Katie Deutsch
Before 2018, no one had ever heard of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (who sometimes goes by the alias Posie Parker). However, in 2018, she made headlines by running an ad campaign against transgender people, with a billboard in Liverpool reading “woman, women, noun, adult human female.”. She later stated that she did this due to the mayor of Liverpool expressing support for transgender people. In the years since, she has become an online influencer and podcaster, pulling publicity stunts to try and gain support for her anti-transgender movement. She is not affiliated with any organisation she has not founded, after Women’s Place UK (an anti-transgender organisation) kicked her out, due to her racism and specifically anti-muslim views. She has been investigated by the police many times due to her white supremacist and Nazi ties.
“Kellie-Jay Keen is quite dangerous, in that she isn’t just a woman advocating for women’s rights. She claims she isn’t a feminist, which is an interesting conundrum for me.
One anonymous person stated, “Kellie-Jay Keen is quite dangerous, in that she isn’t just a woman advocating for women’s rights. She claims she isn’t a feminist, which is an interesting conundrum for me. She associates a lot with the far right; she was interviewed by a known white supremacist and neo-Nazi last year and then brushed it off and said she didn’t realise immediately afterwards, and I very much believe that you are the company you keep, and if you’re associating with neo-Nazis, you’re probably a wrong ‘un.”
Nottingham Against Transphobia had organised a large counter-protest, to tell her that she is not welcome in their city.
However, she still travels around the world, attracting large counter-protests- such as in Bristol and Brighton, where her (small) crowds were met with over a hundred of counter-protesters (in Brighton, she attracted several hundred). And, this Saturday (the 8th of February), she came to Nottingham, where Nottingham Against Transphobia had organised a large counter-protest, to tell her that she is not welcome in their city.
‘0.5%’, referring to the percentage of the Bristol Central vote Keen received when she tried to run for MP
Over two hundred and fifty people came to Nottingham to protest against Keen. The counter-protest formed at 12:30, half an hour before her stated start time of 1:00. When she arrived, she had a group of around 30 people. There were various chants, such as ‘0.5%’, referring to the percentage of the Bristol Central vote Keen received when she tried to run for MP. There were also more common chants, such as ‘trans rights are human rights’, and ‘Whose streets? Our streets’. Within twenty-seven minutes of Keen’s arrival at Nottingham, she left. The protest was entirely peaceful, and largely very joyful from Nottingham Against Transphobia, as many people sang and danced. On Keen’s side, there were several people wearing her t-shirts and holding various banners and signs, such as one that said ‘woman born not worn’. There was also a woman wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
Labour has a lot of work to do to improve trans rights, but also that they did want to make improvements to transgender support.
After Keen left, there were several speeches—some calling for an end to fascism, some for peace in Gaza, and many for trans liberation and rights. The right for trans people to have control over their bodies was a common sentiment, as were calls for trans people to not have to live in fear. One speaker spoke touchingly of their grandmother’s acceptance of them. The Nottingham Central MP, Nadia Whittome, came to speak in support of the counter-protestors, acknowledging that Labour has a lot of work to do to improve trans rights, but also that they did want to make improvements to transgender support.
The speech that Keen struggled to give amongst the drums and singing was, in many ways, expected—she spoke of policing other’s genitals, as well as controlling what women do with their bodies. She was openly extremely Islamophobic and generally racist and xenophobic.
One woman, Victoria, when asked why she believed that the protest was worthwhile, stated that, “I believe everybody is entitled to free speech and opinions and how they feel. My best friend is also gender-neutral, and I support them. I witnessed their name change and they are who they are. I just think there are too many narrow-minded people in the world. And people just need to be accepted—opposing it is causing a lot of problems.”
“We’re comrades, so we look out for each other, and we look out for our community.”
Another person, who is remaining anonymous, said that they were at the protest because “I’m here with the Nottingham branch of the Revolutionary Communist Party. We support trans rights, we don’t like TERFS. I’m non-binary; we have some comrades who are trans and lots of comrades who are not. We’re comrades, so we look out for each other, and we look out for our community.”
All in all, those interviewed and those who gave speeches agreed: the protest was a great success, and Keen’s message has no place in Nottingham.
Katie Deutsch
Featured image courtesy of Katie Deutsch via Impact. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including Uni News, Reviews, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
To keep up to date with all the latest Impact News, you can also follow us on the Impact News’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page
