many many reasons¶

There are many many reasons for this giant hole in the trans community, not the least of which is the AIDS crisis and deliberate campaigns of extermination.

But also, and I say this with all the love in my heart, people have GOT to stop worrying about being accused of "grooming" https://t.co/8hkfL0h228 As we work to intentionally build queer communities, the role of intergenerational relationships cannot be swept aside. It's a vital part of our survival and history. It forms continuity, a shared culture that is otherwise hastily cobbled together from scratch every generation. The nature of our role as social outliers means queer kids are almost always deprived of parental guidance: sometimes entirely deprived, in the case of bigoted birth parents. But even with familial support, they are still being brought up in straight culture. Children, teenagers, and young adults are already in a period of figuring themselves out and finding their place in the world. When they're queer, they must also navigate a dual role of outcast in one world and forging a path in the subaltern world. This latter world -- the one where they are safer and more accepted -- plays by different rules, which they were never taught. There are now many new pitfalls and dangers they've never imagined or encountered. Even adults new to this life enter with a degree of naivety. But younger people are especially vulnerable. Depending on their circumstances, they might be newly impoverished, newly isolated, exploring their sexuality, or dealing with illness. They are so often adrift and aimless in a world which sees them as prey. It's in this context that queer youth -- and especially trans girls -- are subject to astronomically higher rates of abuse. This comes not only from that now-hostile straight world, but unfortunately also from within the queer "community." There are always monsters within any population, and "baby queers," so new to this world and cut off from support systems, can overlook signs of danger. So eager for acceptance and exploration that manipulation feels like assurance.

And yes, I say this from my own experience. We cannot allow the fascist narrative of "trans people are groomers" to dictate queer culture and sever support systems. Mentorship and found family have been the bedrock of our way of life for as long as there have been queer people.