1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

In the news, we only hear about trans women. We hear outcries from cis folks about a trans person using the toilet and misogynistic belief that cis women have a physical disadvantage if trans women play sports alongside them. We are so entrenched in transphobia that some permit the sexist assumption that all cis men inherently out perform all cis women. Those fears are based on cis men's behavior. "Boys will be boys," "don't prosecute the rapist because of his bright future," "but what was she wearing?" These are not trans women: attacking cis women while she defecates or of cis men joining women's sports to out-perform women. No cis man will spend their lives asserting their identity as a trans woman. Unfortunately, cis men feel the need to prove their masculinity; what we call "fragile masculinity." Trans folks wants to use the bathroom in peace. We want to play in sports without discrimination. I am a nonbinary/agender person. I am trans. (I am forced to choose from gendered honorifics to reach your mailbox.) One thing I love about Virginia is that I can mark my gender on my driver's license as "X," but I haven't done so because of the violence we face for simply existing. Trans men also experience all manner of verbal and physical violence. Where is the outcry of trans men using the men's restroom? Why is there no nation-wide debate regarding whether trans men can play in men's sports leagues? I fear more for the safety of my friends who are trans women or gender nonconforming men than I do for myself. Trans-misogyny puts them in danger from both cis men and women. The DA is fighting against our rights to self-identify and self-affirmation, to safety from transphobic violence, to privacy, to healthcare. Gender-affirming care saves lives. Trans teens and adults are more likely to attempt suicide than their cis peers and are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it. Gender-affirming care helps trans folks with mental health and body disphoria, significantly decreasing the number of trans suicides. Puberty-blockers put the breaks on puberty and are used for both trans and cis youth. How do transphobic folks reconcile their entitlement to know the reproductive organs under our pants or skirts? I was taught that these are our "private parts." No one is entitled to know what is or is not underneath our clothes except people with whom we willingly share information. I urge you, as my representatives and fellow Americans, to protect our freedom to exist, our privacy, our safety, and the healthcare we need. Thank you for your attention to these matters.