Trans Woman Tamara Dominguez Murdered in Missouri; Victim 17

 Just days after the tragic loss of three transgender women of colour another name is being added to the ever growing list of trans women killed simply for being who they really are.

Tamara Dominguez from Kansas City has become the latest transgender woman to be killed, bringing the current total in the US to 17, almost 50% more than the whole of 2014.

Dominguez was seen by witnesses stepping out of a black SUV when the driver then hit her with the vehicle. According to all eyewitness accounts he then ran her over at least two more times.  In a bizarre twist police are not labelling the attack a hate crime, despite the driver running her over with his vehicle multiple times.

Her family and friends have been laying flowers and messages of love at the scene of the brutal crime.

Tamara's death brings the number of trans people murdered in the US this year to a new total of 17, all of them women, most of them trans women of colour..

Rest in peace Tamara.

#HerNameWasTamara

Amy.
xx

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3 Trans Women of Colour Reported Murdered in 24 Hour Period

Normally when we lose a trans person I try to write an article about them, I try to give each of them some time in the spotlight of what I'm writing.  I share their name, I spread the story of how they died.  This time though it's a little different.

On Saturday morning I did my normal check through my social media and news messages to catch up on what I missed during the night.  I was saddened and shocked to find out that not one, or even two, but three trans women were being reported as muredered.

Elisha Walker, Ashton O'Hara and Kandis Capri.

Elisha Walker, aged 20, went missing last year, her body was found in a 'crude grave' in Johnston county, North Carolina.

Ashton O'Hara, aged 25, was found murdered in the same park in Detroit where Amber Monroe was found killed just the week before.

Kandis Capri, aged 35, was shot to death outside of her friends apartment in Phoenix.

Despite the fact that the three women were killed at different times their murders were all reported within the same day, a day that is going to sit heavy for many in the transgender community.

The loss of these three women bring the total number of trans women killed in the United States to sixteen.  The total number killed in the US last year was only twelve.  We're at sixteen and we've still got almost a third of the year left to go.  Things aren't getting better.

There are many people who are saying that things are getting better for the trans community.  Transgender celebrities like Janet Mock, Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner are making the headlines and putting a positive face on the community.  Laws are changing to make things better for us.  We're becoming seen as regular people, not the 'monsters' society used to paint us as.  It's all great for the trans community right now.

Except, it's not.  We're becoming more visible in the public eye yes, but everything else is getting worse for us.  The rate of murder of trans people, and particularly trans people of colour, is rising.  We're facing numerous anti-trans laws and legislation designed to strip us of our rights.  We can be openly discriminated against with little to no repercussions for those that do.  We have trouble receiving much needed medical care and treatment.  We have our history erased in popular culture.  We get mocked and attacked in the street. 

So what I want to say to cis people right now is this, the trans community is strong, it has to be.  We'll come back from all of these adversities, and come back stronger, but don't for a second think that things are okay for us right now.  We are facing hardships and threats that we don't deserve.  We're being denied our human rights, we're facing violence and discrimination.  We're being killed in the streets like animals.

It has to stop, but we can't stop it on our own.  You need to help us.  Challenge those who would mock us, vote against anti-trans laws, complain about trans erasure, stand up to those who would wish us harm.

The trans community is made up of fighters, we will fight this, but please don't let us face it alone.

The average life expectancy of trans people is 38.  38 years old.  That's nothing.  Through suicide, ill health and murder our expected time alive is less than 40, the age where apparently 'life begins'.  That statistic terrifies me, and it should terrify you too.  It should enrage you.  Why do trans people have such short lives?  Why are they dieing so young?  Because of everything we have to face.  Because we're being murdered.

Media still reports on the murder of trans people whilst mocking us.  They use our past names and pronouns, they try to find criminal activity in our past to show that we were not 'innocent'.  They show less concern for our growing murder rate than they do the killing of a lion.

I know I might get some backlash for saying that, everyone seems to love Cecil the Lion, but think about it, really, in the weeks since the whole Cecil thing what have you heard about more in the news or on social media, a lion being killed or the half dozen trans women killed?  I'm betting a lot of you are going to have to say the lion if you're being honest.

And that's part of the problem, the media is quicker to latch onto a story such as that and run with it for weeks or more than murdered trans women because one is looking at the crimes of an individual and the other is looking at the crimes of a whole community.

