{"id":335,"date":"2022-10-05T19:19:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T19:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/?p=335"},"modified":"2022-12-01T14:22:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T18:22:38","slug":"in-the-face-of-the-transphobia-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/2022\/10\/05\/in-the-face-of-the-transphobia-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Face of the Transphobia Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse students in an increasingly hostile America<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

Yahney-Marie Sangar\u00e9 <\/p>\nEditor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On September 16, the Virginia Department of Education released new model policies for school boards addressing the treatment of transgender students. The models mandated misgendering, outing and sex-based bathrooms, alongside optional parental restrictions on student counseling services. Immediately, the policies sparked widespread reactions throughout social media. Twitter thrummed with thousands of opinions, calls to action<\/a> and profile picture changes<\/a> as the country, state and community weighed in on Governor Youngkin\u2019s latest swing at student rights in the name of \u201cempowering parents.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, transgender students at ACHS woke up to the right to their names stripped away by Glenn Youngkin\u2019s administration. Junior MC Finegold-Sachs, who is non-binary and goes by they\/them pronouns, remembers feeling shocked. \u201cI honestly couldn\u2019t believe it was real,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As social media flooded with impassioned responses to the model policies, Alexandria\u2019s leaders promptly took to condemning the legislation. On September 17, Mayor Justin Wilson described<\/a> the policies as \u201cegregious\u201d and \u201chateful.\u201d On September 19, ACPS interim superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt released a statement that announced that ACPS did not plan to comply<\/a> with the guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse*, a trans-man who goes by he\/him pronouns, was not surprised by the state\u2019s release. \u201cWhen I read it, I was scared; who wouldn\u2019t be? I was scared because I\u2019m not out. It\u2019s not super safe for me to be out,\u201d he said. \u201cI kind of expected it. [Alexandria] is a comparatively more progressive spot in Virginia . . . I always figured it would be okay [here], but I never expected it to not happen, because we\u2019ve been seeing [anti-transgender policies] in a lot of places where we were like, \u2018That won\u2019t happen.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizational response in Virginia was almost immediate. On September 19, the Pride Liberation Project, an LGBTQ+ rights organization based out of Fairfax, called for state-wide school walkouts to be held on September 27. Although the walk-out did not occur in full at ACHS, over 100 walk-outs were held across Virginia schools, including schools in neighboring jurisdictions Arlington and Fairfax. Senior Spencer Klaus, who is non-binary and goes by they\/he pronouns, attempted to organize a walk-out via social media when they found out that other schools were staging them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Senior Spencer Klaus sits on a bench in front of a tree with a transgender flag wrapped around their shoulders. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Klaus described the ACHS walk-out plan as a very \u201cspur of the moment thing\u201d and regretted putting it on social media, they stood by their views on the importance of the protest. \u201cThe point of civil disobedience is that you are disobeying something to bring attention to the matter. A walk-out has so much more relevance to this issue, because schools are directly affected by it,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem spans much further than the model policies. Nationwide, the rise in transphobic rhetoric has been detrimental to transgender youth. A report by the Human Rights Campaign<\/a> revealed that in July 2022, the month following Florida Governor Ron DeSantis\u2019 passage of the \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay or Trans\u201d law, discussions around transgender \u2018ideology\u2019 and \u2018grooming\u2019 increased by 406%. High-profile figures and conservative politicians\u2019 doctrine alongside a growing fear campaign against transgender people parallels a 41% increase in anti-transgender hate crimes<\/a> from 2019 to 2020. Transphobic policies have been instituted in some form in 34 of the 50 states, according to a map<\/a> created by the Freedom for All Americans campaign. Although the majority of anti-transgender rhetoric is spurred by conservative or right-wing movements, a sect of the feminist movement on the left has triggered the rise of trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERFism) which views gender as strictly sex-based and often seeks to restrict gender-affirming healthcare, practices and inclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transgender youth, in particular, are feeling the impact first-hand. Youngkin\u2019s model policies accompany bills across the nation that specifically target children, especially concerning the prescription of gender-affirming health care, such as hormone blockers. These policies are being pushed in states such as Oklahoma<\/a> and Alabama<\/a> and have become a popular component of Republican platforms, often on the basis of \u2018protecting children\u2019 or \u2018empowering parents.