There are many ways to act in solidarity with trans and gender diverse folks. We can’t possibly list out all of the ways to stand in solidarity, but here are some thoughts:
- Use your material resources in solidarity.
- Use your personal energies in solidarity.
- Use your political energies in solidarity.
IMPORTANT NOTES: we all exist within multiple kinds of privilege and oppression. Marginalization and oppression stack. Consider devoting more of your ally energy to those who are most impacted by oppressive systems and/or have the least amount of privilege. Refer to our (incomplete) list of privileges in the first part of this series.
USE YOUR CONCRETE RESOURCES FOR GOOD
- Cash
- Goods
You don’t have to be max out your budget or give away all of your possessions, but if you’ve got a little extra, sharing it is a form of direct mutual aid. Here’s a potential prioritization of ways to do so:
Give Directly. Participate in direct mutual aid.
Give to Organizations Doing Specific Work Benefiting Trans and Gender Diverse Lives
Give to Organizations Dedicated to Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse People.
Tell Your Favorite Organizations That You Want Them To Use Your Donation in Solidarity with Trans Lives.
What Is Mutual Aid?
Here’s an intro to mutual aid:
Queer and other oppressed communities have long-standing networks of mutual aid. Add your resources to those networks. If you don’t know how to access an existing network, prioritize your sharing to trans and gender diverse folks within your immediate communities.
How to find and develop mutual aid networks.
Mutual aid networks are nothing new. Many of us are familiar with giving a neighbor a cup of sugar, with faith-based networks, gofundmes, and meal trains: it’s about being in community with and supporting others in your community as they also support you.
Start with people you already know and are in community with.
Grow Your Trans Solidarity Network
Ask your TNGD friends. They know someone who could use a little help. They may need a little help.
Reach out to the folks in your community who were active (and may still be active) in COVID mutual aid groups. They may know how to get you in touch with the trans solidarity groups.
Ask at your local LGBTQ+ Community Center and your local library.
Go to PRIDE and ask at community group booths.
Use your preferred online search engine for trans mutual aid groups in your area.
Heck, even your local Buy Nothing Group or Nextdoor group can get you started.
There are so many ways to do mutual aid.
Bonus move: hand cash money to strangers.
Your Solidarity Work Scales UP and OUT.
Direct mutual aid is just one very impactful way to be an ally. So much of solidarity is in the little moments that have big impacts.
USE YOUR FUZZY RESOURCES FOR GOOD
- Your Time
- Your Energy
- Your Passion
- Your Creativity
Be OBVIOUS
- Add your pronouns to your email sig.
- Wear a pronoun pin. Get all decked out in rainbows and stripes. Wear swag.
- Fly a PRIDE flag.
- Share posts on social media.
Be LOUD
- Interrupt unsupportive people in the moment.
- Challenge transphobic actions. Big and small.
- Correct wrong pronoun or name use so the TNGD person doesn’t have to.
- Ask “Could you explain that joke to me? I don’t get it.”
- Channel that “Speak to a Manager” energy, but use it in support.
Be PERSISTENT
- Write to your politicians.
- Call your politicians.
- Go to your school board meeting and speak up about the rights of TNGD students and staff.
- VOTE, dammit!
Challenge UNJUST LAWS
Existing is dangerous for a lot of trans people right now. Civil disobedience isn’t for everyone, but you can make it safer for trans people by challenging the laws that discriminate against them.
Here’s a recent example of the community deciding to do something that the state said wasn’t allowed: Jacksonville Pride lit up the bridge in rainbow colors, even though the Florida state government prohibited cities and towns from doing so officially.
Is there a bathroom ban in your state? Escort someone to and protect them in a restroom.
Are you no longer allowed to use someone’s name or pronoun at work or in school? Default to last names only for everyone.
Are books banned? Gosh, what’s a Little Free Library or a donation or a petition or a book club or attending the library board meeting to do?
We shared this image in the last article, but we’ll share it again in this one. Here’s what the youth responding to the Trevor Project 2024 U.S. National Survey said were the top ten ways to support them:
BACKGROUND STUFF AND TERMS TO KNOW:
Minority Stress: Minority Stress is the detrimental impact to health and wellbeing caused by prejudice, discrimination, and bias. These sometimes hard to define and identify but systemic oppressions make those who experience them sicker and poorer. There are three components to minority stress:
- It is uniquely experienced by groups of people rather than all people.
- It is chronic: it doesn’t end at the end of the school day or work day.
- It is socially-based.
We’ve talked about it before:
- Testosterone and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
- Pump You Up: Benefits of Cardiovascular Exercise for LGBTQ+ People
Social Determinants of Health: the World Health Organization definition is “the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes.” Many social determinants of health directly impact minority stress.
MONEY Doesn’t Buy Happiness, But It Sure Can Lower Stress: More Reasons For Direct Giving
All of the below assertions have been studied. For ease of backing up these statements, take a gander at Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Transgender in America and Protecting and Advancing Health Care for Transgender Adult Communities
Trans and gender diverse folk are more likely than cisgender folk to:
- be un- or underemployed
- work in underground or lower-paying occupations
- have less money in savings
- have less access to credit and financial aid
- have fewer protections against discrimination
- and a harder time getting accurate identity documents
- experience bullying and harassment at school and work
- have stable and safe housing
- have higher medical costs
- have less access to medical care
- have higher rates of substance use and abuse
- have higher rates of heart disease.
All of these stressors add up.
LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be poor than heterosexual people. Trans and gender diverse people are more likely than cisgender people to be poorer. BIPOC trans and gender diverse people are more likely than white trans and gender diverse people to be poorer. Of course, this doesn’t mean that cisgender heterosexual white people can’t be poor or aren’t deserving of solidarity. Solidarity is about all of us. We help us all survive and thrive.
Stay Checked-In With QueerDoc!
Just an email, every month or so.
