For most people — certainly like all people with any sense of decency — the news of Brianna’s Ghey death on Saturday, 11th February 2023, was devastating. The loss of any trans or non-binary person is a tragedy and a loss profoundly felt throughout the community, but Brianna was stabbed to death in an act of violence in a country where the narrative around trans people from highest reaches of Westminster government to the lowest gutters of the British print media has been one of deliberate hostility.
I’m not going to speculate on the why’s and specifics of Brianna’s death. At the time of writing this two suspects have been charged and remanded to custody and so this matter is sub judice — before the courts and so therefore discussion of it beyond the basic facts of the case is unlawful and could prejudice the case — but the media, public, and the so-called ‘Gender Critical’ hate movement’s response to these events has viscerally brought back memories from another time.