Trans teen commits suicide after conversion therapy

Her

Her

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    link to quote link to site containing aspects of her last words & where you can find her suicide note, as I don't feel comfortable copying it directly

    The Transgender Human Rights Institute is greatly sadden at yet another tragic loss of a youth in our community. After being subjected to years of religious based bias, life threatening 'transgender conversion therapy' and forced isolation, Leelah Alcorn took her life on Sunday, December 28, 2014 by stepping in front of a semi-truck. It is well known that trying to erase, delegitimize or force a person into a false gender identity can severely harm the individual and ultimately lead to death. Leelah was subjected to a life threatening practice by her parents that combined with erasure and suppression of her gender identity ultimately caused her death.

    At no time should a transgender person ever be subjected to psychological brainwashing tactics based on religious beliefs. The utilization of religious based 'transgender conversion therapy' is an atrocity against our youth and needs to be banned in all 50 states.
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    At this point, I'm just numb to my sisters dying like this. Conversion therapy of any kind is unforgivably evil and yet it is only outlawed in two states, and I don't believe it is banned outright in any country worldwide. Hopefully Leelah's death can finally put the wheels in motion that will eliminate such unholy practices from society. Rest in power.
     
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    If this girl is committing suicide based on how she was treated with transgender racial behavior, then this really does present a problem for transgender people out there. I know that there are many people who have had their parents flip on them for finding out they were transgender (one of them on this very site in fact, whom I won't name). Regardless, this is just tragic. May she rest peacefully.
     
    What's really messed up about the situation is the attitude of her parents - especially her mother - in the aftermath. Her Facebook post about Leelah misgendered her, got her freaking age wrong (how the hell?), and covered up the cause of death to make it seem accidental. Don't even get me started on the "went home to Heaven" part, either.

    What's really sad too is that the will part of her note probably won't be acknowledged. She was a minor so I don't know the legalities of it but I'm pretty sure her stuff pretty much is owned by her parents, and I'd assume any money she had in her bank account would go to them too.

    All in all, just a really messed up, extremely sad situation. Her parents' are so deep in denial about... pretty much everything, so it's hard to say whether they'll ever fully realize what they did. At least this is something that's getting media coverage, and will hopefully make other people realize the seriousness of the situation and the dire need of support that the trans community needs.
     
    Well I've seen a case of a woman (transwoman) who died and her family cut her hair and dressed her as a man for the burial. That was some sick BS.

    It's ignorance and conservativism that lead to these tragedies. It'll take a while before society starts to accept that trans people deserve to live as they want to.
     
    Limerent said:
    Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. This was a man with said illness, indulging delusions that he is actually a female will only harm in the long term because ultimately he is not, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. The behaviour of people regarding this particular illness is contradictory to other forms of treatment for psychological issues. Do we let people with Narcissistic Personality disorder think that they are the centre of the universe, schizophrenics that the voices they hear in their head are real? Of course not. We accept their thoughts and feelings as legitimate but not as an absolute truth, instead we attempt to teach them to cope with therapy and medication. I do agree that this should be done by medical professionals and not by private organisations with no qualifications.

    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    In today's news, PokéCommunity members receive their psychotherapist degrees.

    Anyway read this this morning. Really saddening regardless of what way you look at it. The family pretty much denied that what happened to the child was actually suicide. Her mother claimed that her daughter had "gone for a walk and got hit by a truck." Denying your child the right to identify with a particular gender is one thing, but to pretend that their suicide was an accident is truly the worst way to honour their child imaginable.
     
    Limerent said:
    Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. This was a man with said illness, indulging delusions that he is actually a female will only harm in the long term because ultimately he is not, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. The behaviour of people regarding this particular illness is contradictory to other forms of treatment for psychological issues. Do we let people with Narcissistic Personality disorder think that they are the centre of the universe, schizophrenics that the voices they hear in their head are real? Of course not. We accept their thoughts and feelings as legitimate but not as an absolute truth, instead we attempt to teach them to cope with therapy and medication. I do agree that this should be done by medical professionals and not by private organisations with no qualifications.

    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    I am rather tired of you coming into threads with some sort of racist, sexist, transphobic (or otherwise) comment.
    Please stop spitting on the dead.
     
    Limerent said:
    Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. This was a man with said illness, indulging delusions that he is actually a female will only harm in the long term because ultimately he is not, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. The behaviour of people regarding this particular illness is contradictory to other forms of treatment for psychological issues. Do we let people with Narcissistic Personality disorder think that they are the centre of the universe, schizophrenics that the voices they hear in their head are real? Of course not. We accept their thoughts and feelings as legitimate but not as an absolute truth, instead we attempt to teach them to cope with therapy and medication. I do agree that this should be done by medical professionals and not by private organisations with no qualifications.

