“My death needs to mean something.”

On December 28, 2014, Leelah Alcorn committed suicide.

Although assigned male at birth, Leelah was a seventeen-year-old, transgender girl living in the state of Ohio.

The opening quote is taken directly from her suicide note, posted to her Tumblr blog. The note contains Leelah’s goodbyes, the reasons that had driven to her to take her own life, as well as wishes for change in the treatment of transgender individuals.

She writes both in the note and in her previous posts on Reddit about the cruel treatment her parents, Doug and Carla Alcorn, had shown her. Having sent her to conversion therapy (a generally religious form of therapy based on the attempt to change one’s sexuality or gender – used on LGBTQ+ folk) and taken away her access to social media, Leelah’s parents also alienated her from her friends, going so far as to withdraw her from public school.

Along with isolating the girl, Leelah’s parents continue to misgender her both on Facebook and in an interview with CNN, calling her Josh (her legal name) and using “he” pronouns – even after her death. They claim the cause for this treatment has to do with their Christianity. But does religion really excuse the sort of parenting that drove Leelah to suicide? Alyssa Kennedy, a Christian student attending Bob Jones High School, disagrees with their actions.

“Even if you don’t agree with it, I don’t think it’s good for a parent to try to change their kid. Especially if it’s somewhere that’s just a vicious place to be. I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think that’s the biblical way to handle that situation.”

Whether religion justifies their actions or not, it has not deterred the reaction. Although depressing, Leelah did achieve her final wish of helping the Trans Civil Rights Movement. Her last words spread past Tumblr, through various forms of social media, reaching the world of celebrities where she was even given tribute during the Golden Globe awards ceremony.

Not only did her death receive fame, Leelah also touched the lives of trans people individually. When asked how her death had impacted him, this is what Beau Inman from Tennessee had to say:

“Personally? Not that much. I was obviously already very aware of the issues trans folk face on a regular basis, but it’s had quite an effect on people around me. My cis [cisgender – those who identify with the gender they had been assigned at birth] peers especially seem to be more willing to offer support and raise awareness and, in a dark kind of way, I guess it has done some good. That’s probably what Leelah wanted.”

Transgender people are not the only one impacted by the event; cisgender people have also been touched by Leelah’s message. Kayla Carden, student at Bob Jones High School in Alabama, responds with the following statement:

“I find it all really sad, just everything about it. And I really hate that this had to happen, but I also hope that great change will come [from this] like she wanted it.”

Both seem to have a general consensus. Tragic as Leelah’s death may be, she has sparked a new fire to the trans movement. The transgender community has been trying to spread awareness for years but, by some chance, Leelah’s death actually got the message across. What kind of change is there to aim for?

Inman’s answer to that question is quoted below.

“First of all, I want trans people to stop getting murdered or ostracized to the brink of suicide. But beyond that, I just want transness to be normalized. I want it to be normal not to assume someone’s gender based on appearance. Like, it seems kind of weird how excited I get at the idea that there might be one other trans kid in my school. Because it’s so abnormal, uncommon for people to come out or even be aware of transness at all. It shouldn’t be abnormal.”

His response reflects Leelah’s own.

“The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s f***** up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

And fixing society is exactly what supporters of the transgender rights movement are trying to do. In addition to spreading general awareness of the struggle that comes with being transgender – the stigma behind trans people, the difficulties trans people face with acceptance and legally getting their gender changed – Leelah’s death also raised a surge of anger at conversion therapy. A petition for a law against the practice of conversion therapy, appropriately named “Leelah’s Law,” and a transcript of Leelah’s suicide note are linked at the bottom of this article.

It may not be overnight – may not be for decades, but with Leelah’s death comes an added drive for the equality and fair treatment of trans folk. If the push for awareness and the advocacy for change continues, it can only be hoped that Leelah Alcorn may one day rest in both peace and power, knowing that society has been fixed for other transgender people. Although we are not there yet, Leelah may at least look upon the campaign that she has started and know that her death truly does mean something.

Sign the petition against conversion therapy: https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-enact-leelah-s-law-to-ban-transgender-conversion-therapy

Read Leelah’s suicide note: http://mindsoap.org/2014/12/