by Ryan Wong
On December 1st, actor Elliot Page, most notable for his appearances in films such as Juno as well as Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, came out as transgender and established his pronouns as he/they (he/him and they/them) via social media.
“My joy is real, but it is also fragile. The truth is, despite feeling profoundly happy right now and knowing how much privilege I carry, I am also scared. I’m scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the “jokes” and of violence … The statistics are staggering. The discrimination towards trans people is rife, insidious and cruel, resulting in horrific consequences. In 2020 alone it has been reported that at least 40 transgender people have been murdered, the majority of which were Black and Latinx trans women. To the political leaders who work to criminalize trans health care and deny our right to exist and to all of those with a massive platform who continue to spew hostility towards the trans community: you have blood on your hands. You unleash a fury of vile and demeaning rage that lands on the shoulders of the trans community, a community in which 40% of trans adults report attempting suicide. Enough is enough.”
— From Page’s coming out statement.
Reactions to the actor’s announcement were overwhelmingly positive, especially amongst LGBTQ+ fans: many of whom gained the courage to come out to their loved ones immediately after. But as is with every instance of a celebrity coming out, Page was soon targeted by bigots and trolls and was subjected to heavy media scrutiny—much of which was insensitive and more reticent than supportive. This is nothing new, and yet, it seems as if the prejudice towards trans people is magnified with each passing day.
As mentioned by Page, violence against members of the community, especially Black and Latinx trans women, is still very much real. Society as a whole has come a long way in terms of acceptance, but it is still a far cry from the society we need to be: one that is unequivocal in its respect for trans people, and one that stands up for them and with them in the face of injustice, regardless of their race or gender identity.
Although many—whether out of privilege, optimism, or blissful ignorance—would like to believe that this envisioned collective is soon achievable, that simply isn’t the case. Being openly transgender is still illegal in at least 47 UN member countries and is punishable by incarceration, beatings, or death in 13. As reported by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in November, there have been at least 41 murders of trans individuals in the North America region alone—the highest since it began its count in 2013. The increase in our “wokeness” is not inversely proportional to the discrimination against trans folk, no matter how much we would like to believe otherwise.
We must also acknowledge the fact that transphobia comes in many forms other than physical aggression. Transphobia is the stranger’s sneer from across the street, the backhanded compliment, the thoughtless joke, and so much more. It is these seemingly-trivial actions that build up over time, alienating trans people from the rest of society. This is one of the most outstanding reasons as to why such a huge number of transgender individuals suffer from mental disorders such as depression: 51.4% of trans women and 48.3% of trans men as concluded by this study—far higher than the equivalent data for cisgendered people.
And whilst many public figures in contemporary media have expressed support for the trans community, celebrities like J. K. Rowling have stood firm on their views towards (or rather, against) them. Just this year, the Harry Potter author expressed criticism towards the term “people who menstruate”, a phrase used to include trans men who get monthly periods. In response to the backlash, Rowling countered in an essay posted on her website: “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman … then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside”, inciting further outrage.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who previously expressed his dislike of pronouns in a tweet made back in July, recently posted a meme mocking social media users who put their pronouns in their bios—an increasingly common practice amongst cisgendered allies in an attempt to create a safer, more ‘normalized’ environment where trans people can share their pronouns with less difficulty. Twitter users and news reporters were quick to call Musk out on his transphobia, and in response to an article by CleanTechnica, the business magnate said: “I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare.” While it’s okay to be confused by the sudden emphasis on pronouns, rejecting the concept entirely simply because it’s aesthetically unpleasing signifies that you care more about things looking pretty according to your standards than the livelihoods of trans people.
Others, such as U.S. vice president-elect Kamala Harris, prefer to remain in an inconclusive grey area after garnering criticism for past transphobia. As district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, she defended the state’s decision to prevent inmate Michelle Norsworthy—a trans woman kept in a male prison—from receiving medically-necessary surgery for her gender dysphoria. In an interview with Washington Blade four years later, Harris apologized for her actions, citing her difficult position as attorney general and claiming “full responsibility” for her office’s rulings.
However, when asked whether trans convicts should receive state-funded gender-affirming surgery, the former senator’s response was ambiguous, essentially dodging the question. “I believe that we are at a point where we have got to stop vilifying people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and we’ve got to understand that when we are talking about a particular transgender community, for too long they have been the subject of bias, and frankly, a lack of understanding about their circumstance and their physical needs in addition to any other needs they have, and it’s about time that we have a better understanding of that,” she said.
