Dr Keio Yoshida

Dr Keio Yoshida is an Irish human rights lawyer, barrister and author of Pride and Prejudices: Queer lives and the law (Scribe, 2025), and co-author with Jen Robinson of Silenced Women (Octopus, 2024)/How Many More Women (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Keio is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. In 2025, Keio was named as one of the top 100 LGBTQ+ trailblazers by Attitude Magazine.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keioyoshida/

Praise for Pride and Prejudices

Diarmuid Hester, author of Nothing Ever Just Disappears

‘There’s a lot of talk recently about LGBT rights coming under attack. Pride and Prejudices shows that LGBT rights have always been under attack: around the world, queer and gender-nonconforming people have always been subject to prejudice, censorship, and criminalisation, abuse, and injustice. But what this book also shows is that there have always been courageous, clever, relentless activists like Keio Yoshida who work for a better, brighter, more inclusive future for everyone. Read this book, see how much has been achieved and how much there is to be done. Read — and resist!’

Peter Tatchell, LGBT+ and human rights campaigner

‘An inspiring account of the global struggle for LGBT+ human rights.’

Paul Baker, author of Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain's Secret Gay Language

‘Keio Yoshida weaves insightful threads of personal narrative into the stories of LGBTQ+ rights around the world. This is an important book, reflecting changing times, which reveals how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.’

Geoffrey Robertson KC

‘This is a lovely book, in which the author accurately describes the legal battles against cruel and stupid judges and laws oppressing sexual minorities, intertwined with a moving account of their personal — and ultimately joyful — trans journey. It is a novel and powerful way of presenting the case for law reform, and can be recommended for reading by J.K. Rowling.’

Dianne Otto, author of Queering International Law

‘Taking us on a journey from criminalisation and shame towards freedom and pride, Keio Yoshida shares their own lesbian-gender/queer story with law. While historically, our queer lives have been thoroughly endangered by law, Keio maps how this has begun to slowly change due to the courage of queer human rights activists and advocates around the world. The message is one of hope, despite the enormity of the legal prejudices that remain.’

Kaya Wilson, author of Beautiful As Any Other

‘Yoshida quotes Sedgwick in their opening note on language, “I refuse to signify monolithically”, before taking us through the history of queer and LGBTQIA+ rights as they have been denied and affirmed. Framed by Yoshida’s personal experiences as a yearning adolescent, to loving women and discovering themselves, we meet both Keio and the people who continue to fight for freedom of love, expression, family, and existence.

From a mind who inhales Whitman and breathes life into constitutional litigation on decriminalising homosexuality, Pride and Prejudices is ultimately about a belief in the law to evolve and expand to serve the breadth of humanity Keio loves, humanity that is anything but a monolith. This is an important book for an important time.’

Praise for Silenced Women/How Many More Women

Daisy May Cooper

If you read anything this year, make sure it's this.

Jess Phillips MP

'The oppression of women is a many-headed beast - commonly, as we defeat some, others emerge. How Many More Women? lifts the lid on the way the law is weaponised to silence women from speaking out about the violence and abuse they suffer. It is crucial reading for any person wanting to fight against all forms of gendered abuse.'

Kathy Lette, bestselling author

'Witty, gritty, insightful and true, this book is essential reading for all women. Robinson and Yoshida lay down the law, on law, in an accessible way, giving us the ammunition we need, not just to protect ourselves, but to go out there and win.'

Baroness Helena Kennedy KC

'The nature of law is that it is made and secured by those who have power, which is why women are are still battering at its doors. This book is another brick through the windows of our legal systems: a brilliant, trenchant analysis of what is wrong with the law.'