Jonathan Van Ness started off his morning with a coffee dance and an important message. Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility and the Queer Eye star felt pulled to inform his followers of its significance.
We love a celebrity who uses their platform to promote equity, and Van Ness has done so since his Netflix reboot took off.
Transgender Visibility
"It's a really important day for trans folks, it's a really important day for cisgender folks," he opened up his Instagram story's loving message, "It's really important today to have tough conversations with people in your family."
It's a disappointing yet realistic point, as he observed, that hateful comments and disgusting violence are used to target transgender individuals daily.
"And your friends who say the things that we know that they shouldn't say. Who use offensive terminology, who misgender."
Van Ness then complimented Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district.
"As AOC so brilliantly said, 'Who allow their ignorance to be weaponized against trans people.'"
He continued, "What's really so troubling about a lot of these laws that are coming up now that we've all been seeing about, is that these are targeting children. These are targeting trans kids."
The Laws In Question
The laws Van Ness mentioned included Arkansas's HB1570 and Alabama's HB1/SB10. The Alabama proposed law, in particular, would, "make it a felony to treat trans youth up to age 19 and forcibly out trans and gender-expansive youth to their parents."
"Trans young people face so many hurdles," the trans rights activist insisted in regards to these potentially dangerous laws, "So many things that our cisgender counterparts will never have to face."
He communicated that these propositions are a unified coordinated attack on transgender rights. Those who are so worried about trans youth having accessibility to medical professionals are distracting from real issues going on in the United States.
"Not only is today about, about making sure you're an ally for trans people. It's also about celebrating trans joy and trans excellence."
Van Ness urged listeners to acknowledge the beauty and brilliance that shines in the transgender community.
"I think of my friends who are trans who have changed my life, who have shaped my life, who have shown me things that have expanded my life in ways that have made me so much better of a person."