This past year, I have been religiously checking the anti-trans risk maps by Erin Reed (Erin in the Morning, 2023). When checking September's map, I found that there was a new split between adult anti-trans risk and youth anti-trans risk, as the previous (youth) map became more and more polarized. The stark difference between states that have passed strong protective bills and those that have passed the worst anti-trans bills combined with the data from Data for Progress are what led to this project (Phares, "LGBTQ+ Adults Do Not Feel Safe and Do Not Think the Democratic Party Is Doing Enough to Protect Their Rights," 2023).
Anti-trans, as well as anti-LGBTQ+, sentiments are nothing new to the US or even North Carolina--see North Carolina's 2016 Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, also known as House Bill 2 or HB2. However, the rise in anti-trans violence, legislation, and apparent public attitudes has paved a new road for anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. A useful way to approach the different ways that anti-trans actions have manifested is through the framework of the trifecta of violence introduced by Brightman et al. (2023). The trifecta of violence describes the relationship between violent ideology, violent policies and laws, and violent actions. Citing Lenning et al.'s "The Trifecta of Violence: A Socio-Historical Comparison of Lynching and Violence Against Transgender Women" (2019), the framework states that "enacting violent policies reaffirms violent ideologies in the eyes of the public which, in turn, emboldens individuals (both citizens and state actors) to take violent actions against the subjugated and marginalized groups in society with little sense of culpability or fear of consequence" (Brightman et al., 2023, p. 3).
The data I have represented comes from the ACLU's "Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures" which maps, tracks, and categorizes anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the US. As of October 31, there have been 505 bills introduced and 84 of those have been passed into law. Below the map, there is a table that can be filtered by state, issue (healthcare, public accommodations, school and education, free speech and expression, accurate IDs, civil rights, and other), and status (introduced, advancing, passed into law, and defeated). The data I used for this project is found by filtering the list by those passed into law and sorting by date. To better keep track of the data, I created a separate spreadsheet that documented the number of bills passed each week as well as the accompanying color.
Inspired by the train delay scarf by Sara Weber's mother (Haesler, 2019) which is pictured below, I decided to make a scarf representing the number of anti-trans bills that have passed so far in 2023. The train delay scarf showcases the delays experienced during the artist's daily train rides to work in Munich. Every day is two rows and the colors represent the length of delay: gray, less than 5 minute delay, pink, 5-30 minute delay, red, over 30 minute delay. For my version of the scarf, every four rows is a week, and the colors depict the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed during the week. The scarf currently depicts 41 out of 52 weeks this year. (As of October 31, we are on week 44, but no new legislation has passed since August 16.) Going forward, I hope to finish out this year and complete all 52 weeks of the scarf.
I chose knitting as it I am currently teaching myself how to knit and it is an easily accessible craft to me. For the design. I chose to do stockinette stitch and make each week equivalent to four rows (as it was equal to about an inch). The color palette is made up of yarn I already had that also formed a gradient. Originally, I wanted to make a split scarf that would depict both the number of bills introduced and the number of bills passed every week of 2023, but it was simply too much data.
The decision to make a scarf was that it is undoubtedly the easiest knitted project you can make as well as that it is a good metaphor to the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. As a trans person, the past year has felt suffocating with constant anxiety, fear, and shame. The anxiety and fear are self-explanatory as more and more states have introduced and passed bills--including North Carolina. The shame is from my relative place of privilege of whiteness and (hopefully) the ability to move, compared to other trans people who are multiply marginalized, cannot (or do not want to) move, and/or are children. Going into this project, I hoped that it might help me better understand my feelings about the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments and legislation. My temporary solution had been to push it away and not think about it--which I found echoed in my other trans friends. Overall, I think much of my feelings have not changed and I still feel suffocated by the uncertainty and seriousness of everything.
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References
ACLU. (2023, October 30). Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights?impact=
Brightman, S., Lenning, E., Lurie, K. J., & DeJong, C. (2023). Anti-transgender ideology, laws, and homicide: An analysis of the trifecta of violence. Homicide Studies. https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1177/10887679231201803
Haesler, S. (n.d.). 2019 – Self Knitted Scarf of Train Delays. List of Physical Visualizations and Related Artifacts. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from http://dataphys.org/list/self-knitted-scarf-of-train-delays/
Phares, K. (2023, June 8). LGBTQ+ Adults Do Not Feel Safe and Do Not Think the Democratic Party Is Doing Enough to Protect Their Rights. Data for Progress. https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2023/6/8/lgbtq-adults-do-not-feel-safe-and-do-not-think-the-democratic-party-is-doing-enough-to-protect-their-rights
Reed, E. (2023, September 6). Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Assessment Map: New Adult Map. Erin In The Morning. https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/anti-trans-legislative-risk-assessment
Reed, E. (n.d.). LGBTQ+ Legislative Tracking [Google Sheets spreadsheet]. Google Sheets. Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fTxHLjBa86GA7WCT-V6AbEMGRFPMJndnaVGoZZX4PMw/edit?usp=sharing
Thoreson, R. (2023). Florida and the new assault on LGBT rights. Verfassungsblog. https://verfassungsblog.de/florida-and-the-new-assault-on-lgbt-rights/, DOI: 10.17176/20230523-140308-0.
Truszczynski, M., Truszczynski, N., Estevez, R. I., and Elliott, A. E. (2022). Does Policy Matter? The Impact of State and City Anti-Discrimination Policy on the Discrimination Experiences of Trans and Nonbinary People. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 19, 1786–1794. https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1007/s13178-022-00762-3
Westbrook, L. (2022). Violence against transgender people in the United States: Field growth, data dilemmas, and knowledge gaps. Sociology Compass, 16(6). https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.1111/soc4.12983
Zorich, R. (2023). INLS 690 Data Physicalization [Google Sheets spreadsheet]. Google Sheets. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sKu4r8_wyZu_BtNO_XHVOeAJFSYHoDoDQeYWoCJ_1KU/edit?usp=sharing