above all else a trans woman is a person. above all else a trans women is a woman who goes to the same grocery store as you and buys fruits in the same grocery cart as you and goes home and eats her dinner the same as you. above all else a trans woman is a woman who dresses like you do and talks the same way you do. above all else a trans woman is a woman who wants to be cared about the same way you want to be cared about and a trans woman is a woman who makes friends the same way you make friends. above all else you should care about trans women because they are people. treat her as such.

–Alexander Berkman, "What is Communist Anarchism?: Will Communist Anarchism Work?" (1929)

this isn’t even the whole story tho this makes it look like something that happened recently but this happened all the way back in 2002. one of their managers (who booked their first show, founded their record label, and was a HUGE part of their success) came out as trans shortly before being diagnosed with colon cancer. they wanted to make sure she had the opportunity to live the rest her her life as she wanted, but also knew she wouldn’t accept the money if they just gave it to her, so they told her it was back-royalties for one of their albums. they didn’t make any public display of it, they didn’t do it to make themselves look good or to take a stance on anything. they did it because they saw an opportunity to help someone they cared about.