![]() “I think it’s healing for us when we’re dealing with all of this.” “When we can be in the same place with one another, it automatically gives a certain degree of relief or exhale,” he said. But on TDOV, making space for joy and community - without having to advocate or fight - is all-important.įor Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, it’s crucial to create a space in Austin on March 31 for trans Texans to gather and enjoy themselves without an agenda, and without the need to relive the trauma of fighting in the past legislative sessions. ![]() “Every single nightmare that I had growing up as a queer kid in Texas is just happening right now,” he said.įor many trans Texans, that nightmare has been ongoing since last year. The news cycle in Texas has only made that guilt grow. He feels grateful - and also guilty - that it is easier for him to be who he is as a queer, trans disabled person in Washington than in Texas. Pervez also plans to meet up outdoors with friends on TDOV to celebrate little victories - like his recent breakthroughs in therapy. “Because trans children have to be invisible for their safety.” “I think this year, maybe more than ever, trans visibility is really important,” she said. Political pressure led to shutdown of Texas’ largest gender-affirming care program New report aims to help evaluate critical LGBTQ+ health data collectionĢ vetoes in 24 hours: Governors’ decisions on anti-transgender bills signal Republican unease Johnson also noted that being visible can come at a cost - especially when some people aren’t able to choose to be visible or not - but that this year, she believes trans adults have a responsibility to show trans youth that they deserve to be seen. While being visible is an important way for Pervez to show younger trans kids that they have a future, he also recognizes some of the challenges of being out - including harassment and being denied employment or access to basic resources. Any small piece that I can do to combat that is mandatory, as far as I am concerned.” “The shame drives people in both communities to death long before we reach out to others, and quite often. “Every visible trans Muslim and trans South Asian is critical,” he said in an email. What he needed during his childhood, he said, was some sign that he had a future as a queer, South Asian Muslim and autistic person. “It makes me feel like I can be the kind of person that I needed as a kid,” he said in an interview. Pervez moved from North Texas - where he grew up - to Washington, D.C., about three years ago to start work with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. ![]() The history behind International Transgender Day of Visibilityīeing visible, including on TDOV, reassures Noor Pervez, a 26-year-old nonbinary trans person, that he is doing something for the next generation of trans kids. ![]() ![]() Paxton has also announced a probe into puberty-suppressing drugs, considered life-saving care by families of trans kids and many physicians who work with them. State Attorney General Ken Paxton is pushing a legal battle over whether families of trans children can be investigated for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care, which he attempted to block via a nonbinding legal opinion earlier this year. That moment comes as the fight over gender-affirming care for minors in Texas has picked up speed. By taking the microphone at the rally on April 2, the 36-year-old hopes to comfort other people in her community at a time of great trauma and inspire restraint among lawmakers. Johnson has frequently testified against anti-trans bills, especially last year, when Texas saw an avalanche of legislative attacks on gender-affirming care and access to school sports for trans youth. To her, TDOV is an “explicit moment where the trans community gets to stand together and say, ‘we have power, you will perceive me’ … I think there’s something really powerful and sacred and beautiful about that. “There sort of is no way for me to not be visible,” Johnson said. At six feet, two inches and 200 pounds, visibility is a given for Johnson, she says. ![]()
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