I just feel like no matter what, prisons are bad for everybody. They arenât just bad for trans peopleâtheyâre bad for all people. It wouldnât be fair for me to make it seem like it was so hard for me, just as a trans women, because Iâve been around a lot of people who donât deserve to be in prison at all. Prison is hard for everybody. Weâve all got our personal issues and have to do what we need to do to survive in there and be strong.
Itâs not the right approach for people to sensationalize this story and say: You were a trans woman in a menâs prison. Because at the end of the day, all prisons are bad for all peopleâtrans, cis, gay, straight, Black, white, Asian, brown, purple, polka-dotted, striped, zebra, alien or whatever.
Yes, I had my issues. I dealt with extra discrimination and extra scrutiny. I had to deal with things that other people wouldnât have had to deal with in prison because I was a trans woman in a menâs prison. Of course, it was upsetting, and it was hard.
But I was blessed to have the support of a team that was willing to support me in this fight against the system. Not everyone in there had thatânot everyone had support or someone to help them or be there for them, to protect them or understand them or get them in touch with the right resources. I was blessed to have that.
So yes, I can say how hard it was for me, but what about the people in prison who are there wrongfully or for petty charges or because of the criminalization of everything? There are men and women who have been in there for days, years, even decadesâwhat about them?