Police in London’s Soho have arrested two men following a vicious homo/transphobic attack on Old Compton Street last night.
Drag artists and members of the performance collective Familyyy Fierce, Maxi More, Ruby Wednesday and Pretty Miss Cairo were walking home when they witnessed two men verbally abusing a young drag queen on the street.
‘There were quite a lot of drag queens out in London,’ More told So So Gay, ‘because it was famous London drag queen Dusty O’s birthday. We saw a guy being very loud and obviously drunk, hurling aggression at a young queen.
‘The man grabbed his wig and pulled it off, at which point Miss Cairo and I decided to step in.’
Describing her attacker as ‘ginger haired’, More, who was not wearing drag clothes but still in make up, described how the man instead set upon her: ‘I have long hair which was tied in a top knot; he grabbed my hair, dragging me around for around three minutes while punching me in the head before police arrived and pulled him off. All the time, his friend was standing nearby, pulling him away but without much conviction.
‘The police arrested both, and by the time the two were locked into the back of the police van, they were so angry, it was rocking back and forth.’
More said that incidents like this are commonplace in Soho, adding that while police are always quick to respond, ‘Soho seems like a huge problem with drug dealers and drunk people at any time after 3am.’
‘This was half an act of homophobia and half blind drunkenness by a couple of ignorant chauvinists – it could have easily been directed at anyone else – gay, straight, trans. There was an extreme level of drunkenness by people not in control of their own actions.
‘I was once harangued by drug dealers, who stole my phone so that I couldn’t call the police,’ she told us.
A spokesperson for Westminster Police commented: ‘Police were called to the scene of an assault on four people on Old Compton Street, W1. It is believed that all were verbally attacked and two physically. Westminster’s community safety unit is investigating it as a hate crime.
‘Two men were arrested at the scene; one has been released with no further action whilst a 21-year-old man has been bailed to return to a central London police station on 19 August pending further enquiries.
‘Westminster police is committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms and is dedicated to working with, and improving services for the LGBT communities within the City of Westminster.’
In a Facebook post, Miss Cairo wrote: ‘There are some very unhinged people who seem to hone in on Soho. With it being an area which is frequented by so many vulnerable people, I can’t comprehend why there isn’t more police presence on the street or more reliable LGBTQ friendly door staff around.
‘A massive thank you to the police that came and arrested the attackers, and for being so kind, gentle and good at their job over at Charing Cross Road Police Station, and also to the guy who looked after our bags as this erupted.’
do you think the men who did this knew the difference?
It doesn’t matter. What matters is that there are a minority of determined “activists” with little more than a computer connection, seeking to hijack the truth, agenda and conversation to further certain selfish goals. The only thing they will accomplish by lying-by-attachment is to hurt the real cause. This attack had nothing to do with Tranny’s. Yes I said Tranny’s. Transexualism is very different from homosexuality. If these had been Trans girls trying to live in non-camp-drag society, real life, as it were, the attack would be an entirely different matter than a bunch of drunks going after a bunch of ‘clowns’ in makeup. The distinction is very clear, and again, this article is misreporting what happened = no justice for anybody.
Not sure I agree with you. Do you think these thugs would see the difference you claim? Trans* (with an asterisk) refers to a broad spectrum of identities which might include some drag queens. ‘Tranny’ as a term doesn’t just refer to transsexuals, nor has it ever. Drag queens have been calling themselves trannies for decades.
Ultimately: do you think these thugs would save the term ‘tranny’ just for transsexuals? They wouldn’t. Drag queens have and do get called trannies all the time. It doesn’t matter whether you consider them trans* or not.
One last thing: beating up a man because you think he’s queer doesn’t stop the assault being homophobic just because he later turns out to be straight. Beating up a drag queen because you think she’s a ‘tranny’ doesn’t stop it being transphobic–even if the drag queen in question identifies as cis.
All due respect, “phobic’ the term is going to be moot and the subject of ridicule soon – It’s been bandied about like a throwaway candy wrapper. But that’s beside the point – this article is unfactual, because there was no evidence the ‘Thugs’ perpetrators used, thought, name called or used epithets about anything to do with Transexuals, Tranny’s, or Transylvanians for that matter. This ‘TRANS’ bus is just another cheap opportunism on the part of career “activists” and every troll with an internet connection to either get paid, or get in the fray.
Fact is: it only waters down the importance that no one form a minority group, especially homo/queer/drags whatever in Soho of all places, should be subjected to assault. These guys didn’t even have any clue what a Tranny is. The headline and the premise is opportunistic and yellow.
Terrible. Police should be on patrol not sitting around in cars. That said, how is this a ‘Transphobic Attack’? – the article and people in question are Drag Queens, no? WAs anything documented as directed at a Transexual? I don’t see anything… More Trans article-hijack opportunism at work here, methinks.