transgender (Photo : Reuters)
"If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue." These were the words of Leelah Alcorn, born Joshua Alcorn, 17, who was struck by a tractor-trailer at 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 28, Sunday.
The death of the transgender teen from Ohio who posted a heart-breaking letter before committing suicide struck a chord among citizens all over the world.
Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter have been flooded by transgender hashtags since the incident. A group advocating the plight of transgenders have been calling for a ban on "conversion theraphy." A petition that calls for Alcorn's parents to honor Leelah's chosen name to be put on her tombstone was able to garner thousands of signatures.
Alcorn's death puts another mark on the high suicide rate among transgenders, especially the youth. Reports said 40 percent of transgender youth admitted attempting suicide as some point in their lives.
David W. Bond, a social worker and a vice president of The Trevor Project, a support group for suicide prevention, said that suicide attempts are "higher for trans youth because they face high rates of discrimination, rejection, fear and hatred than other youth."
Bond added that "transgender youth are trying to understand and build their identities in a world that tells them they are wrong."
In her Tumblr account, Alcorn posted that her parents do not accept her for what she is, and that she felt the whole world is against her.
Alcorn wrote that she can either live the rest of her life as "a very lonely man who wishes he were a woman, or a lonelier woman who hates herself for being a man." The post went on to say that, "there is no winning, and no way out." Alcorn said she is already very sad and can't take it anymore.
Alcorn said in her post that since she was 4 years old, she felt like a girl trapped in a boy's body. She continued to say that she felt "relieved" when she became 14 and found out about her trans-condition. She said she told her parents about her condition and her wish to transition from boy to girl. But instead of understanding her condition and allowing her to transition, her parents forcibly took her to Christian therapists and denied her permission. Alcorn added that her parents made her stop going to school, took her cellphone and laptop and forbid her to log on to social media for several months.
Alcorn left home early Sunday morning and walked on Interstate 71, where a tractor trailer hit her, resulting to her death. Although the county coroner is still waiting for official results, Doyle Burke, lead investigator told NBC News that the incident is likely to be ruled as suicide.
Alcorn's parents cannot be reached for comments. Tim Tripp, minister of Northeast Church of Christ, said in an email that he himself cannot comment, and that his focus is to help the family in their hours of tragedy.
Azalea Laverdem, Alcorn's friend and coworker from Kings Island Amusement Park said she is against Alcorn's parents' reaction. And she does not condone the world's attitude towards the parents since Alcorn's tumbler post became viral. She said, "They did what they thought was right and it's very difficult to actually put ourselves in the situation. They lost a child." She pleaded to angry citizens not to harass Alcorn's parents, and instead, channel the feeling towards awareness and equality regardless of gender.
In what is considered as her final statement in life, Alcorn said she wanted her executor to sell everything she owned and give the proceeds to institutions and groups dedicated to helping people like her.
Towards the end of her post, Alcorn said, "My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year," she wrote. "I want someone to look at that number and say 'that's f---ed up' and fix it. Fix society. Please."
