TDoR 2015 / 2014 / December / 28 / Leelah Alcorn


Leelah Alcorn

Age 17

28 Dec 2014
Lebanon, Ohio (USA)
Suicide

Leelah Alcorn
Leelah Alcorn [photo: emag.co.uk]

Leelah was hit by a truck on interstate 71 at 2:20am on Sunday 28th December. She was believed to have walked 3-4 miles from her parents house in nearby Kings Mill.

A suicide note she had previously written later appeared on her Tumblr blog as a scheduled post. As a result of the note, news of her suicide spread rapidly.

In the note, Leelah said she identified as a transgender female from age 14, when she first became aware of the term, having felt “like a girl trapped in a boy’s body” since she was four.

Leelah said she subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. She said she attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received therapy and “biased” counseling from Christian therapists:

Leelah also describes coming out as gay at age 16, hoping it would be a stepping stone to coming out as transgender at a later date. She wrote that she was instead taken out of school by her parents and cut off from the outside world for five months as her parents denied her access to her laptop, social media and phone.

She described this as a contributing factor towards her suicide.

The main way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender individuals aren’t dealt with the way I was,” her suicide note peruses. “My passing needs to mean something.”

“My passing needs to be checked in the quantity of transgender individuals who submit suicide … I need somebody to take a gander at that number and say ‘that is f- -ked up’ and fix it.”

“Fix society,” she argued. “If you don’t mind Signed, “(Leelah) Josh Alcorn.”

https://twitter.com/cherrydiddlydip/status/949593786094706689

It is nearly 5am and im going to do a sleep-deprived thread on Leelah Alcorn Suicide TW for the whole thread. No gory pictures will be shown, period. Suicide note will be shown.

Remembering our transgender sister Leelah Alcorn who took her own life three years ago today at the age of 17. Her suicide led to a ban on conversion therapy in her hometown of Cincinnati, but how much have we "fixed society" since she left us?

In death her mother still refused to acknowledge her daughter's transgender identity.

The section of highway where Leelah died was subsequently dedicated to her. Her story was told in the short documentary "Leelah's Highway".

Leelah's Highway Trailer from Elizabeth Littlejohn on Vimeo.

https://www.facebook.com/leelahhighway/

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/leelah-alcorns-impact-continues-7-years-after-her-death

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/07/24/documentary-transgender-teenager-leelah-alcorn-premiere-aug-24/822192002/

Leelah's death was not recorded on the official TGEU TDoR 2015 list.

http://laizquierdadiario.com/El-fantasma-de-Leelah

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2014/12/transgender-teen-struck-and-killed-on-ohio-interstate-in-apparent-suicide/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/leelah-alcorn-devout-christian-mother-of-transgender-teen-says-we-dont-support-that-religiously-as-9953749.html

https://emag.co.uk/leelah-alcorn-suicide-mom-still-dont-acknowledge-transgender/

http://time.com/3655718/leelah-alcorn-suicide-transgender-therapy/

https://catholictrans.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/how-do-we-respond-to-leelah-alcorns-death-reflections-from-a-survivor/

https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/transgender-youth-death-report-released/ryXIt0rkurlMQAlV3zHrYO/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Leelah_Alcorn

https://twitter.com/GeeksOUT/status/946530081496797185

https://www.facebook.com/groups/256811441323447/permalink/778591855812067/

Report added: 18 Feb 2019. Last updated: 8 Oct 2022

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This site contains reports of violence against transgender people, and links to detailed reports which contain graphic imagery.

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