Sadly, regardless of at the moment being the primary day of Delight Month, there’s some transphobic bullshit occurring within the UK proper now. Six weeks in the past, UK Supreme Court docket dominated that underneath the 2010 Equality Act, an individual’s gender could also be outlined in legislation solely by the intercourse they have been assigned at delivery. The Equality And Human Rights Fee (EHRC), the nation’s impartial physique that advises organizations on how one can adjust to the Equality Act, has since issued some disappointing steerage on how that ruling needs to be interpreted in legislation, saying that “trans ladies (organic males) shouldn’t be permitted to make use of the ladies’s services and trans males (organic ladies) shouldn’t be permitted to make use of the boys’s services, as this may imply that they’re now not single-sex services and should be open to all customers of the other intercourse.” The steerage states that trans individuals “shouldn’t be put ready the place there are not any services for them to make use of,” however their solely actual choices are to make use of the toilet corresponding with their intercourse assigned at delivery, or use a lockable single-stall rest room within the off-chance that one is accessible.
Tons of of UK music figures like Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Imogen Heap, Jessie Ware, Wolf Alice, and extra have since signed an open letter of solidarity to the trans neighborhood. However with Leicestershire’s rock-focused Obtain Competition arising in in a few weeks, fest organizers just lately despatched an e-mail in response to a question saying that the occasion could be following the EHRC’s anti-trans rest room steerage, which has since garnered numerous pushback. Consideration was dropped at the difficulty final week when the artist Noahfinnce, who performed the pageant final 12 months, shared a screenshot of that e-mail; fellow 2024 performers Pinkshift and Witch Fever additionally chimed in expressing anger in direction of Obtain over the coverage.
Noahfinnce adopted up the preliminary tweet saying that he’d been in “direct communication” with Obtain over the toilet situation. “They needed to clarify that they may NOT be policing the loos in any respect and that the customer support one that despatched out this e-mail ought to NEVER have used that wording within the e-mail,” he wrote. So it appears like trans individuals will most likely be capable of use whichever restroom they’d like at Obtain.
And the fest launched an announcement on social media:
On the coronary heart of Obtain is acceptance – we stand with all members of our neighborhood and need everybody to really feel secure, supported and welcome on the pageant.
We wish to reassure all of our clients that at Obtain, nearly all of bogs will likely be gender impartial and obtainable to all. There will even be single intercourse bogs supplied. Obtain Competition has all the time been and stays for everybody.
We sincerely apologise {that a} earlier communication on this was not clear. We’re trying ahead to seeing you at Obtain this 12 months.
However that wasn’t sufficient for the favored magnificence model Lush, which terminated its partnership with the pageant amid the controversy. Lush introduced final month that it could be on the pageant providing slightly rock-themed set of merchandise, cleverly named the “Wash Pit,” to make you odor good after the mosh pit. They received’t be promoting them on the pageant anymore, and Lush additionally just lately partnered with some UK-based trans-advocacy teams. (For fundraising, they’re promoting this lovable bathtub bomb that appears just like the transgender flag.)
See related posts under.
In direct communication with obtain about this.
They needed to clarify that they may NOT be policing the loos in any respect and that the customer support one that despatched out this e-mail ought to NEVER have used that wording within the e-mail. https://t.co/A1rf2CXa0M
— NOAHFINNCE (@noahfinnadams) Could 28, 2025
what fucking music pageant polices gendered loos?? loopy, unsafe, disrespectful, harmful, and a slap within the face to all of the queer and trans artists and followers who carry their creativity and innovation to the choice music area on daily basis @DownloadFest https://t.co/UDptNvVviD
— pinkshift (@pinkshiftmd) Could 27, 2025
And to be clear – apparently the pageant will even be offering gender impartial bogs which is nice, however to implement guidelines on what individual can use what rest room primarily based on their organic intercourse over their gender id is just not championing inclusivity and variety https://t.co/dYCR1aAaIF
— WITCH FEVER (@WITCHFEVER) Could 27, 2025
Ref Obtain and its trans exclusion coverage….
Companion corporations are pulling out.
Simply had this from Lush who had a partnership with the occasion.Thanks Lush Staff for placing morals forward of earnings.
— STRIVE (@strivecampaign.bsky.social) Could 29, 2025 at 8:12 AM
We stand with all members of our neighborhood and need everybody to really feel secure, supported and welcome at Obtain pic.twitter.com/TSMIhZFLJZ
— Obtain Competition (@DownloadFest) Could 28, 2025