As Daily Kos has continued to cover, Republicans have been more than happy to scapegoat trans Americans and stir faux outrage about trans youth having even the most basic dignities and opportunities, especially while at school. We’ve seen, for example, Republicans push discriminatory sports bills that aim to keep trans youth from participating on teams that align with their gender identity, as well as bills trying to bar trans youth from receiving safe, age-appropriate, gender-affirming medical care.
Some of these bills have fizzled in committee, while some have been signed into law by Republican governors. Either way, however, we know trans youth report disproportionate levels of bullying, discrimination, and harassment when compared to cisgender peers. A recent incident comes to us from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, where a 14-year-old trans girl, Willow Andring, says she was called names and attacked at her school because of her gender identity. According to Willow’s mom, her daughter suffered a concussion from the attack.
Heather Andring, Willow’s mother, told local outlet Pittsburgh Action 4 News she was “shocked and sad and sort of in disbelief” about what happened. "You feel all the emotions as to worried about your kid,” she continued, you have some anger, you're upset, but then it kind of has sunk in."
Willow told local outlet CBS Pittsburgh that a male student attacked her at the bottom of the stairs on Oct. 27. “He pulled me from behind and started beating me up,” she recalled, adding that prior to the attack, he called her names and referred to her as “it.” Willow said that the student’s attacks had started as verbal harassment in the lunchroom earlier that same day. A fellow student caught part of the physical attack on video.
According to Newsweek, Manor Township Police are investigating the incident at Armstrong Junior-Senior High School, but no charges have been filed. And if this school sounds vaguely remember, it’s possibly because students made headlines after chanting offensive remarks toward a competitor’s female goalie during an ice hockey game.
Willow’s mother attended a school board meeting on Monday night where she urged the community to change the culture at the school and work on important issues.
“We are listening and we are certainly willing to work with the community and the administration to do whatever it takes to be proactive and not reactive to this problem and promote change,” a school board member said in response to Andring’s comments, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.
Some of these bills have fizzled in committee, while some have been signed into law by Republican governors. Either way, however, we know trans youth report disproportionate levels of bullying, discrimination, and harassment when compared to cisgender peers. A recent incident comes to us from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, where a 14-year-old trans girl, Willow Andring, says she was called names and attacked at her school because of her gender identity. According to Willow’s mom, her daughter suffered a concussion from the attack.
Heather Andring, Willow’s mother, told local outlet Pittsburgh Action 4 News she was “shocked and sad and sort of in disbelief” about what happened. "You feel all the emotions as to worried about your kid,” she continued, you have some anger, you're upset, but then it kind of has sunk in."
Willow told local outlet CBS Pittsburgh that a male student attacked her at the bottom of the stairs on Oct. 27. “He pulled me from behind and started beating me up,” she recalled, adding that prior to the attack, he called her names and referred to her as “it.” Willow said that the student’s attacks had started as verbal harassment in the lunchroom earlier that same day. A fellow student caught part of the physical attack on video.
According to Newsweek, Manor Township Police are investigating the incident at Armstrong Junior-Senior High School, but no charges have been filed. And if this school sounds vaguely remember, it’s possibly because students made headlines after chanting offensive remarks toward a competitor’s female goalie during an ice hockey game.
Willow’s mother attended a school board meeting on Monday night where she urged the community to change the culture at the school and work on important issues.
“We are listening and we are certainly willing to work with the community and the administration to do whatever it takes to be proactive and not reactive to this problem and promote change,” a school board member said in response to Andring’s comments, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.