Something I saw on facebook that I found interesting. A neighbor of Leelah Alcorn recounting the forced isolation that her parents inflicted on her, (isolation from the outside world is a common abuse tactic) consistent with what Leelah herself wrote in her suicide note. I can’t verify the accuracy of this person’s statements but I found it to be worth sharing. On their facebook page they also linked a video of their own son appearing in an interview about the suicide. 

I like how this person made a point of saying Leelah’s name as many times as possible, like he’s trying to emphasize that her name was LEELAH, not “Josh”, the incorrect name her parents were referring to her by.

There’s an interesting phenomenon that I’ve witnessed over the past few years. The names of trans women of color will be in the mouths of the queer community after they’ve been murdered, but support for us while we are still alive is sporadic at best. Trans women are pushed out of queer spaces by cis people, dfab genderqueers, and trans men, just to name a few. Women’s spaces are frequently hostile to us because we aren’t “real women” but trans men almost always get a free pass. And I’ve seen more than one cis queer say that trans women are “appropriating” the gay rights movement, totally ignorant of the fact that we started the damn thing. I have seen more than one cis queer say that we have nothing in common with them, that our issues are completely unrelated. We have a hard time finding dates, finding support, finding community. And when we dare to call people out for their transmisogyny, we are labeled crazy, hysterical, divisive. I have been called Austin “queer scene’s” number one enemy. All for daring to share my thoughts on the world around me.

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Via gazettenet.com

Trans Day of Remembrance is filled to the brim with the names of murdered Black and brown trans women, but is a single evening of remembering enough? And what does it mean that TDoR doesn’t explicitly talk about race and is often dominated by white people? Here in Austin there’s this tradition of calling the names of the dead and then having an audience member sit in a chair that represents where the dead trans woman would sit. The seats are always filled with white people and non-trans women. What do our deaths mean when we our bodies, our lives, the physical space we take up, is appropriated by white folks? How can I mourn for my sisters when the space set up for that mourning is so thoroughly colonized? And how can I even see hope of living a full life when I don’t see myself reflected in what is supposed to be my community?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to honor those women who came before us, those women murdered by colonial patriarchy. But it seems like more often than not, the queer community at large is content with just remembering. We only hear about trans women after their deaths. And even our deaths are not our own. A week doesn’t go by without a white queer citing the deaths of trans women of color as the evidence of how oppressed they are. These stats are often used in service of their own assimilation; meanwhile, they’re happy to leave us out in the cold. We don’t even have dignity in death, nor the ability to decide what it will mean for us.

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Via giveout.razoo.com

Support for trans women dwindles when we are still alive. Nowhere is this clearer than in fundraisers run by and for trans women. There have been some success stories, but they always seem to be few and far between. More often than not, a trans woman’s fundraiser will get a few signal boosts, maybe a couple of dollars and then languish. Meanwhile, trans men’s fundraisers for transition related care often get fully funded. This funding disparity is also clear institutionally, where organizations that focus on the concerns and issues of trans women of color get a miniscule amount of all the money from LGBTQ foundations. This is especially true in the South, where LGBT organizations only get 3-4% of domestic LGBT funding. Again, cis, white, rich institutions are quick to use our murders in their statistics then turn around and spend their money on organizations that look like them: cis, white, and rich. Organizations that push for assimilation.

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Via americanprogress.org

Obviously financial support isn’t the be all end all action to support trans women of color, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. And the fact that it’s a struggle for trans women to acquire financial assistance is symptomatic of our society’s priorities. It points to who is valuable and who is disposable. At the bottom of this article is a list of fundraisers and organizations for trans women that I would strongly encourage you to support. If you’re not a trans woman and you’re reading this, think long and hard about the ways that you’re supporting trans women in your community. Do you see trans women in public community spaces? How are your actions pushing them out? Don’t think that just giving money nullifies your collusion in transmisogyny. Financial support is important but it is not the only step. As we honor the memory of those girls who have been murdered, ask how you’re helping the living.

Fundraisers to Cover Living Expenses

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Via gofundme.com

Backing Biko
Support Cherno Biko in advocating for folks like us!

Love Aaryn
Help Aaryn reach her dreams!

Support CeCe
Support CeCe’s work!

Lift Up Lourdes
Support a trans leader!

Save Fake Cis Girl from Financial Apocalypse
Help a trans woman of color keep her lights on!

Support Monica Roberts
Help Monica stave off homelessness!

Operation Zipzap
Help a trans woman go to electrolysis school!

Support Michelle
Help Michelle get money to go to school!

Miss Major Monthly Giving Circle
Help support a TWOC elder and living legend!

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Fundraisers to Cover Transition Related Care

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Via gofundme.com

TRANLATIN@ needs HELP for Surgery
Help a Pervuian trans women get access to gender affirming surgery!

