Oppression Continues During the COVID Crisis
The world is coping with its worst pandemic in a century but that hasn’t stopped the endemic hatred of gender nonconforming people.
In India, posters appeared on the streets proclaiming that you can get COVID-19 simply by talking to a transgender person. In the United States, state legislatures are still considering, and in a handful of cases passing, laws targeting the right of transgender people to exist.
Although ICE detention camps aren’t in the news much these days, the camps are still there, and just this week, several groups filed a class action suit seeking to have all LGBTQ detainees freed.
Unemployment is surging as some businesses close temporarily or permanently, and too often transgender people who are at the fringes of the economy anyway are among the first to lose their jobs. And if you have to rely on sex work for survival, you obviously can’t participate in the socially privileged online work world.
An overburdened health system is making it harder for some to access hormone replacement therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries are being postponed as non-essential. These procedures may not be physically lifesaving in the way a heart bypass is, but anyone who has known the psychic pain of waiting for months or years to bring their body and self into alignment know how agonizing another delay can be.
When I began my coming out process, I found support groups to be invaluable. It’s wonderful to have empathetic allies, but no one can truly know what this experience is like unless you’ve lived it. Now in-person meetings are on indefinite hiatus, although some groups have moved online. Limits on public gatherings has also led to postponement or cancellation of Pride events.
So where’s the ray of light? Actually, there are several.
I’ve found numerous stories about queer communities coming together to meet needs for essentials like food and shelter for those in greatest need. Food banks, delivery of care packages, and the like. It’s finding and strengthening community in new ways, and ways that I hope will continue when we move toward whatever our new normal might be.
During my own journey, now about to enter its third year, I have been continually moved by the courage and resilience of my transgender siblings. So many of you have endured hardships and obstacles that would crush many souls. When you’ve had to suffer in so many ways to be your authentic self, you build an inner strength that can’t be wiped out by a virus.
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Category: Transgender Body & Soul, Transgender Opinion
About the Author (Author Profile)
Claire Hall was born and grew up in a large city on the left coast and has spent most of her adult years in a beautiful small coastal community where she's now an elected official in local government after spending many years as a newspaper and radio reporter. In her space time she loves reading, writing fiction (her first novel was published by a regional press a couple of years ago), watching classic Hollywood movies, and walking.Subscribe
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