MORE THAN A FOOTNOTE!

I thought y'all might like to see Niagara Falls lit up for Pride.

As in previous years, Black and trans women of colour, and trans sex workers are over-represented among murder victims, with sex workers (34%) being the most targeted of all known occupations. This highlights how misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and whorephobia intersect in deadly ways. (From link above)  

This post, and many transgender memorials, does not just commemorate victims of hate crimes.

Trans people are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be forced to become sex workers, and more likely to experience domestic violence, thus more likely to be murdered including for reasons that are not explicitly hate crimes. Being multiply marginalized eg being Black makes all of this violence and erasure even more likely. Both race and gender identity are relevant here. (Additionally, trans men who are murdered are often reported on as cis women, and thus don't appear in these stats, even though they experience violence at a higher rate than cisgender women.)

Because transgender people are generally considered less "important" by society, many suspicious deaths are also never investigated or ruled as suicides. It's likely the numbers we do have are underestimates.

To illustrate, in the USA, data from killings that were reported as murders and included the victim's trans identity:

The largest occupation was sex workers followed by artists and hairdressers, occupations generally held by people who are lower income

Many were killed as a result of domestic or state violence

78% were Black or Brown

“Max and Jason in a hotel room for an FTM Conference, Boston, MA” ( 1997) by Mariette Pathy Allen (source)

Val and Steph Photography by Rebeccah S

But its not. I've literally never seen one do it myself.

Me and my girlfriend attended a "Transgender Dance Party" in Fort Collins last month, and we were the only trans women there. Every single other person was transmasc or cis, and they all very obviously avoided us. Like, when we went out on the patio where a bunch of them were talking in order to try and socialize, everyone out there immediately went inside away from us. So we, the only trans women there, just left.

More info from GLAAD:

https://glaad.org/fcc/

They have some good tips about writing a comment and protecting your privacy which, fuck it, I'll just paste here:

Providing an email address is optional. If you have concerns about privacy, you may use your initials or public address in your local area, such as City Hall. Do not use a joke name. It diminishes the comment’s credibility.

Your submission does not need to be long. A single, well-reasoned paragraph is sufficient.

Do not copy/paste a template comment. The FCC values unique perspectives, and an original comment carries significantly more weight in the public record. You can explain why this matters to you without revealing private or sensitive personal information.

Here's what I said:

“Free speech is a fundamental American freedom. I do not need a warning about seeing queer people, much like I do not need a warning about women, veterans, or any other group of people.”

Here's the link to submit your comment by May 22:

If you do want details, theyre under the cut.

Thank you!

edit: actually i decided to add links to her paypal cashapp and venmo to try making this more accessible

anon, i love you. this shit is hard and i know the feelings you are talking about. i wish i had better news for you, but nobody is going to force you. in fact pretty much every institution and cultural norm on earth as well as the existing biases of probably a majority of people everywhere are all inclined toward discouraging you from doing this.

but estrogenesis, i hear you cry, that's not encouraging at all. it isn't. but i have good news too. you wouldn't be asking me this if you weren't already sure that this is something that you want and need. the hardest part -- not knowing -- is over. i understand the impulse to look around you and wish that it looked less like an uphill battle, and to fixate on the pushback you will probably get from outside. but the solution isn't going to come from reducing that pushback, it's going to come from overcoming it.

you are, understandably, intimidated. but the thing is, you're only looking outward. my advice to you is to look inside. do you want this? i think you do. do you love yourself enough to decide that you deserve it? do you love yourself enough to say that it's yours, that everything that comes with it is yours? you will never move forward if you are waiting for anybody to give you permission because on this bitch earth? they never, ever will. you have to love yourself so much that you can decide that you have a right to this and you'll be god damned if anybody's going to stop you. you're not seeking their permission, you are doing your fucking thing and anybody who doesn't understand can get the fuck out the way.