It's easy to look at one person who everyone can vilify and say 'well I'm better than that, I'm a good person' than looking at the systematic abuse of a whole minority that would make people have to take a very hard look at their own behaviour.

I'm not saying that everyone is to blame, that would be unfair and untrue, but most of you are playing a part in what the trans community are facing.  You might not be the ones shooting us, stabbing us, beating us to death, but you're adding to the hardships we face.

If you ignore the anti-trans laws being proposed as 'not your problem', then you're helping towards our oppression.  If you laugh at a TV show that makes a tranny joke, you're helping towards our oppression.  If you see a trans person being harassed and do nothing, you're adding to our oppression.  If you use the wrong names or pronouns, you're adding to our oppression.

Don't be one of those people that makes our lives harder.  Don't be one of those people that helps lower our life expectancy.  Change your attitudes, challenge our oppressions, stand as an ally.  We're going to keep on fighting because we don't have a choice.  We're going to keep being abused, we're going to keep being killed, but if you help us maybe that can one day stop.

Amy.
xx

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'Pretty Little Liars' Big Villain Reveal is Transphobic and Hackneyed

 For the past six seasons ABC drama 'Pretty Little Liars' has been stringing the audience along in a mystery that has been plaguing the audience since the show first hit screens back in 2010.  Who is 'A'?  For those not in the know, A is a mysterious figure that has been plaguing the 'heroes' of the show since the very first episode in a campaign to destroy their lives.

On Wednesday the identity of the big villain of the show was revealed.  A was in fact Charlotte 'CeCe' DiLaurentis, and that in the past Charlotte was Charles.  Yep, the show has revealed not only who the villain is, but they've gone with the old villain is transgender trope.  Well done ABC, you've managed to stoop incredibly low on this one.

Now, the shows producers and writers have come out as saying that the character of CeCe comes from a 'crazy' family, and that all of her actions and her past have nothing to do with being transgender, simply from her upbringing and the way her family is.

I'm sorry, but that excuse just isn't good enough.  It doesn't matter what the characters past is, how 'crazy' her family is or the things they have done.  People are not going to see this reveal as being 'because of her crazy family', they'll be seeing it as the 'evil tranny' trope.

It's been done so many times in the past, from the Bathtub Killer serial killer from CSI, who not only featured as the franchises very first murderer but also became 'arch-nemesis' of the lead, to Einhorn in Ace Ventura, which resulted in causing men to vomit, and even Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs who kidnapped and skinned women to make a women suit.  And these are the first three examples I can think of off the top of my head.

Film and television have a very dangerous past of portraying trans people, and trans women especially, in one of three main roles; murder victims, sex workers and killers/criminals.  It's only been fairly recently that trans women have been cast as 'regular' people, i.e. a role where their being trans does not define who they are.

I know that 'Pretty Little Liars' is something of a 'fluff' show for a teen audience, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't put any thought into the types of characters that they are putting on screen.  They've not made a villain who also happens to be transgender, they've made a villain who shows that transgender people are bad.  That may not have been their intention bu that's the result they're going to get.

Having the 'big bad' turn out to be trans isn't just ill thought out, it's offensive.  They've taken a list of negative stereotypes and checked off each and every one of them.  The character spent time in a mental institute; trans people are crazy.  The character lied throughout the show; trans people are deceivers and can't be trusted.  The character transitioned to help with their plans; trans peoples identities aren't real.  The character set out to hurt people; trans people are dangerous.  Every negative stereotype and device to make a trans villain are used.

If the writers and producers wanted a trans character, why make her the villain?  In a world where the number of trans women killed is increasing each year do you really want to promote the idea that trans women are not to be trusted, that we're out to hurt people for our own psychotic ends?

The shows writers managed, in one fell swoop, created a character that captures every negative stereotype in one, that reinforces all of the right wing anti-lgbt+ propaganda and actively hurts the trans community.

Trans health care is appalling, the odds of a trans person finding a job or housing are incredibly low, and we're being killed on average every 29 hours.  Our life expectancy is less than 40.  In a world like that do you really think portrayals like this help in any way?

You're not representing trans people.  You're not helping our community.  You're adding to a series of oppression and hate.  You are keeping us out of health care, out of work and on the streets.  You are helping people to kill us.

You should feel ashamed of yourselves and you owe the whole transgender community one hell of an apology.

