I was nine months into my testosterone treatment when I went. ThereвЂ™s a very different vibe вЂ“ and very rightly so, because of the way that trans people are treated. ItвЂ™s small, itвЂ™s not sponsored, itвЂ™s about political change, it has a campaign march вЂ“ itвЂ™s completely different to that big rainbow celebration and more about activism. It was a really interesting event as size and message wise, itвЂ™s where London Pride was 20 years ago. My first Pride as Max (after I transitioned socially) was London Trans Pride, in July 2021. I started testosterone in November of that year and had top surgery the following October.

After I took those small steps, it all fell into place. I started wearing a binder and using they/them pronouns. I wasnвЂ™t confident but I started dating women, joined the LGBTQ+ society and slowly, it became something I was proud of.Д«ut it wasnвЂ™t until February 2020, aged 28, that I came out as trans. When I went to university in Cardiff a couple of years later, I decide to be open about being queer. It was incredibly powerful and was the start of me accepting my identity.Д«ut I remember wiping my Pride flag off my face on the way home, so my parents wouldnвЂ™t see it. This Pride was the first time I saw it as something that could be celebrated and not hidden. It wasnвЂ™t homophobic, but there was no represenation and a lot of negativity surrounding being queer. I grew up in South Devon, which is very middle class, straight and white. The event was tiny вЂ“ there were a few stands, a charity, some performers and some face painting, and I got a Pride flag painted on my face. I felt terrified, as this was my first time being around openly queer people. I wasnвЂ™t out at that point, not even to myself.

Gay football book binfer