Wednesday October 14, 2015 - Safety First

So far 20 Transwomen have been murdered during the 10 months of 2015. There has been a steady increase over the past few years.

There maybe many reasons for this, but no matter what the reason(s). It has to stop.

After reading about this issue, I decided to pause and remember that transitioning into womanhood brings both the good and the bad.

Females learn at an early age to take extra safety precautions. Just watch CIS, Law & Order SUV or Criminal Minds to see why women must be extra cautious. I am sure women learn from friends and family how to protect themselves.

Most women know not to go a nightclub alone. I had a female client tell me about an incident at a club in which two guys tried to kidnap her in the parking lot. Luckily her two girlfriend saw what was happening and had security save her.

I have had female family members sexually assaulted.

My trans friend who died two years ago was robbed and attacked in a parking lot at a nightclub while she was out alone.

Here is a short video concerning a women kidnapped in her car.

This is why females learn early to be very cautious and practice safety.

As a guy, I learned not to fear. As a young man, I was not afraid to go anywhere. I use to tell people, I was from New Jersey and I use to go into NYC by myself and hangout on 42nd Street when it was rough. I would go from the suburbs to the 'hood to the countryside, I did not care.

As I said in a previous post, I might get called the n-word or threatened, but luckily nothing bad happened. I had that confidence that I could out run or out talk anyone.

I did carry a metal pipe in my car and a baseball bat in the trunk. While in college, my buddy and I did pull out the pipe and bat to go after someone who provoked us. But they ran.  I felt invincible.

Once I started going out as a Femboy or Susan, I am learning to be safe. I lock my car doors before I walk away from the car.

I park in well lite places where I can see what is around the car. I spot my car before I leave the store and take my keys out of my purse and hold them in my hand, as I am leaving the store.

I take a few seconds to look around before I enter the car and then lock the car, once I am inside.

When my friend was alive, I only went out to a club with her and never alone.

I do not want anyone to think I am blaming the 20 victims. It's not their fault. No one deserves to be murdered.

I have read comments in which people blame the woman for being a Transwoman. If that was the case, then what about the million of other ciswomen who are attacked?. There are male hunters out there who are dangerous to all women. Since we did not learn that early, we need to be very aware of it now.

If you look at this chart, you can see the rise. The rise could be due to better reporting. Who knows and I really do not care. This chart represents a heightened awareness we should all have when out in public.

Just as ciswomen, we are targets of violence and we need to be aware of that. I do not want Transwomen to be afraid of leaving the house. But just as we are learning makeup, voice, dressing and mannerisms, we need to learn safety.

I thought about buying pepper spray or a loud alarm on my key chain.But I have not added any safety items.

I just want you to be safe.




Below is an emotional video from Huffington Post. They interview Cherno Biko.



Here is a list with some information about each of the 20 Transwomen murdered in 2015.




These Are the Trans Women Killed So Far in the U.S. in 2015 | Advocate.com