Leelah Alcorn was 17 years old when she stepped in front of a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 71 near her Ohio home.
The suicide note she left behind said, “My death needs to mean something”.
“After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong,” the note that was posted in the teens Tumblr queue wrote, “If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids.”
After coming out as transgender to her parents, Leelah was pulled out of school and had her phone and computer taken away, cut off from friends, social media, and support groups. This began her depression that lead to her death.
In an interview this October, Dr. Shoba Rajgopal, a professor at Westfield State, spoke with me about how the United States seemed to be making progress in the Lesbian/Gay/Queer/Transgender community, but was not where it needed to be by a long shot.
These issues are identified by sexuality, but are not “like issues” and should not be grouped as the same. Each branch of the community has individual problems and solutions that are unique to one another, and need to be treated that way.
The ‘T” in LGBQT community is less advocated for here in America than any other group of that community. The whole community needs to be understood and we are the farthest from understanding that group as people before the others.
People who advocate for transgender rights say that this is not a choice, it is not cosmetic, and that it is a necessity to provide healthcare that is tailored to the community who identify as transgender.
People who display hatred against this group are obsessed with the inconvenience and offense it will somehow cause them, without minding the struggle it is to be transgender in America.
The average life expectancy for a trans-person is thirty years old.
“The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year,” wrote Leelah in her suicide note.
We must extend our reproductive, marriage, and human rights to not just the queer community, but the transgender.
Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, a non-profit organization, works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. They work to give shelter and employment opportunities for transgenders throughout the state.
Other havens include: Out Now in Springfield, and the Queer Straight Alliance at Westfield State.
Besides the university support group, there is little here in Westfield that offers support to transgenders. That needs to change.
Though it is coming too slow, there is optimism in the LGBQT community. May those deaths not be in vain, and let us truly include all in the land of the free.
Let us stand up and prevent violence and deaths and promote community, resources, and understanding, to help improve the future of America.
Erika Hayden is a WSU student, citizen journalist and grassroots writer.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of this publication.
