Transgender Student-Athlete Lia Smith Remembered as a Friend and Fierce Advocate
Lia Smith, a 21-year-old trans student-athlete in Vermont, took her own life last week. Her friends, family and community mourn, and remember her as a bright young woman who spoke on behalf of her community.
by Aly Gibbs
Last Thursday in Vermont, the search for missing Middlebury college student Lia Smith came to a tragic end when her body was discovered by Vermont State Police. The search began when Lia’s father reported her missing on the 19th, and was conducted by Vermont and New York State Police and the FBI, as well as volunteers from Middlebury college. On Friday, Lia’s identity was confirmed and the cause of death was ruled to be a suicide by the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. She was just 21 years old.
An announcement about Lia’s death by Middlebury president Iam Baucom paints a vivid picture of what a special young woman she was: “She was a diver on our Women’s Swimming and Diving team, a member of our Chess and Japanese clubs, and an articulate advocate of transgender rights,” Baucom wrote. “Her academic interests were broad, and she was pursuing a double major in computer science and statistics. She was a gift to us and we are so grateful that she was–and will always remain–a member of our Middlebury family.”
Coverage by Ari Drennan includes a link to a memorial page set up by Lia’s family, which provides a more personal reflection on Lia’s character: “Lia was fascinated by the histories of China, Japan and Medieval Europe, and she enjoyed eating fine or ethnic foods such as lobster, sushi, and poke. She enjoyed anime, adored her cat, Edgar, loved playing Bridge and complex board games, and delighted in just hanging out with her girlfriends. Lia will be remembered for her deep sense of empathy, her clever puns, her keen mind, particularly with respect to analytical matters, her robust and infectious laugh, her love of poetry and music, which she performed both as an accomplished pianist and trombonist, and perhaps most importantly, her undaunted courage.”
In February of this year, Middlebury hosted two virulent transphobes, Leo Sapir and Brianna Wu, for a “discussion” about transgender healthcare. In response, student group Queers & Allies organized an on campus counter-panel titled “Trans Healthcare is NOT a Debate,” which featured Lia as a speaker.
Lia Smith was a student-athlete, like Baucom said, but she wasn’t allowed to participate at all this year because of an incredibly hostile government and the cowardice of organizations like the NCAA. Two years ago, Lia was a talented young swimmer at Middlebury; now, her name is almost entirely absent from the college’s athletics website, and her roster profile has been removed entirely.
Lia previously spoke to the difficulties of competing as a trans athlete: “It can be hard. Especially because you have to get your hormones checked if you’re competing about, I’d say, once every three months and my healthcare’s at home [in California], so it can be really hard getting all of those blood tests in between breaks and then submitting them on time. I remember one time my testosterone blocker was rejected and seen as a steroid enhancement by the NCAA, so I actually couldn’t compete for points at my first meet my freshman year.”
She also spoke about the difficulties she faced with public perception as a result of the vitriol surrounding the topic of trans athletes.
“It’s really hard putting on the suit every day if you are obviously an outlier. It’s also really hard going in a locker room where you’re not welcome, and there’s really not a clear space that I should be going to,” she said at a panel in February. “We’re not trying to get into women’s spaces to be perverts. We’re just being ourselves. We don’t mean any harm to anyone.”
When I started my transition in the late 2010s, I had hope for a world where young trans people could simply receive the healthcare they needed to be happy and thrive. I don’t know that any of us could have imagined the conversation surrounding transgender people’s right to exist freely in this world would take such an ugly, vicious turn. I can’t imagine what it’s like to grow up in an environment where your very humanity is a topic of debate for soulless, grifting cretins whose primary concern is whether or not they can earn a few bucks off the back of your misery.
My heart shatters into a million pieces every single time we lose a beautiful member of our community. Now more than ever, we have to provide support for each other. In the face of this unbridled hatred, we have to set aside our differences and love one another fiercely.
If you’re a young trans person struggling with the weight of the world today, please remember that you matter to so many, are loved by so many, that your absence would be felt around the world. We’re all in this fight together, and I firmly believe a world that accepts and cherishes us is on the horizon.
Aly Gibbs (She/They) is a trans writer who reports on news important to the queer community.
