Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Eisha Love: Trans survivor reflects on prison, life-changing incident and the future
by Andrew Davis
2023-02-22

This article shared 3135 times since Wed Feb 22, 2023
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


All it takes is one pivotal moment to change the course of one's life.

No one knows this better than trans woman Eisha Love.

In 2012, on Chicago's West Side, Love struck a man with a car; the man had assaulted her and Love told detectives that she hit the man "deliberately in self-defense," according to a Windy City Times article that ran in 2015.

What ensued were legal quagmires and obstacles that included a grand-jury indictment of "attempted first degree murder without lawful justification with intent to kill." In addition, an initial three-month stay at Cook County Jail's medium-security Division XI became an almost-four-year incarceration at the all-male super maximum-security Division IX—all without a trial actually taking place.

Love said that during her time in Division IX, security guards treated her and two other trans women with little or no respect. In addition, "They would put boys into my cell," she said during a separate Windy City Times interview. "We were supposed to be housed according to us as being transgender but there would be times when the jail got to be over-capacity. Being in that predicament, you never know what the [chances are] of them doing something to you. It was very uncomfortable."

Eventually, Chicago-Kent College of Law Daniel T. Coyne came to Love's rescue after he received a call from San Francisco Chronicle sports editor and transgender activist Christina Kahrl. Love ultimately accepted a plea deal of guilty to a single felony count of aggravated battery on a public way and was released in December 2015.

"Being in prison for so long, I was hoping people could understand the gist of how things went," Love recently told Windy City Times. "Trans people have to deal with consequences on a daily basis—people antagonizing us. Even back at Crane High School, people used to tease me because I wanted to explore my differences and just be me.

"I wasn't trying to intentionally harm this guy [in 2012]. I wanted to make a valid point. We [trans people] have to deal with these consequences consistently. I wanted people to see that I had to protect my life because it was at risk. I was sitting in jail, wondering if people would really understand what I was going through."

And Love added something not many people knew before—but which underscores the financial difficulties many people, especially trans individuals, go through because of a lack of other options: When the March 29, 2012 incident occurred, she was trying to procure money through sex work to get her mother a birthday gift.

"I was young and I was trying to get my mother a surprise for her birthday," Love said. "I thought I could use the money to do something good.

"I didn't even antagonize [the attacker]; it was Tiffany [Gooden, a trans woman who was killed in August 2012]. She knew of him … but he went in rage mode, saying, 'I'm not with that gay-ass shit.' But now, looking back, I understand that many Black men have a problem with [toxic] masculinity."

Now, years later, Love (who now resides in the city's South Side), 33, is piecing her life together—slowly.

When asked if she is in a place that she considers "normal," Love responded, "I don't really think that 'normal' is even something I can consider at this place and time—still. After getting out of jail, I had to rediscover myself; I had to rediscover Eisha. And I had to find a house, a job and a new way of life. When you've been in jail for so long, you have to catch up with life—even with social media."

One aspect of Love's life that she's discovered is activism, although she see doesn't see herself as a traditional advocate: "I take on the role of an activist but I feel that I'm a person who's willing to share; I'm a storyteller. I [hope] to embrace and inspire trans women who may be in a similar situation. I never knew that [activism] was something I was going to do; but, over time, I have stepped forward because I've learned the process of activism. I have always had [leadership] aspects, though, because I've always done what I want to do."

Love's skill for storytelling has landed her in film. She has already been in ACLU's award-winning short-film series Trans in America and she's in a second film—a documentary about the eventual alteration of Illinois' name-change bill, which many trans-rights advocates said was discriminatory. "What I've discovered is that I love storytelling," Love said. "It can be so impactful; people can relate to you and I like that aspect. It's a magnificent way to touch people."

This foray in film is somewhat in line with Love's ultimate dream: "What I love is the uniqueness of us, so I've always wanted to be a model. It's not that I want to be in the limelight; I'm just very content and comfortable in my skin." That comfort is reflected in Love's affinity for exposure and social media: "I have three phones and a notepad," she said, laughing. "I love to video myself."

And with this talk taking place during Black History Month, the perspective shifted to what it's like to be Black and trans in America. "I think our ancestors had it harder," Love began. "But for me—being Black and trans—I [am viewed as] angry, or I can't have an opinion or that I'm not the brightest star in the bunch. Being Black and trans comes with a lot; it's like I have an 'X' on my back. There are all these stigmas."

As for what Love has learned about herself through her ordeals, she gave an answer that many who have been in tough situations can probably relate to. "I learned that I can endure anything," she said while crediting her strength to her mother. "I've just got to have faith. The things I've gone through have made me that much stronger. They built me up."


This article shared 3135 times since Wed Feb 22, 2023
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Nex Benedict's autopsy report released
2024-03-27
The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)—a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fight—has been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...


Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
2024-03-27
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced
2024-03-24
The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal
2024-03-22
In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97
2024-03-22
series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist
2024-03-21
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+
2024-03-16
The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition'
2024-03-15
Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SPORTS Red Stars prepare to kick off NWSL season against Utah Royals
2024-03-15
It's been a busy winter for the Red Stars, and it's time to put their work to the test. Following a last place finish in the 2023 NWSL season, Chicago has had an active offseason transforming ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.