Leelah Alcorn, a 17 year old teenager from Ohio, died on Sunday, December 28th. Leelah was born Joshua Alcorn, and struggled with depression because her parents were not receptive when she came out to them as transgender. In a note she left behind, she states
that "the life I would've lived isn't worth living... because I'm transgender." She hopes that her story will show the American public that something needs to be done about how we as Americans view the LGBTQ community, that something needs to change. In the words of Leelah Alcorn, "my death needs to mean something."
| Leelah Alcorn |
Leelah's story has sparked interest among social media. Many transgender adults have started a hashtag, #RealLifeTransAdult, to share their stories and show transgender teens that things will get better, that they have support. In addition, a petition was created in Leelah's memory to ban conversion therapy, the practice of trying to suppress or altogether eliminate a teenager's sexual orientation through therapy. The petition has over 88,000 supporters. Your death does mean something, Leelah.
"Gender needs to be taught in schools," said Leelah, and she was right. Gender identity and sexual oreintation need to be taught in health class, so that this does not happen again. Something needs to change.
About 3.5 percent of the United States population identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. About 1-2 percent of the population has red hair, a trait we consider to be a normal part of the scope of human diversity. Why are we so unnaccepting of the LGBTQ community, when it is even more common that having red hair?
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