TDoR reminds us that we must not play into the narratives promoted by anti-gender actors, and we must instead focus on the most urgent issues facing our communities…Focusing on centering the most marginalized individuals holds immense significance.
Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) stands as a stark reminder of the ongoing battle against transphobic violence. This year alone, 320 individuals worldwide were tragically lost to violence linked to their gender identity and/or expression.1 The reported deaths solely encompass community members lost to direct violence; however, numerous others died during the same period due to barriers in healthcare access or tragically resorting to suicide owing to exclusion, stigma, or the unavailability of family and social support and mental healthcare services. It’s important to note that these figures vastly underestimate the actual number, given the challenges of under-reporting, hostile environments, invisibilization, and criminalization, among other factors.
The impact of cis-heteronormativity manifests in transphobia, which subjects those defying these norms to inhumane treatment.
Understanding the systemic roots of this violence, rooted in cis-heteronormativity, is crucial. This ideology and these policies, deeply embedded in Western colonial gender binaries, enforce rigid gender roles with the aim of “civilizing” non-Westerners. It mandates specific gender identities for certain bodies and labels any deviation as unnatural, often with fatal consequences.
The impact of cis-heteronormativity manifests in transphobia, which subjects those defying these norms to inhumane treatment. As trans and gender diverse people are often the most visible members of the LGBTIQ+ community, we are often the most targetted group in hostile legal and social contexts. The disturbing annual murder rates are a grim testament to this. Beyond the tragic loss of lives, cis-heteronormativity affects every facet of the life of trans and gender diverse people, from mundane tasks like opening a bank account or taking a flight to critical elements like education, employment, healthcare, and housing. The consequences are pervasive. Living under constant physical and mental violence compounds the challenges faced by the community.
Debates over trans participation in sports, gendered bathrooms, and pronoun usage eclipse other urgent concerns like homelessness, violence, poverty, and limited access to essential services.
However, anti-gender/anti-rights movements have been successful in shifting the focus to less critical topics, thus diverting attention from these dire issues. Debates over trans participation in sports, gendered bathrooms, and pronoun usage eclipse other urgent concerns like homelessness, violence, poverty, and limited access to essential services. It is imperative to resist this narrative shift and refocus on our communities’ critical challenges, especially those most marginalized.
In a world besieged by poverty, rising inequality, climate crises, and widespread human rights violations, obsessing over issues like pronouns, bathrooms, or sports inclusion can be perceived as detached, unrelatable, and elitist from the broader societal perspective. While inclusive bathroom availability, pronoun usage, and sports inclusion are essential, they often don’t address the immediate survival needs of many in the trans community, such as securing food, shelter, or safety from violence.
We must not play into the narratives promoted by anti-gender actors, and we must instead focus on the most urgent issues facing our communities… prioritize the needs of the most marginalized, who face homelessness, poverty, declining health, and daily violence.
Inclusively accessible bathrooms and respectful pronoun usage do contribute positively to mental health and societal integration, potentially reducing suicide. Research has established a connection between elevated suicide rates within the TGD community and the experiences of social exclusion and micro-aggressions.2 It’s imperative not to overlook the protective factors that can help mitigate the risks of suicide. However, it’s worth highlighting that social exclusion encompasses a spectrum far broader than just access to bathrooms or the usage of correct pronouns, even though these aspects notably contribute positively to mental health and other health-related outcomes. Moreover, these issues, predominantly prevalent in Western, high-income areas, may not be top priorities for those in immediate danger—for instance, inclusive sports participation concerns only a segment of the TGD community actively engaged in sports. Pronoun use may not be universally applicable across diverse language contexts where gendered pronouns do not even exist.
We must not play into the narratives promoted by anti-gender actors, and we must instead focus on the most urgent issues facing our communities. Adopting an intersectional approach, we should prioritize the needs of the most marginalized, who face homelessness, poverty, declining health, and daily violence. Focusing on centering the most marginalized individuals holds immense significance. This approach is pivotal because it is the avenue through which every individual, including those at the center, can access justice and sustainable benefits over time. By doing so, we address the most severe human rights abuses and can build a broader base of support and understanding in society at large.
References
- 1TGEU, Trans Murder Monitoring, 2023. (2023, November 13). https://transrespect.org/en/trans-murder-monitoring-2023/
- 2 Austin, A., Craig, S. L., D’Souza, S., & McInroy, L. B. (2022). Suicidality Among Transgender Youth: Elucidating the Role of Interpersonal Risk Factors. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(5-6), NP2696–NP2718. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520915554
