Systemic barriers faced by trans-identified folk range from lack of access in healthcare, employment, immigration and status, as well as lack of meaningful inclusion in LGBQ and feminist communities. Daily violence stems from identity documents that don’t reflect gender presentation, to gender-specific public bathrooms, among other structures that reinforce the gender binary.
Trans-identified people situated in the intersection between multiple oppressions are even more vulnerable to violence. Folks who are working-class, poor, homeless, people of colour, 2-spirit, (dis)abled or sex workers are provided with less support or safety. Violence is compounded when their bodies are viewed as disposable by the state.
In spite of these barriers, trans people have resisted, and continue to resist and thrive; there are online and print zines for and by trans youth, resources for trans parents, trans-inclusion policies in some job spaces, and gender-neutral bathrooms in select universities.
While there’s still far to go, it is through tireless resistance, community-building, solidarity, and strength, trans groups and individual activists continue to strive for a world free of transphobia.