Trans Stories You Should Have Seen And Heard More About in 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012 - 3:40pm by Dani Heffernan, Media Research Associate at GLAAD
http://www.glaad.org/blog/trans-stories-you-should-have-seen-and-heard-more-about-2012As 2012 comes to a close, advocates and bloggers have been compiling end-of-year lists looking back at LGBT-related issues that came to wider attention in the last twelve months. There were milestones for equality, important first steps, and things that just needed to be mentioned once again in case they were missed. Several trans people and trans-related stories were included in these LGBT lists, but many more were not. Unfortunately, even more trans-related stories received little to no media attention at all this year, despite efforts to have them covered by bloggers and journalists. Below is a list of trans-related stories that you should have seen and heard more about this year.
CeCe McDonald, a trans woman of color who was arrested after being attacked outside of a bar in Minneapolis, was tried and pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of her attacker. While CeCe's case did not receive nearly enough attention, she gained strong community support, and her story fueled an ongoing national conversation about transgender women of color, anti-transgender violence, and widespread institutional injustice. Discussing CeCe's prison term, Melissa Harris-Perry noted "Obviously, CeCe's vulnerability did not begin with her sentencing; her vulnerability began long before that."
Laura Jane Grace, lead singer of the band AgainstMe!, came out as transgender in Rolling Stone Magazine this May. While Laura Jane is not the first musician to come out as transgender, she is unique for doing so in a high-profile music magazine. Her story continues to recieve postive media attention.
