Our music communities, the music instruments industry, the artists and engineers — all these groups would be incomplete without our trans friends and colleagues. But as their rights are stripped away systematically, as people question their right to exist, “visibility” is not enough. For US readers, now is a key time to act, with Senators coming home for the holiday weekend and ugly legislation looming.
Let’s face it: cis allyship has to often been purely symbolic, across individuals and media. We love to post lists of trans artists occasionally – even the Grammy Awards chimed in. And Billboard, You’ll see a trans flag here and there, or weirdly vague statements on social media when Trans Visibility Day. But what do those gestures mean if they aren’t accompanied by representation? What happens if people lose access to health care and basic human rights? Despite being intertwined with the history of queer advocacy, too many people seem to vanish the moment something is actually on the line.
Health care access and basic freedoms of movement and identity, like even being able to show your government ID or passport, are difficult to find almost anywhere.
I’ve written about Georgia before – that country presents a frightening look of what anti-trans, anti-queer futures could look like, and how deeply un-democratic they can be. There are echoes between Georgian and proposed US legislation – and the Georgian law passing was followed by the murder of transgender woman Kesaria Abramidze. (Read this report for an overview.) The UK’s dangerous court decision is well-documented, of course, and has inspired outcry from human rights organizations. Here in Germany, which was supposed to be a haven for many immigrants, especially in the music scene, health care access isn’t consistent, especially with the complex hybrid public/private system. Making matters worse, the incoming federal culture minister, Wolfram Weimer, has railed against what he calls “gender ideology.” So much for progressive Europe. (Weimar is instead weirdly focused on Prussian palaces, which I know are the real reason we all moved to Berlin.)
But let’s talk about the USA, where the largest share of CDM readership resides – and where the next days are essential.
Threat to Medicaid/CHIP coverage now moves to the US Senate
Trans, intersex, and nonbinary people wound up in limbo over new passport policy from the Trump administration in February, which in turn has a devastating impact on touring artists. That was fortunately struck down by a federal judge last month, though you can count on this battle continuing.
Now, cuts to Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for adults and kids with limited resources, are among the ugliest parts of legislation that narrowly passed last week. Then, just before its passage, a last-minute revision of the reconciliation package bill snuck in provisions that would prohibit federal funds for gender-affirming care. It strips Medicaid funding for all transgender people (not just minors, but any age), removing coverage for everything from hormone therapy to surgeries. It even bans marketplace plans from covering gender-affirming care. (See reporting by The National News Desk and Washington Blade.)
Advocate groups have widely condemned the change. See, for instance (not speaking for this group specifically, but it’s a good explainer):
A4TE Condemns House Budget Cuts as Cruel Attack on Trans Lives and Lifesaving Healthcare
Here’s what you can do: talk to your Senators. (A4TE even has a form.) Best of all, because it’s Memorial Day weekend, you might even be able to catch them near where you live.
And there’s some reason to think there’s a chance to make an impact here.
After voters roundly rejected so-called “bathroom bills” for defying any common sense, the right has turned to an equally nonsensical argument about sports as their new wedge issue. But that effort failed in the US Senate, filibustered on a party-line vote in March.
Even Senate Republicans have promised to rewrite portions of this bill; it only barely passed the House. There’s talk of a revolt. GOP Senators are not known for their trans advocacy. But because Medicaid cuts helped make this bill unpopular in the first place, now could be a good time to advocate for excising that entire portion of the legislation.
And that’s where you come in. He doesn’t mention the attack on trans folks, but Robert Reich did note yesterday that now is a good time to target Senators on this legislation, so you can connect the dots. And he specifically has a list of vulnerable Senators, who might surprise you – Collins (ME), Tillis (NC), Sullivan (AK), Husted (OH), Moody (FL – in Rubio’s former seat), Cornyn (TX), and Ernst (IA).
As These Senators Go Home for the Memorial Day Weekend …
Check your Senator’s website for where a town hall might be held, and go and be heard. If you can’t, call the office. Write them. Disrupt. (One friend advised, “don’t give them a moment’s peace.”) Write a letter to the editor – no, I’m not kidding, especially since this seems to be even more effective now as people have moved their rants to social media, even though a newspaper is likely to have more sway outside our filter bubbles.
If funding gets cut
Rosalarian wrote this advice via Facebook and asking it to be shared more widely:
If you’ve just lost your HRT through Medicaid/CHIP/ACA, don’t panic just yet. HRT isn’t illegal, just no longer funded. I recommend using an app like GoodRX to pay for it. My HRT without insurance is $650, and with GRX it’s $50. I also don’t have to worry about if I’ll be approved or denied, so goodbye gatekeepers. It’s worth giving this a try before giving up. I know even $50 can be too much for a lot of people, so cis allies, this is your time to step up and buy a trans pal a month or two of medicine. Because it IS medicine.
Spread this so other trans people can see it. A lot of folks are extremely stressed out about this. I was, too, until I remembered I already stopped trying to get my insurance to approve my medicine and found alternate means. I’m hoping that this knowledge can add to someone’s toolbox of options.
I still like the idea of defeating the bill, though, especially because cutting Medicaid and CHIP funding and removing this from marketplaces could presumably raise out-of-pocket costs. (ACA is the Affordable Care Act, so marketplace access.) But this is correct – there was nothing in the reconciliation that would ban care.
Now’s the time
Beyond that, and outside the USA, it’s long past time to move beyond mere symbolic acts and fight for trans people. Stand up for real inclusion and representation. Stand against transphobia – it’s sure easy enough to find.
Yes, this is a music issue. Musical expression is where we come to grow, to heal, with hurt and trauma and hope. Trans people have quietly contributed to everything I write about here – the software, hardware, and music. And the music world, as a mirror of the world around us, reflects all its structural injustice. With every group that is marginalized and excluded from music, we’re losing some of the best work.
Now – none of that matters if people are denied health care. So let’s get on this. From having done US lobby work in the past, I can tell you that even the most unfriendly Senate offices do log calls and letters. They make counts of constituents. That’s office assistants and legislative assistants. Everybody is trying to keep their jobs, and when democracy is working, it’s because they work for you. We’re pretty far from an ideal case in that regard right now (cough), but the best way to counterbalance the influence of money is to remind the people who represent you that their votes are on the line.
You don’t need to be trans to be an advocate for trans care; health care advocacy is always about caring for our whole communities, not just ourselves.
And beyond lobbying, we need to put our own resources and bodies on the line more often. If you posted one of those flags or messages, now is the time to do more.
Feature photo: (CC-BY-SA) Dr. Ted Eytan, M.D. – that’s Washington, D.C. in 2018. The fight goes on.
I’m not a fan of lists because I don’t think that trans artists should have to reside in a segregated category, but I am a fan of trans folks curating their own message, so from friends in Manila, rewind from March:
I can also say queer people in Georgia are putting their lives on the line and risking imprisonment to stand up for these rights, as covered last month – it’s been queer and trans and non-binary people from the underground music scene often right on the front lines, even though they’re most vulnerable. So it’s time for us in the “center of the western world” or whatever to start to be equally fearless:
And if Bazaar can commission a story on resources for queer and trans people, I wonder why in music we tend not to get into real advocacy.