Why are transgender and gender non-conforming citizens under attack?

492 anti-trans bills have been introduced across 47 states — 363 are active, 93 have failed, and 36 have been passed in 2023. 

American politics have historically never given transgender and non-binary people the respect or protection they deserve. 

Expressing your gender should be celebrated, not condemned. It is a harmless act allowing for individual self-expression that is practiced by everyone every single day.

Why are transgender and gender non-conforming individuals perceived as such a threat to society? Constantly, this community has been put on the hot seat and had their rights debated without their input. 

There has always been a struggle for trans visibility and acceptance; this fight did not just appear out of thin air.

Back in 2017, I remember when the transgender bathroom debates started. Seeing people in tears about how they could not believe that people were fine accepting trans people using the bathroom of their gender was dumbfounding to me.

Why is it such a big deal to some people? It is just a bathroom. It is a basic human necessity, and you are taking that right away from people because of your own personal agenda. 

Six years later, it is the same fight, and I am perplexed by those who are fearful of trans representation and equality. 

Trans and non-binary people have been subjected to heinous hate crimes from strangers online, and it even has translated into in-person violence.

Trans individuals have fallen suspect to gun violence far too many times, and one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to violence is trans women of color. So far, there have been eight deaths already reported in 2023, compared to the 38 deaths in 2022. 

Graphic By — Abbey Mark

All of the struggle we have experienced in trying to make progress in trans and non-binary visibility and acceptance feels like a distraction. They want us to get sidetracked, be confused, and halt our progression toward equality.

We cannot let them win. But first, we need to get our own community together. 

Some members of the, as they coin, LGB community are excluding trans, queer, and non-binary people from the umbrella term that is LGBTQ+, making a new term to ignore the issue at hand. 

This shows how easily disposable they think the trans community is, and how they are not willing to fight alongside them in fear of their own rights being taken away.

Let me remind everyone, if it were not for trans women of color, no one in this community would have rights. 

They have suffered and endured so much to get to where we are today, and even though it may seem like everything is taking a giant step back, we need to push forward and continue to make progress. 

Do not feed into the right agenda and have inner turmoil within the LGBTQ+ community. If we are not solidified as a community, how are we going to march forward? 

Do not exclude them as members of the LGBTQ+ community; I am looking at you white gays, your transphobia and lack of respect are showing, and it’s ugly. 

It is important to show allyship toward the transgender and gender non-conforming community. Support is essential. Everyone needs to be protective, and everyone needs to start to speak up about this injustice. 

Stop supporting those who are anti-trans. Let me repeat it one more time: stop supporting those who are anti-trans. 

Giving them the simplicity of our attention is far too much. Let them be forgotten about, let them continue to look stupid, and do not give them your hard-earned money; instead, use that money to donate to the ACLU or any trans-led organization.

This is a scary time. Who knows what they will attack next? Unify, fight, and persevere. It will be hard, but soon equality will ring and all this struggle will have been worth what we needed all along.