‘Transphobia Is Not Victimless': Online Queer Communities Remember Charlotte Fosgate

Yahoo

2 days ago

Early on May 4, officials from Oregon's Clackamas County Sheriff's Office put out a missing persons report, asking for the public's help with finding 17-year-old trans girl Charlotte Fosgate. Fosgate had last been seen on May 1, and her family thought she might be suffering from mental health issues. Her most recent post on X (formerly Twitter) was also concerning, showing a picture of the Portland skyline with the words 'its a pretty view' and one more tweet: 'Long way down.'
After four weeks of searching, friends close to Fosgate's family confirmed on May 27 that Fosgate had been found dead, with police believing cause was suicide. 'To all the kids and teens who followed Charlotte's story, please know this: It's okay to be hurting. It's okay to feel lost, confused, or sad. What matters most is that you don't carry it alone,' read the update on the public Facebook group coordinating searches for Fosgate. 'There is help, there is hope, and there are people who care deeply about you. Charlotte's life mattered. And so does yours.'
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Fosgate wasn't famous before she went missing. She was just a teenage girl struggling with her mental health. And for both trans teens and adults active online, they recognize Fosgate, because, they say, they used to be her. But while friends and family of the teen mourned her premature death, anti-trans commentators on X turned Fosgate's last posts into an whirlwind of transphobia — misgendering her, mocking her, and celebrating her family's loss. Now, online queer communities on X, Reddit, and TikTok are combating the hate by making digital memorials where people can wish Fosgate a peaceful rest. Those who spoke with Rolling Stone say it doesn't feel like enough to combat the onslaught of political pressure and public targeting — but it's a start.
'Since the trans community [is] so small, and there aren't many people who care about us, we really only have ourselves,' Everest M., an 18-year-old girl from Michigan tells Rolling Stone. (Many of the people who spoke to Rolling Stone for this article declined to give their full names or other identifying details for fear of online retaliation or harassment.) 'And when that number lessens, it really hits hard. She was only 17. That's a year younger than me, so that hits close to home.'
People who identify as transgender make up an extremely small portion of the LGBTQ+ umbrella, with market research group Ipsos estimating around one percent of adults globally are trans. That number shrinks even more when narrowed down to the U.S, somewhere around .09 percent. According to the Human Rights Campaign and the UCLA Williams Institute, around 1.6 million Americans are trans. It's a small cohort — which makes the outsized focus on the trans community in conservative politics especially threatening for many. Dozens of states have instituted bans preventing trans children from using bathrooms that match their gender identities, others prevent trans girls from playing on girls sports teams, and the federal government is currently in an ongoing lawsuit with the ACLU over President Donald Trump's plan to restrict gender markers on U.S. passports. On May 22, the House also passed a tax bill that would block people using Medicaid from coverage for gender-affirming health care, and no longer require plans under the Affordable Care Act to include it.
It's an environment that would make any community concerned. But there's also a mental toll anti-trans rhetoric can have on trans people, especially children and teenagers. According to a national survey conducted by the non-profit organization The Trevor Project, a majority of LGBTQ+ students say they've been harassed at school, two out of three queer youth said hearing about anti-LGBTQ bills made their mental health worse, and half of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously consider suicide during childhood.
For Luna C., a trans girl who lives in what she calls a 'decently conservative area,' the online treatment of Fosgate makes her deeply upset, not only for Fosgate's family but because of her own journey with mental health surrounding her transition. She posted a tribute to Fosgate on Reddit, encouraging others to leave their own blessings, memories, and thoughts for Fosgate's family in the comments. 'I wanted her to be remembered in a positive light,' Luna says. 'I hate how so many suicide victims end up just being another number to people. It's dehumanizing. I want people to remember that there's a name behind those numbers.'
Penelope Wickman, a 28-year-old from Portland, isn't trans. But she says she continues to feel compelled to post about Fosgate because of how exhausting the anti-trans White House has become for many in the community. 'I think that what I've noticed the most is just it's hard for [trans people] to even talk about. It's so distressing and so terrifying and so upsetting, and historically, it's just been something that is so difficult to fight against, and I think that that's kind of where the ally ship portion comes in,' Wickman says. 'I think that it's very difficult for a lot of trans people to even put into words how gutting it is to continually lose people from their community. So I'm trying to, I don't know, protect them in any way I can.'
Posting these digital memorials about Fosgate isn't just about trans people making themselves feel better. Digital search features on platforms like Google aggregate from all posts available, so when Fosgate's tweets first got popular, the biggest and most available information about her was both transphobic and incredibly cruel. Even for people who didn't know Fosgate, posting digital memorials and messages doesn't just let her family know people care — it pushes those deadnaming and inflammatory tweets further and further down.
'Heartbreaking.' It's the only thing that Vee Clowers can think of when she talks about Fosgate. Clowers, 26, is a trans woman from Missouri who says she's always saddened when a trans youth commits suicide. But she also says that while she's focused on remembering Fosgate's life — including uplifting those who knew her — she still wants people to pay attention to the rhetoric that made this possible in the first place.
'[Transphobia] is not victimless,' Clowers says. 'It's terrifying to see them try to eradicate us, but we're not going anywhere. My transition was certainly challenging, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Even with the entire world against me, I'm happier now than ever.'
Fosgate's family has not released an official obituary for the teen, but close friends have continued to urge others who have feelings similar to hers to reach out for help. 'She was a transgender teen who longed for a world that could truly embrace her for who she was. Despite facing unimaginable cruelty online and in real life, Charlotte showed strength, kindness, and resilience every day she was here,' Fosgate's official GoFundMe reads. 'Her passing has shattered hearts across the community, especially those who knew her, loved her, and stood beside her. We want to honor Charlotte's memory in the way she always deserved — with beauty, dignity, and love.'
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Dial 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386. Find other international suicide helplines at Befrienders Worldwide (befrienders.org).
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