    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    This is disgusting. Ignorant thinking like this is what drove Leelah to suicide and the fact that you had the gall to post something so transphobic in a thread about her death is beyond awful. Try and be at least somewhat of decent person.


    This is really heartbreaking, and it's especially sad that her wishes and the reasons for her suicide will likely be ignored by her parents. Hopefully with the media coverage this is getting there'll be some changes in the way trans people are treated.
     
    Limerent said:
    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    So what gender are hermaphroditic people? Gender is not binary, it is a spectrum - it is a social construct. Biological sex (usually referred to as "DFAB" and "DMAB") is a completely different aspect of a human.

    These stories are always saddening to hear, and it's truly upsetting to see how the mother is acting - but with how much attention this story is getting, the mothers behavior in her responses is perfect for showing how truly nasty and ignorant people like her are - and maybe it'll spark change in some people when they realize they might be as disgusting as Leelah's mother.
     
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    Mochi said:
    What's really messed up about the situation is the attitude of her parents - especially her mother - in the aftermath. Her Facebook post about Leelah misgendered her, got her freaking age wrong (how the hell?), and covered up the cause of death to make it seem accidental. Don't even get me started on the "went home to Heaven" part, either.

    What's really sad too is that the will part of her note probably won't be acknowledged. She was a minor so I don't know the legalities of it but I'm pretty sure her stuff pretty much is owned by her parents, and I'd assume any money she had in her bank account would go to them too.

    All in all, just a really messed up, extremely sad situation. Her parents' are so deep in denial about... pretty much everything, so it's hard to say whether they'll ever fully realize what they did. At least this is something that's getting media coverage, and will hopefully make other people realize the seriousness of the situation and the dire need of support that the trans community needs.
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    I live near the Cincinnati area and I can tell you that disgusting people like her parents make up the vast majority of the population for hundreds of miles. There's too much of an evangelical christian majority for the LGBT to live normal and free lives. The ignorant attitude her parents showed is most definitely what she faced from her community on a daily basis and it's absolutely sickening.

    Limerent said:
    Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. This was a man with said illness, indulging delusions that he is actually a female will only harm in the long term because ultimately he is not, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. The behaviour of people regarding this particular illness is contradictory to other forms of treatment for psychological issues. Do we let people with Narcissistic Personality disorder think that they are the centre of the universe, schizophrenics that the voices they hear in their head are real? Of course not. We accept their thoughts and feelings as legitimate but not as an absolute truth, instead we attempt to teach them to cope with therapy and medication. I do agree that this should be done by medical professionals and not by private organisations with no qualifications.

    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    Weird considering the neurological evidence of a mental gender (which I can't cite until I have 15 posts >_>).

    Who the hell are any of us to tell another person how to live their life if it makes them happy? Even IF transgenderism was a mental illness, it's still who a person is and there's no way to "cure" a personality and there's certainly no reason to do so other than your own insecurities. But I don't think it's appropriate for anyone to have a debate over scientifically proven data while people that just want to live their lives how they wish are forced to hide from ignorant hate-mongers.

    Stories like these are always absolutely heart-breaking. I don't understand how anyone could force another human-being into such misery.
     
    Kind of hits hard to home because I can understand those feelings. I'm not transgender but I know what it feels like to feel so rejected by others, especially your own parents, for who you are. I guess I should say that I commend her for being so brave because I'm still extremely secretive about my own struggles with physical identity. I wish it didn't have to end this way for her, but unfortunately we can't turn back time.

    It reminds me also of how scary it really is to have a friend that you believe is suicidal. Always checking the News on Google to see if they hurt themselves. Absolutely the worst thing ever.

    I'm pretty disgusted by people using her death to push their opinions though. Like, someone died, people. If you're bringing awareness to trans suicide, then that's understandable, but some people have been using it for pushing unrelated political opinions and that just has my blood boiling over.
     
    I'm just gonna be real for a second and say that I'm in a fairly similar situation, and am also planning to kill myself.* I'm just gonna hang myself so I don't involve anyone else though. Really feel bad for the truck driver who was forced to kill her.

    She isn't an isolated case. The suicide rate among trans people is almost 50%, and for good reason. Until something changes, this is going to keep happening over and over... and you're not going to hear about it. Leelah is only special in that she had a lot of friends to spread the word. I don't, so you'll never hear a word about me, or any of the other thousands dying because of this.

