It’s easy for cis folk to call out J.K. Rowling’s transphobia + not acknowledge their own. How do you make trans folks lives less violent outside of that? How do you shift the institutions you’re a part of so they’re less transphobic? How do you support trans leaders?
I liken it to the black squares debacle a month ago, when companies weren’t acknowledging how they are complicit in and benefit from white supremacy. We all wanted to know what they were going to do beyond that, and I ask the same here.
I'm glad folks are speaking up. Many of us have waited for a long time for you all to do it. But we need you speaking up consistently and actively destroying transphobia in whatever conversation or room you enter.
If you've been silent on what we're going through, the epidemic of violence against Black trans folks and trans folks of color, the healthcare and public accommodations fights, the fights that trans youth have been at the center of for years. Welcome, but do more. Please.
Does your workplace actually hire trans folks not just ”say” it does? Do the trans folks you work with have insurance that covers all of their needs? Are the processes at your job still heavily gendered? Does your workplace assume the people who use it's services aren't trans?
Does the official at your religious institution demonize trans folks? Do they express support for our community? Is your religious institution affirming of trans people? If not, you’ve got work to do.
Does your educational institution actually recruit and support trans students? Do they affirm their identities consistently? Does your school hire trans folks and make sure they have access to the healthcare they need? If not, you've got work to do.
Do you have relatives that demonize trans folks? Have you had that starter conversation with them on the right track? Do you allow your friends to say messed up transphobic things and just laugh it off or stay silent? You've got work to do.
Honestly, it goes on and on. There's so much to transform, our start in your industry, in your relationships, in your little lane, and maybe it'll start to spill over into the rest of the world.
