42% of American youth who identify as trans have report having attempted suicide by the age of 19 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Trans Day of Visibility is a day for celebration which is why I chose emphasize/add my own lyrics about "that's your damn crown," but we cannot forget that, especially those of us who are not trans and therefore don't face the same dangers (both from society and due to these unparalleled rates of self-harm), we must be authentic allies to our trans brothers and sisters on this holiday and EVERY SINGLE DAY in between!
I would like to use this video to spark a two pronged discussion:
For Tran-identifying members of this community please use this time and space to celebrate you amazing existence and tell us what you love about being trans. Conversely please feel free to share your fears or tell us how we can best serve you as allies.
2. To the cis-gender members of this community, I ask that you think of one way you can honor this holiday in a way that will somehow either personally touch a transgender individual in your life in a positive way and/or that will somehow address the above mentioned statistic: a suicide rate that makes trans youth the population officially most lethally impacted by suicide, already the #2 cause of youth 10-34YO. On a larger scale, besides this one day a year, how can we provide our trans brothers and sisters with the peer-support they need (which also includes advocacy and bigger picture work), to change the above mentioned, unthinkable statistic.
NO MORE SILENCE, NOT ON OUR WATCH.
Please comment below with your thoughts!