\u2019 The legislation also targets schools. Echoing Virginia\u2019s required \u2018transparency\u2019 model policies, legislation in Alabama forbids school personnel from \u2018withholding\u2019 information about a student’s gender identity from their parents and requires them to report any information they may receive to what could be an unaccepting or dangerous household. It also makes the practice of gender-affirming health care on a minor a Class C felony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Junior KD Bectel smiles in front of the ACHS sign with a trans flag around their shoulders.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These bills do not come without consequences. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly dangerous and based on facts that just don\u2019t exist. It\u2019s incomprehensible, the decisions they\u2019re trying to push and make,\u201d said junior KD Bectel, who identifies as transgender and non-binary and goes by they\/them pronouns. \u201cI can\u2019t describe in words how mad it makes me, and how unsafe it makes students at ACHS feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fervent nationwide conversation about bodily autonomy has been connected to the policing of transgender people\u2019s, especially youth\u2019s, bodies. Although the \u2018gender critical\u2019 movement often isolates these issues, many insist they are inherently connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of infantilization of [trans youth]. I know first-hand how [transphobes] treat us like babies,\u201d said junior Mira Andrade, a trans-girl who goes by she\/they pronouns. \u201cTransphobes believe that parents should be able to deny trans students from using their names and pronouns, since they \u2018know better,’ while also saying that they can\u2019t make decisions regarding health care, since they \u2018don\u2019t know any better.’ It\u2019s contradictory. I think they know that. They just don\u2019t care, kind of like with vaccines and abortion: \u2018My body, my choice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Bodily autonomy] is a connected battle and we need to be allies for each other . . . Gender-affirming care is lifesaving,\u201d said Jesse. \u201cHaving to go back into the closet would basically be a death sentence for me. Not having control over your own body is terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finegold-Sachs echoes the sentiment. \u201cI\u2019m still big on feminist issues, even though I\u2019m not a female.\u201d Finegold-Sachs identifies as a non-binary lesbian and stated that although labels can \u201cget confusing,\u201d they \u201cjust want to be able to live and be happy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wave of violent anti-transgender rhetoric complicates to which extent transgender youth in America can enjoy that freedom. As much as Alexandria can feel like a haven, this issue hits close to home. Jesse described transphobia at ACHS as often occurring \u201cbehind someone\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy trans-feminine friends get the brunt of it; they\u2019ll be called slurs in the hallways. It\u2019s gross,\u201d he said. He went on to describe incidents where he was called the d-slur \u201ccasually\u201d and described an incident in which a female student continuously said the f-slur without the teacher intervening. \u201cI think I present pretty trans, but to most people, I look like a masculine woman, and people are terrible to butch and masculine women,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Senior Michael Goldsberry grins in front of the ACHS sign with the trans flag around his shoulders flowing in the wind. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Michael Goldsberry, who is trans-masculine and uses he\/him pronouns, also spoke about harassment against transgender students in schools. \u201cI\u2019m more lucky to have a masculine appearance, but [for] people who are less lucky and people who are not out, it\u2019s very detrimental. People at other schools have been abused for just using the bathroom they identify with. That\u2019s something that needs to change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students described the diversity of opinion on trans rights. Everett*, a non-binary senior who goes by they\/them pronouns, said, \u201cI feel unsafe in certain groups and safe in other groups. I have my community of friends and people . . . but there are also other groups of people who are actively homophobic and transphobic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the rising fervor of the anti-transgender movement, there may even be rifts within the LGBTQ+ community. Goldsberry described going to a GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) club meeting in ninth grade and being made fun of by the other students. Klaus echoed the sentiment. \u201cWhat we see today is a constant in history: that being gay and bi . . . is more culturally accepted and understood than being trans. That\u2019s because there hasn\u2019t ever really been a huge understanding of trans people: that they exist, and you can see [being transgender] in so many ways. It\u2019s not just a boy wearing a dress,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sophomore Chris stares contemplatively off-camera, wearing an Alexandria Wrestling cropped shirt with the transgender flag around their shoulders. They stand in front of the ACHS sign.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophomore Chris*, who identifies as non-binary, said \u201cI feel like a lot of people need to remember that anything that affects cis women will always affect trans women ten times harder. I think that there is a whole lack of empathy . . . Right now, we\u2019re trying to go backward, and I think that can be really counterproductive in helping further humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the face of unapologetically transphobic sentiment, students emphasized the need for everyone to actively combat transphobia and show allyship to transgender youth in particular. