Trans-Tribulations in the time of COVID-19: an exacerbated reality

3 minutes read

On this Trans Day of Visibility, let’s remember that - even in ‘normal’ times - our Trans friends and neighbors often face an uphill battle for recognition and citizenship. COVID-19, makes this so much harder. 

Here’re how the impact of COVID-19 is hitting Transfolk hardest – and what you can do about it.

Financial independence and stability

Stable employment is a luxury that not all Transpeople have for a variety of reasons. In fact, there are countries in which it is illegal to employ a person whose state-issued identification does not match how that person looks – a serious issue given the differing stages of physical transition that Transpeople undergo, if any at all. Consequently, a significant portion of Transpeople are employed in a manner that allows them only to live from paycheck-to-paycheck, sometimes off the books, and often without medical insurance. 

Medical care in its myriad forms – hormones, numerous surgeries, electrolysis, to name a few – is very expensive. A significant portion of the Transgender population does not have access to healthcare insurance that covers the required medical care. Accordingly, finances have to be managed and planned for carefully and in advance. 

As with other economically vulnerable populations, the current predicament of having to choose between going to work and staying home to protect oneself and one’s community from COVID-19, is essentially forcing a choice between stability or health.

Access to medical care

A trip to any medical facility can be challenging for Transpeople. There may be an uncomfortable confusion at check-in (assuming here the mildest of obstacles for illustrative purposes), another when being called from the waiting room to be escorted to the doctor’s office, and another upon meeting and engaging a doctor with whom the Transperson / patient has not visited before. 

While there are medical professionals who are conscious of Transpeople’s needs, there are those who aren’t. At times, negative experiences with the latter may be so traumatizing as to deter a Transperson from seeking the physical and psychological medical attention they need.

Under normal circumstances, challenging trips to medical facilities are not uncommon for Transpeople. Due to COVID-19, in today’s frenetic environment of strained healthcare systems and exhausted medical professionals carrying the welfare of societies on their shoulders, challenges faced by Transpeople are likely to increase.

Access to communities

The lucky among us have had their families and communities choose to remain in our lives. This is not the case, however, for all Transpeople: many have lost family, friends, acquaintances--social nets and networks mostly emptied, no longer robust enough to support a soul.

Community centers and support groups exist and can be wonderful sources of meaningful relationships. In times of social distancing and self-quarantining--this avenue of necessary human connection can be disrupted, and the sense of exile, loneliness and abandonment for some Transfolk can increase dramatically, further encumbering day-to-day life and potentially leading to depression or worse.

Safety

There are places in the world today where it is becoming increasingly challenging and dangerous to identify as Transgender. One of the risks we face as COVID-19 remains rampant, is the crowding out of stories and media reports of violence and transgressions against Transpeople, due to the overwhelming amount of COVID-19 coverage, and consequently, for eyes to be diverted elsewhere and resources allocated accordingly. 

In such “noisy” situations, it is easier for those intending to transgress against Transpeople to do so, whether through the acts of bigoted individuals, discriminatory institutions or backwards governments. 

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Mentioned above are the more obvious arenas in which the impact of COVID-19 is hitting Transfolk hardest. It is by no means exhaustive and intended as a reminder, a gentle nudge for us all to reach out to the Transpeople in our lives. 

When rejection has been a large part of the Transgender reality, it is often hard to reach out and ask for help, regardless of how badly needed it may be. 

So reach out, check in, express your love and concern – you may very well be the vaccine a Transperson needs against a much darker outcome.

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