After writing about India
Clarke’s murder yesterday, I got to thinking about “the state of the
union”, if you will, for transgender people.
Lots of people—including yours truly—said that Caitlyn
Jenner’s interview with Diane Sawyer and photo shoot for Vanity Fair was a “turning point” for us. I still believe that: By transitioning as late as she did in her
life, declaring that she’s never been attracted to men and saying that she is
(ahem!) a Republican, she shattered a few stereotypes about us.
Still, it’s hard not to think about these facts: She is rich.
She is famous. And she is white.
All of those things insulate her from some of the harsh
realities too many of us face. Although
I don’t expect her, or any individual or even any number of transgender people
(let alone cisgender public figures) to change any of those facts, they
remain: A transgender person is ten
times as likely to be unemployed and sixteen times as likely to be murdered as
an average American. Those figures rise
for a transgender person of color—especially if she is a male-to-female
transgender.
I must say, though, that she is not immune to the
backlash against the increased attention she, and we, have received in recent
years. Some might claim that the
increase in the number transgender people who are murdered or victims of other
violent crimes is a result of better reporting.
I wouldn’t dispute that, any more than I would argue against the notion
that an increase in the number of rapes could be, at least partially, a result
of the increased willingness of victims to report such crimes against them.
But it still can’t be denied that the haters are
growing more hateful—and sometimes more violent. All you have to do is look at the comments
left in response to online articles about anything having to do with
transgender people, whether it’s Caitlyn’s “coming out” or India’s murder. Their language is growing more phobic and
even violent. So are the proclamations
of more public figures who use warped interpretations of their religion—or pure
and simple hate—to denounce us and our allies.
In short, we should be happy—and cautious.
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