[Blog/Commentary] [USA] Her Life Had Value and She Will Not Be Forgotten

[Stephanie Stevens]

Trans Forming Media (TFM), USA


Monday, May 20, 2013

Her Life Had Value and She Will Not Be Forgotten

Posted by Ashley Love at 7:38 PM


Just last month alone THREE black women of trans* experience were
murdered. Did the self-described “LGBT” non-profits, city officials
and politicians hold a massive rally, close off streets or express as
loud an outrage as they are today for Marc Carson? The answer is no,
they did not, yet when a gay male is killed we see an entirely
different reaction.

By pointing out this inconsistency I hope I'm not being insensitive to
Marc’s story, because what happened to him is a tragedy. But since
most “LGBT journalists” pick and choose what stories to run or
priorities to push, even to the point of censorship and distortion of
facts, the pattern of devaluing the lives of women of color in the
transsexual and transgender communities must be exposed.

The three women murdered in April were:

Ce Ce Acoff (20 years old),
Kelly Young (29 years old) and
Ashley Sinclair (30 years old).

Their lives mattered.

Over the years I have lost many female friends due to male violence or
oppression related causes who were all born with the medical condition
transsexualism. When a crisis amongst a minority group includes women
being victims of extreme violence and discrimination it is usually
referred to as terrorism, but as usual a double standard is applied
when it’s the trans* communities who are targeted and it’s just
business as usual.

Every month women of color in my community are murdered but the
establishment fails to properly act. Instead we are misgendered and
segregated to such a stigmatizing degree that it actually promotes
dehumanization and violence towards the most vulnerable women in our
communities. Black and Latina women who suffer from poverty and
employment discrimination, who are denied affirming healthcare and/or
who many times lack support from family, education and government
institutions and by society as a whole are the majority of names read
during the annual Trans Day of Remembrance ceremony.

Not a day goes by that I don’t think of the young women I personally
knew who were taken too soon, some who were like sisters to me. The
pain still lingers and the urgency to save lives in our communities
grows increasingly stronger. Sending warmth and hugs to all the
families who lost a daughter or sister this year due to transphobia
and male violence.

Her life had value and she will not be forgotten.


http://transformingmedia.blogspot.com/2013/05/her-life-had-value-and-she-will-not-be.html