Special Feature: Trans

By Eden Buell

Junior Jazz Tolentino, A Non-binary Student here at AHS, voices their perspective on why there is increased awareness of Trans people and violence against them.

“As time goes on more people are coming out as Trans because they don’t feel as restricted as they would be in the past. It’s easier to be yourself online because you know there’s many people out there to back you up. You can also be anonymous and not endanger yourself as much as you would in person.” Tolentino said.

According to an article published March 22nd, In 2020, There are 238 bills that would limit or violate the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, Half of the bills are targeting trans people. Those who are passing these discriminatory bills make the excuses that they’re protecting children, parental rights, religious freedom, or other reasons. This year is labeled as the worst year in recent history for LGBTQ+ state legislative attacks. Violence and harassment against trans people stems from ignorance, that is why we need to educate people, so we can prevent violence against trans people from happening.

One freshman AHS student who identifies as trans states that trans awareness has increased due to the internet and how there’s backlash when it comes to trans people sharing their experiences on the internet.

“I think the awareness of trans people is because of the internet, and how a lot of trans people talk about their experiences on the internet. There’s more violence now because more people are aware and there’s a lot of hate, So it’s like a double-Edged sword.” He said.

The student expressed that the increased awareness can be harmful in some ways and that media is better used for sharing the struggles trans people go through.

“People being more aware is better obviously, but there’s also something good about not alot of people knowing because people are now able to target trans people. I think the internet is better for sharing trans people’s struggles.” They said.

Counselor Alexis Horn explains that her and the other Counselors are taking measures to make trans students feel comfortable.

“We [ Counselors ] are making sure that we pass on preferred names and pronouns to teachers ahead of time so that when those students get to class it’s already a thing, and so that it doesn’t become something that the student has to worry about.” Horn said.

Horn clarified that in Aeries you cannot remove your deadname from Aeries unless you’ve had a legal name change, but you can have an alias.

“Right now in aeries you can include your preferred name, but it’s just an alias and your name won’t change unless you change it legally. There has been talk about putting preferred names on diplomas but nothing has been confirmed.” Horn said.

The freshman who spoke earlier suggests that AHS can spread awareness of trans people and violence against them by talking about it more and getting classes to cover topics such as these.

“I think we [ AHS ] can show more awareness and talk about it [ trans people and violence against them ] more instead of just having a single club. We can raise awareness in classes or any other classes that would be able to cover this topic.” [...] “We can teach more about Queer history in general.” He said. “We can encourage more people to introduce themselves with their pronouns. We also need more educated staff, specifically substitutes. Even the long term staff here don’t know a lot about trans people, they don’t know what deadnames are or binders.” They said.

Tolentino thinks that there are a number of ways that AHS, Students, and Teachers can help trans students feel safe.

“Students at AHS should treat their trans peers with respect and use their pronouns that they prefer to go by and don’t alienate them [ trans people ]. Teachers should protect their trans students just as they would for any other student, if the student is getting harassed, obviously do something about it. AHS could try and include stuff in spirit weeks, they could give more attention to the Clubs focused on LGBTQ+.” Tolentino said. The freshman Trans student shares what he has learned from difficult experiences. They advise that it’s good to hang around people that support you. “Even Though there are a lot of people that support you, There’s also a lot of people that will never really support you or understand you and they’ll always just dislike you for who you are and how you choose to present. So it’s good to stick with the people that support you.” They said.

Studens and staff speak about increased awareness of the Trans experience and Trans Violence

illustration by Eden Buell

Hey, It’s Eden, the author of this story. I just wanted to leave a message for those who may need it. I am a Trans person, and from experience I know it’s very difficult to live in a world where there are people who don’t know about you, hate you for existing, or just think your identity is a joke. I know it’s be hard to keep moving. But, I want you to keep going for the future generation of trans kids, so that they can see that they can live to adulthood and be themselves. I want you to keep going for those that love you for who you are. I love you. Please, Stay safe. <3