Okay, let’s talk about something that’s been on my mind, something I had to really sit with and learn about. It started pretty simply, really. I was just scrolling online, reading different stories, different perspectives, like I usually do.
Then I came across some discussions, some real personal accounts, you know? And it hit me that I didn’t really get the specific stuff that Black trans girls go through. Like, I understood the ‘trans’ part on its own, and I understood issues facing the Black community, but the intersection? That specific combination? I realized I hadn’t actively thought about it much, hadn’t really listened.
Digging In A Bit
So, I decided I needed to just shut up and listen for a while. It wasn’t about jumping in with opinions; it was about absorbing. I started actively seeking out voices, reading blogs, watching videos made by Black trans women and girls. Not stuff about them, but stuff from them.
- First step was just finding these creators and writers. Took a bit of digging past the usual noise.
- Then, I just consumed the content. Read about their experiences with family, school, dating, healthcare, safety – all of it.
- I made a point to notice the recurring themes, the specific challenges that popped up again and again. Things I hadn’t considered because my own experience is different.
It wasn’t like some big research project, more like letting these stories wash over me, letting them sink in. Some of it was tough to read, honestly. Hearing about the level of danger, the specific kinds of discrimination they face – it’s heavy stuff. It’s not just transphobia plus racism; it’s how those things combine and create something unique and often more intense.
What Stuck With Me
The biggest thing? Realizing how often their voices get drowned out. Even in spaces talking about LGBTQ+ issues, or spaces talking about Black issues, their specific experiences sometimes fall through the cracks. It made me think about how I show up in conversations, whether I’m making space or just taking it up.
I didn’t really ‘do’ anything concrete like start a project or whatever. The practice, for me, was internal. It was about adjusting my own understanding, checking my own assumptions. It was about recognizing the layers. You see someone, and maybe you see ‘Black’ or you see ‘trans’, but learning to see the whole picture, the specific lived reality of being a ‘Black trans girl’ – that takes effort. It takes listening.
So yeah, that was my process. Just trying to be a better listener, trying to understand a perspective that’s not my own, especially for a group facing so much. Still learning, always learning. It’s not like I have it all figured out now, but I’m much more aware, and I know where to look and who to listen to going forward.