Support Vanessa on her medical need
Help Vanessa get chest reconstruction surgery!

Proud Trans Latina seeking help with GRS
Help Naiymah get access to gender affirming surgery!

Sophia’s Breast Fund
Help Sophia access breast augmentation surgery!

Help a Homegirl out!
Help a trans latina get access to transition related care.

Ida’s Surgery Fund
Help writer and activist Ida access surgery!

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Fundraisers for Organizations that Serve Trans Women

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Via gofundme.com

Support the TWOC Collective
The TWOC Collective in NYC needs your support!

Alexis Documentary
Help a documentary about a trans woman activist get off the ground!

MagniFLY!
Donate to support TWOC filmmakers!

Trans Tech
Support an organization giving trans women the tools to support themselves!

Quirell
Help a social network by and for marginalized folks get started!

El/La Para Trans Latinas
Help fund an organization working to advocate for trans latinas!

Trans Latina Coalition
Support an organization doing national movement work!

Support Casa Ruby
Help a community center stay afloat!

If you are aware of any other similar fundraisers, please share them in the comments.

i cant believe that was all one sentence

1: Which origin did you first choose? 2: Which origin is your favourite? 3: Do you have multiple Grey Wardens/playthroughs or just one? 4: If you have more multiple Grey Wardens, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? 5: Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden? 6: Does your Warden regret becoming a Grey Warden? 7: What was your Warden’s first impression of Duncan? 8: Do they still feel the same about Duncan as they did before the Joining? 9: What was your Warden’s first impression of Alistair? 10: Do they still feel the same about Alistair? 11: What was your Warden’s first impression of Morrigan? 12: What do they think of Morrigan now? 13: What was your Warden’s first impression of Leliana? 14: What do they think of Leliana now? 15: What was your Warden’s first impression of Sten? 16: What are your Warden’s thought on Sten now? 17: What was your Warden’s first impression of Wynne? 18: What does your Warden think about Wynne now? 19: What was your Warden’s first impression of Zevran? 20: What does your Warden think of Zevran now? 21: What was your Warden’s first impression of Oghren? 22: What are your Warden’s thoughts on Oghren now? 23: What was your Warden’s first impression of Shale? 24: What does your Warden think of Shale now? 25: What was your Warden’s first impression of Loghain? 26: What are your Warden’s thoughts on Loghain now? 27: What does your Warden think about the Mabari war dog? How did your Warden name the Mabari that joins you when you head for Lothering? 28: What does your Warden think of Flemeth? 29: What is your Warden’s favourite color? 30: What is your Warden’s favourite food? 31: How old is your Warden? 32: What is your Warden’s gender identity (this does not have to match gender chosen in the character creator, of course!) 33: What is your Warden’s romantic/sexual orientation? 34: Does your Warden end up with one of the companions in any way? 35: Is your Warden a warrior/rogue/mage? 36: What is your Warden’s weapon of choice? 37: What are your Warden’s specializations? 38: What are some of your Warden’s strenghts? 39: What are some of your Warden’s weaknesses? 40: Your favourite companion? 41: Your Warden’s favourite companion? 42: What is your Warden’s biggest secret? 43: What is your Warden’s biggest regret? 44: Can your Warden read very well? Do they like reading? 45: What does your Warden do in their spare time/off-duty? 46: Are your Warden’s parents still alive? 47: Did your Warden have a good relationship with their parents? 48: Does your Warden have any siblings (in canon or headcanon, it’s all ok!) 49: Is your Warden religious? (Chantry/Dalish belief/Tevinter belief/something else) 50: What does your Warden like most about themselves? 51: What is something other people like about your Warden? 52: Is your Warden introverted or extroverted? (or somewhere in between?) 53: Does your Warden enjoy nature? 54: What did your Warden think of Lothering? 55: What did your Warden think of the problem in the Brecilian Forest? How did they solve it? 56: What did your Warden think of the problem at the Circle of Magi? How did they solve it? 57: What did your Warden think of the problem at Redcliffe? How did they solve it? 58: What did your Warden think of the problem in Orzammar? How did they solve it? 59: What did your Warden think of the Landsmeet? How did they solve it? 60: Who does your Warden put on the throne? 61: Your favourite NPC? 62: Your favourite main quest? 63: Your favourite side quest? 64: Your favourite DLC quest? 65: Have you installed any mods? 66: Did your Warden make use of Morrigan’s offer right before the battle against the Archdemon/the Blight? 67: If your Warden could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? 68: Can your Warden sing and/or dance? 69: Do you have any headcanons about your Warden that are not/go against canon? 70: On a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the highest score possible, how much of a Dragon Age fan are you?