Genderfluid Person in Dress and Heels Attacked, Left Black and Blue

A genderfluid person in Shrewsbury, England, was left cut and bruised after two men attacked them on the way home from a night out.

Will Falshaw, 30, was confronted by the men about 3:30 a.m. September 25, the Shropshire Star reports. Falshaw was wearing a dress and high heels at the time, and that appears to have motivated the assault.

"I went out and had a couple of drinks," Falshaw, who uses he, she, and they pronouns, told the paper. "I'd had a nice evening. I had just been for a takeaway when I noticed this lad who had threatened me before. He was with another lad. They started giving me grief and then just attacked me. The knocked me to the ground and were kicking me in the face. It went on for about a minute. I didn't see which way they went. My face was all black and blue and I had bruised ribs. I went into work the next day but was sent home when they saw the state of me." Falshaw works at the Henry Tudor House, a restaurant and bar in Shrewsbury.

Falshaw said they have been exploring their gender for about a year now. "I'm gender-fluid," he said. "For work I dress more masculine, but the rest of the time I'll be sporting high heels and a dress."

The fact that Falshaw had encountered one of the men previously may help police track down the attackers. That man had been banned from a local pub due to aggressive behavior, and Falshaw has spoken to business owners in the area about being on the lookout for him. The perpetrators "need to know you cannot behave like this," Falshaw said.