Trans man gives powerful speech at Posie Parker rally, after tricking ‘gender-critical’ activists
A trans activist was removed from the mic after Posie Parker supporters realised he was actually pro-LGBTQ+. (Twitter)
A trans man pretending to support Posie Parker shared a powerful speech about trans visibility during her ‘gender-critical’ Birmingham rally.
The trans campaigner, who did not wish to be named, told PinkNews that organisers of the ‘Let Women Speak’ event on Sunday (14 May) were “very keen” to have him speak after he posed as an anti-trans detransitioner. Instead, his intention was to get onto Parker’s ‘gender-critical’ livestream to share support for trans rights.
He also wanted to send a message to genuine detransitioners to let them know they are “welcome” in the LGBTQ+ community.
The term ‘detransitioner’ refers to an individual who has previously identified as transgender, but stopped transitioning due to either being more comfortable with their birth gender or other circumstances.
Posie Parker, whose real name is Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, joined anti-trans followers in Birmingham as part of her controversial series of live events, which has toured across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The tour, which began in January, has been criticised for becoming associated with far-right groups including neo-Nazi organisations, present at the Melbourne protest in March.
And like many of her previous events, Parker’s Birmingham appearance was also attended by a huge number of counter-protesters, politicians and well-known LGBTQ+ activists.
The speaker told PinkNews that, after falsely telling the ‘gender-critical’ crowd he was a Posie Parker-supporting detransitioner, the group began telling him he was “brave” for speaking against the LGBTQ+ community.
“Here, I experienced the grooming aspects a lot of detransitioners go through,” he said.
“TERFs have been befriending detransitioners online through social media such as Facebook and slowly using their hate towards themselves as a means to further guide them down a very crooked path.”
‘Gender-critical’ activists often use examples of detransitioners to push the false claim that transgender people are likely to regret transitioning.
In reality, however, a 2019 study found that just 0.47 per cent of those referred to a gender identity clinic expressed transition-related regret or detransitioned.
During his speech, the speaker said he kept things specifically vague so that he could remain on mic for as long as possible to help spread the message of trans solidarity.
But, after he said he attempted to “dismantle the mic”, Keen-Minshull, along with several of her supporters, forced him away from the stand.
“The group crushed my hands, and arms, and left me with small cuts from the force they went in on me,” the speaker explained.
“I have EDS and Nail Pattela Syndrome, hence the crutch, and have my joints pop out a lot when placed under force. My right hand is still in a lot of pain and I haven’t been able to use it that much after the incident.
“But I had already gambled and knew that I would most likely get hurt trying to dismantle the mic.”
Following the speech, he said he felt it important to note that, despite what anti-LGBTQ+ pundits may suggest, detransitioners are welcome in the community.
“With detransitioners often being hit by fear-mongering, lies and hate … I needed to really hammer home that they are, in fact, welcome.
“We want to support them, but falling into a cult such as the TERF movement is a sure fire way to really fall into a pit of self-hatred and loathing,” he said.
Speaking to PinkNews, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull said she felt “great sympathy” for the male speaker, who she compared to “very small young women” attending the rally, adding that she believed he had been “conned into believing that drastic surgeries and life-limiting hormones are the answer for whatever distress or narcissism they suffer.”
Keen-Minshull added, misgendering the speaker: “We allowed her to speak as we all knew she was a woman. We believe she has a right to speak even if her intention is to insult and lie.
“She wanted to destroy the ability for others to speak after her. The only thing she did was make compelling argument against ‘transition’.”
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