Look up - It's Happening Now
Flag on a DC street lamp
There are certain points in history that everyone knows. If I asked you where you were on 9/11 or the day the country started to shut down for Covid-19, you’d be able to paint a vivid picture of that day and what you were doing. Then, there are other days that are specific to the individual, the day you graduated from high school, had surgery or became a parent. Further still, there are days you look back on and think, “Wow, I didn’t know this was going to be the result. How did we here?”
I need the day you read this blog to be one of those first ones – a day that sticks out to you as history, and forever changes you and your environment.
Where were you when our elected government began making it illegal for a group of people with a shared identity to exist freely? When did legislation not only get introduced but actually voted into law that limited a group of people’s healthcare, school and education, free speech, and civil and personal rights? You may be thinking of the Jim Crow laws of past decades. But put your coffee down, and take a look outside. It is now. This is where you were. What do you see? Remember it. This is where you were when the United States started passing anti-trans legislation.
In the past three months of 2023, over 340 anti- LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in states across the country - 150+ of which specifically target transgender people. Take a second and process those numbers. This isn’t a handful of bills that won’t get passed. These are not just a few areas of the country (although some areas are better than others). Our elected officials are literally naming groups of people in legislation in order to discriminate against them. This IS the new Jim Crow, and it’s no less dangerous, vicious, and baseless this time around.
We need to start looking up, and we need to start advocating. We’re talking about human beings, not political talking points. So what do we do?
Learn about the issue (reach out to me if you want to talk through your own thoughts, read the new KFF study on the lives of transgender adults, and check out more resources below).
Share messages about your support for people who are transgender on social media.
Talk about your support in conversations you have.
Contact your elected officials (local, state and national) and let them know that you support people who are transgender, and oppose efforts to legislate against them.
Give your time. Volunteer with local organizations that advance the needs of LGBTQ+ people.
Give your financial resources. Donate to organizations that are fighting back against these cruel laws. I’ve read that Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center and the ACLU have announced that they will fight back.
Do what you can! Don’t allow this to slip behind the screens of misinformation and underrepresented news. This is happening now, and we need to fight it.
Quick note - If you are as outraged right now (I hope you are) and want to do something immediately, start by researching. Below are a few articles I highly recommend regarding understanding the current state and basic overview of life as a transgender individual in the United States. Once you’ve processed these (and maybe you’ve already read them) – reach out! I am here to chat, problem solve, an ear to listen, and, most importantly, a staunch advocate.
Washington Post - 6 key takeaways from the Post- KFF survey of transgender Americans - March 23, 20203
Washington Post - For trans people, medical visits can be more traumatizing than healing - March 24, 2023
ACLU - Tracking the anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S.
Kaiser Family Foundation - Understanding Trans Identity in the U.S.