Celebrating North of London's Trans & Non-Binary Communities

Originally from the north of London, photographer Xanthe Hutchinson wanted to document the trans community and have the opportunity to hear and learn from these individuals’ stories. Hutchinson’s series consists of photographs that capture the strength and resilience of these people.

Dazed Digital chose to include the photographs as well as some of the individual’s responses about their lives and what issues they face today.

Click here to read more stories from these and other individuals

CHARLIE ORION HUNTER

Charlie Orion Hunter

What’s the best thing about living up north?

Charlie Orion Hunter: I have to say, the best thing about living up north is the people. When I arrived in Manchester as a student, I was greeted with a warm welcome. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the most vibrant range of people, many of whom are now friends for life. Manchester has a great sense of community, and I’ve seen people step up and come together on many occasions, and I get a real sense of pride. If you’ve ever attended a vigil during the pride celebrations or on Trans Day of Remembrance, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

GIGI HARI

Gigi Hari

What are the most significant issues young LGBTQ+ people living in the north face today?

Gigi Hari: One of the biggest issues young LGBTQ+IA+ people in the north face is the rise of anti-queer propaganda in smaller towns and less culturally diverse areas, that rippled from around the time of Trump’s presidency starting, which I think impacted all queer people in Western countries. Queerness and gender identity, in particular, have been a hot topic in recent years, and it’s created louder voices from both supporters and those who are currently, and wish to continue discriminating gender diverse people.

ROW SEWARD

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

Row Seward: My hopes for the future is for accurate, diverse representation of the community in all aspects of life. I want better education for people, especially in schools. I feel like life could have been a lot smoother for me if I had the vocabulary to discuss how I was feeling. My hopes for my future is just to carry on creating and making the ‘things’ I never want to stop creating, whether that be fashion, art, or poetry, I want to be able to have discussions about queer struggles through my work.

Row Seward