‘I think politically, it’s a very hard spot right now for trans people,’ says Heron, who transitioned as a teenager and now works for the trans charity, Not A Phase. In October 2025, she graced the cover of Glamour’s ‘Woman of the Year’ issue, which celebrated trans women, including Munrose Bergdorf and Bel Priestley. ‘To be a part of that was very, very impactful,’ she recalls. ‘I knew it would be taken out of context by the right-wing media, so that was inevitable, but I don’t think that’s such a thing as bad publicity.’

The ‘very hard spot’ to which Heron is referring is, in part, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance that trans people can only use facilities and services, including toilets, changing rooms, and hospital wards, based on their ‘biological sex’.

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‘It’s really important that we are mindful of the demographics that are really deserving of a seat at a table and a space in these rooms,’ says Heron of why she and Cooper founded Queer Frequencies

Tara Duross

‘It makes trans lives so much harder than they already are,’ Heron says. ‘It’s really important that we are mindful of the demographics that are really deserving of a seat at a table and a space in these rooms.’ Both she and Cooper cite the influence of gender non-conforming people on Ballroom culture, house music, and techno as major inspirations for Queer Frequencies, which remains an anomaly in a nightlife scene that caters primarily to gay, white, cis men.

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‘There’s becoming a bigger divide between the gay scene and the queer scene,’ she explains. ‘Some people feel like there is a detachment that they need to have from trans and queer people, when actually, when there’s so much struggle, we should all come together. The nightlife becomes richer, the connections you have become richer, and your entire worldview can expand.