‘Not going to give up.' Pierce County trans youth discuss life under Trump

Yahoo

07-05-2025

It has been a scary couple of years for the transgender community in the United States, and, even in a blue state like Washington, trans youth are facing violence and persecution.
Last week the News Tribune spoke with three transgender and non-binary youth (age 14 to 20) about how they're feeling and what they want people to know.
They include:
Usagi, a 20-year-old transgender woman who lives in Eastside Tacoma who is Two-Spirit and asked to not publish her last name out of concern for her personal safety.
Rory Wygle, a 16-year-old non-binary 11th grader who lives in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood.
Phoebe, a 14-year-old who falls 'under the trans umbrella' and lives in Puyallup. Phoebe also asked to not use their last name to protect their privacy.
All three youth said they were grateful to live in a progressive place like Washington and felt fortunate to have supportive parents and friends. They said they were scared by the state of the world and told trans kids to keep fighting and stick together. The News Tribune spoke with minors with the permission of their parents.
In 2025 Republican lawmakers introduced more than 850 bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people nationwide targeting nearly every facet of life for transgender Americans, from bathroom access, IDs, medical care and sports participation to the legality of their identity, as reported by journalist Erin Reed. Some bills targeted drag performance or required schools to forcibly out transgender students, while others classified gender-affirming care as child abuse, 'opening the door for state-sanctioned removal of trans youth from supportive homes,' Reed reported on April 18 for Erin in the Morning.
The volume of such bills has increased in recent years. In 2020 over 100 bills targeting transgender people were introduced nationwide. By 2022 that number had doubled, then reached more than 500 in 2023, Reed reported. Of the 867 anti-trans bills introduced this year, 51 have been signed into law with more advancing through state legislatures across the country. Eight anti-trans bills were proposed by Republican lawmakers in Washington state this session, according to an online tracking of bills that impact trans people, but none passed as Democrats hold majorities in both chambers.
As more anti-transgender laws passed from 2018 to 2022, suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary youth increased as much as 72% in the United States, according to a first-of-its-kind study from The Trevor Project published in September. The highest increase in attempts were reported among participants younger than 18. The Trump administration has indicated it plans to cut funding for the 988 suicide hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, as NPR reported on April 28.
Usagi, 20, Eastside Tacoma
Usagi grew up in Seattle, Gig Harbor and Portland before moving to Eastside Tacoma. Growing up a boy, Usagi said she was bullied because she was quiet and struggled to stand up for herself. Usagi said she always knew she was queer but didn't have the words to describe how she left. It wasn't until she started listening to the Spice Girls and put on a dress and heels for the first time at age 12 she felt aligned with her gender identity.
In 2019, Usagi said, she was dating a guy who didn't want her to transition to a woman. When she broke up with him in 2020 and lost another friend who wasn't supportive, 'I was able to freely be myself,' she said. She chose the name 'Usagi,' after the protagonist of the Japanese Sailor Moon superheroine franchise.
Usagi said the family she's been around her whole life has been supportive of her transition, but some of her extended family hasn't been. Some have cut her off. Her grandmother, who refused to call her Usagi and support her identity, is also not a part of her life anymore.
Usagi sits for a portrait at a park on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Tacoma.
There have been moments when she's felt very alone, Usagi said, including being one of the only openly queer students to attend Chief Leschi Schools. In 2023, at age 18, she spoke at a Puyallup School Board meeting in support of trans kids. At the meeting, a woman recorded Usagi and posted the video online. Usagi began receiving hateful comments and had her personal information doxxed.
'It was one of the worst days of my life … I had transphobic people follow me to school,' she said. 'They eventually stopped. But it was so scary at that time.'
Usagi said she's had boys follow her, mock her and try to lift up her skirt. Seeing President Donald Trump and his supporters attack transgender people's right to exist and to participate in society 'feels disgusting, disgraceful, despicable and beyond disrespectful,' she said.
'I know that he's an ignorant man, but his attacks just go more than ignorance. It feels like he is trying to get rid of us,' she said. 'He's trying to make this 1950s world, it feels like, and no one's going to go back to that.'
Usagi said she believes trans women, trans men, non-binary people, gay people, bisexuals, lesbians and intersex people will 'make it out of this' because they 'have fought through people like Reagan.'
'I have faith in all of us,' she said. 'Even the people that might have to detransition for these four years, I know that there'll be a day where they can spread their wings and fly.'
Usagi is Native American and belongs to the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. She identifies as Two-Spirit which 'means you have the spirit of a boy and a girl, and you just kind of take traits from both.' Many Indigenous tribes see Two-Spirit people as a distinct alternative gender, but the effects of colonization and genocide, in addition to federal policies like boarding schools, contributed to the loss of many Native American traditions and practices, as explained by the Indian Health Service.
