The organiser of Jersey’s largest celebration of queer rights has outlined the continuing importance of Pride – after a recent survey revealed that nearly half of gender non-conforming students had been bullied because of their identity.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s parade and festival in St Helier, Pride director Christian May said that while the event has grown in size over the past decade, its purpose of creating a space where people feel seen, supported and safe remains the same.
“As long as there is a young man or young woman out there who think that they’d be better off dead than be gay or lesbian or bi or trans, then pride is important,” he said.
“When we’re facing a world where we see, in the US and even in the UK, people questioning and removing rights from trans and non-binary individuals, then Pride still matters, and it’s important.”
When we’re facing a world where we see people questioning and removing rights from trans and non-binary individuals, then Pride still matters
christian may, pride director
His comments come after the 2024 Jersey Children and Young People’s Survey found that 46% of students who identified their gender as “other” or “prefer not to say” reported being bullied because of their gender identity.
And young Islanders who chose not to specify their gender or specified a gender other than male or female were more likely to have thought about self-harm or to have self-harmed in the last 12 months.
Mr May helped launch Jersey’s first Pride in 2015 as well as Jersey’s first LGBTQ+ support and advocacy group, Liberate.
Speaking on the latest Bailiwick Podcast episode, he reflected on ten years of Pride in Jersey and the challenges facing queer islanders today.
LISTEN…
Listen to the full interview with Christian below… or pick up a copy of tomorrow’s JEP.
GET INVOLVED…
The Pride Parade begins at 13:00 on Saturday in Royal Square and finishes in People’s Park with a free festival featuring performances from drag artists, local musicians and X Factor star Alexandra Burke.
Entry is free.