On Saturday 8 May, around 400 protesters rallied with
Queer Endurance in Defiance (QED), protesting against a
proposed member’s bill by NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft,
which aims to legally exclude trans people from definitions
of “man” and “woman.”
NZ First leader Winston
Peters announced on 22 April that the bill will define a
woman as an “adult human biological female” and a man as
an “adult human biological male.” The wording of the
bill reflects that of a recent ruling from Britain’s
Supreme Court, which similarly excluded trans women from the
definition of women.
QED activists say
both moves seek to facilitate the exclusion of trans people
from social services and public life. QED spokesperson
Tristan-Cordelia Egarr noted that the government had already
indicated moves to restrict access to puberty blockers for
trans rangatahi, and erase queer and trans people from
Relationships and Sexuality Education in
schools.
Egarr also noted that “instead
of focusing on the most pressing issues facing New
Zealanders – the cost of living crisis, child poverty, the
climate crisis, our overburdened healthcare system – Peters
and the government are presenting these transparent attempts
to distract and divide us by targeting an already
marginalised and vulnerable community.”
“Now more
than ever, trans communities need support. Join Queer
Endurance in Defiance, or your local queer organisation, and
help us demonstrate that we will not be defined out of
existence. We trans people will continue to exist, and we
will continue to
resist.”
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