Trans people, especially our young people, are fighting for our lives against a conservative movement obsessed with trans eradication. Ten years after the Transgender Tipping Point, we remain on edge, balanced over the cracked earth of America’s cultural fault lines; our future uncertain but our hope steady that we can prevent falling into the abyss.
Republican-led states across the nation are making every effort to strip transgender, non-binary, and two spirit people of our civil rights. In 2024, we’ve already seen more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced nationwide, promising that we will near, if not surpass the record 500 introduced in 2023.
Not only are the bills numerous in 2024, but the policies are more cruel and dehumanizing than ever. To be sure the classics remain: banning access to healthcare, blocking our right to the bathroom, erasing our existence from schools and public life. But we are now also seeing attempts to treat affirming parents as child abusers, and affirming teachers as sex offenders. We’re seeing a rapid escalation in prohibiting trans people from legally existing at all. Such violent legislation brings violent ends; in their triumphs our community dies. The nation mourns the death of Nex Benedict in Oklahoma. In my home state, we lament the loss Savannah Ryan Williams; I am certain the trans folks in your state hold on their lips the names of lost loved ones.
We are living in a terrifying, violent moment for trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit people. There is no way to avoid that reality. Here, as everywhere, it is dangerous to be trans. And it is even more dangerous to pretend otherwise.
This is the dominant narrative of trans life in America is violence
The political fight being waged over our small, weird and wonderful community is preposterously out of hand, friends. There is no logic or compassion sustaining the movement for our eradication.
We are +/- 1% of this nation. We are trying to live. We did not choose to have our entire existence politicized. That choice was made by the conservative movement that message-tested for an enemy and found trans kids could be used as a potent political target in the quest for power. That’s why we are here. They did this. Not us. We are not the threat.