Supergirl star and real-life trans superhero Nicole Maines begs lawmakers to ‘please stop hurting us’
Supergirl star Nicole Maines as trans superhero Dreamer. (The CW)
Supergirl star Nicole Maines has torn into Republicans for railroading dozens of anti-trans bills this year, pleading: “Please stop hurting us.”
Speaking to The Wrap, the 23-year-old explained how “frustrating and enraging” it is watching the almost debilitating number of anti-trans bans being bulldozed by mostly Republican-controlled legislatures that aim to restrict trans youth.
From what sports trans girls can compete in to the healthcare they have available, trans teens have become a political target for a Republican Party now scrambling for relevance.
And for Maines, who herself is trans, she knows such hatred all too well. She was the plaintiff in a landmark case in Maine that was the first to rule that denying a trans student access to the bathroom is unlawful.
Nicole Maines: ‘Please listen to us and understand’
“It’s so frustrating and enraging to know that they are citing a concern for children’s safety and they’re citing concerns of child abuse on the floor,” Maines said.
“And then they’ll go back to the testimony room where trans kids have travelled five-plus hours to testify on their own behalf in front of state legislators saying: ‘Please do not take away the care that could save my life’.”
While Maines did not mention the bill by name, she appeared to be referring to the imperilling passage of a devastating ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth in Arkansas. It has spurred a spate of trans suicide attempts as activists say it has condemned them to a fate some will find “worse than death“.
“When we’re saying, ‘Oh, just wait ’till you’re 18’, we don’t have the luxury of waiting until we’re 18,” Maines added. “We don’t.
“We have to make these choices now because, one way or another, we’re going to be going through puberty.
Maines plays the first trans superhero on TV. (Rich Polk/Getty)
“No action is still an action. So we should at least be given the opportunity to have all of the information so we can make an informed decision.”
As cisgender people in power decide what trans people can and cannot do, Maines urged lawmakers to make space for trans people and advocates.
“The people who have lived through this, and the people who are experts on this, are not being given the same opportunity to fight for ourselves as other people are being given to fight against us,” she said.
“We’re not asked follow-up questions. So we only have two minutes to try to convince people: ‘Hi, please listen to us and understand that we know what we’re talking about, and we understand ourselves and our bodies, and you know, please don’t hurt us.
“‘Please stop hurting us, because we have done this time and time again. You know, it’s bathroom bill 3.0. We’ve been here before’.”
“There is no reason to condemn kids to a life of being miserable because you don’t understand what they’re going through,” she continued.
“And kids should not have to wait for you to get with the program. It’s not about you. It’s about them.”
