Author: Steph

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(Pronouns - she/her) - Steph Richards is a 73-year-old 'post-op' trans woman with a Gender Recognition Certificate and works as a human rights activist. She was the elected Women's and LGBT Officer at Portsmouth Labour Party 2021 - 2024, CEO of Translucent.Org.UK, winner of the LGBT Organisation of the Year at the National Diversity Awards in 2022, co-founder of Women's Action Network (Portsmouth) and a volunteer at a Women's health charity. Steph was shortlisted as a "Gender Role Model" at the National Diversity Awards in 2025. Steph has been platformed live on BBC Radio 4 three times, including Women's Hour. She has also appeared on Times Radio, LBC Radio, GB News and Channel 4 News. In 2023, Steph debated trans human rights at an American university event alongside Harvard biologist and author Carole Hooven, PhD. Steph (an intersectional feminist) is passionate about the inclusion and acceptance of trans people in society. She advocates for women in prison, specifically pregnant women and calls out the mounting concern that abortion rights are at risk in the UK. She was the recipient of an Inspirational Women of Portsmouth Award in March, 2023.

Response to UnHerd - Oxford Literary Festival faces growing trans backlash

Response to UnHerd – Oxford Literary Festival faces growing trans backlash On the 12th of January, that bastion of online free speech that never appears to want to publish articles that support the trans community, UnHerd was at it again. This time, authored by Joan Smith, her short blog claims that the Oxford Literacy Festival has, and I quote “discovered a backbone, inviting the gender-critical author Helen Joyce and the feminist campaigner Julie Bindel to take part in this year’s programme. Cue the predictable outrage”. Cleverly sidestepping the real issues here, Joan fails to mention why there is outrage. Naturally, Joan…

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Jo Bartosch Journalist And Transphobe

Jo Bartosch Journalist and Transphobe – Opinion Jo Bartosch describes herself as a journalist and feminist campaigner. She has written numerous articles for Spiked Online, Hot Air, and occasionally for more prestigious titles. She is also the “Memo Editor” at Sex Matters, a trans-hostile “human rights” organisation.  Self-identifying herself as a “terf” in her Spiked article published on 19th September 2024, with the headline “The new Fourth Plinth is a monument to trans narcissism” – Bartosch rants about an artwork in London’s Trafalgar Square, highlighting the global discrimination and marginalisation of the trans community, which in the UK is around…

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Judy Murray and I'm not transphobic.png

Judy Murray and “I’m not transphobic” Out canvassing for the Labour Party before this year’s General Election, I often encountered a common phrase – “I am not racist, but.” Then came a monologue about stopping the boats, how people from other countries were a drain on our economy and were intending to “steal our jobs”. So, when I read an article published in The Telegraph with Judy Murray (mother of the tennis players Andy and James Murray) calling out trans women in female sport while insisting she is not transphobic, I wondered if she knows what the definition of transphobia…

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TransLucent Year End Operational Review

Our Year End Operational Review highlights TransLucent’s advocacy for the trans and non-binary community, including meetings with government officials to discuss healthcare and policy reform. The review also acknowledges financial challenges, celebrates the distribution of their report “TRANS: A Community Under Attack,” and outlines TransLucent’s position on the Cass Report, puberty blockers, and single-sex spaces.
Continue Reading TransLucent Year End Operational Review

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April Patricio

Women Are Socially Constructed. Though we are all human at birth, what does being a woman (or a man) mean? This blog explores the hypothesis that, despite their seeming naturalness, society may significantly influence these categories more than biology. The Performance of Gender: According to social constructionism, gender encompasses more than just biological sex (male or female); it also refers to the roles, practices, and social expectations that society assigns. As Simone de Beauvoir stated, these concepts are acquired, not born. Often quoted in gender studies, her exact words were, “One is not born, but becomes a woman”  If nurturing…

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The Translucent team accept the prestigious Community Organisation LGBT award at the 2022 National Diversity Awards (NDA2022)

Unherd:  NHS puberty-blocker ruling will save lives debunked. Content warning – suicide. On March 13, 2024, the right-wing website Unherd published an article authored by Victoria Smith with the headline “NHS puberty-blocker ruling will save lives”. “In my opinion, the headline is irresponsible and is one of the most misleading articles I have ever read. Indeed, the question should be asked if it is deliberate misinformation?  It’s important to note that Sir Paul Marshall, a prominent figure in the media, owns and publishes Unherd. He has also invested in another right-wing rag, GB News. Tim Montgomerie, a conservative British political…

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