Photo by Alexander Grey.
(For how i crafted these quotes, see What i changed in survey-takers' responses and What i didn't change.)
We're scared. Help us feel safe, welcomed, and loved. Care for us, support us, and give us a space to be safe. The world hates us.
No one would choose to be something that might get us hurt or killed.
We shouldn't have to be scared for our lives or how we'll be affected by transphobic laws.
"Trans youth need support and protection more than ever."
"Exploring this part of my identity means life will be more dangerous for me."
"I would give anything to be cisgender and not face the struggles I face."
"It's scary knowing the fact that any day my rights could be taken away in my state, due to the fact that other people don't like that I exist."
"Seeing the world around you built against your success and happiness is one of the most painful and hopeless feelings a queer person can experience. Knowing that your entire life will pass and the world will hate you for who you are."
"The fact that I am a trans woman means I'm statistically more likely to be murdered as an act of hate than a cis person and more likely to commit suicide due to the societal pressures and bigotry being perpetrated. I wake up everyday to more news about my identity being debated, that children who are like me are getting murdered, that a prior president wants to be re-elected and will ban gender affirming care that saves me life and the lives of many, and so many other things I can't list them here. These things take major tolls on my mental health where some days I am scared to leave my bed. I am just one person who wants to live a happy life without seeing me and my queer siblings being systemically targeted. Everyday for me is a fight for my life. These are words that can be considered 'radical' by some people but are a reality I have to live with and see everyday."
"My future as an out adult human being is so hard to imagine: either i die as someone i never was, or i thrive and potentially lose my family and culture along with it."
