Susie Green is a British gender rights activist who focuses on transgender youth. Green helped her child Jackie medically transition as a minor, including gender affirming surgery in 2010 at age 16. Green was involved in the British charity Mermaids as a trustee from 2011 to 2015, then as CEO from 2016 to 2022.
Background
Susie Marie Green was born in December 1957. She was an IT manager for Citizens Advice from 2002 to 2015. Green lives in Yorkshire, and is married to Tim Green. They have four adult children, including twins.
Green gave a 2017 talk at TEDx Truro that was criticized by anti-trans activists. Green later removed the video.
Green was a consultant on the 2o18 ITV drama Butterfly and helped shape the WPATH chapter on children and adolescents.
She got involved at Mermaids in 2000 because her daughter Jackie was trying to navigate gender transition as a minor. During her time as CEO, the debate about transgender youth intensified, particularly following a £500,000 grant from the National Lottery and corporate sponsorships.
Under Green, Mermaids launched the first legal challenge of its kind against the LGB Alliance, a trans-exclusionary charity which is critical of “gender ideology.” Mermaids sought to end its charitable status.
In late 2022, Mermaids was hit with several setbacks. New Mermaids trustee Jacob Breslow resigned after a 2011 presentation he gave at a conference for minor-attracted persons held by B4U-ACT came to light. Complaints from staff led to an outside audit conducted by DEI consultants the Social Justice Collective. Days after Green resigned, UK’s Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Mermaids after reports that they offered chest binders to teens whose parents opposed their transitions.
Green has been recognized for her contributions to the trans community on several occasions, including an event at Buckingham Palace. In 2016 she won the Diversity Champion Award. In 2023 Green joined GenderGP as project manager on the GenderGP Trans Youth Fund.
References
The Newsroom (October 25, 2018). Mum of Leeds transgender woman who inspired ITV’s Butterfly opens up about daughter’s suicide attempts after bullying. Yorkshire Evening Post https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/mum-of-leeds-transgender-woman-who-inspired-itvs-butterfly-opens-up-about-daughters-suicide-attempts-after-bullying-237976
Gentleman, Amelia (November 25, 2022). Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/25/head-of-trans-children-charity-mermaids-resigns-after-six-years
Thomas, Rebecca (October 15, 2018). How ITV’s Butterfly hopes to be a ‘game-changer’ for trans people. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45672230
Gilligan, Andrew (December 16, 2018). Child sex-change charity Mermaids handed £500,000 by national lottery. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-sex-change-charity-handed-500-000-by-national-lottery-dvbt7t2kb
SJC (2022). EDI Audit: Recommendations and Next Steps. https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/EDI-Audit_-Recommendations-and-Next-Steps.pdf
Staff report (October 11, 2017). Prince Harry calls transgender children’s charity Mermaids ‘amazing’ at Buckingham Palace event. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/10/11/prince-harry-calls-transgender-childrens-charity-mermaids-amazing-at-buckingham-palace-event/
Baska, Maggie (February 9, 2023). Ex-Mermaids CEO and GenderGP launch vital trans youth healthcare fund. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/09/gender-gp-fund-trans-youth-healthcare-mermaids-susie-green/
Resources
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