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	==Life==		==Life==
	Leelah was born in November 1997 to parents Doug and Carla Alcorn and one of four children, Alcorn was raised in an ] Christian environment in which her ] was considered to be sinful.{{~~Citation~~ ~~needed~~\|date=~~December~~ ~~2014~~}} In an apparent suicide note she referred to herself as Leelah Alcorn, the name by which she is now most well known.<ref>{{Cite web\|url = http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note\|title = Suicide Note\|date = \|accessdate = \|website = \|publisher = \|last = \|first = }}</ref>		Leelah was born in November 1997 to parents Doug and Carla Alcorn and one of four children, Alcorn was raised in an ] Christian environment in which her ] was considered to be sinful.<ref>{{Cite web\|url = http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note\|title = Suicide Note\|date = \|accessdate = \|website = \|publisher = \|last = \|first = }}</ref> In an apparent suicide note she referred to herself as Leelah Alcorn, the name by which she is now most well known.<ref>{{Cite web\|url = http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note\|title = Suicide Note\|date = \|accessdate = \|website = \|publisher = \|last = \|first = }}</ref>

	According to her suicide note, Alcorn identified as a ] female from age 14, when she became aware of the term, having experienced ] since she was four. In the note she describes ] as transgender to her mother who, she writes, told her she was going through a phase and acting contrary to God. Alcorn subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. She attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received ].<ref>{{Cite web\|url = http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note\|title = Suicide Note\|date = \|accessdate = \|website = \|publisher = \|last = \|first = }}</ref>		According to her suicide note, Alcorn identified as a ] female from age 14, when she became aware of the term, having experienced ] since she was four. In the note she describes ] as transgender to her mother who, she writes, told her she was going through a phase and acting contrary to God. Alcorn subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. She attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received ].<ref>{{Cite web\|url = http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/post/106447705738/suicide-note\|title = Suicide Note\|date = \|accessdate = \|website = \|publisher = \|last = \|first = }}</ref>

Revision as of 22:27, 30 December 2014

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Leelah Alcorn
Leelah Alcorn in 2014
Born	(1997-11-15)November 15, 1997
Died	December 28, 2014(2014-12-28) (aged 17) Lebanon, Ohio, USA
Nationality	American

Leelah Alcorn (November 15, 1997 – December 28, 2014) was an American transgender girl who rose to international attention in 2014 after committing suicide. A suicide note was published on her Tumblr page; in this letter she declared that she wanted her suicide to cause an impact and create a dialogue about the discrimination and abuse of transgender people.

Life

Leelah was born in November 1997 to parents Doug and Carla Alcorn and one of four children, Alcorn was raised in an Evangelical Christian environment in which her gender identity was considered to be sinful. In an apparent suicide note she referred to herself as Leelah Alcorn, the name by which she is now most well known.

According to her suicide note, Alcorn identified as a transgender female from age 14, when she became aware of the term, having experienced gender dysphoria since she was four. In the note she describes coming out as transgender to her mother who, she writes, told her she was going through a phase and acting contrary to God. Alcorn subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. She attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received reparative therapy.

The note also describes Alcorn's coming out as gay at age 16, hoping it would be a stepping stone to coming out as transgender at a later date. She writes that she was instead taken out of school by her parents and cut off from the outside world for five months. She described this as a large contributing factor towards her suicide.

Death

Police told news sources that Alcorn (referred to as Joshua Alcorn) was walking southbound on I-71 near Union Township when she was struck by a semi-trailer. She died at the scene. It is believed that Alcorn walked three to four miles from her parents' house in nearby Kings Mill, Ohio, before being struck. The driver has not been charged with a crime.

Reaction

Alcorn's death received wide attention from the online transgender community and its supporters. Her suicide note gained thousands of views on Tumblr within 48 hours of her death. On Twitter, the hashtags #LeelahAlcorn and #JusticeForLeelahAlcorn were started.

Regardless of the national attention, her parents continue to misgender her in her death.

References

External Links

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