TAMPA, Fla. — According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 18 transgender people have been violently murdered this year so far, and trans people of color are disproportionately affected by violence. So, I sat down with three Black transgender women to talk about their experience living in Florida. It was a candid conversation about their concerns and healthcare, as well as how creating community with each other has helped them feel a little less lonely.
“I knew growing up that I’ve never felt like the gender that I was assigned at birth. I always felt like I was the opposite gender,” said Ariyanah Griffin.
“What I don’t understand is that we’re celebrating Pride, but a trans person threw the first rock and we’re the last to get the healthcare that we need,” said Kiala Dureke.
“So, growing up in Tampa, I think of several girls who have died, who were killed, who were forgotten about,” said Dr. Evelyn J. McBride.
Kiala, Ariyanah, and Evelyn are friends. They said though it’s easier for them to exist in peace nowadays, their safety isn’t always guaranteed. “It’s a pain that you become used to. So, you build up this apparatus that, damn, I’m going to miss my sister,” said Dr. McBride.
Dr. McBride was alluding to the risk many people of trans experience confront when in public. Hate crimes against the trans community oftentimes can end deadly. “I thank the heavens that I am able to walk outside no matter what I am on that spectrum. I’m just grateful now because so many of my sisters have died at the hands of men, by people who didn’t see them as people,” said Dr. McBride.
“There’s a huge risk going on right now for women of color that are transgender,” said Angelique Godwin, with Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group. She said in addition to safety, accessibility to healthcare in Florida is a huge concern for many transgender people due to a 2023 state law that severely restricted gender-affirming care treatment. “We were stripped of our ability to telehealth and we were stripped of our ability to receive care from anyone that was not an M.D., a doctor. So, no, LPNs, no VPNs,” said Godwin.
“Not only from the patient perspective, but from the provider perspective. There was so many questions about what was about to be right and what was going to be wrong,” said Dr. Bob Wallace, owner of Love the Golden Rule, an LGBTQ+ friendly clinic in St. Petersburg.
He said many doctors stopped providing gender-affirming care due to the uncertainty surrounding the law.
“We found a lot of difficulty, a lot of depression, a lot of people getting suicidal,” explained Dr. Wallace.
“Think about if you were diagnosed with HIV and couldn’t get your medications. As a trans person, we are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and we can’t get our medications. That’s completely absurd,” said Dureke.
However, a federal judge recently threw out that law, stating it went too far. “That’s at least a great shining light on what’s been going on here in Florida, but that’s not to say there isn’t still discrimination being faced by trans individuals,” said Godwin.
Click here for more information on Love the Golden Rule clinic in St. Petersburg.
