Leelah Alcorn

Leelah Alcorn was an American transgender girl born on November fifteenth, nineteen ninety-seven, in Kings Mills, Ohio. Assigned male at birth, she grew up in a family deeply rooted in the Churches of Christ movement. At the age of fourteen, Leelah bravely came out as transgender to her parents, Carla and Doug Alcorn, who unfortunately did not accept her female identity.

When she turned sixteen, her parents denied her request for transition treatment and instead sent her to Christian-based conversion therapy, aiming to persuade her to reject her true self. This decision led to further isolation; after revealing her attraction to males, her parents removed her from school and restricted her access to social media, exacerbating her feelings of loneliness and alienation.

In a poignant suicide note published posthumously on her Tumblr blog, Leelah expressed her despair and the hope that her death would spark a necessary dialogue about the discrimination and lack of support faced by transgender individuals. Her note quickly gained international attention, highlighting the struggles of transgender youth and igniting discussions around conversion therapy.

Following her tragic passing, vigils were held in her memory across the United States and the United Kingdom. Activists rallied for the establishment of 'Leelah's Law,' aimed at banning conversion therapy in the United States, which garnered support from then-President Barack Obama. Within a year, Cincinnati took significant steps to criminalize conversion therapy, marking a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.