I'm sure by now that many of you have heard or know of anti-trans legislation that has been passed or is being attempted across the country. Most of these bills are put in place to restrict access to medically necessary care or restrict the basic human rights of transgender individuals.
I want to dispel some myths as a transgender woman of color in rural America or as some people like to call us flyover country. To start, many of the laws that are being passed or attempted are regarding access to care, whether it be surgery, medications, or right to use the bathroom that aligns with your gender identity.
It has varied from state to state. But one common misconception that is spurred by those on the right is that doctors and advocates are pushing for extreme surgeries for transgender youth. This could not be further from the truth as a transwoman who has received gender-affirming care for years I can assure you that access and care is not as easy as it may seem.
When I started my transition about ten years ago, the closest place I could seek gender-affirming care in the form of even just medication was anywhere from an hour to three hours from where I lived at the time. I went to Chicago for treatment, because it was the easiest option that had the most resources available to me.
Seeking gender-affirming care isn't like walking in to a chiropractor for a neckache, especially not in rural areas. Often you have to have persistent documented symptoms of gender dysphoria. You have to have letters of support from a therapist, and you have to show that this is an ongoing issue. And that is just for medication for hormone replacement therapy.
To seek any sort of surgical intervention is a whole other ball game. You have to have letters from your therapist. You have to have letters from your physician. Managing your hormones or your primary care who is in support of your transition stating that this is in the best interest of you. This can take anywhere from a minimum of six months to sometimes even years.
Most of the arguments for these bills are under the guise of protecting the children. When in reality most minors seeking gender-affirming care start their transition on something called puberty blockers. These medications do not cause physical and mental changes to the body like hormones do. Instead they simply press the pause button on puberty allowing the patient, their caregivers, and medical team time to truly figure out what the end goal is. And what the patient is wanting to do and come up with a treatment plan. If the child decides they no longer want to transition medically, then they can simply go off of the puberty blockers, and their natural physical development will pick up where it left off. This little break from puberty normally allows time for the child to figure out what their true authentic self is.
We have seen even here locally where leaders try and silence LGBTQIA+ FOLX. The most recent example was in June, when the Galesburg city council pushed back on the possibility of a pride resolution and flying the pride and progress flags. Their argument was because there wasn't a flag ordinance.
The arguments from those of us who are queer advocates and allies was that there was already a precedent for flying the flags? Why not continue that? We have council members who made claims that "What about if other people wanted to fly a pro life flag or a Satanist flag?"
One alderwoman, in particular, used faith as a justification for not wanting to vote to fly the flag. When I spoke to her later, I reminded her that as Christians, we are called to love ALL people.
And so after hours of public comment, it was left at that they would fly the flag this year and would not fly anything else until a flag ordinance was passed. What I will call out though is that while there is still no flag ordinance none of the alderman who hid their bigotry behind what if excuses even batted an eye at not having a flag ordinance and flying the pro life flag this month.
You see, any person in this country who has ever truly faced oppression will tell you the ruling party or those in power will always come up with rules and barriers that you have to climb. What we as a country often don't talk about is how these barriers are continually evolving. The goal post is always being moved. If you want this right, then you have to meet these requirements. And when you play by the rules and meet those requirements. They move the goal post every time.
They will hide their bigotry behind lies of concern and what it really is. It is the hatred in their own hearts.
As for the right to use the restroom, you don't know the fear many transgender people face when we travel. I know many people, including myself, who have forced themselves to not use a public restroom out of fear of being assaulted or harassed. This is the reality many trans people face every day.
Over this last year while I was still the current reigning Miss Nationwide, I spent a lot of time traveling and making appearances throughout the country and the hardest thing I had to hear from all the students I spoke to as part of my platform was the questions of "What do I do if my parents aren't accepting of who I am?" Or " "How did you deal with living at home when your family wouldn't love you because of who you are?" Having to look at a student who is crying because they don't feel safe going home because of who they are and telling them it gets better and they just have hold on a few more years is heartbreaking.
The following statistics are from the Trevor Project, which puts out a yearly survey to LGBTQIA+ people. These are from last year.
- Fewer than 1 in 3 transgender and nonbinary youth found their home to be gender-affirming.
- LGBTQIA+ youth who found their school to be LGBTQIA+ affirming reported lower rates of attempting suicide.
- LGBTQIA+ youth who felt high social support from their family reported attempting suicide at less than half the rate of those who felt low or moderate social support.
- Nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide and
- LGBTQIA+ youth of color reported higher rates than their white peers.
- 45% of LGBTQIA+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year
These matters are not a choice. The only choice we as queer people make is whether we are able to be ourselves or if we have to no longer be here. This is the reality of life as an LGBTQIA+ person.
My job as an ally, advocate, and queer-identifying woman is to help as many queer youth make it to adulthood as I can.
Christina King is an activist and mentor living in Galesburg. She serves on the Galesburg Community Relations Commission and the Knox County Board of Health. She was crowned Miss Trans Illinois in 2020 and Miss Nationwide in 2022. She speaks at rallies throughout the Midwest on women’s rights, trans rights, and Black Lives Matter.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Western Illinois University or Tri States Public Radio.
Diverse viewpoints are welcomed and encouraged.