Anonymous
Black lives matter. Black trans lives matter. Black sex worker’s lives matter. We wouldn’t have Pride without Black and brown trans sex workers at Compton and Stonewall. Black and brown trans sex workers have been instrumental in shaping freedom movements like Feminism, Pride, and Black Lives Matter, and yet they are very frequently excluded from the sanitized version sold to the world as Feminism ™ Pride ™ and BLM ™. We cannot forget them, or their continued contributions towards justice for all. They are our most vulnerable, and we must protect them, elevate them, and stop erasing them from our stories. Prejudice is no excuse. The Trans revolution started a few years ago, but we’re still a ways away from the sex work revolution. I don’t expect this to be published and I’ve kept it anonymous precisely due to the bias and prejudice these women experience; even talking about it makes me worried about losing my job. Trans women are women, and yet are excluded from “feminist” spaces and some would have you believe that they are dangerous predators just by their very existence. Black women experience misogynoir, compounding racism and sexism. Sex workers are human beings and sex work is real work, but even legal sex work can get you fired or you could lose your kids. We have a very long way to go if we really mean it when we say that diversity and inclusion are for everyone.
