HRC releases #ThisIsTransgender video to fight ignorance and fearmongering
HRC urges transgender people and allies to share their stories on social media
The Human Rights Campaing have announced the release of #ThisIsTransgender, a video that aims to educate lawmakers and other what it means to be transgender.
“In every effort to bully us, lawmakers continued to utilize fear-mongering and scare tactics by claiming discriminatory policies keep people safe, when in reality their actions achieve the exact opposite,” said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride, in a blog post. “Political leaders like North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have repeatedly claimed that they cannot define “transgender,” and that no clear definition exists.
“That simply is not the case. People who are transgender have a gender identity different from our sex assigned at birth. It’s that simple.”
The video opens with North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory saying there is no definition for “transgender.” McCrory has watched his popularity fall and his reelection bid become somewhat perilous after North Carolina’s anti-trans HB 2 law received widespread criticism and cost his state millions of dollars.
He continues to support the law and believes that preventing trans people from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity helps keep people safe. North Carolina’s voters disagree — and #ThisIsTransgender hopes to combat some of the stigma and misinformation that has been spread by McCrory and others who support such extreme legislative measures.
“Despite the increased visibility of transgender people in our daily lives and in society, including celebrities such as Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner or Janet Mock, many in the trans community still face severe discrimination, stigma and violence on a daily basis,” McBride notes.
HRC are urging transgender people and their allies to start using #ThisIsTransgender on social media, to “let lawmakers know that #ThisIsTransgender.”
“We are siblings, parents, and children. We are neighbors, classmates, and colleagues,” wrote McBride. “And most importantly, we are people, worthy of being treated with dignity and respect.”
Watch the video below:
Related: Study that claimed no one is born LGBT was “a political act, not an academic act,” says Sarah McBride
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