After news broke that a memo that could threaten the civil rights of transgender citizens was circulating among federal agencies, many are declaring that although the Trump administration may declare gender identity doesn't exist, transgender people #WontBeErased.
The campaign, which highlights the endurance of the transgender community and the resistance to the government declaring that gender is based solely on genitalia, offers hope and empowerment in the wake of the dark news.
Here are some of the most important messages from trans people, the parents of trans children, and other advocates.
We’ve been walking this earth before men spoke their first words. We were high priestesses, messengers of the divine, healers, queens’ lovers and kings’ concubines. We were revered. We will show our resilience & we will rise again & again. #WontBeErased https://t.co/NDUhKiR523
— Cecilia Chung (@cecilia_c_chung) October 21, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump Don’t pick fights you can’t win. We are not going away. We will not be erased. And we will not surrender to your cowardice and cynicism. November is coming.#WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/EtmHhXkvS4
— Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) October 22, 2018
Cis allies, we need you to use your privilege to amplify our voices. To center us. To invite us to the table. To open doors we don’t have access to. We need you. More than ever. #WontBeErased #CisAssist
— Mx. AC Dumlao #WontBeErased (@mxacdumlao) October 22, 2018
Dear cisgender siblings, if this is a wake-up call for you, then where have you been? Cisgender silence is violence. #TransIsBeautiful #TransRightsAreHumanRights #WontBeErased #HellNoToTheMemo #CisSilenceIsViolence pic.twitter.com/L1KMOpcF50
— Sara Ramirez (@SaraRamirez) October 22, 2018
I am a #transgender person. I am livid but clear-headed. I am threatened but absolutely resolute. @transequality will always fight. #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/N1xZp33NTv
— Mara Keisling (@MaraKeisling) October 21, 2018
Our existence as transgender and gender non-binary people is an act of civil disobedience. #WontBeErased
— Jennicet Gutiérrez (@JennicetG) October 21, 2018
This is my daughter... she is smart and beautiful and brave and has the biggest heart in the world... her future is bright and there are no limits on what she can accomplish... and she #WontBeErased #TransRightsAreHumanRights pic.twitter.com/WlyCcWkEdZ
— Paria Hassouri, MD (@pariahassouri) October 21, 2018
After a lifelong struggle, a legal name change, and two years of hormone replacement, I #WontBeErased #TransRightsAreHumanRights pic.twitter.com/QBQdOD0KtQ
— mono(@MulletMaknae) October 21, 2018
If you consider yourself to be an ally of the trans community. NOW is the time to stand with us. Show them that we #WontBeErased.
— ＭＵＮＲＯＥ (@MunroeBergdorf) October 21, 2018
I didn't transition on the job at ONI in 2006, come out in the @washingtonpost, protest with a bullhorn at the White House or run for Congress for #MA3 to go down without a fight. I #WONTBEERASED. Vote for a Democratic Congress to block these bigots. https://t.co/NEWGzdEIpz
— Alexandra Chandler (@a_chandler) October 21, 2018
Meet my daughter, Ellie. She is vibrant, artistic and loves a pun. We stand with her and her trans family, especially those most marginalized already by our racist & transphobic systems. #WeWontBeErased #TransIsBeautiful pic.twitter.com/Tzo0Y02oxL
— Vanessa Ford (@VanessaFordDC) October 21, 2018
Let’s create a world where there’s more heroes like these women, courageous enough to live their truth everyday despite ignorance and blatant discrimination. #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/PaakbmXMj1
— Angel Bismark Curiel (@angelbcuriel) October 21, 2018
Your support for trans people should be unequivocal and unconditional.
Already, too many trans people are erased by the conditions cis people impose in choosing selectively to validate trans people and trans experiences based on their conformity to cis hegemony.#WontBeErased— Arün Smith (@arun_smith) October 22, 2018
I made this for the bookshop today. #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/4iwREm5fmV
— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) October 22, 2018
Trans rights are human rights. Trans rights are OUR rights. #wontbeerased pic.twitter.com/oZAe8wKgCc
— sia (@Sia) October 22, 2018
I am transgender. I will not and cannot be erased. #WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/GWL6l3OpPN
— Jay M (@jmaddock) October 21, 2018
This is my daughter. She exists. She will not be erased. Vote as if her life depends on it. It does. So many lives depend on it. #wontbeerased #transequalitynow #thisiswhattranslookslike pic.twitter.com/pyC7YdE9ZF
— Jamie Bruesehoff (@hippypastorwife) October 21, 2018
READER COMMENTS (