But it’s not enough to say that transgender people need to be understood better and call it a day. Trans people should not have to explain themselves in order to receive fairer treatment, be it at home, work, or in public. The stigma surrounding the community has woven itself so intrinsically into the fabric of our daily lives that its members have no choice but to live on the edges of society, trying their best to navigate a world in which they are denied jobs, refused healthcare, and harassed, often with little to no consequence.
Moreover, because it is so much harder to secure a steady income as a trans person, many turn to sex work as a means to support themselves financially. For some, it is their only option.
Sex work itself is not an issue. Rather, it is the fact that it is criminalized in most countries. Criminalizing sex work does not reduce the spread of STIs or cases of sexual violence. On the contrary, some sex workers afraid of getting caught by law enforcement avoid using condoms, which can be used as evidence for later prosecution. By decriminalizing sex work, we ensure that its workforce is far less likely to contract diseases such as HIV, and is not barred from access to medical services simply because their occupation is deemed immoral and warranting penalization.
Decriminalization also tackles the problem of abuse towards sex workers by making it so that they can actually seek justice without fear of being arrested. This is especially crucial for trans women of color, who make up a disproportionately large portion of the sex work industry and are most likely to experience violence and assault on the job. Unfortunately, much of this is inflicted by the police; many have come forward with accounts of officers catcalling, mocking, and even pressuring them into sex to avoid arrest. Despite the clear abuse of authority, most of these perpetrators are still able to get away scot-free. It is an ugly truth, but justice systems in countries where being transgender is legal are deeply biased in favor of those meant to protect the people, even if they do the complete opposite.
Police violence against sex workers, and those presumed to be sex workers, goes unpunished and uninvestigated because sex workers are seen as expendable by clients and worthy of destruction by the state. It’s a vicious cycle that is worsened by the constant threat of police violence towards anyone who is transgender or gender non-conforming.
— Princess Harmony Rodriquez in an article on police violence against trans sex workers.
On a more positive note, this year’s U.S. Elections saw many triumphs for the trans community. Among these victories were Delaware candidate Sarah McBride winning the state senate race and becoming the nation’s first openly transgender state senator, as well as Kansas representative Stephanie Byers becoming the first openly trans state lawmaker of color. Trans judge Jill Rose Quinn, hailing from Cook County, Illinois, also won the vote, making history as the state’s first openly trans attorney. Overall, six transgender candidates were elected (or re-elected) to serve in state legislatures, increasing the number of trans state officials from four to seven.
These achievements were hard-fought and hard-won, and yet, they are not assured to last forever. Progress cannot travel on a one-way street if the road is fundamentally broken. As allies and regular citizens, the repairs we can make on a systemic level are of minimal significance, yet are significant nonetheless. It is sometimes as simple as respecting pronouns and not using deadnames—the birth name of a trans person. In Elliot Page’s case, many news outlets used wording along the lines of “formerly known as [birth name]” in articles covering his coming out announcement. Why is this an issue?
For one, it can bring up negative or traumatic memories associated with their past. As trans activist Chase Strangio wrote for NBC News, “the [name] I was given at birth that does not align with my gender. It does not represent who I am but rather a painful past that I worked hard to move beyond.” Intentionally deadnaming a trans person, even if they are a close friend or relative, tells them that you do not respect their identity, or are simply unwilling to put in the effort to do so.
To conclude, I would like to say that there is so much more that trans people go through which I, an ally of the transgender community, could never truly understand. However, that does not mean I should let myself wander into ignorance. Especially following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black civilians at the hands of the police this year—and the subsequent resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement—resistance is more crucial than ever. We need to maintain the momentum and do what we can to slowly but surely dismantle a system that has claimed the lives of so many innocents and allowed the guilty to walk free.
At the same time, we must also address the disparity that exists between white and non-white members of the trans community. For too long, we have fought for equality, but we can no longer continue to do so when the statistics grow more and more unequal everyday. Of the aforementioned 41 casualties confirmed by the HRC, a majority were Black and Latinx trans women. Transphobia, misogyny, and racism do not exist on separate planes from each other, and we need to prioritize the well-being of those at the intersections.
As 2020 comes to a close, we exit a liminal space between stagnation and upheaval. The fire has always burned, but as this year has proven, a roaring revolution is inevitable. Now it is only up to us to decide which side of history we want to be on. And though there are many things we as a species have yet to fully comprehend, one fact could not be clearer: transgender people have always existed, and will continue to exist, even if politicians and bigots refuse to accept it.