Selena Gomez & More Sign Open Letter In Support Of Transgender Women, Girls

More than 465 females in the world of entertainment, business, politics, activism and music joined forced to sign a letter organized by GLAAD and activist Raquel Willis to rally behind the transgender community.

The announcement, which was appropriately announced on Wednesday's (March 31) Transgender Day of Visibility and the end of Women's History Month, saw the likes of Selena Gomez, Laverne Cox, Janelle Monáe and more join the statement in supporting trans women and girls as the community falls victim to even more discrimination. Earlier this week, Arkansas senate passed a bill that would ban access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

"It is time for the long history of assaults (legislative, physical, social, and verbal) against trans women and girls to end. For far too long, lawmakers have worked to strip trans women of their civil liberties — in 2021, once again, we’ve seen a wave of bigoted governmental policies and legislation. Many of these laws target the rights of girls to play school sports or criminalize doctors for treating trans youth and their families," read the letter. "The women's movement has seen doctors targeted before for providing us with necessary medical care and services, and we refuse to let youth endure that now. Plus, we know that anti-trans sports bans are as unnecessary as they are harmful—and that women athletes at both the professional and college levels support inclusion."

Among the other signatories include Gloria Steinem, Regina King, Halle Berry,Chelsea Clinton, Gabrielle Union, Wanda Sykes, Kathryn Hahn, Bella Hadid, Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore, Brie Larson, Cynthia Erivo, Judith Light, Amy Schumer, Cara Delevingne, Lena Waithe, Sarah Paulson, Alison Brie, Alyssa Milano, Lilly Singh, Ilana Glazer, America Ferrera, Mj Rodriguez, Kat Graham, Peppermint, Tegan & Sara, Beanie Feldstein, Christina Ricci, Melissa Etheridge, Lena Dunham, Mayim Bialik, Amiyah Scott, Tatiana Maslany, among others.

"These bigoted efforts are also aided by a contingent of self-identified feminists, who have been promoting damaging and violent ideas about trans people for years in the United States and internationally. Their vitriol is, in fact, not feminist at all. True feminists do not wish to limit any woman’s identity or freedom to fully be herself. Allowing transphobic rhetoric to go unchecked also strengthens the legislative efforts of anti-trans politicians — who now cloak their bigotry in language about protecting or supporting women," the statement continued.

The letter also saw backing from national organizations, including Time’s Up, Me Too, Women's March, Planned Parenthood, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, Ms. Foundation, 3% Movement, National Women's Law Center, GLAAD, the Trevor Project, LGBTQ Task Force, GLSEN, Athlete Ally, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lesbians Who Tech, and others.

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