Visibility!!!!
Celebration!!!!
WT(Redacted)!!!!
Alexus, I don’t want to be visible, and what the hell have we got to celebrate? Don’t you know that trans rights are being systematically attacked every day?
I get that. There are days when I feel overwhelmed with the unrelenting barrage of negative news stories about Trans people.
I’ve felt sad, angry and fearful of what is happening, and what may happen in the future.
But…..
It is more important then ever to hold on to and embrace Trans Joy. We cannot live every day with a ‘siege mentality’. We cannot let the haters stop us living and celebrating our lives.
We are loved.
We are valued.
We have community, friends, lover and partners.
We have our chosen family.
Today, let’s celebrate who we are, if only to send a massive (Redacted) You to the haters.
They want us to feel cowed and afraid.
They want us to disappear.
We’re not going to do that.
Ever.
This can cause a mindset of ‘we are alone and everybody is against us’. That feeling is reinforced every single day but…..
We need to remember that we are not alone.
We are loved.
We have community.
We have friends.
We have lovers and ‘significant others’.
We need to hold on to this, if only for today.
Find that Trans Joy and hold on to it.
By Alexus Savage (she/her), Birmingham LGBT Sexual Health Outreach Worker
