#BigDisCo’s Letter Writing Campaign Won’t Save You- It Isn’t Even FOR You

Picture it: your identity is under attack on a daily basis. Every time you look at the news, you are met with the latest initiative to demonize your very existence. Your ability to serve your country, to tap in to services/supports, to simply use a public restroom without fear of being arrested: although you’ve become accustomed to the fact that your diagnosis of gender dysphoria could limit your ability to fully participate in society at any time, it is becoming apparent to you that that time is NOW and the system is seemingly closing in on you on all fronts.

You can’t seek refuge in family because you are one of the nearly 50% of transgender people in the US who is estranged from your relatives.

You can’t feel at home in your home because you experience less housing stability than cisgender people.

You can’t be confident that your employment is secure because you are one of the seven in ten transgender people who has experienced workplace harassment and discrimination.

If you’re Black or Brown, you’re exhausted from dealing with racism within the LGBTQ+ community and transphobia within your racial demographic.

Despite the fact that, along with the psychosocial trauma that those with gender dysphoria experience also comes clinical distress that, for many, impedes one or more major life activities, to say that the diagnosis has not been embraced as a disability by #BigDisCo would be an understatement. This is true, despite the fact that many interpret the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to be inclusive of gender dysphoria.

And, today, #BigDisCo, the industrial complex that is federally funded to serve, support, and advocate for the disability community (one of the only marginalized communities in the US that receives tax dollars for such purposes), a community #BigDisCo’s leadership are happy to remind lawmakers “anyone can join at any time” when it’s time to ask for increased appropriations has settled on employing the advocacy approach with regard to trans people that it employs when it wishes to appear inclusive without inconveniencing its target demographic (white, middle class, cis people) and/or jeopardizing its funding:

The semi-strongly worded letter.

Often dispatched after the fact.

Take, for instance, #BigDisCo’s “inclusion” strategy as it pertains to those with gender dysphoria during the final days of the Biden administration to today:

-#BigDisCo leadership- including members within the Biden administration- “included” gender dysphoria as a possible disability in an updated Preamble to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This action, although inclusive in appearance, was, by and large performative because verbiage included in the preamble is not enforceable.

-#BigDisCo then seemingly colluded with the Biden Administration to not raise awareness of a lawsuit (formerly Texas v Becerra, now Texas v Kennedy) that was filed in late September, 2024, in response to the aforementioned inclusion of “gender dysphoria” in the updated Preamble so as to save that Administration from the arduous- and hypocritical- task of excising the diagnosis from the Preamble in anticipation that the incoming Trump Administration would gladly do the deed

-#BigDisCo dismissed attempts to bring attention to Texas v Becerra during the Biden administration, choosing instead to go public with its advocacy campaign regarding “saving 504” four days into Trump 2.0

-#BigDisCo issued guidance on advocacy for “saving 504” that was devoid of information regarding the role gender dysphoria played in triggering the lawsuit. It focused on encouraging advocates to frame their advocacy around “traditional” manifestations of disability (click photo below to view document)

-#BigDisCo’s guidance, when pressed on how to approach gender dysphoria, advised advocates to remind stakeholders of Trump’s executive order pertaining to transgender people as being a sure sign that the inclusion of gender dysphoria in the updated Preamble to Section 504 would be a “moot point”

When it comes to Section 504, to put it mildly, #BigDisCo was/is encouraging advocates to engage in trans excluding disability advocacy.

And, when the trans excluding disability advocacy was called out, several #BigDisCo organizations that signed on to the initial guidance released on “saving 504” responded the way #BigDisCo always does when it has no intention of actually doing anything of substance (click image to be directed to the social media post):

DREDF, the #BigDisCo organization that is front and center in guidance advocacy around “saving 504”, also employed the strongly worded letter/social media post in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance:

Despite the seemingly bold support for transgender people articulated in this post and the letter of support it links to (as well as DREDF’s articulated commitment to not tolerating transphobic, ableist, and other hateful rhetoric on its social media) , the unmoderated comments are full of transphobic, as well as ableist vitriole, including but not limited to:

And, recently, Dom Kelly of New Disabled South went on the record to say that, despite the unanswered questions regarding #BigDisCo’s decision to sit on Texas v Becerra until Trump 2.0, it’s the Trump administration, not #BigDisCo, that’s thrown transgender people under the bus: “It’s clear that the Trump administration and the Republican party are willing to throw disabled people under the bus in pursuit of their bigoted, transphobic agenda.”

Finally, Claudia Center of DREDF sent an email out to stakeholders on May 1st congratulating them for engaging in advocacy that, in addition to resulting in the states that filed Texas v Becerra to back off on claims that 504 is unconstitutional, has also seemingly led to what #BigDisCo had covertly engineered when it decided to effectively sit on Texas v Becerra until it transitioned into Texas v Kennedy in the first place: that the Trump administration would indicate that it would deem the updated Preamble to 504, with its inclusion of gender dysphoria, as "moot":

Claudia DREDF email.pdf

Download PDF • 129KB

Ultimately, although all of this rhetoric is about transgender people, none of it is for transgender people.

Nor is it even being articulated by transgender people.

It’s being articulated by people who want to say they’ve done something.

It’s being articulated for people who want to say that something’s been done.

If #BigDisCo actually cared about transgender people, then #BigDisCo would have loudly and publicly fought for transgender people the minute Texas v Becerra was filed in September of 2024.

It didn't.

It's as simple as that.

Meanwhile, transgender people continue to be left with the exhausting but necessary task of not only reading hateful rhetoric articulated by those who wish them harm but also reading between the lines of the performative rhetoric articulated by those who wish to use the plight of transgender people to appear "progressive" while they, too, cause harm.