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The best way to combat racism is to meet foreigners. It seems that works for transphobia, too.
Foreigners is too narrow. I think its people that are unlike you are. Foreigner not the only way to say it, even if it iss effective.
Is it a known thing that trans women are trafficked more?
It’s harder for us to get more traditional employment due to discrimination, so more of us get desperate than baseline. Such desperation makes it more likely for us to be victims of human trafficking.
I hate that so much. It’s really the culmination of The Right Wing’s strategy to kick down. Find the most vulnerable people who are least able to defend themselves, make things worse for them and then continue to blame them for everything. Fucking cowardly bullies.
Solidarity with the trans community is incredibly important in the fight against fascism.
I’m a tall, white, bearded cis guy and I want to be an ally. Is there anything I can do in my day to day to help? I don’t have any irl trans friends but I try to be extra polite in my interactions with strangers because I’m really worried that the way I look could put a trans person on edge.
not part of the queer community myself, but a nice way to signal that you are safe to interact with is having like a queer pin or anything similar
Unless an opportunity presents itself, just be nice and supportive to any queer and neurodivergent people you may know. Everyone loves good people!
If you want to be super proactive, go to civil rights protests and get involved in helping vulnerable people like the unhoused. A lot of us struggle with poverty, and injustice for anyone is injustice for all
I will. Thank you!
So not specific to human trafficking, just the general reality of being a very marginalized and poorly understood group which society has made into a scapegoat
We’re also heavily fetishized and even more likely to get trafficed as sex workers
Nothing more validating to us trans women’s gender than being disproportionately the victim of heinous acts and made the object of some fucko’s sexual desires
What comes, like, four steps after ewwphoria?
That’d be dread
Hmm. Could it count as Awe? Often very close with dread.
It’s awe-inspiring how true and complete your transition to Woman is. Entire forces of society able and willing to obliterate you and ruin your life, because they, in all essence, see you as the woman you are.
And by woman, they mean someone vulnerable, with a body worth exploiting for the appetites of the rich.
Also a whole lot of men who are into dick but need to think of themselves as “straight” channel a weird combination of obsession and contempt towards us.
Wouldn’t that be thinking of themselves as terminally-closeted “gay”? or is it just another branch on the growing self-awareness bankruptcy tree that our hyperconnected era of limitless feedback from strangers has brought us
Homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny simultaneously.
I would say the straights aren’t okay, but I don’t even think it’s “the straights”, it’s just conservativism as a toxic mental health pandemic, perpetuating itself, as intended. The dumb, violent, fearful, ignorant, hateful, bigoted mind virus. Yeah I’m woke, I’m awake and aware of the unfortunately neverending stream of evil bullshit. I’m sick of it. Make it stop.
Same as it ever was
I have a friend who was. So yeah.
Oh god…
Is this…true? Statistically likely? I’m not doubting you, I’m just actually unpleasantly surprisedI fear
Yes. Much more likely than cis women, but numbers wise less than cis women. The proportion of trans women that are trafficked is much higher.
For an anecdote, all of the sex trafficking victims I know happen to be trans, (but given that I too, am a trans woman and know way more trans people than the average person the sampling is biased).
I also fear it’s where I’ll end up, because I’m too trans, too neurodivergent, and too mentally ill to hold a normal job.
You won’t end up like that, you’ll be ok
How often do you think they’ve heard “you’ll be okay” and had it turn out false?
The fact that you’re willing to say things will be okay when you have no information to base that on makes you unreliable, and unsafe to be around when there is danger.
I’m saying it as an attempt to comfort, I’m sorry that it didn’t come off that way.
I’m not OP but FWIW as someone who hasn’t necessarily had the most pleasant life and is ND I can try and add a little more context as to why that might not be comforting. Especially for someone that may be neurodivergent.
In short platitudes like that are basically just a secular statement of “thoughts and prayers”. It often seems like it is more for the speakers benefit so that that they don’t have to actually engage with the lived reality of the person they are talking to. I can’t speak for all neurodivergent people, but my mind works based on probabilities and evidence.
When someone says to me that they know I’ll find success after I open up about something that I have been struggling with for ten or twenty years, my immediate response (if I decide to ignore the social script) is to interrogate that statement. Where will I find success? When? Who do I need to talk to? Obviously they don’t actually know and telling me that is ultimately being dismissive of my experience. If they have genuine help they can offer there is rarely nothing more that I want, but it’s even more rare that anyone actually has either the ability or the willingness to help. In that situation I just want them to recognize and acknowledge my existence and to sit with and share that discomfort.
TL;DR If you can’t actually help, just witness them.
It’s the only thing that calms me down when I think about it and get into spirals. I was pretty severely neglected as a child and my husband is the other kind of neurodivergent, not great at comforting and support. My stupid stunted attempts at comfort are from that. I feel terrible that I made that person upset. I really need to remember that I’m not good at this before I try to comfort people.
You’re good, you were just worried about me. I get it.
I’m in the same boat, too ND to work, plus I have one more disability. I’m only spared that fate because my husband saved me and takes care of me. I’m one bad day away from those kind of choices. Telling myself I’ll be ok is the only way I can calm down, I had hoped to do the same for you :(
I have diabetes too. Type 1. I have an insulin pump and I have to monitor all the carbs I eat.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anyone who will help me. I’ve gotta keep going anyway with zero social support if I’m gonna survive.
Jesus. With all the trans people currently desperate to get out of red states…
There must be an epidemic right now. “You a 19 year old living in Oklahoma, come live with us out West. We’ll put you up for awhile while you get on your feet. Can even help you find work…” There are of course plenty of activist groups and individuals doing this kind of thing out of genuine kindness and doing it with good faith. But…what an opportunity for human traffickers…
Wait til you learn about v-coding.
That’s a prison thing, but that’s bad too.
Jeez…that’s actually horrible. Had no idea it was that bad.
I unfortunately understand your fear. To be honest, I fear the same thing for myself. I’m very dependent on other people, very obviously trans, I’m fetishizable, I’m fairly young and inexperienced and I’ve been told I have some good qualities about me. Add me being naive and my mental state on top of that and I feel like it’s practically just a matter of time and meeting the wrong people for me. And just like you, I can’t hold a job to save my life, I’ve never been employed once in my life so stuff like sex work is basically the only thing I can do.
This is scary. And it’s depressing. Combined with what’s happening all over the world right now, I’m really scared. Not that much for my own safety, but for all my trans brothers and sisters. This is fucked up…
