6,401
edits
Nex Benedict: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
|||
| (6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{incomplete}} | {{incomplete}} | ||
{{content warning|Violence, hate | {{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]] and [[genderfluid]] adolescent who died at age 16 the day after a group of students fought with | '''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> | ||
Nex, | ==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'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== | ==Feb 7 attack and Nex's death== | ||
On February 7, 2024, Nex and another transgender student at Owasso | 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" /> | 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" /> | ||
| Line 21: | Line 26: | ||
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> | 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 | 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== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||