Transgender in Tennessee

I want to challenge you. I challenge you to get to know me.

In this political climate I have decided to attempt to reach out to people.

Transgender folks are some of the most hated people around, and for no reason that I can understand.

But I have decided to challenge everyone. I challenge you to get to know me, to learn about me and hear the struggles I have had.

Can you even imagine how it is to grow up as Trans. Every single day is a struggle with yourself. I spent every day hiding who I was, even from myself. I knew no one would accept me, not friends and not family.

We wake up every day with the fear that someone will discover our secret. We go through life terrified that we will be found out, that people will realise what we are. We try to fit in, struggling to be something we are not, but knowing we will never be accepted.

We fight with ourselves, family, the world, we battle depression, many attempting suicide, which is all made worse by how reviled we are.

When we finally gather the strength to accept ourselves and to grow into the person we are meant to be, we are vilified. Legislatures turn against us. Laws are written to discriminate against us. And no one takes the time to get to know us.

If you took that time, only a few minutes, you would begin to see we are not so different. We go through life the same as everyone. We only want to earn a living, find happiness and be who we really are, while not battling discrimination in every walk of life.

So next time you want to be nasty, or make fun of a Trans, I challenge you to take a moment and think. Please think what it would be like to live every day in skin that doesnt fit you. Think what it is like to be hated by most everyone, to battle depression and fight the preconceptions of the world. Think for a moment about what it might be like to never be accepted and to be hated for doing what is necessary to save your life. Think what its like to be hated, threatened with violence and legislated against, simply because you do not conform to what society thinks you should be like.

Please reach out, take a second to get to know us before you discriminate against us.