Transgender Day of Remembrance: 2010

This past Saturday was the International Transgender Day of Remembrance.

I didn't make a post about it that day, partly because I've been too busy for much of anything lately, but also because it took me a long time to find these words. But here they are now:

The Day of Remembrance exists to remind us of all the people killed by anti-trans violence, both this year and all years past. As the official site points out, not all of those people even considered themselves to be trans or otherwise - but they were all killed by people who thought they were. Gender policing and gender violence harms everyone.

Or, to put it bluntly: People die every year because someone else freaks out over what might be in their pants.

I haven't had the heart to go read all of the profiles on the DOR site of the people who were killed this year. But I can already tell you that every single person on that list was killed while they were simply trying to go about their everyday lives. Many were killed in their own homes.

Sometimes it can be hard to get officials to do anything about it. Sometimes it's the officials perpetrating the violence. In 1995, Tyra Hunter died after paramedics refused to provide medical care.

To its credit, the US government has been making some good strides towards providing the trans community with supportive policies. The Matthew Shephard Act of 2009 expanded hate crime law to include gender-motivated violence. The Obama administration recently started allowing people to change the gender marker on their passports based solely on a letter from any medical professional and regardless of surgical status, where previously a letter from a surgeon was required - something which could literally be the difference between life and death for a trans person traveling internationally. It's moves like these that help make the world a safer place.

But unfortunately, not all of the US government's policies are as supportive as the ones I just listed. Last year, the TSA implemented a "Secure Flight" initiative which requires gender markers on plane tickets to match those on presented identification. This year, the TSA did something much, much, worse: They implemented a new body scan/"enhanced" pat-down policy. This policy makes it effectively impossible for many trans people to fly without running the risk of outing themselves.

Let me repeat myself: People die every year because someone else freaks out over what might be in their pants. And now the TSA is demanding to know what's in your pants.

This policy makes flying less safe for people of all gender configurations, not more. Even beyond the very real physical danger it poses, it also takes a huge emotional toll, because it means potentially having to justify your own body to an incredulous official. This is unacceptable.

There's been a lot of media attention recently on how to stop anti-LGBT bullying. What trans folks face now from the TSA is the same as is faced from all anti-trans bullies: Harassment and intimidation over what's in their pants.

I consider myself pretty lucky as far as gender stuff goes. My driver's license and passport match each other and match my preferred pronouns, and the only thing that's wince-inducing on my passport is the truly awful photo. I identify primarily as butch, and in my experience that means I get away with a lot more in the way of gender-fluid presentation with less fear of harassment than if I were femme. I live in a very liberal city. I have a job at which I don't have to worry whether I'll get fired for how I present myself.

But one way I can make things better for those less lucky than I am is to do my part to stand up to bullying. So here's my promise to myself, to you, and to every departed soul we remember this year: I am not going to let the TSA bully me over my body or my gender presentation. I am not going to let them make me feel any less human or deserving of respect because of who I am. I am going to look them in the eye as I do so. And I hope you will do the same.

Transgender Day of Remembrance: 2010

This past Saturday was the International Transgender Day of Remembrance.

I didn't make a post about it that day, partly because I've been too busy for much of anything lately, but also because it took me a long time to find these words. But here they are now:

The Day of Remembrance exists to remind us of all the people killed by anti-trans violence, both this year and all years past. As the official site points out, not all of those people even considered themselves to be trans or otherwise - but they were all killed by people who thought they were. Gender policing and gender violence harms everyone.

Or, to put it bluntly: People die every year because someone else freaks out over what might be in their pants.

I haven't had the heart to go read all of the profiles on the DOR site of the people who were killed this year. But I can already tell you that every single person on that list was killed while they were simply trying to go about their everyday lives. Many were killed in their own homes.

Sometimes it can be hard to get officials to do anything about it. Sometimes it's the officials perpetrating the violence. In 1995, Tyra Hunter died after paramedics refused to provide medical care.

To its credit, the US government has been making some good strides towards providing the trans community with supportive policies. The Matthew Shephard Act of 2009 expanded hate crime law to include gender-motivated violence. The Obama administration recently started allowing people to change the gender marker on their passports based solely on a letter from any medical professional and regardless of surgical status, where previously a letter from a surgeon was required - something which could literally be the difference between life and death for a trans person traveling internationally. It's moves like these that help make the world a safer place.

But unfortunately, not all of the US government's policies are as supportive as the ones I just listed. Last year, the TSA implemented a "Secure Flight" initiative which requires gender markers on plane tickets to match those on presented identification. This year, the TSA did something much, much, worse: They implemented a new body scan/"enhanced" pat-down policy. This policy makes it effectively impossible for many trans people to fly without running the risk of outing themselves.

Let me repeat myself: People die every year because someone else freaks out over what might be in their pants. And now the TSA is demanding to know what's in your pants.

This policy makes flying less safe for people of all gender configurations, not more. Even beyond the very real physical danger it poses, it also takes a huge emotional toll, because it means potentially having to justify your own body to an incredulous official. This is unacceptable.

There's been a lot of media attention recently on how to stop anti-LGBT bullying. What trans folks face now from the TSA is the same as is faced from all anti-trans bullies: Harassment and intimidation over what's in their pants.

I consider myself pretty lucky as far as gender stuff goes. My driver's license and passport match each other and match my preferred pronouns, and the only thing that's wince-inducing on my passport is the truly awful photo. I identify primarily as butch, and in my experience that means I get away with a lot more in the way of gender-fluid presentation with less fear of harassment than if I were femme. I live in a very liberal city. I have a job at which I don't have to worry whether I'll get fired for how I present myself.

But one way I can make things better for those less lucky than I am is to do my part to stand up to bullying. So here's my promise to myself, to you, and to every departed soul we remember this year: I am not going to let the TSA bully me over my body or my gender presentation. I am not going to let them make me feel any less human or deserving of respect because of who I am. I am going to look them in the eye as I do so. And I hope you will do the same.