For the past two years, Usagi said, she has been trying to get hormones as gender-affirming care but has struggled with the referral process and getting care through the Tribal Health Authority. Usagi said she's wanted to get hormones since she was 16 and that making a decision like that depends on the person and their experience. Usagi said 'it can be really harmful' to put restrictions on gender-affirming care.
'It's important for everybody to feel [like] themselves,' she said. 'We have a very high suicide rate, and I know some people who have committed suicide for going through the puberty that they don't want to go through.'
Usagi said she did track for a bit in school but experienced bullying so she stopped. The debate about allowing trans girls to participate on women's teams feeds into a narrative that men are stronger than women, she said.
'Women can be stronger than men, whether they're trans or not. And anyone can be sporty … If you're sporty, be sporty. Don't let anyone stop you,' she said. 'And also, these are kids. These are teenagers. You shouldn't look at a kid and say, 'Oh, even though these are your dreams, we're not gonna let you do your dreams.' That's not fair. … I wish sports were safer for queer people, not just trans people.'
Usagi wears platform shoes she decorated with the Spice Girls' mantra, 'girl power,' on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at a park in Tacoma.
Usagi said she finds joy by 'sharing girl power, like the Spice Girls did' and 'radicalizing and inspiring other queer youth to be positive, even in such a dark time.' She helps young trans people pick out clothes, build community and find joy in music.
'When I was going to Chief Leschi, if I had known about Oasis Youth Center, I wouldn't have felt so alone. I wouldn't have felt so broken, you know. I would have to know that there's a community out there,' she said.
Usagi lamented high rates of suicide and violent deaths among trans women.
'And I don't want that to be this world,' she said. 'I want a world where trans women can grow old and get gray hair and become grandmothers.'
As for advice for parents? Usagi says, 'There's no guidebook to raise a trans person. The best thing you can do is be there for them, support them in any way you can. And even though some parts may be weird to you, still be there for your kids. You brought this person into the world. Help them be a part of this world the way that they are.'
Rory Wygle, 16, Hilltop, Tacoma
Rory Wygle is a 16-year-old in 11th grade at the School Of The Arts in Tacoma who identifies as a non-binary lesbian and uses they/them pronouns. Wygle said they first came out as non-binary at age 11. Although they're more comfortable dressing feminine today, that wasn't always the case.
'I wore big hoodies and, before I needed glasses, I wore glasses because I liked how they made my face look. But now for me, being non-binary is … I don't feel like I'm a girl, and I know I'm not a boy. I don't feel like those words are right for me. I feel like they represent a much more youthful version of myself,' they said.
Wygle first found the word for 'non-binary' after meeting someone who used they/them pronouns online and Googling what it meant. Although not everyone in the LGBTQ+ community likes labels, Wygle said they like them 'because it makes me feel more seen and understood and like I can understand myself better.'
'Being able to find those labels even before I knew why I was so confused was so good, because even when sometimes I was like, they're not perfect … I think for me, knowing that I'm baseline comfortable with that always, when I'm not always comfortable with some of the more gendered terms, it was really empowering,' they said.
Wygle said they're grateful to have a supportive and LGBTQ+ family in Tacoma. Their father just came out as non-binary, their mother is asexual and their siblings are queer and transgender. Wygle has a transgender friend who lives in Oklahoma who is home-schooled and lives in 'a very conservative climate and household' where it's difficult to even go outside as himself.
'I'm glad that I live in such a progressive state for now, but it's so scary because I can see the way it affects so many people, and I can see the way it affects him,' they said. 'I think the scariest experience as a youth, as a kid, even as an adult, is being alone, being isolated, whether that be socially or physically or mentally. That's a big thing that homophobia and transphobia can do, especially in schools, because that is teaching other children to pick on you or leave you out or anything like that, and that not only can stunt your developmental growth, but it's so harmful. That's why we have such a high rate of trans teenagers killing themselves.'
Wygle said seeing the politicization of trans and gender-nonconforming people by the Trump administration and others 'makes me feel like my life isn't real.'
'It makes me angry. I think I'm very good at being more collective with my anger, but it makes me really angry because I just don't get what people's problems [are],' they said. 'They don't care about any of these children's lives, until it comes to a way where they can be a bigot about their hate. That's so common, and it makes me so angry, because it's not actual care. It's just bigotry.'
Rory holds a bracelet made for them by a friend at the Oasis Youth Center on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at the Rhododendron Garden at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.
