justatransgirl
03-06-2008, 06:08 AM
I found the following on our local board - thought you folks would relate.
4 lives lost in one week.
Sigh,
TS Jamie
Killed for Expressing Themselves
Joelle Ruby Ryan
In the wee hours of Feb. 4, U.K. mother of five Kelly McWilliams discovered her 10-year-old son Cameron had committed suicide by hanging himself with a black leather belt. Cameron had told his mother he wanted to be a girl and wanted to start wearing make-up, a request his mother denied. Cameron had been a victim of bullying at school and had few friends.
On Feb. 5, Detroit police found the body of a transgender woman in an empty lot with a gunshot in the back of her head. They referred to her as a "known prostitute" and as a "man" in women's clothing. Although they know the victim's name, the police have refused to release it to the public, furthering her status as an anonymous victim.
On Feb. 9, police found the dead body of a 25-year-old black trans woman in her Bronx apartment. Sanesha Stewart was allegedly stabbed to death when the perpetrator found out she was transgender. The New York Daily News, the first to report on the story, used the offensive headline: "Fooled John Stabbed Bronx Tranny."
On Feb. 12, 14-year-old student Brandon McInerney entered a computer lab full of students at the E.O. Green Junior High in Ventura County, Calif., and shot his classmate, eighth-grader Lawrence King, to death. McInerney was allegedly enraged by King, who was openly gay and gender-variant and known to wear high-heeled boots, cosmetics and feminine jewelry to class.
Every year, there are dozens of reported cases around the globe about people who have been killed due to their gender expression. Many of these victims are not even properly named, referred to in media accounts only as a "man in woman's clothing." Most of the victims are young, poor, male-to-female transgenders of color; some are sex workers.
They are oppressed due to racism, classism, transphobia, misogyny and heterosexism. Their lives are constantly under attack. I am now used to learning of these cases, but I was shocked and saddened by the recent spate of hate against gender-variant people.
Within the span of one week, four irreplaceable lives have been stolen from us. The cause? Gender intolerance, hatred and oppression. Gender-variant youth and adults are seen as disposable people in cultures all over the world.
Our U.S. society is obsessed with gender "purity," with the specious notion that sex and gender are absolute, discrete binaries that cannot and should not be crossed. Those of us who cross, blur and transcend the rigid categorizations of male/female and masculine/feminine are brutally punished for our perceived transgressions against God and nature.
Like for Cameron and Brandon, school is often a place of abuse. We are routinely beaten, bullied and verbally assaulted by our fellow students. When we come out to our parents, we are often rejected, or even ejected, from our homes. As we grow older and try to take care of ourselves, we are denied jobs, housing and support. Trans women like Sanesha and the unnamed victim in Detroit may take part in street-level prostitution
to survive.
As many as 75 percent of transpeople are un- or under-employed. And yet, there is still not a federal bill in this country protecting people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.
In the words of Barbara Deming, we cannot live without our lives. If we can survive, we can fight against employment discrimination, foster awareness and support our trans youth. We can demand that parents love their children unconditionally and support them in their transitions. But we can do none of this if our lives are stolen away from us. In death, our voices are permanently silenced.
The tyranny of gender rigidity has a death grip on our culture. And this system is not merely theoretical; it has very real casualties. One of the things that troubles me the most is how few non-transgender people become allies in the fight for change. How many transgender people have to die before you will get involved?
Next Tuesday, members of Transcendence will be holding a vigil to remember these victims of gender intolerance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the free speech zone at the Union. All are welcome to join us. Come to speak your mind, even if your voice shakes. As Audre Lorde so eloquently reminds us: Our silence will not protect us.
I dream of a world where 10-year-old children are not so filled with hopelessness that they take their own lives, of a world where eighth graders who are taking the first, bold steps toward self-acceptance are not shot in the head by young men filled with hatred. Do you dream of a similar world? Will you step forward to help us fight to make this dream a reality?
- Joelle Ruby Ryan is an American Culture Studies graduate student.
