Transphobia in Journalism: Give WPXI a Piece of Your Mind

Dear friends,

Please read this news story from WPXI and click the link to get to the video clip. This is a disgusting example of transphobia.

I am trying to get in contact with the Allegheny County Jail to get more information about the arrested individuals and write to them in the hope that we can do something for them. In the meanwhile, please call WPXI, tell them that this is unacceptable (412-237-1100) and spread this story far and wide.

In solidarity,
Rayden

Update: I created a facebook group about this found here. I'm wondering what kind of community response this requires. I actually had a long and, I think, productive, talk with Vince Sims today about why that story is offensive even if, according to him, it was not meant to come off that way. I was very upset at first but we ended up getting somewhere. He expressed interest in doing a story, basically about how trans people are members of our community and this is not an okay way to talk about them.

This is all so relevant considering the recent release of "Injustice at Every Turn," the first comprehensive study of the discrimination faced by, and resilience of, transgender and gender-variant people in the U.S.

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 4 – The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) today released a comprehensive new report, "Injustice at Every Turn," revealing the depth of discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming people in a wide range of areas, including education, health care, employment, and housing. The study, based on the results from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), was based on responses from over 6,450 participants. The NTDS is the first large-scale national study of discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming Americans, and paints a more complete picture than any prior research to date.

I'm also including a link to my partner Ocean's blog with a letter she wrote to WPXI.
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This is all what we've been fighting for, no?

Update #2: Neither person is currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail. However, there is a loud community response to this story from WPXI and also about the language in the police report. No one at the police department has gotten back to me yet. We may do a story with Rustbelt Radio at WRCT and there might be other media coverage of the response. Stay tuned!