GLAAD, the nation's leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today published a guest blog post written by Kelly Osbourne in which she voices her support for the transgender community.
The blog post was published on GLAAD's blog and The Transadvocate, whose editor originally contacted Osbourne via Twitter following Osbourne's use of anti-transgender words during a recent interview with Glamour UK. GLAAD spoke with Osbourne and today published her guest post. To read the full post visit:
http://www.glaad.org/blog/guest-post-kelly-osbourne-i-support-transgender-community.
In her post, Kelly apologizes for her the anti-transgender slurs and writes, "As a lifelong LGBT ally and friend, I feel it is my duty to not only apologize for my wrong but to also correct it. The word "tr*nny" is a derogatory and hurtful word. I was completely ignorant to this and soon came to realize most of my peers and LGBT friends are too. This is a word I will no longer use or allow.
She continues: "Transgender people are some of the bravest people on Earth and among the LGBT community. I cannot imagine the courage it takes to live your life openly and honestly, reflecting who you truly are, or the hurt that comes from having to hide who you are because others may not support and accept you."
"Kelly is taking the right step by using this as an opportunity to express her support of the transgender community and educate her fans about the hardships that they face for being who they are," said Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD. "We hope she inspires more allies of the LGBT community to speak out and have their own voices heard."
In the post, Osbourne also urged people to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, writing that "it is a day to remember those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence and speak out against the fact that transgender people face disproportionate amounts of discrimination and harassment every day. The lack of knowledge about transgender people contributes to the unparalleled number of violent acts against them every day."
Marti Abernathey of The Transadvocate responded to Osbourne's post: "With this post Kelly has proven she is a responsible ally to the transgender community. She made a mistake that was borne of ignorance, not malice. This post is will go far in healing that mistake. It will also serve to educate and inform others within the LGBT community and beyond about transgender people's lives. As I said to Kelly on Twitter, "You get to speak about it [the mistake], and trans people are seen as people and not things. Besides hatred, who's the loser in this?" I'm grateful to Kelly for taking the time to learn and educate others. In the process she's turned a mistake into a teachable moment. That is what an ally does. Thank you Kelly!"
Previously, GLAAD announced feature posts from leading transgender advocates and celebrities in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance at
http://www.glaad.org/tags/transgender. Among the notables contributing to GLAAD's TDOR blog series: actress Laverne Cox, People.com editor Janet Mock, advocate DeeDee Chamblee, advocate Ja'briel Walthour, athlete and advocate Chris Mosier, and advocate Stephanie Battaglino, among others.
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