. A lot of people think that we have it all right, legally, it’s just a social issue, but it’s actually really quite incessant.”
Some of the 17 posters read ‘No Safety Without Trans Safety’ and ‘No Justice Without Trans Justice,’ which really hits home the message.
“Trans people’s lives have been made political against our will,” he continues. “We’ve been used as pawns, brought into debates and people are hesitant to take sides because they don’t want to be too political.”
Brands have been under pressure and sometimes succumbed to the right-wing after featuring trans people in their ad campaigns. Bud Light is a well-publicized example.
“The honest, sad truth is that when I look at Pride campaigns from brands or individuals, I see all of this happiness. And while I love that and I’m so glad because we need to cultivate our joy, cherish it and hold on to it, it is also difficult to see that it is just that when we are in a desperate, desperate situation or peril. Things are not good for trans people right now and they are getting worse.”
Newsletters suggested for you
Daily Briefing
Daily
Our editorial staff has selected the top stories of the day.
Advertisement of the week
Wednesday
All the best ads from the past week are in one place.
Media Agency Briefing
Thursday
Our media editor investigates the most important media buys as well as the current trends in the industry.
The team will sell T-shirts that feature the slogan to coincide with the campaign. They also encourage people to bring a blank T shirt the day before Trans Pride so they can print their own design or create a sign. “Everything feeds into each other and creates community.”
You are interested in creative campaigns. Check out the sections on Ad of the Day, and the best ads of the week.