Guest- Jamie Black

This blog is written by my guest writer Jamie Black.

In light of all of the legislation being passed that will hurt transgender kids, I feel the need to come out and speak about the damage this is doing.

I am a 56 year old transman.  I came out in my 20’s and began my transition. There weren’t a lot of resources back then and also the language was different.  We were transsexuals. And for me, I wasn’t even sure that that was what I was.  I mean, you didn’t see anyone like me in print or on television.  I thought I was the only one like me. Even when I saw transwomen, I didn’t realize that I was just like them only going in the opposite direction.  I wanted to die. I wanted to die because I thought I was alone and I thought that no one would ever accept me. And that was mainly because of how society treated gay people. It was the 80’s and the AIDS epidemic was ravishing the gay community.  People treated them like they had the plague; Like what was happening to them was happening because they were sinners. And I figured if they didn’t accept gay people, they certainly wouldn’t accept me.  

And now I feel like this is happening again only with trans kids. There is finally representation and trans kids can see people like them as successful adults.  Parents are educating themselves about being transgender and empowering their kids to express themselves. They are providing their children with gender-affirming care. 

But legislation is being passed that will harm trans kids. Trans kids can be themselves but are being told that they’re not worthy of the healthcare they need.  And to be clear, this is healthcare.  Not only medical, but mental healthcare. It would be better if they would just ignore them altogether rather than be openly hostile towards these kids.

If they truly care about all lives, then they will not allow legislation to be passed that takes away gender-affirming care. They won’t ban books that have representation in them of LGBTQ people. If I had been able to see people who looked like me represented in the media, I wouldn’t have felt like such an outcast. I wouldn’t have felt like committing suicide every day. If these people are true Christians, then they would care if kids want to die.  They should educate themselves on the kinds of care that these kids are receiving.  This care is necessary for their mental health and well-being. It is just as essential as antibiotics are for someone with a bacterial infection. 

I tell people who ask me about being an ally and I tell them to educate themselves about what is going on in Congress and then write to their Congressperson. Explain to them how important this gender-affirming care is.  And then if you know parents with transkids, stand with them against school boards and state legislatures.  Hold space for parents to share their concerns.  And listen. Listen to kids who say they don’t feel like the gender they’ve been assigned. Help them to navigate towards a supportive community so they will hopefully be shielded from the damage that this legislation is doing. 

If you need any advice, want to talk, or want me to talk to your kid and let them know that everything will be OK, please reach out to me. I’m more than happy to chat with you.  And we have Zoom now, so I can chat with anyone, anywhere. My email is jamie.black42@gmail.com.