Transgender people have played a part in Pride for 50 years, and now it's their turn to be centre stage.

Read any article about transgender issues, no matter how positive or educational, and the comments section still fills up with transphobia.

Gay rights and visibility have made leaps and bounds in the last decade, and although still marginalised in parts of New Zealand (and many parts of the world) universal acceptance for gay people isn't a pipe dream anymore.

Transgender people, however, have often been left behind in the fight for equality. Visibility might be increasing in pop culture, but trans women and men are still struggling, and that's why trans issues are at the forefront of the Pride Festival in Auckland this month.

"The theme for the festival and parade is "Pride and Progress: The Carnival Continues" and we're celebrating both the historic changes that have helped us to where we are today around issues of equality and those activists who have brought this about," says Lexie Matheson, who is on the Auckland Pride Festival Board and received an ONZM for her contributions to performing arts, education, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) rights in 2016.

"There is a disconnect among our communities when it comes to equality. For gay men and lesbians life might seem pretty sweet – it's not, there is still stigma around difference – but they have marriage equality, law reform decriminalised men who have sex with men, and adoption is now possible, so there have been improvements.

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"For trans and gender diverse people this is not the case. We have not checked it under the Human Rights Act and we have serious issues around housing, healthcare, equality of educational opportunity, safety, and even where trans women are housed in men's prisons if we happen to get in trouble with the law."

The first official Pride Parade in the world was on 28 June, 1970; an event to mark the one-year anniversary of clash between the LGBT community and police after a raid at the gay nightclub The Stonewall Inn in New York City.

Parades have been held annually across the world since. June is known as pride month in the Northern Hemisphere, though in the Antipodes we hosts our events at the end of our Southern summer.

"If we look at the history of Pride internationally it's one of activism to bring about change, challenging society to treat us fair and equally," says Matheson. "History tells us that the LGBTIQ communities stick together when there are issues that need dealing with. Transgender women were at the forefront of the battle for equality at Stonewall, Compton's café and in the Gay Liberation Movement in the US, and now that we need support back."

Indeed, trans women – particularly, trans women of colour – were integral in the Gay Liberation Movement but almost 50 years on, most feel they've been left behind. "Because we fear the kind of things that can happen to us in public, our community has been kind of quiet," says 21-year-old trans activist and creative artist Jaycee Tanuvasa, who is also on the Festival Board.

"With the Pride Festival 2017, it's all about visibility... my generation doesn't know how to change things politically, but we can be out loud, proud selves and use this brave platform."

Tanuvasa will MC the opening gala event of the Pride Festival with former MP and trans woman Georgina Beyer on 10 February. "It's a good opportunity to intertwine trans generations, and really stand together as one," she explains. "We are here to live boldly and say, 'let's talk about these individuals'."

Seeing trans people on TV and in other forms of popular culture (e.g. Caitlyn Jenner's coming out in 2015; the award-winning TV show Transparent) has "made trans a topical issue within mainstream society", says trans rights advocate Allyson Hamblett, but the trans community does need a lot more help at an official level, she believes.

"I guess more awareness is good, but we need government to develop the right kind of policies to help shape what's really needed within our communities. Gender identity is still not clearly included in the Human Rights Act. This has to be achieved. The process of amending gender on birth certificates is too complex and needs to become easier."

Matheson agrees. "Equality under the law is, in my view, the most important one because everything filters down from the legislation. Once we have achieved protection under the Human Rights Act most other things will naturally follow."

Equality in the eyes of government also means addressing the serious problems within trans healthcare. There's a 40+ year waiting list for gender confirmation surgery in New Zealand, and the majority of GPs lack basic knowledge in transgender issues.

"Trans healthcare seems to be going backwards," Hamblett says. "We need to teach GPs how to provide basic trans care, and good government policy needs to be developed to allow trans people who need gender reassignment surgery to get it in a timely matter."

Tanuvasa adds: "There are no trans people working [in healthcare] because we haven't had the opportunities... you can't get a nurse or a doctor who really knows what you're going through. In terms of the waiting lists, the whole situation is a mess. Ladies have been waiting their entire lifetimes."

A number of events in the Festival highlight the need transgender people have to be treated equally in our society, Matheson explains. "The parade itself – with it's theme of change – is the perfect opportunity for groups and individuals to both celebrate who we are and to strongly advocate in those areas we change is necessary."

Moreover, organisers and advocates hope the highlighting of trans issues at this year's Festival will help do away with society's focus on trans people's bodies. "For many years, trans individuals have had their womanhood validated by their exteriors," says Tanuvasa.

"But that's in the past; that's 2016. In 2017, your womanhood is validated by how you feel."

The Auckland Pride Festival runs until 26 February, and attracts an entire cross section of New Zealand society. Pride events are also held in Wellington March 3-19 and in Christchurch March 9-19.