Wygle isn't involved in sports, and neither are a lot of their trans and non-binary friends, which they attribute to an interest in different hobbies. They wish there were more non-gendered bathrooms because they'd feel more comfortable there, although they personally haven't experienced harm going into a certain gendered bathroom, which is not true for everyone.
At some point Wygle said they'd like a breast reduction 'not even fully for gender purposes' but to reduce their chronic pain. When they were younger, Wygle said, they wanted to take testosterone and get top surgery, and Wygle is still open to taking testosterone in the future but is 'pretty comfortable looking more feminine overall now.' Top surgery is a procedure that either removes or augments breast issue to create a more masculine or feminine appearance for transgender and non-binary people.
'[My gender]'s swaying here and there, and I think it's going to continue to sway. And I think that's OK, because I am young, and I am okay with not making that decision yet,' they said. 'It really does depend on the person.'
Wygle said hormone blockers can be a good option for kids who really know who they are and are good at communicating and talking about that with their parents and doctors. Puberty blockers can be used to delay the changes of puberty and stop the body from making sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen, according to the Mayo Clinic. Blockers are not recommended for children who have not started puberty and don't cause permanent physical changes. For transgender and non-binary youth who have gender dysphoria, delaying puberty can improve mental well-being, ease thoughts or actions of self-harm, improve social interactions with others and lower the need for future surgeries, according to Mayo Clinic.
Although it's sad to think about 'all the horrible things happening in the world,' Wygle said, they find joy 'in just being a nerd,' writing, crocheting, printmaking, reading, hanging out with queer people and finding community through shared interests online.
Wygle's message for trans kids?
'Just keep going. There's people out there who are like you. There [are] things that you will be able to do that will make you feel seen and feel happy … there's something around the corner that's going to be worth it,' they said. 'Finding who you are is a lifelong journey. So find who you are at whatever pace you want to, and change who you are at whatever pace you want to because, I mean, we're all just creations of ourselves. We make our journey, we do, so choose it.'
Phoebe, 14, Puyallup
Phoebe is a 14-year-old who is home-schooled and lives in Puyallup. Phoebe uses any pronouns and describes their gender identity as 'unlabeled' and 'under the trans umbrella.'
'I don't have the same trans experience as a lot of other trans people,' Phoebe said. 'I didn't feel different with my gender when I was younger. I really liked being a girl, and I liked girly stuff.'
Phoebe sits in their backyard for a portrait on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tacoma.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Phoebe said they started to spend more time online and were introduced to other gender identities. Phoebe used different labels like 'demi-girl' (when 'I felt both like a girl and non-binary'), 'agender' and 'non-binary' before realizing they felt more 'trans masculine.' Recently 'it's been foggy with what it really is,' and Phoebe enjoys dressing feminine and wearing skirts. Their mom identifies as LGBTQ+ and has been 'very supportive' throughout their journey.
Phoebe said they go back and forth between not caring about their chest 'and not really liking it' and have considered wearing a binder before and taking testosterone. Hearing politicians claim hormones and gender-affirming care are not safe for kids is 'really stupid,' Phoebe said, because gender-affirming surgery among youth is rare and many hormone changes are reversible (although not all). Phoebe said that decision should be made based on the person, rather than blanket policy decisions at the state or federal level.
'If it makes somebody happy and it's not harming them, then they should be able to do it,' Phoebe said. 'The difference between getting these hormones or not could be life and death for the person.'
Since Trump's second term, Phoebe said, 'most of my friends are trans, and I have watched how their mental health has gone down since the election.'
'I'm very lucky to be living in such a blue state where a lot of this stuff doesn't affect me firsthand. But some of my friends, they live in much more red states than me, and it's just very scary to see all of this happening in real time with him, with the current president, just being able to do all of this with no repercussions on his end,' they said. 'It's hard and scary to think about … I really, really hate how this is happening.'
Phoebe holds favorite items from their home, including books from the Percy Jackson series, My Little Pony characters, frogs and stuffed characters from Roblox games, on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tacoma.
Phoebe said community helps remind them 'that there are people like me' that still exist and can still be happy. Both their parents are supportive but most of their other family is not supportive, conservative, homophobic and Christian. Some family has cut them off, and others they don't discuss current events with.
'People aren't actively harming anyone just by being trans,' Phoebe said. 'And at the end of the day, we're just humans like everybody else, and we deserve to be able to live without fearing. We deserve to be happy and to have the rights of anyone else.'
Phoebe finds joy in reading Percy Jackson novels, playing Minecraft, collecting My Little Pony figurines and frog trinkets and making time capsules to open every five years.
They want to tell other trans kids to fight and stay around 'because it will get better' and 'we are not going to give up.'