Transgender Awareness

This past week was Transgender Awareness Week, and November 20th was Transgender Day of Remembrance. Transgender people have been systemically oppressed in the United States and abroad - from being killed by police at higher rates than cisgender people to being misgendered to not being legally protected (among many other forms of transphobia). Below are some resources that you can utilize to take action to fight for trans rights. Once again, we are posting this after the formal day and week for recognition have passed because trans rights cannot be reduced to a week per year. This year (and going forward), we are also paying particular attention to the intersections of marginalized identities by highlighting Black trans creators and resources serving Black trans people.

Everyday Actions to Be a Better Ally

• Put your pronouns in your bio on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, GitHub, personal website, Canvas, Zoom, and any other online platform you use! Misgendering is violent to trans people, and as cis allies, we should display our gender pronouns in our bios so that trans people are not targeted for being the odd ones out. For example, the author of this post uses she/her/hers pronouns. In addition, be sure to spell out she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc instead of just saying "she series" or "he series." See this article for more on why you should do this. Note: this bullet point speaks specifically to cisgender people.
• Ask for people's pronouns by offering yours first, and correct yourself and others quickly if you or someone else misgender another person. If someone corrects you, just say "thank you" - an apology centers yourself and puts the burden on the misgendered person to console you.
• If you are an educator, ask for students' pronouns privately, and ask if you have consent to use these pronouns in front of the class, in front of the student's parents, and in front of other teachers/administrators.
• Update your vocabulary. A non-exhaustive list (source: @pinkmantaray on Instagram): say transgender, not transgendered. Say trans man/trans woman with a space, not transman/transwoman. Say cis man/cis woman, not biological man/woman. Say nonbinary and use the singular they. Say transitioned, not "changed genders" or "became a _." Say assigned male/female at birth, not "born a girl/boy" or "used to be a girl/boy."
• What not to do: make jokes about trans people or have (academic or other) debates about trans rights. Both of these are forms of transphobia because they legitimize the harmful notion that trans people do not deserve to live their full truths without being questioned or dehumanized.
• What not to do: out a trans person to anyone without their permission. Transphobia is alive and well, and the last thing you want to do is to inadvertently tell someone's transphobic friends/family that they are trans.
• What not to do: confuse gender with sexual orientation. Trans people can have the same sexual orientations as cis people - these two are not linked.
• What not to do: ask a trans person about their body (e.g. how they use the bathroom, what genitals they have) if you are not their romantic or sexual partner. This is invasive - as a rule of thumb, think about whether you would ask a cis person such a question before you ask it to a trans person.

Books by Trans Authors

Instead of supporting the transphobic J.K. R*wling, reflect on how you probably didn't read many books that represented or centered trans people in school, and begin to change that with these books! Source: @theconsciouskid on Instagram.

• When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff
• Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Trans Creators to Support

Follow these awesome people on social media and support their work monetarily if you're able! As a standard disclaimer, this list is not exhaustive.

• Li Benedetti (@libenedetti on Instagram)
• Shay's Corner (@notsosecretlyshay on Instagram)
• Munroe Bergdorf (@munroebergdorf on Instagram)
• Cole J Daniel (@ltscole on Instagram)
• Ashton Attzs (@attzs on Instagram)
• Azekel (@queeraxtivist on Instagram)
• Kenny Ethan Jones (@kennyethanjones on Instagram)
• Indya Moore (@indyamoore on Instagram)
• Alok Menon (@alokvmenon on Instagram)
• Qween Andy Jean (@qween_jean on Instagram)
• Charlie / Amayá (@dineaesthetics on Instagram)
• ​Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray on Instagram)
• ​Chella Man (@chellaman on Instagram)

Trans Rights Organizations to Support

These organizations are doing critical work - from fighting for legal protection for trans people to providing mental health support to freeing trans people from prison to creating safe spaces in schools. Make recurring donations if able, and follow them on social media!

• GLSEN: a nonprofit working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth (@glsen on Instagram)
• Transgender Law Center: trans-led civil rights organization (@translawcenter on Instagram)
• National Center for Transgender Equality: social justice advocacy organization for trans people (@transequalitynow on Instagram)
• Trevor Project: crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth (@trevorproject on Instagram)
• Human Rights Campaign: LGBTQ advocacy group (@humanrightscampaign on Instagram)
• Black Trans Foundation: nonprofit organization working for the well-being of Black trans and gender-nonconforming people in the UK, currently gathering a therapy fund (@blacktransfoundation on Instagram)
• Marsha P. Johnson Institute: defending Black trans people's lives and providing COVID-relief for Black trans people (@mpjinstitute on Instagram)
• The Okra Project: home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources for Black trans people (@theokraproject on Instagram)

That's all for this week. As always, please reach out at team@linghacks.tech with any corrections or additions to this post or others. Thanks for reading, and keep fighting!