2026 Saw a bunch of states end the ability to update gender markers, with Kansas even revoking driver’s licenses. The attacks from the Right are constant. We are being dehumanized and I just learned what V-Coding is…
The horrible things they’re doing to our sisters in Federal Prison…
I fear in Trump’s America, we are set to be dehumanized, criminalized, mocked, and sexually exploited. I worry that the fight for trans rights can only end in failure as the public turns on us for being too strange and too small in number to be worth caring about.
They call us pedophiles even as more of the Epstein files come out and reveal this is only true of Trump himself.
Leaving the country even seems unlikely as we’re not allowed to have passports.
Is there any hope that we prevail in the future? Or are we absolutely fucked with the only hope that MAYBE, just MAYBE, Canada allows us to seek asylum.
I’m trying to hold on, but I’m beyond terrified and I just don’t see any happy ending for us.
You must log in or # to comment.
We have gone through this before, whether its women, gay folks, black people, native americans. Were the most acceptable minority to target right now, and its gonna get worse before it gets better. But knowing how we have made it before, we will prevail
Keep your chin up, they want you to feel hopeless
and to be honest, it was much worse in the US merely decades ago - people are alive now who remember a time when transitioning was much more unthinkable and trans oppression was much worse
compared to the rest of the world, the US is still a much better place to transition, and trans people here have far more rights now than in the 1970s, or even the 1990s
my advice in general to trans folks is to focus on improving your life - move to a safe state, update your documents, get access to care, etc. Protect your peace, take care of yourself, and be happy - live your life.
if the political situation is bothering you severely and you have the excess time, money, and energy to give - then engage in activism and help create the changes you want to see
If you can’t afford that right now, then I don’t think there is much value in dooming about the situation right now. Protecting your mental health is more important than spiraling.
We need to be practical about how we spend our energy, including our fear and anxiety - if the anxiety isn’t helping motivate you to make necessary changes, then work on letting it go and replacing it with more useful feelings.
There is immense hope - in less than two years, living in one of the most oppressive & anti-trans states in the US, I managed to fully transition, I had reasonable access to care including surgeries, I updated most of my documents, and then I fled to a safer state where I managed to update even more of my documents, and I now live life as my gender full-time without issue.
Day-to-day, there is no real immediate threat to my life or safety (any more than a cis woman would experience), and even though the news can be overwhelming at times, I am mostly focused on living my life and improving what I can within my life.
Even in the worst moments, the struggles of being a visibly trans person in a hostile state were still preferable to life pre-transition (not that I could have known this before).
Every day I feel more or less happy and excited to be alive, and I can thank transitioning for that. I feel mostly hopeful about the future, even with the uncertainty. So far, things are far better than I thought they would be by this point. Some things (like hospital closures) have happened as I expected, but other things (like full criminalization of trans adults in the most anti-trans states) have not happened.
some advice (feel free to ignore if that's not what you're here for)
My suggestion is to care more about your mental health and be more practical with how you relate to the news. Even though it’s probably not safe or responsible to completely check out, I’ve had to find ways to contextualize the news and not let the drama of this administration ruin your life with run-away fears and anticipation of a future that may never come. Learn to differentiate the political theater from the material situation.
There is a middle ground where you can take a practical approach to the news as a means of informing how to prepare for and make the changes you need to make to keep yourself safe, without letting it run your life.
Regarding context: if your mental health can handle it, go read about what it was like for trans folks in the 1970s and appreciate the fact that trans people enjoy much greater care and rights now than ever before.
Guard your experiences - be picky about what doctors & other providers you go to. Get connected within your local community and figure out who is safe through the community. Cultivate safety through who you choose to be around and what spaces you are or aren’t willing to be in.
And in the worst case, when the fear has gripped me, I find it is helpful to take agency - taking steps to leave an anti-trans state and seek refuge in a state with strong trans rights was a way to feel hopeful and to undermine that sense of complete victimization. Do what you can, each day, to create that sense of autonomy and choice, even if that day it’s as simple as making sure you are eating healthy, hydrating, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
Well TIL about V-coding too. JFC…fucking horrific. I am not trans. I don’t normally comment in these communities because it’s not my place. But just know that there are those here like me who love and support you and come here to watch, learn, and share in your experiences. I understand how learning how horrible the human race can be drags us down psychologically and makes it seem like things will never get better. The fight is not a zero sum game that can be “won” but it’s still very much worth fighting. Please don’t give up fighting. Don’t give up hope. Do what you can. Rest when you need to and stay as safe as you can. That’s all any of us can do.
we need to understand v-coding is a long-standing practice, it’s not new, it’s not a result of the current anti-trans movement or the current administration (even if they will weaponize and support it)
furthermore, we need to understand that trans people even in “progressive” states like California are put in the wrong prisons even against the laws of that state - so these are struggles that 1. pre-date the current administration, and 2. are being fought even in Democratic strongholds.
The fight is not a zero sum game that can be “won” but it’s still very much worth fighting. Please don’t give up fighting. Don’t give up hope. Do what you can. Rest when you need to and stay as safe as you can. That’s all any of us can do.
+1 to this, we need to realize this is a very long-term struggle that in the US has extended over decades and centuries. None of this is particularly new, and if anything I feel more hope for trans futures now than just a couple decades ago.
Fuck. I just looked up what it is and at this point I think if there’s a possibility of going to prison I might just have to fight to the death to avoid it. I think I would rather do pretty much anything than get raped every day in prison. It reminds me of the stories coming out about what Israel is doing to imprisoned Palestinians. I’d rather die than live through that…
I don’t think it’s like a guarantee or anything, not ever prison practices v-coding, but … the stats are not good, even without v-coding, sexual assault of trans women in prisons (even by the guards) is very common, like one study found it was >50%.
So yeah, staying out of federal and state prisons (and probably jails, tbh) should be a priority for all trans people.
