Nex Benedict died on Feb. 8, the day after the nonbinary 16-year-old was reportedly beaten by classmates in the bathroom of their Oklahoma high school. Outrage followed reports of Benedict’s death. With calls for a full investigation from their family and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, the story has drawn widespread attention to experiences of LGBTQ+ youth. Oklahoma’s medical examiner recently determined Benedict’s death a suicide, and last week Oklahoma’s District Attorney ruled that no criminal charges will be filed in the case.
“Nex Benedict should still be here,” said Rachael Ward, minister and team lead for the United Church of Christ’s Gender and Sexuality Justice Ministries. “LGBTQ+ youth deserve to become queer elders. They deserve environments where they can flourish with nurturing care, support, and resources. For many queer youth, school can become a safe haven for friendships, mentorships, and discovery of what brings them life. They should not be environments where life is taken away or diminished.”
The outcry and outrage remains present as advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign call for wider investigation into the school system, Oklahoma’s Department of Education, and the state superintendent. Benedict reported experiencing bullying at school for how they dressed, and the altercation prior to their death took place in the girl’s restroom — the bathroom Benedict was forced to use as a result of Oklahoma’s 2023 bathroom ban bill. Similar bathroom bans are circulating across the United States, mandating that trans and nonbinary people use the bathroom correlated to the sex listed on their birth certificate.
These bans “attack the full personhood of queer youth and adults,” Ward said. “Legislation that provokes hatred can and will lead to violence. Legislation like bathroom bans are direct attempts to disembody the personhood of LGBTQ people. If the Imago Dei lives within each of us, then bills aiming to fragment the personhood of queer people are direct attempts to disembody God, which in my view is a sin.”
The Trevor Project, which supports LGBTQ+ youth, reported an increase from 230,000 calls and texts to over 500,000 in the last year to their suicide prevention and crisis hotlines. The Rainbow Youth Project reported anti-LGBTQ+ “political rhetoric” as the number one reason youth contacted the nonprofit’s crisis support line. Acknowledging the fear and violence taking place against trans and nonbinary youth, Ward emphasizes the love that surrounds them:
“To our LGBTQ+ youth: you are enough. God loves you. I love you. And we are here advocating and sending all our love to you,” they said. “This moment is scary. And admitting that to our communities is important. Your emotions, your fears, and your hopes are valid. There are more people than you are aware of around you who truly are for you and your flourishing. I grieve with you. I cry out alongside you, and God does too. We were created by a God who grieves, who cries out, and desires nothing less than our fullness to be seen, validated, and experienced in this world. Stay grounded in your truth and your being. The jubilee of our queerness can still be right now as resistance and persistence as a beloved child of God.”
Gender and Sexuality Justice Ministries is holding a webinar, “Advocacy 101: Communal Care for Trans & Non-Binary Siblings,” on April 17, which will journey through the “Love is Louder” toolkit for trans and non-binary siblings. Register here.
(This is excepted from a longer article at UCC.org.)