    *When I say planning, I mean like a month or two from now, depending on how things go for me. I expect to kill myself... I'm planning to die, but there's always the slim chance that things will work out, and I'll change my mind. We'll see.
     
    Alice said:
    I'm just gonna be real for a second and say that I'm in a fairly similar situation, and am also planning to kill myself.* I'm just gonna hang myself so I don't involve anyone else though. Really feel bad for the truck driver who was forced to kill her.

    She isn't an isolated case. The suicide rate among trans people is almost 50%, and for good reason. Until something changes, this is going to keep happening over and over... and you're not going to hear about it. Leelah is only special in that she had a lot of friends to spread the word. I don't, so you'll never hear a word about me, or any of the other thousands dying because of this.

    *When I say planning, I mean like a month or two from now, depending on how things go for me. I expect to kill myself... I'm planning to die, but there's always the slim chance that things will work out, and I'll change my mind. We'll see.
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    I urge you to seek help. There are suicide helplines and even specifically LGBT helplines. I'll post the numbers I found, for you or anyone else that sees this post.

    Spoiler:


    I don't know you all that well, but I've seen you around for years and I always appreciate your input in threads and you've always been a nice person around here. To see you say this makes me incredibly sad and just...numb. I've been in a position where I wanted to take my life as well and I can't sit idly by and see someone post this and not provide something to help them. Again, I urge you to seek help through therapy, a trans helpline, or just something. You could even talk to me if you ever need to.
     
    Sydian said:
    I urge you to seek help. There are suicide helplines and even specifically LGBT helplines. I'll post the numbers I found, for you or anyone else that sees this post.

    Spoiler:


    I don't know you all that well, but I've seen you around for years and I always appreciate your input in threads and you've always been a nice person around here. To see you say this makes me incredibly sad and just...numb. I've been in a position where I wanted to take my life as well and I can't sit idly by and see someone post this and not provide something to help them. Again, I urge you to seek help through therapy, a trans helpline, or just something. You could even talk to me if you ever need to.
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    I see a therapist weekly, and it's nice while I'm talking to him, but then I go home and nothing's changed. Talking makes you feel better, but doesn't fix things. It's like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.

    I'm not looking for help or attention though. I assumed that on a thread like this, there would be nothing but positive posts, but even here there are people like Limerent continuing to spread the same ignorance that caused Leelah's suicide in the first place. After reading that post, I'm hoping that I can just show at least a few people how real this is. Leelah isn't a statistic. She's a real person who has real hopes, dreams, friends, and family, and she just went through one of the most horrific things any human can ever experience... and now she's gone. She's not the only one though. Even in your own community, there's at least one person going through the same thing... and there are a surprisingly large number of trans people here. I doubt I'm the only one.
     
    Why is it Christianity (Mainly Evangelical) cause so much crap for people different to them? Why?
    Having being raised in a non-religious household with a mother who was raised a Catholic, I was taught respect and equality to all human beings.
    The fact that the very religion that goes on and on about equality, respect and tolerance goes and persecutes those who don't feel that they, themselves are what they really want to be and want to become someone else as so to fulfill their objective and achieve happiness, is just very, very grim irony and hipocrisy.

    In short, Religion causes most of this worlds problems. Even though most religions teach peace, tolerance and other decent values, religious people are constantly at war. Even on their own soil, people are persecuting their brethren.

    And I ask, 'What has this world come to?'.
    But all I have to say to those who may damn me because I don't have a deity in my life, if it becomes a law, and people are tried for it, all I will say, and I hope what other people will say is;
    'If they came to hear me beg, they will be disappointed.'
     
    TheRabbit said:
    Limerent was dead on with his/her comment. The kid was a boy, whether he likes it or not. It's not an opinion, we have biological sexes, we don't just pick a gender out of a hat. I mean I get we all love to put on the political-correctness social justice warrior personas but please just think reasonably for a second. Where is the line drawn with this stuff? The next step is a group of people starting a movement that being labeled as "human" is restricting and we should be able to be any animal we want. It's maddening to see this bleeding heart mentality taking over common sense.
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    It doesn't really matter if you personally think that sex=gender and that that's all there is to it. If someone truly feels that they are the opposite gender, they should be allowed to think that and act how they feel they should act. No one really wants to be something that they're not, and there really is no harm in letting someone believe that they are a different gender; just because someone was born with a penis/vagina doesn't mean that they have to adhere to a certain set of behaviors. And "The next step is a group of people starting a movement that being labeled as "human" is restricting and we should be able to be any animal we want." is kinda a slippery slope argument.

