Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary and Conservative MP for Fareham, has once again shown her blatant disregard for LGBTQ+ inclusion, expression, and safety in schools.

 

She pressured Fareham Academy—a diverse, welcoming school community—to cancel a planned drag performance for Pride month, labelling it “morally reprehensible” and “morally indefensible.” This performance was part of the school’s annual Pride celebration—a positive event designed to raise awareness, educate, and support LGBTQ+ students.

 

Instead of supporting young people’s right to self-expression, Braverman chose to shame and stigmatise the event, claiming drag is “highly sexualised” and that it “presents a demeaning and distorted image of women.” She went as far as to suggest the performance was dangerous because it might make children think “a man can be a woman with makeup and a dress on.”

These statements are deeply transphobic and harmful:

Drag is not inherently sexual—especially in the context of age-appropriate, school-approved performances designed to celebrate Pride.

Her comments reinforce the dangerous belief that trans identities and gender expression are fake, deceptive, or threatening to children.
Braverman’s intervention sends a chilling message to LGBTQ+ youth: you are not welcome, not safe, and not valid in your own school.

 

Fareham Academy rightly described their Pride event as “a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and raise awareness and show support for the LGBTQ+ community.” Suella Braverman’s attack on this inclusive effort represents a disgraceful misuse of political power to push personal prejudice over acceptance and education.

Should Suella Braverman—a politician elected only by adults—really have the right to control how young people see themselves, their identities, and their community? Why should someone chosen by voters over 18 dictate the representation and expression of LGBTQ+ youth—an age group entirely irrelevant to her electoral mandate? These decisions belong to educators, students, and families—not to MPs pushing personal prejudice

This is censorship. Not safeguarding.

 

Suella Braverman even claimed that drag “does not fairly represent the LGB community either.” But as a straight, openly homophobic, and small-minded individual, how could she possibly know what represents the LGBTQ+ community? She has no lived experience of our struggles, no understanding of our joy, no right to define what is or isn’t ‘accurate’ representation.

What is an “accurate” representation of the LGBTQ+ community? That is for them—the LGBTQ+ community—to decide. Not a politician who uses queer lives as political bait. Not someone who silences young queer voices to appeal to her voter base.

This is not safeguarding. This is erasure disguised as concern.

 

The cancellation feeds into a larger narrative of censorship and discrimination against the LGBT+ community, particularly trans and non-binary individuals. According to Stonewall, a leading charity in the UK advocating for LGBT+ rights, 45% of LGBT students face bullying, and such cancellations only reinforce stigmatization, making it more challenging for these students to feel safe and accepted in their school environments.

 

Simply, Suella is an upholder of trivial, traditionalist values that simply do not exist anymore.

 

We demand:

1. A public apology from Suella Braverman for her transphobic and misleading remarks.

2. A commitment from Fareham Academy and local authorities to protect LGBTQ+ events and expression in schools without political interference.

3. Clear guidance from the Department for Education supporting age-appropriate LGBTQ+ inclusion, drag performances, and Pride celebrations in UK schools.

 

LGBTQ+ students deserve representation, pride, and joy in their education—not shame and erasure.

Drag is a valid and positive form of expression—not a “danger” to young people.

If we let politicians like Suella Braverman silence these spaces, we risk pushing LGBTQ+ youth further into fear, isolation, and invisibility.

 

LGBTQ+ youth deserve celebration, not censorship. Suella Braverman’s views are not only outdated—they are dangerous. Sign this petition to show that we will not stand by while bigotry dictates what young people are allowed to see, be, or become. Enough is enough.

Sign this petition to make a real difference.