Peace of Mind with Taraji – Call Me She: Are Pronouns Really That Important? / WATCH

Throughout this powerful season of Peace of Mind with Taraji, Golden Globe Award-Winning Actress Taraji P. Henson and her best friend and co-host Tracie Jade have cast a spotlight on the challenging mental health issues facing us today – particularly of those in the Black community – in enlightening interviews with Gabrielle Union, Mary J. Blige, Gabourey Sidibe, Jay Pharoah, Tamar Braxton and many others they discussed topics ranging from PTSD, depression, bulimia, police brutality, mental breakdowns, and more.

On Monday’s episode of finale week, Taraji and Tracie sat down with three Black trans women to discuss their mental health struggles in the face of rampant bigotry and violence within their community. On today’s episode Therapist and Stanford University psychologist Dr. LaWanda Hill breaks down the education and policy changes necessary to improve the quality of life for transgender people, especially Black trans women.

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Key statistics addressed in today’s episode:

• Over 35 transgender and gender-nonconforming people were murdered in 2020 – USA Today
• 23% of transgender people do not see a doctor when they need to, for fear of being mistreated. – Transequality.org
• Transgender people are two times more likely to take their own lives when people don’t use their correct pronouns. – Forbes

Some highlights from the episode include:

• • • 1:57 – Dr. LaWanda Hill discusses the impacts of mental health on the Black transgender community
      • Dr. LaWanda Hill: “Unprecedented, I see high, high rates of anxiety, high rates of depression. We see trauma, physical assaults. That’s the message that you get.”
      • Tracie: “And why do you think we are seeing an increase in the violence against Black trans?”
      • Dr. LaWanda Hill: “Gone are the days where cisgendered folks and heterosexual folks are the norm. The more that you challenge that norm, I think the more people get a sense of fear around that and inherent violence comes out; and also, it’s being made visible. Trans folks have been getting murdered at unprecedented rates for forever, but I think we are now starting to pause and care because the right people have shown that they care. So, it’s challenging the norms.”
    • 3:09 –  Dr. LaWanda Hill discusses how being a part of a minority increases the likelihood of experiencing mental health issues
      • Dr. LaWanda Hill: “Any time you have any minority marker, your chances of experiencing mental health, depression, anxiety goes up. Not because it is inherently you, I want to be clear about that, because people will say ‘well you’re a trans woman so you are more likely to make it about internal’ but the systems we live in, the norms we have, the attitudes that we have co-created as a country make Black trans women more vulnerable.”
    • 4:38 – Dr. LaWanda Hill shares what needs to change so transgender people feel wider acceptance in society
      • Dr. LaWanda Hill: “We need to throw away everything that we think that we know about gender, because it is rooted in some norms that are not the norm for everybody, because as a ciswoman, I don’t relate, I don’t get it all right all the time so I’m going to mess up. So, I think the first start is, use pronouns like ‘Hey I’m Dr. LaWanda Hill, she/her,’ that’s my code for I don’t always get it but I’m trying, and I do my best to be cautiously humble and I invite you to check me if you need to, and also educating ourselves and also checking our own biases, I think that is so incredibly important because we haven’t seen and we haven’t even gotten the education we need to be supportive.”
    • 5:20 – Dr. LaWanda Hill shares why access to healthcare and changes to laws are key to helping the mental health of Black trans men and women
      • Dr. LaWanda Hill: “Number one, healthcare. Healthcare is a fundamental right that we need access to, and not only healthcare but laws. So, I’m above trying to change people’s hearts and minds. I want to change the laws, providing more education, providing resources, and then lobbying for it at the top is what I think will make this world safer and free for trans women.”
    • 6:34 – Taraji shares a strong message for people who judge and discriminate against transgender people
      • • • Taraji: “Just be mindful, people have feelings, and every human just wants to live freely in their truth, they deserve it and if somebody’s bold enough to take, to transition because they felt out of themselves, who are you to judge? Who are you to make fun of a person that’s really just trying to live their best life? Lay off people, lay off. Find some compassion and some empathy and stop pointing fingers at people that don’t look like you, because you feel comfortable, it makes you feel better about yourself, you’re a coward… I said it, meet me outside b*tch.”

        Series Description: In Peace of Mind with Taraji, Golden Globe Award-Winning Actress Taraji P. Henson and Tracie Jade shine a spotlight on the challenging mental health issues facing us today – particularly of those in the Black community. Through personal interviews with both celebrities, experts and everyday people, the series shows how to provide support, bring awareness and help eliminate the stigmas of mental health issues. Each episode will focus on a different mental health topic with multiple content drops per week.

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