This has been a difficult year for many in the transgender community. Across the country, transgender people, including students, faced an alarming onslaught of legislation and court cases targeting us for discrimination.
In every effort to bully us, lawmakers continued to utilize fear-mongering and scare tactics by claiming discriminatory policies keep people safe, when in reality their actions achieve the exact opposite. Political leaders like North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have repeatedly claimed that they cannot define “transgender,” and that no clear definition exists.
That simply is not the case. People who are transgender have a gender identity different from our sex assigned at birth. It’s that simple.
We are siblings, parents, and children. We are neighbors, classmates, and colleagues. And most importantly, we are people, worthy of being treated with dignity and respect.
Fortunately, more and more people personally know transgender people — more than one-third of Americans according to a recent HRC survey. This historic level of visibility is accompanied by increasing acceptance of transgender people.
But despite the increased visibility of transgender people in our daily lives and in society, including celebrities such as Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner or Janet Mock, many in the trans community still face severe discrimination, stigma and violence on a daily basis.
Watch below as HRC supporters speak out and let lawmakers know that #ThisIsTransgender:
Whether you identify as transgender or as an ally, join HRC’s #ThisIsTransgender social media campaign to share your story. Tag HRC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and send your Snapchat snaps to WeAreHRC and include the hashtag #ThisIsTransgender.
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