It comes once a year but it always deserves more attention: Nov. 20 is the annual Transgender Day of Rememberance, which was established back in 1999 to honor the memory of trans people who were the victims of violence. And though in 2015, the transgender community appears to be more visible in the media — Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox, Janet Mock — the threat of injury and even death for those who are transgender or gender-nonconforming is just as bad as it has ever been. According to the Daily Beast, the reported number of transgender victims of murder in 2015 has reached 21.
To help provide a perspective on what it’s like to be a part of the transgender community, we are re-posting a video from KQED’s ongoing series Vital Signs that follows two people — Jetta’Mae Carlisle and Jamie Nelson — as they undergo sexual re-assignment surgeries. Watch as they go through experiences that are both scary and exciting, and learn what they hope for their lives as they go forward.
