Argumentative Essay: The Murder Of Maya Young

Growing up in America in the 50s and 60s was brutal for young trans people, let alone an transgender orphan born into poverty. Her mother killed herself when Sylvia was just three; her biological father was already long gone. Sylvia’s forbidding Venezuelan grandmother took her in, but despised Sylvia’s

"Transgender: By the Numbers." Times Union. Times Union, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

The hate crime of Brandon brought national attention to the ideal and possibility that someone would want to change their gender. For many people, this was their first time even hearing about trans people and the violence against trans people. After his death, his identity was challenged and argued even though there are quotes from him saying he felt like a man trapped inside a woman's body. As Karina Eileraas puts it “Transgender violence targets both men and women, but Brandon Teena's case highlights its particularly brutal effects on FTM transgender individuals. Boys Don't Cry provides a clear political incentive to integrate feminist, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender concerns in the analysis of violence against women...Serious risks accompany any attempt to invest the body with particular 'truths' about gender and sexuality”. Brandon was not fully accepted in life or given the support he needed but he is remembered in death and his story continues to inspire many people whether trans or not.

The death of Lela Alcorn was an event that dramatically changed our views on sexuality. Shortly after Leelah died, a petition was started known as Lela’s law which would ban conversion therapy in the United States. The petition gathered 100,000 signatures in which case required a response from white house officials. In April 2015, President Obama responded to the petition stated that he supported the law and was working to get the law enacted. To give more overview on Lela’s suicide, Lela Alcorn was a 17-year-old transsexual female who jumped out in front of a trunk. In her suicide note Lela stated “I feel like a girl trapped in a boy 's body, and I 've felt that way ever since I was 4.” (Lela Alcorn Suicide note page 1). When Lela was 14, Lela told her parents that she was transgender, however Lela’s parents were not accepting of this decision, stating that God doesn’t make mistakes and that she was in fact a boy and sent her to conversion therapy. The conversion therapy only made Lela feel worse about herself and took her own life.

Everyday Transgender Women of color are mistreated and repressed by society, they face constant ridicule and mistreatment. They face a constant issue of society judging them and putting them under a microscope. Societal repression is a constant issue these women face just because of their gender identity. Transgender Women of Color are one of the most least mentioned groups in society. This under shadowed group of women is struggling. They face constant abuse and repression, society is destroying these women. These women who are just like everyone else are one of the most mistreated societal groups around. They face things like mistreatment in the health field that should be helping them through one of the biggest transitions of their life.

Transgendered individuals are 25 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. They tend to be live in abject poverty often surviving n less than $10,00 per year household income compared to the rest of the population. They are more likely to face harassment and physical assault, with transgenders that are people of colour faring worse than all other races across the board. Many

Although social issues have gotten better, it seems as if things such as homophobic and transphobic hate crimes are once again on the rise. According to the Uniform Crime Report, 2017 was the most dangerous year to be LGBT in America, with 52 homicides

With so little transgender celebrities and almost no representation of transgender in the media, it is no wonder that you hear of so many trans youth killing themselves. The most famous representation of the transgender community is Sophie in Orange is the New Black, who was thrown into prison for credit card fraud to afford her transition. There is also Adam on Degrassi, a female to male transgender whose mom did not fully accept him until he was dying. Degrassi is my favorite representation of transgender youth because when people of the school found out about Adam, the jocks of the school started to tease him and pick on him, even throwing him into a window. This accurately showed what it is like to be living as a transgender person in a bigoted society where you don’t feel like you belong. One celebrity that comes to mind when some hear the term ‘transgender’ would be Caitlyn Jenner. Born Bruce Jenner and being a famous Olympian, she proudly came out as Caitlyn and made the brave decision to publically transition. But yet, people of the world did not want to accept her as Caitlyn. People even made pictures and posts saying “Bruce is not brave, our soldiers are brave,” and comments out loud saying “Gender identity is something Bruce Jenner is struggling with.” Although there was a number of support, trans youth cannot be expected to fully come out and love themselves if they have very little representation and

Around the world, crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity are on the rise. According to 76crimes.com, the Trans Murder Monitoring project of Transgender Europe reported 1,731 transgender and gender-diverse people were murdered in more than 44 countries around the world between 2008 and 2014. Nearly 500 of those murders occurred between May 2013 and December 2014. According the FBI, approximately 1,200 out of 6,000 hate crimes committed in 2013 were based on sexual orientation in the United States.

Maya had a very difficult childhood. At a young age her parents split up, and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandma in Stamps, Arkansas.

In 1941 Maya and her bother returned to live with thier mother in San Francisco where she attended George Washington High School and studied dance and drama on a scholarship at California Labor

Gwen Araujo, a transgender woman was the target of brutal hate crime, and her case is a prime example that illustrates a more subjective, personal experience of transphobia and transmisogyny. Such a situation, as pointed out by Dr. Linda Heidenreich, happens when "normalized gender roles is central to what makes a person human" (Heidenreich 60). Gwen Araujo was a woman born with as a male, but their family was supportive and encouraging of her gender identity. However, she had gained sexual partners as a teenager. On the morning of October 4th, 2002, she was sexual active with some men were from the group consisting of Jason Cazares, Michael Magidson, José Merél, Jaron Nabors, and one of their female acquaintances named Nicole Brown. Before the murder, the group of men discussed their sexual experiences and eventually the topic shifted to Gwen’s sex. Merél shouted at Araujo, asking "Are you a fucking woman or a man?" (Heidenreich 59). Then, Brown took Araujo into the bathroom to check whether she was a woman

This is just one instance where anyone who falls under being transgendered is forced to put themselves into a tiny box. These people are forced to choose a gender because of the traditional roles that were engraved into everyone’s minds. It causes many to become depressed and even suicidal and it’s all because they don’t fit into the societal roles that were given to them

But trans women are still murdered hint hint MURDERED for being trans at a rate of oh about 1 in 12

On the screen a women dressed in a pants suit, straight mouth, and microphone in hand. Behind her is possibly a high school in a small town, or an everyday two story home. Though it's the despair of the situation, the words passing from her lips that will draw in viewers. Viewers who sit on their couches, shake their heads, muttering what a shame it all was. What a shame that yet another young life was taken, a life taken by their own hands. Over the course of 2015, multiple teen suicides were being reported in such a way nationwide. It was the unique factor that all the teens had in common, that caught so many viewers attention. Each and everyone of them identified as transgender, and had recently came out with their new identity to family members and peers.The death of Leelah Alcorn (born Josh Alcorn), on December 28, 2014(CNN) seemed to be the main stream attention setter for the news and media that spread into the new year of 2016. Leelah had posted a note on her Tumblr blog, a suicide note, explaining why she felt she had to end her life short.”They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.” (CNN). Wrote Leelah mere hours before she stepped in front of a moving trailer. Ending her life much too