Want to stop trans murders?

Stop shaming men who like us, stop calling them gay when they’re not, stop watching dudes play us on screen.

Yes, it’s actually a deeply complicated and nearly intractable set of issues at the dangerous intersection of race, class, homophobia, misogyny, and economics, but the thing that most people can DO, right now, no matter who or where they are, is really that simple: stop shaming the men who like us, stop letting us be portrayed by men.

After years of thinking on this issue, listening to survivors of assault, reading the reports, talking to countless trans women/sex workers, that’s the heart of this. Straight men kill trans women partners because other people, and culture as a whole, says it’s gay, less masculine, to be with us.

So shut it down. Shut down every person or conversation that claims trans women are “really” men, every media depiction with men playing us.

One of the most important things is proper normalization of trans women (and people, but especially women who are at the highest risk for violence). People associate images with concepts and real people with things they’ve seen. 

We need trans women in art, in novels, in plays, movies, tv shows. Trans women laughing, crying, dating, breaking up. Pursuing careers, staying home with their families and their beloved children. 

like yes, people literally did try that argument then too. 

Most of these bills are still in committee, meaning they haven’t been finalized and haven’t been voted on. Most bills die in committee.

This means you need to call your representatives. Find out of your reps are on these committees. If they are, tell them to kill the bill.

If the bill is out of committee, call your reps and tell them you expect them to vote against them.The ACA bill in particular would require a 2/3 majority in both houses to pass. Call your fucking reps.

Stop your hand wringing. Your outage is worth noting politically if you don’t know what to do and what you’re talking about.

Spend some time today on the House or Senate websites. Call your reps and tell them you expect them to protect the ACA and national parks and whatever else is important to you. That’s political action.

I’m tired of fear-mongering though. There are real concrete steps you cash take to fight bad ideas like these. If you’re not using them, I honestly don’t want to hear your opinion about them.