Resilience in the Time of a Pandemic
Over the past few weeks--as many people are right now--I have struggled. It is difficult to know what to do in a time as unprecedented as this. I am privileged and grateful to have a place I call home, parents who can and are willing to help me out financially, a therapist to help me cope, and that I am living with people that I call my chosen family, my partner and my best friend. When I feel lost in such a way as I feel in a global pandemic, I often look to the queer and trans youth of the past who fought through their own pandemic--HIV and AIDS in the 80's. While HIV/AIDS is not a "queer" or "trans" disease and affects many other demographics, the connotation of the disease was associated with the LGBTQ+ community. I see their resilience to government neglect, police abuse, constant death and become inspired. While COVID-19 is not a disease we can "fight"--although fighting for universal healthcare, student loan debt cancellation, livable wages as a result of COVID-19 is something we definitely can do--in the way we can ACT UP! against HIV/AIDS, we can look to the queer and trans communities around us for their resiliency and self care techniques.
I really look towards the trans community and people around me for a lot of tools of resilience
(I mean, the National Center for Transgender Equality posted a guide to being trans or LGBQ+ during the coronavirus) I appreciate cis queer people and everything they have to offer during these times, but I find the most marginalized often have the best ideas with how to approach such large problems, especially trans women of color. I found a one out of a lovely couple of videos in a series by The Greene Space as sponsored by New York Public Radio called "The Trans Response to Coronavirus: Taking Action." This video goes over many people's work to contribute to their local trans communities, including Indya Moore speaking about raising money for vulnerable communities, Ianne Fields Stewart talking about food security and how Coronavirus has created new challenges, Bev Tillery speaking on the topic of domestic violence during COVID-19, and many other insightful accounts of resilience through this pandemic. You can find that video here. Transgender people, especially women of color, are one of the most vulnerable populations because of the lack of representation, rights, and respect for trans people within our government, so our communities have often been the ones who support, not the government. People must be willing to help others, even if we can't get within 6 feet of each other.
Right now, as many of us are out of jobs, one essential occupation that is out of commission for the queer and trans communities--sex work. In a time where we are highly encouraged to avoid standing within 6 feet close to strangers, sex work is line of work that is completely obliterated. The trans community, especially, has been impacted by this because not only are sex workers stigmatized, they are also denied government assistance despite being contributing citizens due to the illegal nature of their line of work. Decriminalizing sex work would allow these people to be qualified as gig workers and to receive emergency assistance during times like these, and there is an excellent video delving more into that, from the same series as I mentioned before, called "Lives at Stake: Sex Work and COVID-19," which can be found here. If we continue to fight for the rights and protection of the most marginalized people in our society, then we may all feel safe one day, but for now we must continue fighting.
I really look towards the trans community and people around me for a lot of tools of resilience
(I mean, the National Center for Transgender Equality posted a guide to being trans or LGBQ+ during the coronavirus) I appreciate cis queer people and everything they have to offer during these times, but I find the most marginalized often have the best ideas with how to approach such large problems, especially trans women of color. I found a one out of a lovely couple of videos in a series by The Greene Space as sponsored by New York Public Radio called "The Trans Response to Coronavirus: Taking Action." This video goes over many people's work to contribute to their local trans communities, including Indya Moore speaking about raising money for vulnerable communities, Ianne Fields Stewart talking about food security and how Coronavirus has created new challenges, Bev Tillery speaking on the topic of domestic violence during COVID-19, and many other insightful accounts of resilience through this pandemic. You can find that video here. Transgender people, especially women of color, are one of the most vulnerable populations because of the lack of representation, rights, and respect for trans people within our government, so our communities have often been the ones who support, not the government. People must be willing to help others, even if we can't get within 6 feet of each other.
Right now, as many of us are out of jobs, one essential occupation that is out of commission for the queer and trans communities--sex work. In a time where we are highly encouraged to avoid standing within 6 feet close to strangers, sex work is line of work that is completely obliterated. The trans community, especially, has been impacted by this because not only are sex workers stigmatized, they are also denied government assistance despite being contributing citizens due to the illegal nature of their line of work. Decriminalizing sex work would allow these people to be qualified as gig workers and to receive emergency assistance during times like these, and there is an excellent video delving more into that, from the same series as I mentioned before, called "Lives at Stake: Sex Work and COVID-19," which can be found here. If we continue to fight for the rights and protection of the most marginalized people in our society, then we may all feel safe one day, but for now we must continue fighting.
This is a great perspective that many won't get during this time. This is one of the reasons health care for all is a human right, it shouldn't be a privilege. We should look to the past to see how to work through our future.
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