Photo Taken By Imogen Brown and Josiah T. McKinley. A woman is at the center of a heated news conference where her existence and identity as a Trans Woman is the debate. The news team violently shoves their microphones and journals in her face as if she isn’t restricted by the tape plastered on her mouth. On this tape lies the words “Say My Name”, depicting the censorship the U.S government has imposed on Trans Women and forces them to hope the viewers of their pain will “say their name” while they are still alive. Photo taken February 28, 2025.
Liminal is a defining characteristic of being transgender in this modern era. My existence is perpetually stuck in the middle of debates on the legality of my existence. My survival is volatile in this violent epidemic on violence against trans people. My history is forgotten all while trying to live within the flesh and bones that makes me human.
Existing in the middle of the burning fire my government lit, I am left with two options: to be engulfed by the flames or let the fire burn within me. In this act of selflessness, as my clothes turn to ash and my flesh burns with my soul, I find a passion to survive and not a damned country can take from me. These wounds turn into the beauty that makes me unique. The pain my ancestors faced pave the grounds of my history. I walk out with my scorched flesh oozing, with my blood turned to a sweet summer wine, my mind is filled with a simple question: “Does my identity offend you?”
Coming to terms with the low chance of getting a gender marker changed during the Trump presidency invigorated me. “Under the executive order, we will no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker. We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth,” according to the Travel State Gov. Now all the work done for trans people’s legal right to identity is under attack. To have the ability to look at your ID and feel like it reflects the person you are is now a privilege I won’t have under this legislation. What some might see as just a gender marker, means more to people who live outside of the binary thinking of gender.
Haughtiness is key, especially existing in spaces where you are the only trans woman. While it’s a given for other people, I typically have to prove I am a human deserving the same respect others are given.
“The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system,” according to The White House Government Website. Trans women are forced to prove why statistically we are not the ones harming cisgender women. According to the FBI’s 2024 crime data explorer, men statistically account for the majority of aggravated assault (1,590,932 / 2,408,014), homicide (53,421 out of 77,375 cases reported), rape (378,690 out of 441,102 cases reported), robbery (616,877 out of 885,119 cases reported), and criminal sexual contact ( 265,621 out of 327,739 cases). Instead of claiming the crime, the real crime is how our U.S. government is criminalizing trans people.
If you don’t respect yourself, then how the hell do you demand respect from others? In times like these, we are our own biggest supporter in the midst of this U.S. presidency. All trans people are asking “is for a little respect” (reference to “Respect” by Aretha Franklin) and we still haven’t received any anywhere, especially in dating culture.
Existing in and outside of dating spaces is like crawling amongst a sea of snakes. Some people see me as a hot commodity for their own fetishes and others want to keep their trans partners on the down low, when a partner keeps their sexuality as a secret all the while engaging in sexual and romantic relationships. There is nothing worse than someone who hides their connection to me because of who I am.
These types of confrontations can be deadly with the statistics showing that 63% of all killings of trans individuals are from their intimate partners, according to statistics from the Human Rights Campaign’s report on the Epidemic of Violence Against Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming persons.
Some more frightening statistics from the Human Rights Campaign shows between 2013 to 2024, 84% of trans victims of fatal violence are people of color. Statistics are statistics, but living within them is a feeling I pray no one else has to experience. Every time I walk outside, I take a breath I might never gasp again and as I exhale, I take note of my surroundings. Do I have a blind spot? Is someone following me again as a walk among mankind? Did I notify my friends of my location just in case? Do I feel safe where I am or do I need to leave? Do I at least have someone I know around me? Is this person a vocal ally or will they walk away when I’m in dire need? If the Lord takes me away as I write these words, will they “say my name” beyond my grave? These are the feelings trans people like myself come across. Survival is the hope for a future where younger trans people (under the age of 30) aren’t at a 74.7% risk to become future victims of harm as data from the Human Rights Campaign show. Not only is the safety of trans history threatened, but our history is as well.
In the span of a few weeks, the mention of trans people protesting in the Stonewall Riots has been eradicated from the National Park Service website. Seeing this erasure of my people in a riot lead by two black trans women, Marsha P. Johnston and Ylvia Rivera, and the monumental reason for the decriminalization of LGBTQIA+ people is a major setback. Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day as one filled with love, protesters pushed against this decision made by the National Park. In these times, “We the People” decide if an entire community is erased because of a false threat labeled “DEI.” What we decide to do as a generation will impact what history the next generation will have to look back on. If I didn’t have the history of the older trans women who came before me, who knows how I could cope today living in an oligarchy. History should never be erased because of someone else’s selfish purposes especially when DEI is “meant to improve overall outcomes by breaking down barriers between people and putting everyone on a level-as-possible playing field,” according to Merriam Webster. Diversity is not as a reason for the recent plane crash in the Regan Airport as Trump claims it is. Equity ensures that everyone is on a leveled playing field and isn’t “an excuse for biased and unlawful employment practices and illegal admissions preferences,” as stated on the White House Government website. Inclusion is key with maintaining a balanced perspective. If DEI is considered a threat to our nation, then how can the U.S. be considered a land build of the people, by the people, and for the people?
“We the People” voted him into office. “We the people” are responsible for what hell we bring onto our nation. So, when the names of my people are persecuted, say my name. Say my name as you watch what you’ve brought upon innocent lives. Say my name so my existence shall never be erased. Say my name as my government accuses me of the crime of living. Say my name when I’m alive to hear your cries, anger and hatred. Say my name correctly. My name is Imogen Moore Brown. I am not to be referred to as a “Tranny” during a House Committee meeting. I am not to be written off as a DEI hire for a position I’ve earned. I am not a victim to my government. I am the movement.