While We Fight for Transgender Rights, We Also Need to Focus on Transgender Needs
Cw: Discussion of transphobia leading to death, food insecurity
While trans rights are great, let’s talk about trans needs. Often when we talk about trans people we focus on the fight for trans rights. The mainstream trans community defines “rights” generally as protections given to us by the government. This includes the right to use a bathroom according to our gender identity, workplace protections, and for the government to cover access to gender-affirming hormones and surgeries.
These are all important things. However, these things don’t guarantee our basic needs being met. Needs everyone has to have access to are Housing, Food and water security, and Healthcare.
People can have protections if their job fires them, allowing them to sue. Having this protection is helpful, but first we need to be able to get our foot in the door to get hired. If a trans individual is unable to afford the transition on paper, i.e. legal name and gender change on state I.D., it can make finding employment less accessible if their presented gender identity doesn’t conform to what is listed on the government I.D. card the hiring company sees. While Trans people have the right to protection from discrimination, it doesn’t guarantee that you will get hired. Trans people have 44% unemployment rate. You may have the rights not be discriminated against in Housing, but trans people may not be able to afford to house because they can’t get a job. At the end of the day, rights allow for people to access things if they have certain privileges like money, race, or passing privilege. However, if you have a lack of support, rights don’t help much. While rights are important, they don’t guarantee access.Some trans folks can meet all their needs when given rights, but a large amounts of trans people’s can’t. As trans people, we deserve access but we will not get it through the current government.
Furthermore, those who are people of color, low income, disabled, trans femme, and especially trans femmes of color are more likely to be unable to meet their needs even if they have rights. Despite the progress of LGBTQ2IA protections in recent years, the inequality of quality of living throughout varies demographics of LBGTQ2IA people is noticeable when looking at statistics about food insecurity. According to study performed by The Williams Institute on Food Insecurity in the LGBT, 21% of white LGBT people are food insecure. In contrast , 42% of African Americans, 33% of Hispanic Respondents, and 32% of Indigenous American Respondents where food insecure. Another huge inequality is highlighted by the fact transgender women of color are disproportionately represented in transgender homicide statistics. Looking at the list released by The Human Rights Campaign of transgender people to have died in 2017, they disproportionately are trans women who are black and latinx.
When the community focuses its activism on trans needs as well as rights, everyone’s needs are met. The community doesn’t just end discriminating in housing, the community works towards the goal of ending trans houselessness*. This means not only working with politicians to get better housing. It means the community coming together to take responsibility for housing people. It also means working away from cisgender people and bureaucracy and creating trans led community services. Needs can also be fulfilled outside of the agency that controlled or tied to the government, and everyday people, allies and trans people included, can contribute to the meeting of these needs. All of this can be applied to food and water security, as well as healthcare.
Ultimately, the trans community needs to realize that we need to demand more and provide more for ourselves. House houseless trans people, even if only for a night. Help people out with food when you have access to extra food. Boost trans folk’s crowd funds. Work with existing trans organizations to expand services to help people meet needs. Ultimately it is up to us to uplift the trans community as a whole.
*Houseless is a newer term that has replaced the word homeless. It acknowledges people can have a home, emotionally and/or physically, and still not have access to physical dwelling that provides consistent and adequate shelter.
Bibliography:
Rabin, Roni Caryn. “A Hunger Crisis in the L.G.B.T. Community.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 July 2016, well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/18/a-hunger-crisis-in-the-l-g-b-t-community/.
Human Rights Campaign. “Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2018.” Human Rights Campaign, HRC, 2017, www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2018.
Movement Advancement Project, National Center for Transgender Equality, Human Rights Campaign, and Center for American Progress. September 2013. A Broken Bargain for Transgender Workers
Human Rights Campaign. “Transgender Workers at Greater Risk For Unemployment and Poverty.” Human Rights Campaign, 6 Sept. 2013, www.hrc.org/blog/transgender-workers-at-greater-risk-for-unemployment-and-poverty.