An Open Letter to Our Cis Allies

To those who call yourselves allies,

Thank you. Truly. Thank you to the ones who speak up when it matters, who listen when we share hard truths, and who choose growth over comfort. Your effort, your presence, and your willingness to change make a difference. We see you.

But I need to be honest with you. That cannot be the end of your effort. Not now. Not when our lives are being used as political bait. Not when our existence is under attack.

Trans people are not safe right now. That includes trans women, trans men, nonbinary people, intersex folks, and all of us who live outside the gender binary. We are being targeted, banned, erased, and misrepresented in policy, in media, and in daily life. Our access to healthcare, education, public space, and basic safety is being stripped away. And yet, many of you who claim to care are still quiet.

It is not enough to “accept” us. It is not enough to post about Pride in June and disappear by July. It is not enough to tell us privately that you support us while allowing your coworkers, your family, or your favorite influencers to mock us, ignore us, or debate our humanity.

Being an ally means taking risks. It means speaking up in spaces where it might be uncomfortable. It means defending trans men’s right to bodily autonomy and trans women’s right to safety and visibility. It means standing up for nonbinary and gender-nonconforming youth when schools and governments try to silence them.

Allyship means action. It means calling out transphobia, even when it costs you social capital. It means amplifying our voices, supporting our work, checking your assumptions, and unlearning what the world taught you about gender. It means not centering yourself when we are in pain.

We are not asking for applause. We are asking you to show up.

We are grieving. We are tired. And we are still showing up every single day. We are building futures, protecting each other, creating art, raising our voices, and refusing to be erased. The very least we ask is that you do the same in the spaces where we cannot safely exist.

This is not about politics. This is about people.

Trans people are not a trend. We are not a debate. We are your neighbors, your students, your coworkers, your friends, your partners, and your family. We are worth fighting for.

So if you believe in freedom, if you believe in justice, if you believe in basic human decency, act like it.

Not when it feels safe. Not when it’s convenient. Now.

With strength and hope,

Gemma Flora Ortwerth

Trans woman. Queer. Disabled. Fiercely human. Still rising.