Hello Regulation & Rule Makers,

Do you know a trans person? Have you spoken with one before? Or do you only hear about us from the news and the internet? 

My name is Nikita Rain. I am a 38-year-old trans woman who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. I have been transitioning since 2019, and I have been trans my whole life. I am an elementary school teacher, a musician, a writer, and an athlete. I am also an advocate for the Charlottesville Gender Expansive Network, a community outreach program for trans people, run by trans people. I know, by name, at least 200 trans people. 

How many trans people do you know?

There is a belief going around that the trans identity is some kind of social contagion. There is indeed a social contagion going around, but it's not the trans identity. It's trans joy. Trans pride. The idea that you should just be your most authentic self, even if there are rules and regulations to discourage you. 

You seem to think that we are harming ourselves by transitioning. Not a single one of those 200 trans people claims that transitioning harms them in any way. We love all the changes that transitioning brings. It helps us feel at home in our own bodies. 

Can you imagine what that's like? To not feel at home in your own body? Probably not, and that's why so many cisgender rule, regulation, and lawmakers don't understand the trans experience. We know what our experience is like. Don't you think you should listen to us? Why don't you trust the things we share?

Perhaps you are afraid of the "social contagion" "infecting" the kids. Well, trans kids exist regardless of any "social contagion." *I* was a trans kid. Every one of those 200 trans people was once a trans kid. We know that denying the experiences and identities of trans kids is hurtful to them. In my work, I've met a couple of dozen trans kids. I believe them when they say they are trans. 

How many trans kids do you know? Why don't you believe them? Why would you squeeze them into a cisgendered, heterosexual box in which they do not fit? Why would you impose upon them a life that they do not wish? 

Perhaps you want to save them the hardship of being transgender. But do you know what the hardest part of being transgender is? The rules and regulations that you are about to vote on. 

If you actually want to talk to a trans person, and have a civil conversation about these things, I provided my email. I hope to hear from you.

With love and light,

Nikita Rain (she/her)