Fighting Back for Trans-Existence on Transgender Day of Visibility

On the Ides of March, I texted my mentor:

“It is a moment I’m learning where and who true allies are, which has been an unexpectedly devastating process. But, at the end of the day, I guess I would rather know who is a safe space.”

Amid the second week of daily attacks on transgender rights in the United States from legislatures nationwide, I was called to organize and craft statements and language in defense of trans-existence. Out of concern for my own personal safety and that of my gender-diverse community, with bookings for upcoming professional engagements in Tennessee and Texas, I wrote to leadership informing them of this legislation with extensive resources. I asked about the plan for securing our safety and their organization’s response to these bills.?

The text to my mentor was a defeated response to the weeks-long fallout of this simple request, to protect the basic human need for safety or, at the very least, empathy towards what is so much more than a challenge or political legislation, but a very real fear for life. For any assumed “female/male impersonation” in a public space we face a ‘Class A’ misdemeanor meaning extensive jail time and expensive fines which, when outlined as vaguely as these laws are, implies vigilantism and mercenary justice as the enforcement tactic.?

Visibility is dangerous, not just in the sense of individual bodily harm, but also in organizational responsibility. I learned early in my LGBTQI+ identity that I would spend much of my life standing alone and it was a long journey toward realizing that was better than compromising any part of myself. It is a consequence that most are unwilling to risk, especially companies. I will not lie, I sacrificed a lot in life for the sake of my uncompromised identity. But when I face death, whether that is having a hospitalizing panic attack in my car or at the mercy of someone morally opposed to my existence in an anti-trans state, I will be at peace knowing I lived as my authentic self.

Of course, such ideals mean little to a corporation. To address the bottom line, I offer the example of 大众 and 可口可乐公司 speaking up for the US Women’s National Soccer Team in their fight for equal pay. When those corporate entities were visible in their opposition to the gender pay gap by US Soccer, things changed very quickly. Their visibility moved conversations forward, impacted drastic staffing changes, and protected some of our favorite athletes on the world’s stage. These companies also benefitted from what is a cause-based economy right now, something companies eagerly embrace during pride month when they can make a buck off our community or get performative ally points by posting empty statements and logos.

True allies are willing to stand with you when the situation is dire no matter the consequence. That is why it is so difficult finding trans-allies right now and even more challenging to find visible trans-allies. There was only one brief shoutout to anti-drag bills at the Oscars, a perfectly timed event on the world stage, and it did not come from the award winner who is the mother of a transgender daughter.?

Where are my allies this Transgender Day of Visibility? Because y’all are touting off too quietly! We don’t just need famous allies. Even if you have no following on social media I still expect to see you in public with “Protect Trans Kids” emblazoned on your chest, for your Instagram stories to become a fan account for truthful information on how to protect trans-lives, for you to begin every conversation with “did you hear about those bills in [insert trans-phobic state here,]” doing and saying anything you can to increase visibility of the message that we exist. Go to GLAAD, The Trevor Project and Campaign For Southern Equality for action items, call and write legislators in states where anti-trans bills are gaining traction to voice your outrage, write letters of support to transgender individuals in these states, shower your local drag queens in dollars at every opportunity and at the very least share truthful information about our community. History is watching. This is the call. We are the neighbors they are coming for. Outlawing our existence is but a precursor to outlawing whatever in you they find offensive. Will you be visible?