March Letter from the Board

Dear NTBA community,

Happy March and a happy belated Lunar New Year to all who celebrated the Year of the Fire Horse this past month. Those born under the horse zodiac sign are often described as energetic, independent, and adventurous. The Fire Horse, which occurs every 60 years rather than every 12, is said to carry a special intensity, and sometimes that intensity is thought of as stubbornness or being headstrong. I’m not a superstitious person but have been called stubborn before. As a trans, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender expansive community, let’s let this year be a year where we are those things, stubborn and headstrong, which is to say insistent; insistent about our truths and the veracity of our realities, especially in this unnerving and deeply troubling political context for our people and so many others across the country and the world.

March ends with TDOV, Trans Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to both spreading awareness about the challenges trans people face and the beauty and humanity of who we are. Many have long said that visibility alone is not enough, as it does not translate into material improvements in our conditions, and while visibility is not necessarily a signal of progress, the visibility and ubiquity of anti-trans vitriol certainly signal the opposite. As trans legal professionals, we’ve witnessed numerous protections, policies, and case law rolled back. It’s times like these that remind us that while the courts are a critically important tool, they are not the only site from which we must advocate and organize for our liberation.

Where I’m based, in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, we are working with local city governments to expand protections for TGI communities. In city council chambers across our region, we passed resolutions for “Transgender, Gender Expansive and Intersex Health Week.” While Southern California faces different obstacles, we have seen a wave of hospitals closing their health programs for trans youth, just as other metropolitan areas have across the country.

From a technical point of view, a resolution is largely nominal, but in practice the process of passing resolutions with municipal governments requires substantive civic engagement and relationship building that can serve as an important organizing tool. It is also often a pathway for getting your foot in the door for policymaking at the local level, and we hope it represents a foundation for passing policies with real teeth to further solidify the rights and resources our communities deserve.

As this year forges ahead, I hope we carry the stubbornness and headstrongness to keep insisting on justice, liberation, and autonomy over our bodies and our lives, and the warmth and fire to keep showing up for ourselves and for one another along the way.

With respect and gratitude,

Joana Chai-Chang Azterbaum
Junta Directiva de la NTBA