I’ve had trouble lately expressing how I feel. Well to be honest, I am very overloaded by what is happening to my community. My editor finally sent me an email asking what’s up. My problem is I feel beat down. Because every time I turn on a radio or TV it’s full of hate against the transgender community.
I never thought I would come out, much less end up in a war for the survival of people like me. The right of our very existence is at stake. This has been extremely draining. Even pushing me somewhat back into my shell. Even writing this piece has been a burden because I would rather just stick my head in the sand and go on with life like it’s not happening at all, but it is. Conservative politicians are at war with the LGBTQ community! What will you do about it?
Why have we become the flash point of society? Currently there are more than 492 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States according to the ACLU. The current political environment has become openly hostile to LGBTQ people. They have decided to try and legislate us out of existence.
Over the past several years conservatives have been looking for an issue to rally around. Remember, it’s all about power and money. When the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriages were constitutionally protected. The right thought they had their issue and went after the gay community. However, this approach didn’t get any traction because most people even 49% of republicans agree with same sex marriages. So, it faded very quickly.
However, the far-right conservatives kept looking for something to push voters to the donate to them. They found their first lighting rod when Lia Thomas won the NCAA 500-yard freestyle. This quickly became the first real flashpoint and conservative radio amplified the call to outlaw transgender women in sports.
Even some in our own community jumped onto that bandwagon. Like Catlin Jenner, who said, because people who have gone through male puberty tend to be bigger, they should not be allowed to participate in female sports. However, this is a very complex issue and can’t be answered in a sound bite and she should know better. That is why you have committees that should be the ones answering these questions. Jenner reasoned that anyone that had gone through male puberty had an advantage over cis women. Which is untrue in many sports. Also, now days the number of transgender people who don’t go through this puberty is increasing but politicians don’t want that – they want control.
This supposed disparity in sports quickly became a trial balloon for conservative politicians against “wokeness.” Whatever that means. I think it means, people that don’t think like they do, I guess. But when they got some traction, this has led to an onslaught of conservatives pushing anti-transgender legislation. As they started getting traction they start piling on.
Next, they went after drag queens. While performing in drag is far from being transgender, many transgender people do drag because this is how they came out or one of the few ways some transgender people feel they can make money. But if you can make sure we can’t make a living you can really hurt the movement.
Next, they started passing bills that treat transgender minors and parents like criminals for understanding and accepting who they are. They really don’t understand our issue. Everyone I know that has seriously question their gender don’t just one day decide to change. Here is how I put it. Are you right or left-handed? After you answer, then ask yourself why? Are you right, left or ambidextrous. Everyone I have asked this say because they just know. It’s the same with gender. You just know.
Then conservative politicians set their sights on making sure people follow their orders and attacked the medical profession for treating transgender people. The state of Florida started to scare doctors to not even treat transgender patients. They did this through malpractice hysteria. That is if someone decides decades later they are not transgender or just need a paycheck, they can sue the doctors who treated them.
Now they are trying to attack trans people with detransitioners. Which is less than 1% of transgender people. That is, the people who have transitioned back to their original gender. Everybody I know or have talked to that has detransitioned do so for a variety of reasons. However, the most common ones are, hate coming from family, hate coming from their religion, hate coming from their communities, the ability to make a living, and most forms of non-acceptance. These people can’t take how the world treats them as opposed to them not being transgender.
Thanks for reading, just remember to be kind, you never know what battles people are fighting.
As always love, light, and peace, Sophie.
Author Profile
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Sophie Marie White, married with three kids, is a native of South Louisiana. She draws from her varied experiences as a writer, filmmaker, producer, Director of Photography, Chiropractor, EMT, firefighter, race car driver, and boxing promoter to inspire her acting and writing. She has been active in the film industry for the past 18 plus years.
Sophie began acting a little over a year ago. Since then she has been cast in several feature films, including Hummingbird and We All Think We Are Special. Sophie was also cast in several TV series including Tell Me Your Secrets and top of show, guest-starring role, on Chicago Med. In her first year and a half of acting, she has been cast in 3 television series, 14 movies, and 1 play.
She is also a syndicated writer, who writes on transgender issues in and outside the film industry. Her screenplays have won the ISA New Orleans Writers Award 2017 and have placed at Table Read My Screenplay (New Orleans, London, and Sundance), Final Draft Fellowship, ISA Fast-track Fellowship, and New York International Fright Fest.
Films she has produced from her screenplays have won or placed at numerous film festivals including AMFM, London Independent Awards, Imagination Lunchbox, and New Zealand Film Awards, just to name a few. She has even watched one of her produced films in the White House.
Sophie is a transgender female, and with her family, she’s making her way through the complicated transition process. She brings a unique voice that is extremely under-represented in the film and television industry. Her desire to share her journey will hopefully show others that there is hope, and they are not alone. Sophie tries to live up to her motto of love, light, and peace.
