14 in ‘15: Why do people keep killing Transgender Women of Color?
The murder of Islan Nettles in 2013 was the first step in mainstream American media networks beginning to cover bias-related attacks on transgender women of color.
Her death sparks questions: “Why aren’t we doing more to protect these women?”
[Photo Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images]
[Trigger warning for transphobia, suicide, hate crimes.]
Since January 1st, 2015, there have been 14 reported murders of LGBTQIA+ individuals. Conflicting reports dispute the number of transgender identified victims: One states that seven of that group identified as transgender women of color, another one says eleven. And those are only the reported murders we know about (this statistic doesn’t even take into consideration the 41% of transgender individuals who attempt suicide as a result of constant racism and transphobia). In a report on Hate Violence published by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs in 2013, 90% of all homicide victims were people of color. Breaking down the demographics of those victims, 67% were transgender women of color. Of all those murdered, how many can we name? Maybe you’ve heard of Islan Nettles, a transgender woman who was beaten to death outside of a police station in 2013 whose murderer still walks free. But that’s it. The power dynamics of whose murder gets covered in mainstream American media is an intensely debated topic, and one that serves to raise discord amongst communities of color.
Transgender Women of Color exist at this fiercely policed intersection of identities at which people feel as though they can exact extreme violence and even murder against these women without consequences. If the criminal justice, education, and medical systems are not working to actively protect and value these women, why should the Average Joe? Slowly, we are beginning to see a breakthrough by certain celebrities, such as Laverne Cox and Janet Mock, being deemed acceptable enough to publicize and promote LGBTQ+ issues in a package that falls directly in line with their respective abilities to “pass” and live fulltime as their true selves. If they were ugly, or still displayed physical traits that we associate with maleness and masculinity, they would not be in the privileged positions that they hold today.
However, both Mock and Cox have acknowledged their unique situations, and Mock tackles the concept of “Redefining Realness” in her autobiography and in the following interview.
And they’re right. Current American society does not value “ugly” or “fake” women, people of color, and certainly not transgender-identified individuals. Combine those identities with class aspects and you’ve got yourselves a prime target for brutal violence. Will the police protect transgender women of color? Recent events tend to say ‘no’, as Islan Nettles was murdered right outside of a police station. Talk about willful ignorance as police brutality. Take a look at the statistics for TWOC. The Center for National Transgender Equality and The Task Force, two of the largest organizations focused on LGBTQ+ information and advocacy, published a report titled “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey” to highlight and spread just how Transgender individuals are 41% more likely to attempt suicide, and are four times as likely to have a household income of less than $10,000. Upward mobility is a pipedream for the majority of transgender women, and what’s waiting at the top lies only more interrogation of gender.
When we force transgender women of color to police themselves in order to be accepted into societal norms, we create innately hostile environments where the basic tenets of feminism struggle to survive. After a disastrously transphobic interview with Piers Morgan throughout which Janet Mock found herself consistently misgendered, Mock appeared on AM Tonight to turn the interrogation around on its head by grilling Alicia Menendez with invasive questions about her genitalia and if “her cis-ness holds her back in any way.” It appears as a lighthearted MOCKery of the Morgan interview, but also does double duty as a reminder of the media circus TWOC celebrities such as Mock and Cox have to face.
In the case of daily violence against transgender women of color, Black Feminism is necessary for everyone regardless of race, gender, or class as a way to combat discrimination. By adhering to Black Feminist practices of inclusion and promotion of those whose voices are so easily silenced, maybe we can begin to erode the toxic approach to viewing transgender women of color solely as a statistic.