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like everybody [in Alexandria] has a pretty anti-Youngkin stance, but as I’ve started to learn more about gender identity and how people react to it, I’ve started to pick up on things that people in this area do that give off very bad connotations,\u201d Klaus said. They urged the community to continue to care about transgender activism. \u201cAlways show support to [counties] that don\u2019t say [their school boards] are going to resist [the new model policies]. For the city itself, continue to resist it, and continue to work with those trans students about how to increase their comfortability at school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m able to exist, but at the same time, I feel like if the root of transphobia continues to not be solved, which\u2014 it\u2019s a long way\u2014 if that doesn\u2019t happen, people will always have this sort of bigotry in them,\u201d said Everett. \u201cI feel like [ACPS] hasn\u2019t done anything to either spotlight trans people or harm trans people. It feels like you\u2019re kind of existing, but you\u2019re not seen as much as you should be [and don\u2019t] have the ability to feel completely safe and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse emphasized the genuine emotional impact that transphobic rhetoric has. \u201cI want to drive home the point that I\u2019m really angry. I\u2019m really mad. I try not to be mad at cis people because being mad and mean doesn\u2019t get me anywhere, but I don\u2019t want to be palatable for cis people,\u201d he said. \u201cTrans people are super normal; speak to a trans person! It\u2019s upsetting when [trans students] become this boogeyman for cis people. It\u2019s gross, it\u2019s terrible. They\u2019re just teenagers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrade said that although she has privilege in having supportive parents and access to legal and medical gender affirmation, she still sees how \u201cnefarious\u201d the rhetoric and policy can be. \u201cI\u2019m in the best position. I\u2019m incredibly lucky and privileged in this regard . . . These people are pushing for our elimination, but I won\u2019t be complacent. They can count on that,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The three students sit with the transgender flag around their shoulders in front of the sign. From left to right: Chris, Michael Goldsberry and KD Bectel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple students brought up the importance of teachers in making schools safe for transgender students. Often, this means calling out anti-transgender language and incidents in the classroom, as well as making it obvious that they are accepting and supportive from the beginning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say [we need] better education and training for teachers,\u201d said Andrade. She also brought up how services for students, especially sex education connecting to LGBTQ+ topics, would help clear misunderstandings about transgender people. \u201c[Misconceptions] online parallel what I see people say in school,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere aren\u2019t safe spaces for specifically LGBT youth to access that are safe and appropriate . . . LGBT students and kids need a community so badly, and it\u2019s so important that we work towards building those spaces for LGBT kids by LGBT kids,\u201d said Bectel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside bringing up student organizations that provide safe spaces, including the It\u2019s Whatever You Make It <\/em>(IWYMI) club, students emphasized the need for the work done to be active, tangible and effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf ACPS wants to try to fight against Youngkin\u2019s new law, push for more private bathrooms for our schools, especially in middle schools,\u201d said Goldsberry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of GSAs tend to be very unsafe spaces for POC who are also [LGBTQ+], so clubs like IWYMI hit the hammer right on the nail on intersectionality,\u201d said Chris. For ACPS, Chris made the need for active protection and allyship clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRainbow flags are not enough,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Name changed or truncated for anonymity. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All photos by Yahney-Marie Sangar\u00e9 for <\/em>Theogony.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On September 16, the Virginia Department of Education released new model policies for school boards addressing the treatment of transgender students. The models mandated misgendering, outing, and sex-based bathrooms, alongside optional parental restrictions on student counseling services. Immediately, the policies sparked widespread reactions throughout social media. Twitter thrummed with thousands of opinions, calls to action, and profile picture changes as the country, state, and community weighed in on Governor Youngkin\u2019s latest swing at student rights in the name of \u201cempowering parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23,21,118,25,117,116,71,115,67],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-achs","tag-acps","tag-identity","tag-policy","tag-student","tag-trans","tag-transgender","tag-virginia","tag-youngkin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/feature-photo-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":619,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}