I thought the read was interesting and insightful. When Alok said “A lot more airtime is given to other people’s views of us than our own experiences” I thought about the media I see when it comes to the gender binary and discrimination and I tend to hear on larger platforms from cis men and on social media and mutual aid organizations from people who are actually a part of these communities. Gender fluidity even while living in New York, may seem more supported, is societally discriminated against. In NY, where we often hide behind our alleged progressiveness we ignore police brutality, evictions in the state of a pandemic emergency, and other atrocities that are swept under the rug – discrimination against those who don’t fall under being a cis man or woman, is widespread. As Alok said “Bias and discrimination are not just being endorsed, they’re being given the green light.”

America does not want to admit that being pro LGBTQA+ and supporting the gender spectrum, does not align with its’ innate beliefs. America has been run by it’s two gender system, it’s gender roles, the two parent household run by a doting wife and a hard-working husband. Until America, as a whole, realizes how much harm they are doing by not supporting people to be diverse, individual, etc – people will continue to be divided and it will continue to be a dangerous climate for those who don’t stick to their respective gender roles. Cis women and men need to step down from their pedestals where they claim to be inclusive, instead of them continuously taking the mic on subjects that are not in their experience; they need to step down and offer up their platforms and resources to those who are underserved and discriminated against. People love to spout rhetoric that they are supportive and loving of everybody, from their very privileged perch without actually doing any listening work from people who are experts in this topic of conversation.

It is a very dangerous climate for trans women and men, specifically trans black women. With already 35 murders of trans women across the country and no media coverage on big station news, this is a real problem and will only continue happening if the country as a whole does not create policies that specifically protect these communities. It is not enough for government officials to just say that they are sorry and don’t condone this behavior. Real change needs to happen from every level and people have been working non stop from the ground up to make sure that people are protected.