Amy.
xx

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22 Year Old Trans Woman Shade Schuler Murdered in Dallas, Reported As Male By Police and News Networks

On July 29th police in Dallas, Texas found a body dumped in a field, the body was so badly decomposed that it has taken them two weeks to be able to identify the body.  The body was that of 22 year old trans woman of colour Shade Schuler.

Despite finding Shade presenting in women's clothing when the police petitioned for help identifying the body they described her as male.

Unfortunately this misgendering has continued even now that Shade's identity has been confirmed, completely disrespecting her identity and her memory.  Dallas Morning News this morning released a story describing Shade as male, along with the DPD news release on her story.

It was Trans Pride Initiative's Nell Gaither who confirmed that Shade was transgender.

'Several of us spent time verifying she was trans and trying to learn more this afternoon and evening,” Gaither wrote on Facebook Tuesday night. “Her name was Ms. Shade, and she was only 22 years old. … Our hearts and thoughts are with her family and friends who now must confront this unfortunate taking of life. May we find space in our hearts to celebrate her time with us and the lives she touched. May we find inspiration in this loss to work together, trans and cis alike, to end the violence that has taken so many of our trans siblings from us far too soon.'

Shade marks the 13th trans person to be killed in just the US alone this year, surpassing the number of killings in America for the whole of 2014.

The number of trans women, and trans women of colour especially, being murdered in on the increase, and the number of news reports that still refuse to give those women the respect that they deserve by addressing them with their correct names and pronouns is staggering.

These are women being targeted and killed for being who they are.  They are not men.  They have never been men.  Stop disrespecting their memories, show them some common human decency and respect their memories.

Goodbye Shade, our hearts go out to you and your loved ones.

#HerNameWasShade

Amy.
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Amber Monroe Found Murdered, Becomes 12th Trans Woman Killed in US This Year

Reports have just become to come in this morning that twenty year old Amber Monroe has been found shot and killed in Detroit.  Amber was a black transgender woman, making her the 12th trans woman to be killed in the US this year alone.

Her death was reported by Equality Michigan;

'The body of 20-year old Amber Monroe was found murdered in Detroit this morning. Early reports claim that she was shot, but information is still developing and no details have been released by the Detroit Police Department.

Amber was a black transgender woman barely 20 years old who studied at Wayne State University, and loved her friends and Vogueing.

“Our hearts are heavy with grief that we have lost another vibrant member of our community too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of Amber’s family and friends whom she clearly loved deeply,” said Yvonne Siferd, Director of Victim Services for Equality Michigan.

“We have no idea yet whether this attack was fuelled by transphobia, but we do know that Amber’s murder is the 12th murder of a transgender woman in the United States this year, and the 10th murder of a transgender woman of colour. Transgender women, and especially transgender women of colour, are disproportionately affected by violence.

Her life was just beginning; I know that this loss will leave so many people with a hole in their lives and with more questions than answers. Let’s come together to celebrate her life, and work for real change so that our transgender sisters can be free from persecution. I know we can do better. We have to do better.'

Amber is the latest in an ever expanding series of victims of transphobic abuse and murder.  The 12th trans woman killed in the United States since the beginning of 2015 she is also one of dozens of women killed globally.  

Despite people's views that things are getting better for trans women, that we have more media representation, that our rights are increasing, the harsh truth of the matter is the number of trans people, especially trans women of colour, that are being brutally murdered simply for being transgender is not slowing down, if anything it is increasing.  

Amber was a beautiful young woman, barely twenty years old, with her entire life ahead of her, yet she had that life cut short.  I say this to myself every time I see one of these reports, every time I write that we've lost another of our beautiful sisters, but please let this be the last one.  Please stop killing us.

#HerNameWasAmber

Amy.
xx

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20 Years After Tyra Hunter Has Health Care Gotten Better For Transgender People?

It feels mildly appropriate that the 20th anniversarry of the death of Tyra Hunter has fallen on the same week that the #TransHealthFail hash tag has been highlighting the poor treatment transgender people have to face when dealing with medical professionals.

For those unaware, Tyra Hunter was a twenty four year old African-American transgender woman, who after being involved in a traffic collision as a passenger was left to die by emergency medical technicians and ER staff after they discovered that she was transgender.

Tyra was insulted and and received derogatory comments from both EMT's and hospital staff and had treatment withdrawn from her for nothing more than being trans.

