Let's Talk Human Rights

By Jet Lex '26

My name is Jet, I am transmasculine nonbinary, and I use he/him pronouns. After coming out of the closet in June 2020 at age 15, I have had to navigate my life differently. Between several name and pronoun changes as well as trying to survive high school during a major pandemic, it was incredibly difficult to be confined to my house with an unaccepting family and away from friends who accepted me without question. I wasn’t beginning to be fully, authentically myself until late into my senior year, when I made the decision to have my correct name on my diploma, senior spotlight, and academic system. In New York, a student can request this for their academic system and diploma without requiring parental consent. While not surprising as it is New York, it made me feel seen and accepted. I still heard my given name at the graduation ceremony, but safety was my main concern. For the same reason, I received two diplomas: one with my given name, and the other with my chosen. 

College has been incredibly different. It has been like moving from night into day, as everyone knew me after I began my transition. I submitted a name change request during my fall semester and again this semester after one final name change. Professors, staff, and anyone else I interact with on a regular basis have taken my name, and any corrections I make to being misgendered, without question. For the first time in my life, I am out and proud of my trans identity. It has been an incredibly liberating experience, and has led me to find my chosen family. Going from being accepted by everyone except for family, to fully accepted by everyone regardless of a person’s understanding or lack thereof was a jarring but welcome experience. I’ve been able to discover myself without family influence. In one semester, my gender identity entirely changed.

However, being trans is not all sunshine and rainbows. For at least the last couple of weeks, I have been reading about another anti-trans bill passing or being debated and hearing that someone believes transgenderism should be eradicated. It hurts seeing myself and my trans siblings being threatened with what I believe is a genocide. According to The Genocide Education Project, there are 10 stages in genocide, and we have reached stage 7: preparation. This involves official action to remove and/or relocate people. Stage 8 is the beginning of murders, theft of property, and trial massacres. We have already seen attacks such as the Club Q shooting that seek to eradicate the entire lgbtq+ community. The reality is that transgender people are not wanted by several groups in the US. We are actively losing access to gender affirming care, bills are being passed that make discussing gender and sexuality illegal, and experiencing threats on our lives. We are just as human and want to live a fulfilling life as everyone else. 

In 2023 alone, there have been 483 anti-trans bills drafted across 46 states. Sixteen of these bills have been passed, ranging from birth certificate modifications to school policies to gender affirming care. Within Ohio, there are 4 bills that have been introduced. These are HB6, HB68, HB8, and SB6. HB6 will require schools, state institutions of higher education, and private colleges to designate separate single-sex teams and sports for each sex. HB68 regards gender transition services for minors and is named the Ohio Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. HB8 will require public schools to adopt a policy on parental notification about student health and well-being, and instructional materials with sexually explicit content. Finally, SB6 regulates environmental, social, and corporate governance policies with respect to the state retirement systems, Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and state institutions of higher education. 

I have many thoughts on these bills, particularly HB68. Simply put, it is a fear-mongering law that aims to ban gender affirming care. Gender affirming care saves lives; this bill is not “saving adolescents from experimentation,” it is actively harming transgender children and adults. A court is barred from considering a parent’s choice to refer to and raise their child in a manner consistent with their biological sex and decline a child’s access to gender affirming care as well as mental health counseling for the purpose of affirming a child’s gender identity. A physician is barred from performing gender reassignment surgery on a minor and providing hormone replacement therapy. A mental health professional is not allowed to diagnose or treat a minor without various screenings for other disorders and traumas, as well as consent from the minor’s parent(s). These are summaries from only a few sections of the bill, which is 13 pages long. In essence, it forces transgender minors to jump through more hoops than necessary to receive life-saving care, and transgenderism is treated as if it is a mental illness rather than an identity. As of right now, HB68 is in committee, and only time will tell if it dies on the floor or is passed. As citizens, we can contact our representatives, attend protests, and sign petitions to fight for our rights. We have come a long way, but we still have a long road ahead.

Jet Lex is a freshman photography major from Buffalo, New York. He is involved in Spectrum, Christmas On Campus, PBX, and Green Dot. As a HRC student engagement intern, he works to educate and partner with other student organizations at UD to learn about and get involved in essential human rights issues. His interests lie within LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights, community outreach, and so much more! Through this position, Jet hopes to gain human rights experience and research for his future career in photography with the images and fliers he creates for nonprofits, social movements, and more.