ts-Stacey Blahnik_Philly

Philly transgender woman murdered on Monday, and her name was Stacey Blahnik Lee

Stacey Blahnik Lee was found murdered in her Philadelphia home on Monday evening, discovered by her boyfriend returning home from work, states the police. What’s also been stated by the media is that Stacey is not really Stacey but “Stacey.”

Apparently writers at Philadelphia Daily News haven’t been doing their AP stylebook homework and used her name in quotes. What’s just as bothersome is the cherry-picked comments from neighbors on Stacey and her death were pretty shitty and objectifying as transgender women often are in the media:

One of those men, who asked not to be identified, said “Stacey” was beautiful and could pass for a woman.

“She was pretty, but if you didn’t know what time it was, you wouldn’t know what she was,” he said. “She was built . . . and she drew attention from men just walking down the street.”

The last line of the piece, always meant to give the most impact when talking about someone’s death: “‘Whatever she was – transvestite, man, woman – she didn’t deserve to die like that,’ one man said.” Um, how very kind of you to be so open-minded to denounce her death, even though she’s a “transvestite” or whatever. Is this for real?

At least it’s good to know GLAAD is pushing the newspaper for accurate reporting in this case and future cases, especially considering this happens most often when a violent crime is committed against a trans person. Folks have got to be held accountable. You can help make sure of that too.

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