    And trust me, I'm not some bleeding heart or a social justice warrior. I generally don't like that stuff either.
     
    Alice said:
    I'm just gonna be real for a second and say that I'm in a fairly similar situation, and am also planning to kill myself.* I'm just gonna hang myself so I don't involve anyone else though. Really feel bad for the truck driver who was forced to kill her.

    She isn't an isolated case. The suicide rate among trans people is almost 50%, and for good reason. Until something changes, this is going to keep happening over and over... and you're not going to hear about it. Leelah is only special in that she had a lot of friends to spread the word. I don't, so you'll never hear a word about me, or any of the other thousands dying because of this.

    *When I say planning, I mean like a month or two from now, depending on how things go for me. I expect to kill myself... I'm planning to die, but there's always the slim chance that things will work out, and I'll change my mind. We'll see.
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    Please don't. I may not be trans, but I have been there before. I'm a bisexual male in a highly Christian family. I tried 2 suicide attempts my senior year of high school. I survived both. When I got into college, I did find people who cared about and treated me well for who I am. My parents still opt to pretend I'm straight and single when I am bisexual with a male partner who is on this very site.

    What I learned from the experience is, once you have the opportunity to make your own way, it really does get better. You say you're going to therapy? Rejoice in those moments that make you happy there. Every moment you don't have to hide yourself, appreciate it fully. Take those moments in, and let it fuel you until the next one.

    But more than anything, please don't end your life. Because you might be ending your pain, but you won't be there to help the next person's. The world may seem insurmountable right now, but its not. Its a temporary set back and you're a good person! Just because a few assholes can't adapt doesn't make your life any less worth living.

    At the end of the day, I don't care what gender, sexual orientation, color, or whatever you are! You're a person. And you deserve to live.
     
    Limerent said:
    Gender dysphoria is a mental illness. This was a man with said illness, indulging delusions that he is actually a female will only harm in the long term because ultimately he is not, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. The behaviour of people regarding this particular illness is contradictory to other forms of treatment for psychological issues. Do we let people with Narcissistic Personality disorder think that they are the centre of the universe, schizophrenics that the voices they hear in their head are real? Of course not. We accept their thoughts and feelings as legitimate but not as an absolute truth, instead we attempt to teach them to cope with therapy and medication. I do agree that this should be done by medical professionals and not by private organisations with no qualifications.

    I'm always going to identify people by their biological sex rather than perceived gender because by the logic of accepting someones own definition as to what they think they are I would have to put up with all that otherkin "neigh neigh, I'm a horse" crap.
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    Gender dysphoria is not quite like that, and you're basically pissing on psychology by portraying it so wrongly. Everyone has to accept themselves. A trans person either has to accept their natural sex, OR (more common and better imo), embrace their perceived gender. It's not some rogue belief.
    Also, ever hear of the 4 D's of psychopathology? Distress, deviance, dysfunction, danger.
    Schizophrenics display all four of these, hence why it's a pathalogy.
    Gender dysphorics may deviate, but that's about it. That's ONE out of four D's. Dysfuntion, distress, and danger (to themselves) may be present due to depression brought on by society shitting on them. Again, dysphoria is not an "illness."

    Also, I have my BS in psychology, and am in grad school, before anyone pulls the, "what do YOU know" nonsense.

    Anyway, trans people are cast off from LGBT+, and are basically outcasts (or in very tightnit communities, such as NYC's Village / Chelsea).
    It's a damn shame.
    Also, conversion therapy is the biggest disgrace to (psuedo) science out there. It doesn't work. Seriously, you can also read about pupil dilation studies that show that "alternate" sexualities do have scientific merit. Also, the one study that tried to "prove" that conversion therapies worked was revealed to be inconsistent, fraudulent, and had no statistical merit.
     
    TheRabbit said:
    Limerent was dead on with his/her comment. The kid was a boy, whether he likes it or not. It's not an opinion, we have biological sexes, we don't just pick a gender out of a hat.
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    You're right, we have biological SEXES that are determined at birth and we can't pick a gender out a hat. People are born a certain physical sex and a certain mental gender. When they don't coincide, you have a transgendered person.

    I mean I get we all love to put on the political-correctness social justice warrior personas but please just think reasonably for a second. Where is the line drawn with this stuff?
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    I'd say the line is drawn where it somehow prevents other people from living their own life. Being transgender does not affect you in any way so you have no right to say how another person should live.

    The next step is a group of people starting a movement that being labeled as "human" is restricting and we should be able to be any animal we want. It's maddening to see this bleeding heart mentality taking over common sense.
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    https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope
     
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