Transgender Teen, Who Revealed Honest Tales of Bullying, Takes Own Life

Taylor Alesana, a transgender teen in California who spoke out about being bullied, committed suicide last week. (Photo:xxtayloralesanaxx/Instagram)

A 16-year-old transgender teen who found popularity with her makeup tutorial videos on YouTube has committed suicide.

Taylor Alesana, a student at Fallbrook High School in California, hadspoken out on YouTube recently about loneliness and the bullying she was experiencing at school. In a video posted in December, she revealed she was going to live publicly as a boy for a while. “I’ve had a very hard last couple of weeks,” she said. “I had to go back in the closet and dress like a boy and cut my nails off and cut my hair off. I did this for my own protection. I was being bullied a lot at school.”

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In the video, titled “Update! *Sad*,” Alesana described incidents of harassment by other students, and said she did not feel safe at school. “When you’re a kid, parents always tell you sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you,” she said. “To me that’s not true. Words hurt, and words turn up to threats and threats turn up to physical violence.”

Alesana encouraged transgender teens in similar situations to go to their school administrators or to the police if necessary. “Do whatever you can to protect yourself,” she said. And while she said she would never let the bullies win, she felt she had to dress like a boy for the foreseeable future. “When … the bullies get better and they quit, and when the world changes – which it is changing everyday – when everything gets safer and people learn to accept trans people for who they are, then definitely, I will come back out. I will come back out with my heels a’blazin. My huge dresses on, some nice hair, I will, I promise I will.”

Fallbrook High School released a statement on their website, acknowledging a student’s death but not naming Alesana. “One of Fallbrook High School’s students tragically passed away during the spring break, on Thursday, April 2. We are attempting to honor the family’s request for privacy while also helping our students and staff who have been impacted by this sad event. The district has had counselors on site to support our school community. Fallbrook High has a continuum of appropriate services (social, emotional, academic) to ensure every student is supported and successful at Fallbrook High School. It is never easy when something like this happens, but we are working to move forward together and stronger than before. Thank you for helping us support the student’s family during this difficult time.” Source: Rachel Bertsche