A King’s Mills teen committed suicide Dec. 28 after a long struggle with depression over her inability to find acceptance as a transgender woman. Leelah Alcorn, whose given name was Joshua, was born male, but felt female since the age of 4, according to a suicide note posted to social media site Tumblr.
Alcorn died Sunday after being hit by a semi truck on southbound I-71 near the South Lebanon exit. According to a letter automatically posted on the teen’s Tumblr page and shared across other social media platforms, she killed herself because she felt isolated and misunderstood. The note’s signature includes the name Leelah, and also the name “Josh” crossed out.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating Alcorn’s death but has not returned a request for comment on the case. The accident happened at about 2 a.m., according to police.
Originally, news media reported Alcorn’s death as an accident and made no mention that she identified as female. Alcorn was a former student at Kings Mills High School just east of Mason, who was well-liked by classmates, according to a release from the school. Alcorn was most recently enrolled in Ohio Virtual Academy, an online school.
The Tumblr page friends say belonged to Alcorn features both suicide-themed posts and a number of more lighthearted updates, including the teen’s art and numerous pictures of her dressed in both men’s and women’s clothing. Alcorn left the note, apparently set to post automatically, to explain why she had decided to kill herself.
“If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender,” the note reads. “I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4.”
The note recounts Alcorn’s struggle to find acceptance and help from family, who she says are devout Christians, and her peers. Her parents tried faith-based counseling, the note says, but that did little to ease her confusion and feelings of isolation.
The note says that Alcorn hoped to begin transitioning physically (usually achieved through hormone treatments or surgery) at age 16, but fell into a deeper depression when her parents would not grant her permission to do so.
A second note auto-posted Dec. 30 gives apologies to specific people identified as Leelah’s friends, as well as again lashing out at her parents.
Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach shared the original note on social media and said it’s evidence that the region, and the country, need to extend better treatment to transgender people.
“We have to do better,” Seelbach said in a Facebook post.
Alcorn pleads for change in the note’s closing paragraphs.
“The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights,” the note ends. “Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year.”
According to the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, more than 40 percent of transgender people in America attempt suicide at some point in their lives. A more recent study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention found that the percentage spikes into the 60s for those without the support of family or peers.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Joshua’s family and friends at this tragic time,” a representative for Kings Local Schools told WCPO. A post on the district’s website gives a number which students at the school and friends of Alcorn can call to reach grief counselors and details for Alcorn’s funeral. Alcorn’s parents have asked for privacy through a statement released by the school.
