Elliot Page has spoken out about a wave of new bills that target the transgender community in the US.
The actor, who came out as transgender in December, took to social media yesterday (April 16) to urge his followers to contact politicians and voice their opposition to the legislation.
It comes after politicians in Alabama and North Dakota recently approved bans on transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity.
There have also been a series of Republican-led states who have introduced bills that have been described as anti-trans by critics. These include laws designed to ban gender-confirming surgery for transgender youths.
“As I watch the movement of these bills attacking trans youth across the US, especially this week in Florida, Alabama, Texas and North Dakota, I am thinking of my trans siblings and the collective pain that our community must endure to battle again and again for our right to exist,” Page said on Instagram. “These bills are upsetting, cruel and exhausting.”
He continued: “Call your representatives. Tell them to oppose legislation that discriminates against us. Tell them our access to health care is an inalienable human right. Tell them to let trans kids play sports. Tell them that #TransPeopleBelong – we always have, and we always will.”
Last month, Page gave his first interview since announcing he is transgender.
The actor, who stars in Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and uses he/they pronouns, spoke about his ongoing fight for trans equality and his privilege as a white, wealthy and famous person.
“My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today,” Page said, “and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”
The actor spoke about the visibility gap for trans men, saying “there were no examples” when he was growing up.
Regarding his duty as a role model, Page said: “They can see that and say, ‘You know what, that’s who I am too,’” and explained that a lack of role models lets “people make monsters of us”.
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