In Memoriam: 2011's Transgender Murder Victims

On one hand, it seems inconceivable that we need such a thing as Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those murdered for their gender identity and takes place for the 13th year this Sunday. But when you have publications like the New York Post refer to Chaz Bono as a "she-man," as it did this week, you can see where some of the intense hate directed at transgender people is born. This devaluation of their lives translates to death every year for many transgender men and women, and 2011 was no different. Here are eight of the approximately 221 transgender people murdered this year, as compiled by Ethan St. Pierre for TransgenderDOR.org. 

Krissy Bates 

Bates, 45, was strangled and stabbed in her Minneapolis apartment in January. Her boyfriend, Arnold Darwin Waukazo, is the prime suspect; his trial began this month. Bates had recently moved from Kentucky to Minneapolis to start a new life.