The people responsible were found guilty in court in 1998 and Tyra's family was awarded compensation due to breaking of the Human Rights Act, negligence and medical malpractice.

Twenty years is a long way for society to progress, and many of you might be thinking that following what happened to Tyra things must be much better now right?  Well, if the accounts of mistreatment highlighted by trans people just this week is anything to go by, no, things haven't got much better.

From the tweets that I myself have seen thankfully no one has spoken about anyone dieing due to negligence, but the sheer amount of disrespect, refusal of treatment and lack of compassion people have reported means that things aren't really too different now than when Tyra was left to die.

As reported in a previous article, trans people have been reporting numerous acts of being intentionally misgendered and dead named even after expressly telling medical staff correct names and pronouns.  People have been publicly humiliated in front of other medical staff and the public.  They have been refused treatment, even when asking for help with issues that have nothing to do with being trans.  They have been told that they are simply delusional by psychologists and therapists.

Some of the experiences faced by trans people when applying for medical care.

None of these things are what anyone should have to go trough when seeking medical treatment, especially when their have been proven cases, like Tyras, where it shows that people die because of treatment like this.

The world is patting itself on the back for how far we have come, for the progress of the LGBT+ community, for the new rights we have received.  But no one wants to address an issue as massively important as trans people being allowed to suffer because medical practitioners simply have no concept of how to help us, or are letting personal prejudice cloud their view.

Tyra Hunter wasn't the first trans person left to die in her hour of need by people who swear oaths to preserve life, and she isn't the last.  We can't delude ourselves, things haven't gotten any better for the trans community when our lives are on the line.

Amy.
xx

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Historically Accurate Stonewall Film Needs Support

As much as the terrible whitewashing and trans erasure of the Hollywood version of Stonewall is a bad thing, and judging from the responses on line potentially the start of another trans/poc riot, one good thing that has come from it is the amount of people now talking about Stonewall and the real history that happened there.

The good news is, you're not the only pones who want a historically accurate film, and one is on the way.  An independent film called 'Happy Birthday, Marsha!' is currently in the works and fill focus squarely on the trans women, drag queens and people of colour who actually played pivotal roles in the riots rather than fictitious white men.

Written, directed and produced by an actual trans woman of colour, Reina Gossett, and starring trans women of colour the film aims to be as historically accurate as possible and represent the people who were actually at the riots.

Directors Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel

In a statement released by the film makers they say;

'We truly believe how we tell the stories of our heroes matters, so we are drawing upon our community to make this film because we have an opportunity to make a movie written, directed and produced by people living Sylvia & Marsha's legacy through our work.  It's been 45 years since the Stonewall rebellion yet the leading role that street queens, trans women of colour and gender non-conforming people had during the riots hasn't received the recognition it deserves.  By making 'Happy Birthday, Marsha!' we are seeking to change that.'

The film has been so dedicated to be as accurate as possible that they even sent out a casting call for actual trans people of colour to audition for the film, rather than recasting them to white actors or actresses.

The casting call sent out to find actual trans women to play important roles.

The film is now in the stages of post production but still needs our support in order to see the project reach completion.  They are seeking donations to help them bring an accurate depiction of this massively important historical event to screens, rather than letting people be brainwashed by the trash being produced by Roland Emmerich.

Please, head over to their website and if you can donate to help the cause, and if you can't donate then share the message with others and get them the support they rightly deserve.

Amy.
xx

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Transgender Actress Bethany Black To Appear In Doctor Who

The BBC has announced that transgender actress and comedian Bethany Black will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the 9th series of Doctor Who, making her the first transgender person to ever appear in the shows massive 52 year history.

After the announcement Black took to Facebook and Twitter t9o celebrate the news with her fans, posting an image of her beside the Tardis, and even wrote 'Now to sit back and wait until the Daily Mail realises the BBC have cast an openly trans lesbian in a family show.' on her Facebook page.

Black has previously appeared in the critically acclaimed queer drama Cucumber and Banana last year, which was created by Russel t Davies, the man responsible for returning Doctor Who to our screens.

It is so far unclear if Blacks character in Doctor Who will be trans or not.

Amy.
xx

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Stonewall Movie Erases Black Trans Women And Drag Queens From History

Ask most people who are a part of the LGBT+ community and they will have heard of the phrase Stonewall.  Some will conjure images of the Stonewall organisation, but most will be aware of the historical Stonewall Riots after which the organisation is named. 


