On this Trans Day of Remembrance, please spare a moment to mourn trans people who died in the closet.
People who were misgendered in their eulogies.
People whose lives were cut short before they could bloom.
People whose secret clothes will be thrown out.
People who couldn't survive the oppressive forces of transphobia.
People who took their own lives because the suffering of the closet was too much for them to bear.
People who were forced from their homes or their jobs because of their genders and died on the streets, or in poverty, socially murdered.
People who could've lived if they had a safe, welcoming community.
People whose identities were disrespected, mocked, and hated both in life and in death.
People who died on a waiting list.
People who died before they could get on a waiting list.
People who were denied the opportunity to express themselves, to live as themselves.
People whose graves are desecrated with a deadname.
If you're out and reading this: Help your sisters, brothers, and siblings in the closet. Listen to them when they ask for your aid. Reach out to them. Buy them clothes. Send them money. Tell them things about your own transition. More than anyone else, closeted trans people need community and support.
Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.