Leelah Alcorn Died One Year Ago Today. Did We ‘Fix Society’ Like She Asked?

Leelah Alcorn’s tragic suicide became international news. She asked us to “fix society.” Have we?

On December 28, Leelah Alcorn walked in front of a truck. 

She was 17. Transgender. Her parents insisted on calling her “him,” and “Josh.”

But her death and the notes she left behind explaining her pain captivated the nation.

“After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong,” Leelah wrote on her Tumblr page, in a post she scheduled to be published posthumously.

As NCRM reported last year, her final words in the post were “Fix society. Please.” And she begged parents to offer support, not condemnation. “If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.”

“My mom started taking me to a therapist,” Leelah also said in her post, “but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.”

After Leelah died, her mother posted a note to Facebook telling friends of the sad loss of her “sweet 16 year old son, Joshua Ryan Alcorn,” who “went home to heaven this morning.” Her Facebook page still lists her children, using the name “Josh” instead of Leelah.

So, have we fixed society?

Not even close, but there has been progress.

Transgender people in the past year have gained more positive attention, which is an important start, thanks to activists like Laverne Cox and Janet Mock. Caitlyn Jenner coming out as transgender has also helped (although she’s been widely criticized too.)

But this year has seen more murders of transgender women, especially Black transgender women, than any other in history. And transgender people are still daily mocked and harassed, often victims of hate crimes, beaten, bullied, and murdered, just for being transgender.

One very positive note, the direct result of the attention Leelah’s death brought.

A “We The People” petition on the White House website asked President Obama to “Enact Leelah’s Law to Ban All LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy.”

NCRM found the petition, and just days before it was to expire, our readers worked hard to get enough signatures on it to require the White House to respond.

President Obama did, calling for every state to enact laws banning harmful LGBTQ “conversion” or “reparative” therapy.

And states are now, one by one, beginning to enact bans on harmful reparative and “ex-gay” therapy, while courts have begun to rule the practice is fraud.

The Secretary of Defense has ordered the ban on open service by transgender members of the military to be dropped. 

Today we should honor Leelah, and all the people the world has lost by making being transgender a struggle. 

It’s important to note that while the world owes a great deal to Leelah Alcorn, suicide is never the answer. There is always a better way to accomplish important goals. If you’re an LGBTQ youth or teen and struggling, there are people and places that can help, including The Trevor Project.

For more long-term help, advocacy, and partnership: Safe Schools Coalition, Gay Straight Alliance Network, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

 

Hat tip: Cincinnati.com