Abortion and trans rights intersect at SF Pride event

Urgency and emotion hung over the thousands of people who gathered at Dolores Park, then took to the streets for the city’s 19th annual Trans March on Friday.

This year’s march was set to a backdrop of political anxiety, punctuated by Friday morning’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and months of anti-trans legislation taking hold in dozens of states across the country.

At one point, the march route intersected with that of a protest against the Supreme Court ruling. Participants from the two groups raised fists to one another in solidarity from opposite sides of Market Street, illustrating the parallels between their causes.

“It was so touching to support one another and join forces,” said march attendee Maverick Eason.

The Trans March took place during San Francisco Pride month on June 24, 2022.

Isaac, Sam Albillo / Special to SFGATE

Some signs carried by marchers read, “Stop policing bodies,” and, “Abortion rights, trans rights, sex worker rights are all connected.” Parents carried kids on their shoulders who held up signs that read “Protect trans youth.” Demonstrators marched, chanted, danced and drummed in a throng of sounds and colors that flooded city streets for over two hours.

“People are so happy to be together again,” said Niko Storment, a Trans March organizer. “There’s a joy here. It’s like a collective deep breath.”

Pride weekend in San Francisco has started with Trans March since 2004, and always begins with a gathering at Dolores Park followed by a march to the historic Transgender District in the Tenderloin. This year’s march ended at the intersection of Turk and Taylor, where in 1966 a group of trans women led the country’s first recorded act of queer resistance against police violence, known today as the Compton’s Cafeteria riot.

“Birthing people’s rights are under attack; women’s rights are under attack; LGBT and especially trans rights are under attack,” said Honey Mahogany, a candidate for District 6 supervisor and co-founder of the Transgender District, as she stood onstage at the end of the march. “But we’re not going to stand for it, especially not here in San Francisco and especially not in the Tenderloin.”

The march kicked off a weekend of LGBT+-focused events, but is certainly the largest in the city that’s centered around trans and gender non-conforming communities.

“I cried many different types of tears – sad, scared, hopeful,” Eason said. “The way the trans community here takes care of one another reminded me that no matter what, we’re going to support each other and do what we need to do to survive and thrive.”