About 1,000 people march in Vancouver to celebrate trans pride

About 1,000 people marched in Vancouver Friday to celebrate the transgender, Two Spirit, genderqueer, and intersex communities. 

The large crowd first gathered at Clark Park near Commercial Drive with signs, flags and drums before heading to Victoria Park. Organizers say this year's Vancouver Trans Pride March is both a celebration and fight for their rights, as anti-trans policies and violence continue to grow worldwide.

"For me, it's an opportunity for Pride to be a protest again," said River Pengelly, who is part of the march's organizing collective.

According to her, the march has a long history in Vancouver, though it has taken different forms and iterations over the years. It is also a grassroot effort that is separate from the Vancouver Pride Society, whose Pride Parade will take place Sunday.

Pengelly, who is a non-binary transfeminine person, said anti-trans rhetoric and actions are not just becoming more prevalent in the U.S., but also in Canada. 

Earlier this year, Canada's intelligence agency warned that extremists could "inspire and encourage" serious violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community. The warning comes as provincial policies on gender-affirming surgeries and pronoun preferences are being hotly debated across the country.

As a result, Pengelly said the 2SLGBTQI+ community and allies need to keep showing up for each other in large and small ways, from respecting each other's pronouns and attending rallies to paying attention to local elections and political bodies like school boards.  

"There are a lot of opportunities for the community outside of people who are here today, outside of people who identify as trans themselves, to step up and to be supportive every day," she said. 

Pengelly added that transphobia can harm cisgender people, pointing to the controversy surrounding the Imane Khelif. The Algerian boxer is assigned female at birth, but has recently faced intense scrutiny over her gender at the Olympics. 

Danny Metcalfe said he felt seen standing in Clark Park with other attendees. The 30-year-old trans man said he started his transition earlier this year, so the march was his first Pride event. 

"It's really cool and beautiful to see everyone gather here for love and acceptance of each other," he said. 

"It's weird to reinvent yourselves at 30. It's harder than I thought it would be … It's like there's a grieving process."

Metcalfe added that he is also drawn to the march's focus on activism. 

"It's less about me and it's more about other people," he said. "That's where my strength comes from."