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lunate:

for all the shitheads continuing to throw a tantrum over Caitlyn Jenner being called a hero when “soldiers are the real heroes,” lemme throw some numbers at you real quick: during the deadliest war in American history (the Civil War), U.S. soldiers had a 1 in 15 chance of dying [x]. currently, trans women have a 1 in 12 chance of being murdered, or 1 in 8 for trans women of color [x]. it is currently MORE DANGEROUS to be a trans woman in the U.S. than it is to have fought in the deadliest war in our history. let that sink in as you sit down

Our society is not a welcoming place for trans people. It can sometimes be a dangerous place for trans people. But a statistic like “1 in 12 trans women will be murdered” is not just wrong, it’s terrifying. Specifically, it is terrifying to trans women. 

That statistic is made up and it’s been spread around a lot. It was made up in order to emphasize and highlight the difficulties of being trans in America (of which there are many) and to get people angry enough to fight for their rights. That’s a noble goal, but in my experience the biggest impact it’s had is scaring young trans people into wanting to continue to hide themselves from the world. By far the largest danger to trans people is suicide, and telling them the world hates them so much that they’re more likely to be murdered than to roll two sixes in craps is not helping. 

What will help is knowing that society enthusiastically accepts trans people, which is the society that we all need to help build together right now. And, of course, another huge help is the trans lifeline a trans-help phone line that is run and answered by transgender people that you can and should call if you are facing these difficulties and you need someone to talk to.

(via marinashutup)