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You Can Stand Up for Trans Youth. Here’s How.

For transgender people in the U.S., 2023 has been defined by relentless attempts to strip away our autonomy, safety, and personhood.  All but six states have so far moved to enact some form of anti-trans legislation this year, totalling more than 430 bills. These measures, many of which have already become law, attack trans life from every conceivable angle: They seek to bar trans youth — and increasingly all trans people — from accessing gender-affirming healthcare; to force schools to misgender and/or deadname trans students; to prevent trans people from accessing the correct single-gender spaces; to outlaw instruction related to gender identity and/or sexuality from public schools; to criminalize public displays of gender-nonconformity; and even to kick little girls out of youth sports. Our current crisis is not just an attempt to restrict our rights, but a coordinated attempt to push an entire class of people out of public life.  Even more cruel, the vast majority of anti-trans bills introduced so far take aim at the youngest members of our community. If being a trans kid wasn’t hard enough, young trans people must now contend with bullying not just from peers, but from elected U.S. officials who are trying to make it impossible to simply be who they are. 

Even so, resistance abounds. Nonprofits like the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal are leading the fight against anti-trans bills in state legislatures and the courts while grassroots organizers and local mutual-aid networks are ensuring that trans people get what they need — by any means necessary.  History confirms that trans people will outlast this crisis. But if we are to blunt the worst immediate effects of these bills, we’re going to need collective action. Now is the time to speak out and make clear: An attack on trans youth is an attack on us all.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

1. Learn 

With more than 430 anti-trans bills introduced this year, it can feel daunting to keep track of what’s happening nationally. But advocates say one of the best things you can do is focus on fighting bills that have been introduced in your state. Using the ACLU’s interactive anti-LGBTQ+ legislative tracker, learn about what’s happening in your backyard and how you can take action. 

If you’re an ally, don’t stop at paying attention to these trackers; commit yourself further to our movement by learning its history, and by following activists, advocates, historians, and organizations.  To Read, Listen, and Watch: Transgender History by Susan Stryker, Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson, Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? by Heath Fogg Davis, Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein, Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg, The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, hosted by Imara Jones, Happy Birthday, Marsha!, directed by Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel, and Disclosure, directed by Sam Feder.

To Follow: Chase Strangio, Erin Reed, Imara Jones, Gillian Branstetter

2. Support 

Wherever there are anti-trans bills, there are LGBTQ+ organizations working to defend, mobilize, and celebrate their communities. Look for local rights groups and mutual-aid networks in your state to see how you can support their work. Start by following your local ACLU affiliate, and reference Them's state-by-state list of organizations to find advocacy groups in your state. Follow, donate if you can, and share the work these orgs are doing. 

2. Pledge

At the end of the day, the simplest and arguably most meaningful thing you can do to show up for trans people — and especially trans youth — is to make sure your care is both unmistakable and unwavering. One way to do that is by adding your name to the 40,000 others who have signed the ACLU’s pledge in support of all trans young people. By signing the pledge, you’ll agree to receive alerts about anti-trans legislation in your state and instructions on how you can show up to combat it. In this fight, every voice counts. 

Read on for more in-depth resources for trans people and allies.