Transgender Woman Records Stranger's Tirade Before Allegedly Being Attacked on New York Subway
"This kind of thing actually happens to me all the time," Pearl Love said.
— -- A transgender woman in New York City said she is hoping to "raise awareness about the daily violence trans people face" by sharing video she recorded showing "the transphobia and racism" she said she recently "had to take from a random stranger on the subway."
Pearl Love told ABC News today she took the video last Thursday afternoon while commuting to her new job as an outreach social worker for Translatina Network.
"I just sat down and started reading my book but then this woman across me just randomly started yelling profanities at me and saying racist things," Love said. "I tried to just ignore it as I usually do, but this woman kept going for over five minutes. She was getting louder and more aggressive, so I started recording because I was scared."
In the video, the woman sitting across from Love on the subway car is first heard calling out Love for her "mother------- women's bag" and for "living in a man’s penis and body with women’s makeup on."
When the other woman on the subway apparently notices she's being recorded, she then be heard telling Love -- who is originally from Taiwan -- "What you gon' do? Send it to China? What the f--- they gon' do?"
The woman then continues to yell at Love, the video shows, calling Love "garbage," "a transvestite" and "a f------ homo gay mother------ in some f------ women's products."The woman later adds, "Who are you really under all that makeup? Where'd you come from? Are you the emperor of China, or like, how are we supposed to act with you? What should we do about you 'cause this sh-- right here ain't appropriate for my child. I'm sorry I don't give a f---. I don't give a f---. I'll fight you right now. I don't even feel comfortable with you."
The woman can then be seen getting up from her seat and appearing to slap the cellphone out of Love's hand before the video cuts off.
Love said that the woman then "chased me around the train car and hit me, and before she left the train, she threw all the stuff in my bag on the floor." Love added that one man helped her collect her scattered items, "but other than that, no one came to help me when I was being attacked."
Love said that she continued on about the rest of her day "with a big smile despite the hurt inside." She added that she posted the video to Facebook and YouTube on Monday after "finally realizing what happened wasn't OK."
The video had over 124,000 views on Facebook and over 64,000 views on YouTube as of this morning.
"This kind of thing actually happens to me all the time to the point where I start thinking OK, this is normal, it's OK," Love said. "But then I was talking to my friends and fellow sisters about it, and I realized this is not right. I want to help educate people and have people understand what we go through every day as trans people."
Love said she had not yet filed a report with police as of this morning but hopes to do so soon with the help and support of friends.
"I would love to go to the police station, but I am just a little scared because I'm originally from Taiwan, and I'm not sure how everything here works yet," she said.
A spokesman for the New York Police Department told ABC News on Tuesday that no formal complaints have been filed with police, though the department is aware of the video and has forwarded it to its Transit Bureau for review.