Most of you probably know Chris as half of FLAVNT Streetwear, but last month he got to step out of his comfort zone (no really, he's totally shy), and act on camera in a really important PSA opposing a recently proposed anti-trans bill here in Texas.
That bill is SB6, similar to the HB2 bill passed last year in North Carolina, that would restrict trans people from using the bathroom they identify with.
Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater directed the spot, teamed up with ACLU Texas, GSD&M Austin, The Bear, and a dozen or so talented actors -- stating what we think is pretty obvious, everyone has to pee, so take a seat to make a stand for for those in the LGBT community discriminated against by this potential new law.
Lavene Cox recently spoke out about the real implications of these so-called "bathroom bills", and we think she said it best:
“And what people should know about these bathroom bills that criminalize trans people... is that these bills are not about bathrooms. They’re about whether trans people have the right to exist in public space. If we can’t access public bathrooms, we can’t go to school, we can’t work, we can’t go to health care facilities. This is about public accommodations. And so, public accommodations are always key to civil rights...”
These bills are presented as attempts at protecting the privacy of people (especially children) from peeping toms, rapists, and sexual deviants; while calling into question the genitalia of transgender folks who just want to pee in peace. Even if trans people make up less than 1% of the population, that does not mean that their privacy matters any less than the next person's, and shining the spotlight on something so intimate is appalling and detracts from actual issues -- like how most acts of sexual assault (8/10) are committed by someone the victim knows, and how trans people are much more likely than their cisgender counterparts to experience violence in places like public restrooms. According to a study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Center for Transgender Equality, 64% of trans people will experience sexual assault in their lifetime.
Watch the video below and give it a thumbs up (probably avoid the comments section because it's full of nasty bigoted slurs and there's no winning there) and share it with your friends and family! Do what you can to be the best ally to those that need it in situations like this and help #stopSB6.
You can visit https://www.ipeewithlgbt.org/ and see what you can do to help, if you're a Texas resident interested in taking a stand they have a really easy system in place on this site for contacting your local representative and asking them to oppose SB6.