On December 28th, 2014, Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager, walks in front of oncoming traffic and commits suicide. She leaves a suicide note on her Tumblr blog, blaming the ignorance of society on trans issues and the literal isolation she felt her whole life.
41% of trans* people have attempted suicide last year and 80% of trans* students did not feel safe in schools because of their gender expression.
When it comes to LGBT, the 'T' is the most neglected and ignored group in the community with many people not being educated on what the term transgender means. But this doesn't mean that no one is pushing for visibility and awareness and safety among trans* people. Trans* activists like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox are opening the conversation and winning awards for their philanthropy and advocacy for the trans* community and are finally being acknowledged for the hard work they put towards a brighter future.
On April 24th, 2015, in a two hour interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner came out as transgender woman. Bruce, who during the interview preferred the pronouns he/him, is the first celebrity in history to have such a public transition. Jenner, an icon in the United States' sports history as gold Olympic medalist stated that "for all intensive purposes...[he] is a woman."
While there will be parts of the public and the media that will use this truly brave story to poke fun and create hate, there will be thousands of children and teens and adults who will see Bruce Jenner and not feel alone; they will see a light at the end of the tunnel, and begin the rest of their lives with clarity and hopefully, a little more safety.
To have a figure who was known for his masculinity to come out with such a powerful message about identity and gender expression will create conversation upon conversation about who the trans* community are and bring about the visibility they truly need and outright deserve.
It is not something you would expect a high profile celebrity to do, a celebrity who has been hiding this from the public and from himself since he won the gold medal in 1976. But the bravery and, in my opinion, selfless act of discussing his journey in a televised interview is a giant step towards tolerance, acceptance, and equality.
#WeExist
Watch the Bruce Jenner interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News
People Are Painting Their Nails In Solidarity With Bruce Jenner
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