The Pink Pistols: We’re Here, We’re Geared, Get Used To It!

By BA Staff

I’ll never forget the first piece of safety advice I got when I began my transition from the male body in which I was born to the female body I now occupy: Carry a whistle.

Why? I asked. Because, I was told, I might need to use it if I was attacked. After further discussion, I understood I was supposed to blow the whistle during such an assault in hopes it would send someone running to save me.

The idea was preposterous. Not only was it ridiculous to assume that the sound of a far-off whistle would send some do-gooder careening into a dark alley to break up a brutal hate crime, but the implication behind it insulted me. I, being transgender, wouldn’t be able to save myself. Someone else would have to help me.

Violence toward the LGBT community is real. We are victimized at far greater rates than other minority groups. More often than not, we face multiple attackers – they do these things in groups. Our perpetrators are not trying to rob us, or steal our cars, or take our jewelry. They’re trying to break us. The attacks are frenzied and quickly escalate from harassment, to fists, to something altogether …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms