Ahead of Transgender Day of Visibility, Advocate Angelica Christina Lays Out What's at Stake for Trans Kids

Yahoo

26-03-2025

Content warning: This story discuss anti-trans ideology and violence, and mentions self-harm and suicide.
Each year, we celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, a day to commemorate trans people and recognize the importance of visibility. This year, advocates will gather on the National Mall, about a mile from the White House, during a time when the second Trump administration has issued a flurry of Executive Orders attacking trans, gender-nonconforming, and LGBTQ+ Americans more widely.
Signed on Trump's first day back in office, an Executive Order proclaimed that the United States would only recognize male and female genders, and formed the backbone of actions taken by the administration, which advocates say further marginalize transgender and nonbinary Americans. 'These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,' Trump's January 20 Executive Order stated.
The knock-on impacts of this order are developing, but far reaching. Thus far, Americans are no longer able to change the gender marker on their passports, federal agencies have been instructed to block trans employees from using facilities like restrooms that match their gender, and the National Park Service web page dedicated to the Stonewall Uprising was stripped of any mention of transgender people.
Trans people were a key part of the Stonewall riots, which are widely considered to have sparked the LGBTQ rights movement. Icons like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were at the forefront of the uprising and of the subsequent movement. Since the 2009 establishment of the International Transgender Day of Visibility, the imperative for active visibility of transgender Americans has been fraught, and this year is no different. Ahead of this year's celebrations, gatherings, and actions, Teen Vogue spoke with Angelica Christina, Board Director of the official nonprofit of The Stonewall Inn, Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative to get a sense of the current atmosphere in turmoil for transgender Americans.
Edited for clarity and length.
Angelica Christina: What we're witnessing right now is a violent attack on trans folks and the trans community. There are trans folks and their families that are either leaving their homes for what few safe zones we have in this country because they're stuck in a red state, some are leaving the country altogether, and then there are those who simply don't have the means to move. We're truly living in very dangerous and precarious times. As of late 2024, TransLash media reported there were 692 [proposed] anti-trans bills, and now in March 2025 these disgusting bills and Executive Orders just keep piling up. In this current political climate, trans people are in the fight of our lives. We are criminalizing trans, nonbinary, and intersex folks for existing more than the actual criminals committing crimes in this country. This is the nightmare that trans folks are facing in America. This is why it's so important to have a day like Trans Day of Visibility. This is why it's so important to have support, to have especially cisgender folks in positions of privilege to show up for us and rally for us, because we are in the fight of our lives. This is a war on trans, nonbinary, and intersex folk.
AC: I don't want to mince words here: stripping trans youth of their gender affirming care is a death sentence. Gender-affirming care is lifesaving, and I can personally speak to that experience. You already experience relentless bullying in schools and [trans youth] are at high risk of suicide as a result of the attacks on their identity. I'd also like a mention a study from the Trevor Project from 2024 that showed suicide attempts by trans and non-binary youth had increased [up to] 72% over the past year as a result of anti-trans legislation. These Executive Orders create an even larger target on their backs for cisgender students to continue attacking and harming transgender youth, further pushing them towards self harm, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and in some cases, suicide. Gender affirming care is often the only shred of hope and joy that our vulnerable youth can hold onto. In November of last year, the Journal of American Medical Association released a study showing the vast majority of recipients of gender affirming care were cisgender youth, not trans youth.
There's been so much rhetoric around detransitioning as well as an excuse to deny trans youth, gender affirming care. The National Center for Transgender Equality conducted a study in 2022 that found, out of more than 90,000 trans folks in the US, 94% reported being very satisfied with their transition-related medical care. And it's only estimated that the regret rate is somewhere between 1% and 8%. Knee surgeries have a regret rate of 33%, but again, I don't hear the outrage from the right. It's the hypocrisy for me.
AC: Trans actor and model Hunter Schafer recently came forward and confessed that she received her passport with a male gender marker on it. This is happening to trans Americans everywhere. Now I will say this, a gender marker on a piece of paper can never fully encapsulate who we are. However, it is degrading to see this symbolism of hatred, this reminder of the oppressive times we're living in on our legal documents. Having this denial of who we are can feel so discrediting to all of the hard work we put into living in our truth.
AC: I just listened to a CNN interview with trans youth and it was heartbreaking. Trans and non-binary youth are afraid for their very lives. One of the trans youth that was interviewed admitted that she is afraid of being murdered in public because she's trans. That should send shivers down the spines of everyone. What I will say is that I've met several trans and non-binary youth over the course of the past couple of weeks at LGBTQIA+ rights rallies, and some of these youth are so strong and resilient and know precisely who they are down to their marrow. It is so inspiring to watch them speak in front of sometimes hundreds of people with such passion. And that just goes to show us that our trans youth are resilient. They are strong, but rightfully so, they are scared.
AC: My biggest advice to the trans youth out there is seek out your community, because we're out here. You have a community of people who love you, who are rallying around you, who support you. If you have the capacity and if you feel compelled to do so, go to a trans rights rally. You will find and see that there are people out there that are fighting for you, that are rooting for you, that love you and support you and see you are precisely who you are. You are not alone. We will fight with you and we will fight for you.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, there is help available. You can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, where a trained counselor can talk to you and connect you with further resources. In addition, you can find out more about what to do if you're experiencing suicidal thoughts here.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue