This morning I went outside the church and hung a brand new trans flag by the door in honour of International Transgender Day of Visibility. I recall thinking about how beautiful the colors of the flag are, how they remind me of snowflakes on a crisp, cold winter morning. We took the old flag, all tattered and ripped, and replaced it with a new one that had brighter colors and not a mark on it. I think some people could see that as a metaphor.

As a genderqueer individual, an identity that can fall under the trans umbrella, this was almost liberating for me. I felt as though I was leading all the people like me, flying the flag in the faces of our enemies before a battle. Taking away the old flag was like saying “you’re broken, but so what? We’re not. We’re going to keep fighting.”

As I took the flag outside I spotted someone driving by. We made eye contact and they smiled and waved at me, and I smiled and waved back. I felt so acknowledged, not only as someone who was doing good but as a nonbinary individual and as a part of my community.

Tightening the set screw on the flag mounting bracket was difficult and it hurt my hands but I will look upon the marks that are left behind with pride, as though they are the scars I bore in a battle that I have won.

I will admit there are times when I feel like I was born into the wrong time, that I should have lived in the future where maybe things aren’t so hard for a person like me. But today changed that. I know I have it inside of me to lead the battle, to stand up, to make a difference. Sometimes I could stand on the roof of the tallest building in the world and shout “I’M HERE. I’M ME. I’M NOT CHANGING, BUT I WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!”

As someone who holds these issues near to my heart, I encourage everyone reading this to listen to trans and nonbinary voices, to defend them, to respect and believe in them. There are few of us but our numbers are rising every day. It doesn’t matter what body parts we were born with or how we look and dress or what pronouns we use. All we want is to be accepted, and that’s not a hard thing for others to give to us.

I’d like to leave off with the following message; trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary people are valid. Thank you for reading.

Bea