On November 20, communities around the United States and the world observe Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honor those we have lost to anti-transgender violence. The Day of Remembrance serves as a call to action, shedding light on killings that often go ignored and unsolved and providing a space for the transgender community to honor and support each other.
Transgender people face many challenges due to anti-transgender hatred, including harassment, violence, difficulty accessing healthcare, job and housing discrimination, and homelessness. A 2011 study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, surveying 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people from the United States and US territories, provides an in-depth look at these challenges. One of the most alarming statistics in the report demonstrates the toll that prejudice takes on transgender people’s lives: 41% of the survey respondents had attempted suicide, compared to the rate of 1.6% in the general population.
Statistics such as that indicate that much work needs to be done to achieve justice and equality for transgender people. This work cannot be done alone; cisgender (non-transgender) people need to act as allies and lend support to these efforts for justice. The following list provides a few ideas to serve as a starting point for cisgender people, like myself, who wish to act as allies and support trans rights. Acknowledge your privilege. “Privilege” refers to ways in which cisgender people experience societal benefits that transgender people do not experience due to anti-transgender prejudice. By understanding this privilege and how it plays out in daily life, cisgender people can better understand the extent of anti-transgender prejudice. The Cisgender Privilege Checklist on Peterson Toscano’s blog provides many examples illustrating how non-transgender people experience privilege; for example, non-transgender people can expect to have their gender respected and understood by health care officials, correctly represented on government documents, and portrayed in the media without stigma. Listen to the voices of transgender people and learn from them. A trans ally absolutely must listen to what trans people have to say, because that is the only way an ally can learn from trans people’s life experiences and understand how to take action for social justice. If you do not know any transgender people personally, and if your town does not have any transgender community groups, you can still learn from what trans people have written online and in print. The Twitter feeds of The National Center for Transgender Equality and the NCTE’s executive director Mara Keisling provide excellent sources for trans-related news updates, and bloggers Annika and Sebastian of Autostraddle.com provide great etiquette advice and insight into their experiences. Music aficionados may enjoy the work of author and performance artist Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, while fans of Dancing with the Stars may want to read more from contestant Chaz Bono. These are only a few examples of the wealth of transgender voices out there, and I encourage you to seek out many more. Treat people with dignity and respect. If we seek to promote justice and equality, we should model our behavior accordingly. Treating trans people with respect includes referring to them by their chosen name and gender pronouns; if you do not know someone’s preferred gender pronouns, ask rather than assume to avoid mis-gendering someone. Also, respecting trans people means not asking inappropriate and intrusive questions about a person’s body, sex life, or transition process. Before asking a question, ask if the person you are speaking to is comfortable answering questions and think about whether you would feel comfortable if someone posed the same question to you. Lastly, do not disclose someone’s transgender identity to others, because outing someone as transgender could expose that person to violence or create problems for them at work or at home. Show your support. Opportunities abound for allies to show support for trans rights. You can attend a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil or other community event related to transgender equality. You can wear a button or place a bumper sticker on your car that identifies you as a transgender ally. You can write blog posts or letters to the editor to speak out against hate crimes, and you can contact your representative in Congress to express your support for a federal law prohibiting job discrimination against transgender people. Most importantly, by listening to transgender people in your community you can identify many other ways to show your support.
This Transgender Day of Remembrance, as we celebrate the lives of the transgender people in our communities and mourn those we have lost to hatred and violence, we should renew our commitment to creating a world that protects and values people of all genders.
Sources:
Ethan St. Pierre, “About the Day of Remembrance,” TransgenderDOR.org, 2007.
Jaime M. Grant, PhD., et al., “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Study,” The National Center for Transgender Equality and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011.
Peterson Toscano, “Privileges of Non-Transgender People,” Peterson Toscano’s A Musing, 2009.
National Center for Transgender Equality Twitter profile.
Mara Keisling Twitter profile.
Annika and Sebastian, “Annika and Sebastian Answer Your Trans* Questions (Part Three),” Autostraddle.com, 2011.
Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, JustinBond.com.
Chaz Bono, ChazBono.net.
National Center for Transgender Equality, “Take Action for Transgender Equality,” TransEquality.org.