Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen

Published on: 6/11/21
Author: Alexis Krohn

#TogetherAgainstBias

Tomorrow, November 20, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It’s a day when we remember the lives of trans folk who have been murdered for one simple thing - being trans. We also, on this day, recognize the ongoing violence against transgender people. 

The Trans Day of Remembrance was begun in 1999, a year after the murder of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman, in Allston, Massachusetts - a neighborhood of Boston. And as we recognize the Trans Day of Remembrance, it is crucial to recognize that in trans communities, intersectionally marginalized identities are more at risk - such as it was for Rita. Black and brown trans folk, especially Black and brown transgender women, are more at risk for violence than white transgender people. 

Additionally, when we look at the dangers to trans lives, we see that trans folk have an incarceration rate more than double that of the general population. One in ten Black transgender people were in jail within the past year. 1 in 6 transgender people have been incarcerated at some point in their lives - and 1 in 2 specifically Black transgender people. 

An intersectional lens also demands that we look at the violence inflicted upon sex workers, of which transgender people make up a disproportionate amount. Denied housing and work opportunities, with our bodies fetishized, often with high health care needs, many transgender people turn to sex work for survival - 1 in 5 transgender people have been involved in sex work; and narrowing the view, we find again that 1 in 2 Black transgender people have been involved in sex work. The violence so commonly faced by sex workers, therefore, is also a transgender rights issue. 

The Day of Remembrance this year includes 45 murders of transgender people so far, following last year’s 44 (a record high at the time). And yet, this important day is pitted against a backdrop of comedians, authors, and politicians doubling down on transphobia and hate. We urge you to speak up when you hear jokes and commentary which dehumanizes transgender people, making violence against them more “tolerable” and more likely. We urge you to consider the myriad intersectional identities and concerns that affect trans people as well, including police harassment, incarceration, and criminalization of sex work. Remember that Black Lives Matter.

Most of the transgender lives we have lost have been Black and brown lives. The arc of history does not naturally bend towards justice - people must push it. Remember trans lives. And protect them. 

For more information and links, you can read a PBS article on the subject.