Nex Benedict was a 16-year-old who brought a smile to two different communities that face adversity in their home state of Oklahoma. Nex, being both a member of the LGBTQ+ and indigenous peoples communities, constantly was fighting an uphill battle just to get by in comparison to their peers. Despite this, Nex was a kid who loved to bond with others, especially over their love of rock music, and was well-immersed in their Choctaw culture.
However, on Feb. 8, Nex was killed in their own school. While using the restroom they were forced to use—the one that matched their gender assigned at birth—Nex was severely beaten by several older girls. A teacher finally stepped in, but by then, the damage had already been done. Nex went home, having severe head pain, and was briefly treated for their injuries by a medical professional.
The next day, Nex passed away due to head trauma.
While news outlets across the country report different stories about the situation, the heart of the story remains the same: Nex was beaten to death in a school bathroom by their peers. Nobody, especially a teenager who was just attempting to use the restroom at school, deserves to be killed—and in such a brutal way.
Nex wasn’t on bad terms with these girls either—allegedly, the attack was completely random. In a video released of Nex in the hospital before their death, where they were seemingly alright before their state deteriorated, Nex stated that they didn’t know who the girls were or why they attacked them. It wasn’t a school fight; the situation was an unprovoked and unjust attack on Nex.
Another fact that is often left out of Nex’s story is that while they identified as gender nonconforming, they were two-spirit as well. Two-spirit is an all-too-forgotten aspect of the LGBTQ+ community but is perhaps one of the most historical and widely understood within the indigenous community. Two-spirit is a gender identity that native peoples used to define individuals who took on both traditionally male and female roles in the community and were seen as neither a man nor a woman but a different gender.
As a result, Nex’s death is not just a burning hole in the separate spheres of the queer and indigenous communities but rather a representation of the way that the two converge. The death of Nex is not just a symbol of hate and violence against the LGBTQ+ community, but also the indigenous peoples.
Nex’s death stands as yet another member of the LGBTQ+ community lost to hate and violence. The young deaths of queer individuals are alarmingly high, and Nex’s death is, tragically, another one added to the list. Nex was a stand-out teen who was a strong individual and stood proudly for every aspect of their life; their life should never have been cut short the way that it was. People have been drawn together to mourn the loss of Nex—even after they passed on, Nex brings people together.
Rest in peace, Nex Benedict.
