Case has repercussions on social media and group creates online petition calling for an end to conversion therapies
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Leelah, called by her family by her given name, Josh Alcorn, died in the early hours of the 28th, run over by a tractor in Warren County, Ohio, USA. The case is investigated by local police as a suicide. In a letter published on the internet, the 17-year-old teenager points out the years of suffering caused by her family's non-acceptance as the reason for her death.
“That's the essence, that's why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if it’s not a good enough reason for you, but it is for me,” the young woman wrote, asking that her story serve as an example for change. “My death needs to have some meaning. My death needs to be counted among the number of transgender people who committed suicide this year. I want someone to look at this number and say: this is wrong. Fix society. Please".
The case gained attention from the American press and had repercussions on the internet and social media. With the hashtag #LeelahAlcorn, internet users paid tribute to the young woman and criticized the family's position. On the Change.org website, the Transgender Human Rights Institute started an online petition addressed to US President Barack Obama, calling for the creation of the Leelah law, which would ban transgender conversion therapy. The petition already has almost 150 thousand signatures.
In her farewell letter, Leelah states that she has felt like “a girl trapped in a boy's body” since she was four years old and, as a child, because she didn't think it was possible for a boy to turn into a girl, she didn't say anything to anyone and continued to “do traditional boy things.”
“When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried with joy. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me it was a phase, that I would never really be a girl, that God doesn't make mistakes and that I was wrong,” wrote Leelah.
In an interview with CNN, Carla Alcorn, Leelah's mother, confirms that she did not support the young girl, so much so that she called her Josh and treated her like a boy.
“We don't support it, religiously,” she said. — But we told him we loved him unconditionally. I loved my son. People need to know that I loved him. He was a good boy.
The mother confirmed that the young woman was depressed and was taking medication prescribed by psychologists and psychiatrists.
— He stopped talking about it (being transgender) — said Carla.
After threats of protests, the family decided not to hold Leelah's funeral, a name that the mother said she didn't know.
— He never said that name before — said Carla.
In her letter, the young woman states that her mother took her to therapists, “but only Christian therapists, so I never got the treatment I needed to cure my depression. I just had more Christians tell me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.”
Source: The Globe
