I did an illustration for Trans Day of Remembrance today at work.

Our little community contains so much anger and grief, but it's because we love each other so fiercely. We remember our dead because their memory keeps us stubborn.

I love all of us today, and I hope you do too.

(Source)

On February 8th, this nonbinary child was violently beaten by three cis girls. The school did not call them an ambulance after the beating was stopped, and they later died in the hospital from head trauma. They have also been deadnamed and misgendered in their obituary and in the news. As the author of the article puts it:

How is that not national news? A 16 year old beaten to death in a public school bathroom? By other students. All these unanswered seemingly obvious questions about what transpired, and how the adults involved acted. That should be every headline. In fact, almost every local outlet covering the story misgender and deadnames Nex, using their same assigned at birth. The indignities pile on. We don’t yet know if Nex’s nonbinary identity is directly tied to this incident. But, my God, it sure matters to me that this would happen to any child. A nonbinary kid assaulted in a girl’s bathroom. That outcome from the narrative of anti-trans rhetoric these past years. Still why wasn’t this story breaking news? It involves a nonbinary student in a public school. And school violence and school police resource officers. It involves the deep fear so many trans youth have shared with me about their schools.

Meet the King of Clubs, the trans pride knight! The blue flowers are forget-me-nots, a symbolic reference to Transgender Day of Remembrance. The butterfly on the shield speaks for itself I think. Thank you all for giving feedback! The Pride Knights Playing Cards, art prints and uncut sheets are now available for pre-order here: prideknights.com ⚔️🌈

2022.11.12 TOKYO TRANS MARCH @ Shinjuku,TOKYO / #TransDayOfRemembrance / Part1

seeing some people on tdor posting "mourn for the dead fight like hell for the living" while the rest of the year they say the most whorephobic shit and don't do anything to actually make our community safe for sex workers makes me want to scream. at least half of trans people murdered this year were sex workers. every trans sex worker i know has people that we've lost and seeing how people show up to mourn our deaths but refuse to support us while we're alive is maddening.

I've always been better with drawings than words, but today I want to try to express my thoughts and open up to you.

Today we “celebrates” the #tdor , Transgender Day of Remembrance, where we remember our trans siblings who lost their lives to discrimination and transphobia. We are here to remember their names even if we have never really known them, we get together and remember them to ensure that what happened to them never happens to any trans person again.

I'm tired of hearing about trans people tragically losing their lives, I'm tired of being afraid of coming out because I don't know who I have in front of me, what could happen if this person reacted badly. I am lucky enough to have my family and friends next to me, but unfortunately I am a lucky case not as common as it should be... I want to be close and hug all my siblings who have no one next to them, tell them that they are strong and that I will be there even if there are seas and mountains to divide us, but unfortunately my voice will never be strong enough to reach everyone.

I thank those who support me and those next to me, I hope that sooner or later these victims will be just a painful memory of a hostile past towards our community and that, in the future, the list of names will no longer grow. I love you, rest in power my friends ❤️🏳️‍⚧️

🏳️‍⚧️

It's that day again this year. Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day to memorialize those who have lost their lives due to transphobia.

According to a survey compiled by TGEU, between October 2022 and September 2023, 321 trans and gender diverse people were murdered worldwide. 94% of the victims were trans women or trans femmes. In terms of occupation, 48% were sex workers, and 7% were artists and performers. In terms of age, 45% of the victims were 30 years old or younger. 28% were murdered on the street and 26% were murdered in their own residences.

However, the demographics of murder victims are often not reported in detail, and there are no official statistics. It should be noted that the above figures are based on information gathered by volunteers from around the world, and that the actual number of victims may be even higher. Also, the figures do not include those who have been pushed to suicide.

Trans Day of Remembrance should make trans people feel celebrated so they know their lives are meaningful before they die.

Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.

another black trans man was murdered on Thursday, February 29, 2024. his name Righteous Torrence "Chevy" Hill. we currently do not know any details other than that he was murdered.

his friend posted two days ago on instagram:

our beautiful black trans brother, 35 year old Righteous Torrence “Chevy” Hill, was murdered in Atlanta, GA this weekend. he went by his nickname ‘Chevy’. he was originally from Macon, GA. he owned Evollusion, which is a black/queer owned LGBTQ+ salon in Atlanta that provided and dedicated full service to specializing in hair, nails, barbering and makeup. growing up as young black queer boys/kids , the barbershop experience can sometimes be a tricky space to occupy, this was something that Chevy understood and wanted to cultivate a space of safety where you can also get the affirming look and style you want, and he did exactly that. Chevy was a beloved son, brother, partner, and father. one of his last posts that had a photo of himself said : “if you truly know me, you know i am a humble, modest, private man, that i love my community, i have the love of God in me and will give the shirt off my back to any soul in need, also i never post pictures of myself, i never give myself credit, that stops today, i am my legacy!” (a close friend of Chevy asked if i could share more then one photo of Chevy, since he never posted photos of himself and in recent years he got the confidence to want to share more photos and now he won’t get the chance to) Chevy, hey king, hey brother, hey angel, thank you for everything, i lové you, we lové you, i’m so sorry. there are a lot of photographers in heaven who will be able to photograph you as the glorious black trans angel that you are. there will be a homegoing service/memorial for our brother

Transgender Day of Remembrance

This year’s official list has 327 names:

Those murdered were disproportionately women, usually around my age, more often women of colour. Many more will have gone unreported, and/or misgendered in their deaths.

One of those murders is from my native UK—there was also an attempted murder not far from here though, a trans woman stabbed on her doorstep. Fortunately, she survived. I wonder how many other non-fatal attacks were made in the same year.

51 were in the US; that’s more than one per state. Brazil was worst, with 96 (with a similar population size).

9 were tortured to death; another 3 burned alive; another 3 dismembered.

It can be hard to understand why people hate us so much. We’re mostly just trying to live our lives. I guess we’re an easy target, and dehumanised enough in popular media that our deaths elicit little care. I remember the first time I read in a newspaper about a trans woman being killed, the headline was written as a punchline, “transvestite beaten to death with hoe”, and the article was worse. 

Fast-forward and today the jokes normalising such violence get Netflix specials, and the more serious hate-mongers get #IStandWith— hashtags in their support, as they go on their “I’ve been cancelled” tour and given every platform available. Politicians debate, and “sensible centrists” call for understanding from both sides, which tends to amount to “well we must understand that trans people can’t help being trans, and trans people must understand that we have Legitimate Concerns™ that if we don’t take seriously enough will just result in violence against trans people”. And so the microphone gets passed to the transphobe-du-jour.

Eventually, the world will get better. Education improves, community (and thus a little safety) is easier to find, transphobes start to realise history will judge their crimes like every other bigotry and ‘phobia and ‘ism. Those who are “not transphobic but” will learn to put aside their biases; those who are openly transphobic will become “not transphobic but”. It may never die out, just like racism hasn’t, just like homophobia hasn’t, and so forth, but it will get better. We just have to live to see it.

And that gives me strength sometimes, gives me an extra reason to survive when I don’t always want to. Transphobes want to see me die, and I will do my level best to thrive instead. It’s not easy and sometimes I feel like a flower growing through concrete. 

But like a flower growing through concrete, I know where I’ve come from and I know where I’m going. I can’t know whether I’ll make it, but I know I must keep trying, and the further I get, the easier it will get along the way. It doesn’t mean there won’t be the occasional storm, or freeze. But, there’s sunshine too. There is love in the world; there is hope.

We owe it to the fallen to live, to thrive, and to strive to make things better in this world.

2022.11.12 TOKYO TRANS MARCH @ Shinjuku, TOKYO / #TransDayOfRemembrance / Part2

"Every transgender person you meet has lost someone; most of us have lost many. This is a reality I believe is often misunderstood by most cisgender individuals. The cold statistics of suicides and murder rates, frequently cited in studies and debates against right-wing media figures, can obscure the personal impact. For us, these statistics represent living, breathing individuals we knew: Discord users whose status no longer turns green, phone numbers that will never send another text or call, faces in photographs that resurface every November 20th, only to be gradually overshadowed by newer images of more people who we’ve lost."

— Erin Reed | The People I Remember On Trans Day Of Remembrance

I hope especially fellow trans people have a meaningful trans remembrance day. We are and always will be here, and we cannot be erased. As we mourn the losses our community has faced this year, we will remember those who have passed and all the great things they did. You are thought about and loved.

💙💗🤍💗💙