I need your help. Right wing and trans exclusionary media spread lies about trans and non-binary people to delegitimize our existence and justify harassment against us. This slander continues uninterrupted because it’s profitable. Since the majority of news shared on social media is anti-trans and factually incorrect I want to get something straight.

These forces have misattributed a 2016 Facebook status about girlhood to me that I did not write. These words, ideas, and life experience are not mine. This status – an analysis of a film I haven’t seen — was written by a former colleague who was born female. The author states this in the text (“I have been a cute little girl”). This has been glossed over and erased in order to demonize and discredit me.

I have never been a girl. Anyone familiar with my life knows I am a non-binary transfeminine person who grew up a boy. For over fifteen years, I have written, spoken, and published a book about this experience.

This is how confirmation bias works: because people believe that transfeminine BIPOC are monsters, they ignore overwhelming evidence otherwise to re-enforce their views. The trope of transfeminine BIPOC as dangerous and predatory (especially to women and children) is part of a longstanding project to dehumanize us. This myth is used to deny our rights. The actual data shows that transfeminine BIPOC are the most likely to face discrimination and violence. We are not the threat, racism and transmisogyny are.

Society prioritizes other people’s words and projections over my life. This persistent malignment takes a dire toll on my body and spirit. Please correct the record and combat disinformation. Condemn scapegoating and exclusion. Resist the rising wave of anti-trans legislation. Protect transfeminine BIPOC lives. Affirm our dignity in a world that uses us as cheap shots for views, clicks, and political and financial gain.

Love and need you,
ALOK