‘We’re ready to break the law and defy the courts to keep trans people safe’
In 1998, Dee Chanelle had no idea who she was. She was a singer – that much she knew – but she could never explain why she didn’t belong.
She knew she was part of the LGBTQ+ community, so she spent years hitting up gay bars only to still feel somewhat alienated inside.
That’s when, at a gig, she was approached to sing every Saturday at The Way Out Club, a trans nightclub off Fenchurch Street in the City of London.
‘When I went there, I’ll never forget that day,’ Dee recalls to Metro.
‘I saw so many transgender people – cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals – and that’s when I thought: “Oh my God, this is my world. This is where I belong”.
‘That club gave me the confidence and the space to find myself. I don’t know where I’d be right now – and that’s not an exaggeration.
‘That was my introduction to this world of being trans and the support system I could get at that time – and now I’m that support system for the new generation.’
That fateful club night helped Dee realise she is a trans woman. Cut to 2025, she is now the director of her own trans-owned trans-led event, Zodiac, which now houses The WayOut Club in Camden.
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It’s an LGBTQ-inclusive space that embraces trans people, which Dee says is even more important following the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday.
Judges ruled that trans women do not fall within the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act, the bedrock of anti-discrimination law.
‘Sex’, a protected characteristic, covers ‘biological women’, the ruling said. The judges stressed that they were not commenting on whether trans women are women – the court cannot rule on the meaning of gender or sex.
On Thursday, the chief of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a watchdog, said trans women should not be able to access single-sex spaces, such as women’s public toilets and changing rooms.
‘Zodiac is a transgression – pardon the pun – and will remain to be this space, so people are reminded we are business people, entertainers, we exist, we pay taxes, we are citizens, we are useful,’ Dee says.
‘We’re just like everyone else.’
But the UK is running out of spaces like Zodiac. More than half of London’s LGBTQ+ venues closed between 2006 and 2022, with owners citing the cost-of-living crisis and rising rents as among the reasons why.
‘If it means breaking the law, that’s what we’ll do’
Jeremy Joseph is behind the G-A-Y family of bars and nightclubs, such as Heaven in London AND G-A-Y Manchester.
But G-A-Y Late closed in 2023 due to spiralling costs, while G-A-Y Bar will be the next to go.
Jeremy worries London is losing its ‘queer identity’, he tells Metro, something the city needs to embrace and ensure is trans-inclusive after the ruling.
‘Last night when we opened, you could tell something was in the air already,’ he says. ‘When we started the show [with RuPaul Drag Race’s Peppermint], the reaction from the crowd was phenomenal. There’s such an air of support.’
Jeremy fears that nightclub operators will struggle to make sense of the legal ramifications, if any, of the ruling. Whether it be who can use public toilets or which bouncers should pat patrons down.
‘We need to start protecting our LGBTQ+ venues and make sure that they are all safe spaces, so that people have somewhere to go where they feel like, even if it’s just for a few hours, they can be their true selves,’ he says.
‘We’re not changing anything. Our responsibility is to make sure our spaces are safe for people who feel vulnerable and we need to be vocally supportive of them.’
He said he’s prepared to do what he can. ‘When things come into place, we need to decide to go with them or break the law,’ Jeremy adds.
‘That’s something we will consider. We will do nothing that we don’t agree with – and if it means breaking the law, that’s what we’ll do.’
Jeremy wonders how non-LGBTQ+ venues will ‘handle’ being inclusive of trans customers, outside of hanging a flag outside the door during Pride month.
‘How are trans people going to feel about going into a non-LGBTQ+ venue?’ he asks.
Terri Hartshorn is another person trying to ensure that other LGBTQ+ people have a place they can simply be – and that includes trans people.
She helps organise the trans-inclusive G.IRL Events for queer women and non-binary people. During their annual London Pride events, thousands of queer women and non-binary people come together to sing, dance, kiss, sweat and express themselves.
‘But we can’t be limited to just one day, and G.IRL gives me and others the regular physical space to feel authentic and connected,’ they say.
‘As a community, we’ve come so far, yet there is so far left to go for our trans brothers and sisters, and non-binary folks.’
Life can be hard for trans people, Terri says. The community experiences higher-than-average rates of depression and anxiety as well as poverty.
In the year ending March 2024, figures from the Home Office show 4,780 transphobic crimes occurred in England and Wales; a number that only includes those reported to the police. Healthcare options for trans people have also become increasingly limited.
‘It can feel overwhelming as an individual to know how to create change on a mass level for the trans community – I’m not an expert, I don’t have any political power,’ Terri says.
‘But I can and will create safer spaces where trans women feel included, seen and heard.’
As physical spaces shutter, queer people are also looking to the internet to give them a sense of community and belonging, says Aquayemi-Claude Akinsanya, who runs a weekly online hangout for LGBTQ+ people called Online Safe Space Tuesday.
‘Online spaces offer an accessible, inclusive sanctuary for individuals who may not be safe, seen, or comfortable in their local environments – whether due to geography, disability, discrimination, or other barriers,’ he tells Metro.
‘If we don’t intentionally acknowledge LGBTQ+ as a whole, we risk erasing the richness and diversity of our community.’
Zoe Williams, the director of the Vagina Museum, knows how important it is that spaces make it clear that trans, non-binary and intersex people are all welcome, and do something as simple as use the toilet.
The museum in Cambridge Heath, East London, is the world’s first brick-and-mortar museum dedicated to understanding and appreciating gynaecological anatomy.
‘As a venue, we have gender-neutral toilet facilities. We have a single toilet, which is wheelchair accessible,’ Zoe says.
‘This is a fairly normal set-up for an organisation of our size, but online trolls will occasionally decry this arrangement as “woke”.’
A 2023 study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found no evidence that letting trans people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks. Yet bathrooms are often where trans people face harassment and violence, especially when forced to use a facility according to their sex assigned at birth.
‘Biology is not a clear-cut binary, and what you learn in school is grossly oversimplified,’ Zoe stresses.
‘Trans people have always existed and will always exist. It’s critical to remember that.’
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