Who Will Mourn For Sanesha Stewart?

Not the New York Daily News.

Sanesha Stewart was a trans woman of colour who was murdered on Saturday night in New York. The coverage of her death has been truly appalling--the original title of the story above was "Fooled john stabbed Bronx tranny."

It is one of the measures of someone's life that when they die, they are grieved. Heterosexual people are mourned, made legible through their familial relationships--someone's wife or husband, fiance, parent, child. When some people are murdered, the public becomes inflamed with righteousness. But trans* people are publicly ungrievable.

When we die, our "real" names and genders are revealed. "Ex-con who stabbed transgendered prostitute knew she was a he?" goes the follow-up story. Our appearance is mentioned for no reason, and roundly mocked. Press and public alike identify with the killer.

She deserved it because she was transgendered is the message. It is always the message.

Oh, she must have deceived him as to her genital status, no man would ever sleep with a woman with a penis. Except, it seems that the killer had known Sanesha for months. Maybe, as with Gwen Arujo, the "trans panic" story was pure bullshit, and the killer knew very well he was with a trans woman, and she was murdered not because of surprise, but because of planning. Because of hate. Because so many men find the possibility of being attracted to a transgendered woman a thought so disturbing that they choose to commit violence. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her being trans at all. I don't know.

The point is, when someone is killed, and all there is further disgust and hate, the fact that a life, a precious life worth mourning, has been lost gets overlooked.

So who grieves for Sanesha Stewart? We do, transgendered people and those who love us, because few others will. Other posts from Megan, Lisa, Little Light and Holly.