Across the world, transgender rights are under attack. Beyond the transphobia of politicians, our media landscape, and obsessive celebrities, there are millions of trans people struggling to access medical care, accommodation, and financial security. The material conditions and issues faced by trans people are absent from any and all mainstream attention on trans rights, which instead chooses to centre the grotesque self-victimisation of celebrities who’ve decided that transphobia is their hill to die on. It’s easy to focus on the sensationalised broadcast of transphobic rhetoric, but trans people themselves are conspicuously absent from the media attention on their lives.
Trans people deserve so much better.
Our Culture has collected a list of charities and causes that we hope our readers can support. It isn’t enough to say that we stand against transphobia. We must all recognise the parts that we play in perpetuating it. We hope that supporting the causes, people, and charities listed below can help.
Gendered Intelligence – U.K.
From their website:
“We are a trans-led and trans-involving grassroots organisation with a wealth of lived experience, community connections of many kinds, and a depth and breadth of trans community knowledge that is second to none. We believe everyone can be intelligent about gender! There are multiple strands to our work.”
Gendered Intelligence also offers a support line, which aims to provide “independent and confidential support to trans and non-binary patients (and their families) undergoing the NHS gender care waiting list and assessment process. The Support Line is now offering support to gender care patients at our new NHS partner Sheffield Porterbrook Clinic as well as continuing support services at the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.”
Trans Housing Coalition – U.S.
From their website:
“Our goal is and always will be to establish long-term housing in Atlanta for Trans people, particularly Black Trans women, who are experiencing chronic homelessness, and to ensure they have the wraparound services necessary to thrive.”
“The driving force of the Trans Housing Coalition’s work is Housing First, a method based on the notion that housing is a human right and that chronically homeless people deserve to be offered housing without needing first to satisfy any conditions such as sobriety – and then should be given the wraparound services needed in order to stay in housing and thrive in their lives.”
The Trans Housing Coalition also has a GoFundMe page which is (as of April 2021) still active.
TransgenderNI – Northern Ireland
From their website:
“We’re a human rights and community organisation for trans and gender diverse people in Northern Ireland. Based at our ground-breaking community centre, the Belfast Trans Resource Centre, we work tirelessly to protect and promote the rights and services that our community need.”
“We grew out of a need for a truly trans-led advocacy platform in Northern Ireland to represent trans rights issues as best as possible. We’re focusing on public campaigns, strategic policy and community development, while providing services and support to other organisations that need it.”
The Okra Project – U.S.
From their website:
“The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.”
Mermaids – U.K.
From their website:
“Mermaids supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and young people until their 20th birthday, as well as their families and professionals involved in their care. Transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and teens need support and understanding, as well as the freedom to explore their gender identity. Whatever the outcome, Mermaids is committed to helping families navigate the challenges they may face.”
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Finally, if you are in the U.K., write to your local MP. Make it clear that you want them to commit to firm support of trans rights. If you’re in the United States, write to your local representative to protest the authoritarian legislation being swept in to the detriment of young trans people.
It is also of paramount importance to listen to trans voices. This article is by no means exhaustive, nor should it be considered the summation of your (or our) support for trans people. We hope that this can be a starting point. Call out transphobia when you hear it. Please listen to trans voices.