The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests against the police by the LGBT+ community in New York in 1969.  Many site the Stonewall Riots as the single most important event that led to the LGBT+ liberation movement in America, and the foundation upon which all modern LGBT+ rights are founded upon.


The Stonewall Riots have become so recognised as the pivotal LGBT+ equal rights event that in 2013 American President Barack Obama used it in the same sentence as Seneca Falls and Selma, two major points in history for female rights and black rights respectively.


With Stonewall being such a major part of the LGBT+ struggle, and a major piece of modern history it was inevitable that a film about that struggle would be made, especially when LGBT+ rights are such an important battlefield in todays society.


As such today we were given the first full trailer for the film 'Stonewall', from Hollywood director Roland Emmerich.

Now, some of you might be excited by that trailer, some of you might be looking forward to seeing the film, but some of you might be quite angry too.  To those that are unaware their is some level of controvecy regarding Emmerich's version of historical events.

The trailer, claiming to be a 'true story', tells the audience that a young, white, cisgender, gay man was the first to throw a brick and start the Stonewall Riots.  In truth, real historical truth based on hundreds of eye witness accounts and documented evidence that Roland Emmerich seems to have completely skipped over or simply ignored, the riots were started by black drag queens and transgender women.

Yep, sorry eager film audiences but you're waiting to watch a lie.  The film that is being depicted as the historical telling of one of the most important moments in LGBT+ history is completely ficticious.  Yes, the riot actually happened, that's not made up, but everything else in this film appears to be.

The two people most credited with sparking the riots and paving the way for modern LGBT+ rights were Marsha P.Johnson, a black drag queen, and Silvia Rivera, a transgender woman.  It was not a cisgender, white, gay man named Danny.  The two people who are universally recognised as starting the riots aren't even in the film!

For those of you who might not think that it's such a big deal, that it's just Hollywood tweaking a story to make it work on film a little better, shut the hell up!  It is important.  If you went to see the film Selma and they'd cut out Martin Luther King Jr. and instead had the march being led by Jackie Chan you'd probably think that there's something wrong there.

Changing history like that is wrong.  Hollywood and Roland Emmerich are trying to take away the accomplishments of these two women, and others like them, and give it to white men, yet again.  Not only is it historically innacurate but its totally god damn disrespectful. 

This film is a slap in the face to the people who took part in the riots, who fought in the streets for your right to be treated like a human being.  It's an insult to the LGBT+ community, to trans people, to drag queens, to women and people of colour.  Hollywood have taken our moment of major historical significance and told us that the only way people will care is with a white man as the hero, that the only way change really happens is if a white man fights for it.  Hollywood's hero complex at its absolute worst.

Do not support this film, do not promote it, advise it or even go and see it.  It's a whitewashing, tranphobic piece of cinema that wants to crap on an important historical moment. 

Amy.
xx

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#TransHealthFail Revealing Serious Concerns in Transgender Health Care

A new hashtag as been making the rounds in the trans Twitter community today, #TransHealthFail.  The hashtag, which was started by MyTransHealth, has been encouraging transgender people from all over the world to share some of their medical experiences.

The results have been amazing, with hundreds of people sending in their stories, unfortunately the things they're saying seem to be almost identical, health care systems all over the world don't know how to treat trans people and continually insult, demean and endanger patients.

Reports range from front of house staff who misgender and dead name patients without care for their well being or dignity, doctors who refuse to treat trans people and even therapist who specialise in gender issues who refuse to accept patients gender identities.

Medical professionals are vitally important to the transgender community, without them trans people are trapped in bodies that aren't their true selves.  we're forced to go through life pretending to be someone that we're not, treated as different from who we really are on the inside because people can't get past what we look like.

Medical treatment to assist with physical transition is massively important, without it the damage that could occur to the trans community is unthinkable.  However, based on some of the tweets that I've seen today it looks like a hell of a lot of trans people are having to face those kinds of struggles already.  If people are being humiliated, treated like they're crazy, refused medical treatment, medication and psychological help is it any wonder that so many transgender people report suffering from depression, or that the suicide rate is so disproportionately high.

Society as a who has a long way to come in order to treat trans people the way we deserve to be treated, but its also apparent that even the medical community is lacking in the sympathy or the awareness that they need in order to treat trans people.  Things need to start changing.

Amy.
xx

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