Original link:
http://www.bgnews.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=b58b265e-f5ed-436a-a76f-028efaca37de
4 lives lost in one week.
Sigh,
TS Jamie
Killed for Expressing Themselves
Joelle Ruby Ryan
In the wee hours of Feb. 4, U.K. mother of five Kelly McWilliams discovered her 10-year-old son Cameron had committed suicide by hanging himself with a black leather belt. Cameron had told his mother he wanted to be a girl and wanted to start wearing make-up, a request his mother denied. Cameron had been a victim of bullying at school and had few friends.
On Feb. 5, Detroit police found the body of a transgender woman in an empty lot with a gunshot in the back of her head. They referred to her as a "known prostitute" and as a "man" in women's clothing. Although they know the victim's name, the police have refused to release it to the public, furthering her status as an anonymous victim.
On Feb. 9, police found the dead body of a 25-year-old black trans woman in her Bronx apartment. Sanesha Stewart was allegedly stabbed to death when the perpetrator found out she was transgender. The New York Daily News, the first to report on the story, used the offensive headline: "Fooled John Stabbed Bronx Tranny."
On Feb. 12, 14-year-old student Brandon McInerney entered a computer lab full of students at the E.O. Green Junior High in Ventura County, Calif., and shot his classmate, eighth-grader Lawrence King, to death. McInerney was allegedly enraged by King, who was openly gay and gender-variant and known to wear high-heeled boots, cosmetics and feminine jewelry to class.
Every year, there are dozens of reported cases around the globe about people who have been killed due to their gender expression. Many of these victims are not even properly named, referred to in media accounts only as a "man in woman's clothing." Most of the victims are young, poor, male-to-female transgenders of color; some are sex workers.
They are oppressed due to racism, classism, transphobia, misogyny and heterosexism. Their lives are constantly under attack. I am now used to learning of these cases, but I was shocked and saddened by the recent spate of hate against gender-variant people.
Within the span of one week, four irreplaceable lives have been stolen from us. The cause? Gender intolerance, hatred and oppression. Gender-variant youth and adults are seen as disposable people in cultures all over the world.
Our U.S. society is obsessed with gender "purity," with the specious notion that sex and gender are absolute, discrete binaries that cannot and should not be crossed. Those of us who cross, blur and transcend the rigid categorizations of male/female and masculine/feminine are brutally punished for our perceived transgressions against God and nature.
Like for Cameron and Brandon, school is often a place of abuse. We are routinely beaten, bullied and verbally assaulted by our fellow students. When we come out to our parents, we are often rejected, or even ejected, from our homes. As we grow older and try to take care of ourselves, we are denied jobs, housing and support. Trans women like Sanesha and the unnamed victim in Detroit may take part in street-level prostitution
to survive.
As many as 75 percent of transpeople are un- or under-employed. And yet, there is still not a federal bill in this country protecting people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.
In the words of Barbara Deming, we cannot live without our lives. If we can survive, we can fight against employment discrimination, foster awareness and support our trans youth. We can demand that parents love their children unconditionally and support them in their transitions. But we can do none of this if our lives are stolen away from us. In death, our voices are permanently silenced.
The tyranny of gender rigidity has a death grip on our culture. And this system is not merely theoretical; it has very real casualties. One of the things that troubles me the most is how few non-transgender people become allies in the fight for change. How many transgender people have to die before you will get involved?
Next Tuesday, members of Transcendence will be holding a vigil to remember these victims of gender intolerance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the free speech zone at the Union. All are welcome to join us. Come to speak your mind, even if your voice shakes. As Audre Lorde so eloquently reminds us: Our silence will not protect us.
I dream of a world where 10-year-old children are not so filled with hopelessness that they take their own lives, of a world where eighth graders who are taking the first, bold steps toward self-acceptance are not shot in the head by young men filled with hatred. Do you dream of a similar world? Will you step forward to help us fight to make this dream a reality?
- Joelle Ruby Ryan is an American Culture Studies graduate student.
Original link:
http://www.bgnews.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=b58b265e-f5ed-436a-a76f-028efaca37de