India Clarke was murdered

India Clarke, a Black trans woman in Tampa Florida, was murdered Tuesday, her body discovered in an area park. She is the tenth trans woman of color to fall this year. Since her body was discovered, media has consistently misgendered her with headlines such as "Man Dressed as Woman Found Murdered" (WTSP.com), "Man dressed as woman found dead in Tampa park" (OrlandoSentinel.com), and "Man, Dressed as Woman, Upper Body Trauma" (abcactionnews.com). From a tv news story by ABC reporter Carson Chambers:

DEPUTY: What appeared to be an African-American female, deceased’CARSON CHAMBERS: But when deputies got a better look…DEPUTY: we determined it was actually an African-American male dressed in female clothing…

Even though he notes that India had been presenting as a woman for almost two years, Eric Glasser asserts India as a "man wearing women's clothing" and claims that India was "posing as a woman."

Arrest records show Clarke had a prior arrest in 2013 for prostitution while posing as a woman. - Eric Glasser, WTSP

This type of reporting PUTS TRANS PEOPLE IN DANGER. Devaluing a trans person's identity and using language such as "dressed as," "posing as," and even using quotes around a person's chosen name (such as Samuel "India" Clarke) reinforces the notion that trans people are deceivers, trying to misguide and misdirect people to believe they are something they are not.

Willful misgendering & disrespecting, @WTSP10News @ericglassertv's coverage of #IndiaClarke's homicide compounds the tragedy of her death. — AVP (@antiviolence) July 22, 2015

In 2013 the Associated Press updated its guidelines for reporters to "Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who...present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly."Words matter. How we're understood, described, remembered matters. #SAYHERNAME