Awareness to Action

As we just finished Transgender Awareness Week I feel called to make a very important point, that awareness is not enough anymore and neither is acceptance.

It is 2021 we know that trans and non-binary people exist. Maybe we as a society need to start becoming more aware of what we can do to make this a safer, more loving society for everyone under the trans umbrella.

For so many clients I see from the LGBTQIA+ communities, hearing that someone accepts them feels like the lowest of bars.

They don’t want to be simply tolerated. They want to be actively accepted and affirmed for who they are. They deserve this as human beings and they certainly deserve it because of the pain and suffering they experience due to society’s prejudice and discrimination.

As our awareness of transgender people has grown in this country, so have the dangers to trans folks, especially black and brown trans women and femmes.

So this is a good time to reflect as an ally and make a commitment to act and change our society for the better.

Acting does not need to be some big, visible, monumental task you take on. It can be taking a critical eye and speaking up in spaces you inhabit about things that may be harmful to trans folks. It doesn’t matter if there are no known trans folks being affected, we need to shift our mentality so that we are correcting these issues so a trans person never has to encounter them.

It is definitely voting against anti-trans legislation and maybe it’s getting more politically active and knowledgeable.

It is definitely educating yourself about the issues the trans community faces. It is about affirming those in your community who come out to you and who you hear about coming out .

There are so many ways we can actively show up for our trans siblings. Now is the time.