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11th Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day on which we take a moment to reflect on the trans people who have been murdered this year, and those murdered in years past. Many people have written to ask what I personally will be doing, in terms of appearances at memorial events or speaking on behalf of the day. Honestly, I don’t plan to set myself up as a public face for this day of remembrance, because people like Gwen Smith have already been doing the best job possible and especially because the last decade of my life has involved some form of public grieving after the homophobic and insane murder of my heterosexual boyfriend in 1999, who was essentially punished for loving a transsexual woman.

I’ve attended the TDOR gatherings in Los Angeles most every year of the eight I’ve lived here, but I usually go alone and dressed to blend in and pass unnoticed as much as I can. I prefer to let other leaders speak at the podiums and rally the troops this time.  I will continue to think privately about the hatred and violence society rains down on trans people of all stripes every day, but know that it is especially on my mind today, as it is with most of us. I hope everyone understands that I am obviously aware of, and concerned about the violence and murders in our community, even if I choose not to set myself up as a public face during this time of remembrance. As I said, I can only endure so much public grieving. I need to keep some things personal.

Please check out some of the resources provided by Gwen Smith, ever the leader in making sure the voices of our dead are not silenced:

Gwen Smith’s “Transmissions” for the Bay Area Reporter: There are always more

Can you imagine that? Two people a week killed due to anti-transgender violence. While this pales in comparison to the 7,000 or so who have died due to the H1N1 virus in recent months, it is nevertheless an epidemic.

Now to today: this Friday, November 20, will mark the 11th Transgender Day of Remembrance. This year, Carsten Balzer, representing Transgender Europe and  Liminalis: The Journal for Sex/Gender Emancipation and Resistance, began to report anti-transgender murders in Central and South America. The data was staggering, with 83 cases reported between January and June of this year alone. As a result, over 100 people will be honored at this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance – as many as were even known about at that first event, and somewhere in the neighborhood of two a week.

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