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{{content warning| | {{content warning|Violence, hate crimes, death of a nonbinary person, death of a gay man}} | ||
'''Nex Benedict''' (January 11, 2008 - February 8, 2024) was a nonbinary adolescent who died at age 16 after a | '''Nex Benedict''' (January 11, 2008 - February 8, 2024) was a [[nonbinary]] and [[genderfluid]] adolescent who died at age 16 the day after a group of students fought with him in their school bathroom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Video shows nonbinary teen Nex Benedict reflecting on fight before their death. |last=Pauly |first=Madison |work=Mother Jones |date=24 February 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |url= https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/02/nex-benedict-trans-oklahoma-bullying-bathroom-bills-police-body-cam/}}</ref> | ||
{{ | ==Background and personality== | ||
Friends of Nex reported that the teen, a student at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, preferred [[he/him]] pronouns but also used [[they/them]].<ref name="NBC-Yurcaba">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/vigil-friends-remember-nex-benedict-fiery-kid-rcna140440 |title=Friends remember Nex Benedict, Oklahoma student who died after school fight, as 'fiery kid'|first=Jo |last=Yurcaba |date= 25 February 204 |access-date=2 March 2024}}</ref> He was was a member of the Choktaw nation, and lived on Cherokee reservation land (where his high school is also located).<ref name="Riedel">{{Cite web |title=Everything We Know About the Death of Nonbinary Oklahoma Teen Nex Benedict |last=Riedel |first=Samantha |work=Them |date=23 February 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |url= https://www.them.us/story/nex-benedict-death-everything-we-know-nonbinary-oklahoma-teen}}</ref> | |||
Nex's grandmother, Sue, reports that Nex "was a straight-A student who enjoyed drawing, loved to read, played the video games ''Ark'' and ''Minecraft'' and loved their cat Zeus."<ref name="PinkNewsBaska">{{Cite web |title=Non-binary teen Nex Benedict didn't die from trauma, police say |last=Baska |first=Maggie |work=Pink News |date=22 February 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |url= https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/02/22/nex-benedict-oklahoma-non-binary-teen-death-police-trauma-family-statement/}}</ref> Nex was also known by the nicknames "Roach" or "Roachie".<ref name="NBC-Yurcaba" /> | |||
Spencer, Nex's partner, told NBC News that "He made everything easier. He kept energy levels high. He would always keep the room in a good mood. He was always one of the brightest kids in the room, whether he would smile or not."<ref name="NBC-Yurcaba" /> | |||
Ally (they/them), a friend of Nex, told NBC News that "They were such an adventurous little thing. It was never really a dull moment with them."<ref name="NBC-Yurcaba" /> | |||
==Feb 7 attack and Nex's death== | |||
On February 7, 2024, Nex and another transgender student at Owasso High were attacked in a school bathroom by three [[cisgender]] girls. Sue Benedict and an anonymous person who claimed to be the other victim's mother reported to media that Nex was "beaten so badly that bruises formed around their eyes", and had their head slammed into the bathroom floor repeatedly. After the fight, school officials determined that an ambulance was not necessary, but Nex and a family member went to receive care at Bailey Medical Center and they were discharged later that day.<ref name="Riedel" /> | |||
According to Nex's mother, Nex was complaining of head pain as they went to bed on the night of February 7. At some point after that, "They collapsed [and] were taken back to Bailey Medical Center, where they were later pronounced dead."<ref name="Riedel" /> | |||
On 21 February 2024, Owasso police stated that Nex "did not die as a result of trauma", but this statement has been questioned by some journalists.<ref name="Riedel" /><ref name="PinkNewsBaska" /> Regardless of how accurate that is, Nex's death has brought additional media attention to the problem of bullying and the problem of anti-trans sentiments gaining popularity across America in recent years.<ref name="Riedel" /> | |||
==Media response== | |||
Representatives from ACLU and Lambda Legal issued a press release on February 20 stating in no uncertain terms that "The assault on Nex is an inevitable result of the hateful rhetoric and discriminatory legislation targeting Oklahoma trans youth."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/response-to-death-of-nex-benedict-from-bridge-v-oklahoma-state-board-of-education-legal-team |title=Response to Death of Nex Benedict From Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education Legal Team |date=20 February 2024 |publisher=ACLU.org}}</ref> ACLU and Lambda Legal were and still are fighting a [[transphobia|transphobic]] "bathroom bill" that required Nex to be in the girl's bathroom where the attack took place. | |||
Kylan Durant, president of Oklahoma Pride Alliance, said that "This happened in a red state where all of these laws and these leaders are saying terrible things about queer people and kids. Can we not draw a line and acknowledge that stuff like this happens because of that?"<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/21/oklahoma-teen-lgbtq-nex-benedict-died/</ref> | |||
Podcaster Matt Bernstein (he/they) made a post on Instagram drawing parallels between Nex's tragic death and the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old [[cisgender]] gay man who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/C3lhrbIvYyl/?img_index=1</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||