20-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Transgender Americans say they're traveling less out of fear since the election, research shows
Michelle Rosenblum of Ventura is planning a family vacation to Hawaii. She is excited — but worried.
Rosenblum is transgender. After President Trump's election in November to a second term, she said, she rushed to get her identity documents in order as a matter of safety.
Rosenblum updated her California birth certificate to show she had transitioned. And she renewed her passport. She applied as a female but was stunned to receive a letter from the U.S. Department of State saying her application had to be changed 'to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'
As she prepares to fly, Rosenblum fears the discrepancy between her California Real ID — which says female — and her passport will create problems with the Transportation Security Administration.
In an email to The Times, Lorie Dankers, a TSA spokesperson, said the agency 'accepts documents for identity verification with an 'X' marker. There is no change to this policy.'
In California, residents have had the option to choose 'X' for nonbinary since 2019. But not all states allow this. And for transgender people who have transitioned from one gender to the other and do not fall under the 'X' category, discrepancies can remain.
Rosenblum is debating bringing a stack of documents to the airport that she would rather keep safe at home, such as her birth certificate, Social Security card, and a court order showing her change in gender.
'In the 10 years that I've been transitioned, I have never felt like, 'Whoa, I need to get all my papers together,'' said Rosenblum, who works in marketing. 'I was never concerned about traveling.'
In a newly released survey of transgender Americans by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, nearly a third of respondents said they were traveling less frequently as a result of the 2024 election.
Nearly 70% said they were less likely to go on vacation to states they viewed as more hostile to transgender people, particularly politically conservative states in the South and Midwest.
The survey, published this month, also showed that 48% of respondents were considering moving or had already moved to places in the U.S. they viewed as safer— notably, blue states such as California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they wanted to move out of the country because of the current political climate.
'When you feel that you need to consider moving, you've been pushed to a certain point,' said Abbie Goldberg, the lead author of the survey and an affiliated scholar at the Williams Institute, which researches public policy surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity.
'If you're a trans person living in the U.S., particularly in a state with not a lot of protections and some explicitly anti-trans legislation, you're thinking about your physical safety, your children's safety at school, the possibility you could be fired from your job and no way to push back.'
However, most respondents who wanted to move said they face barriers, including the high cost of living, in places such as California.
The survey of 302 transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse adults was conducted in December, before Trump's inauguration. Goldberg said the percentages of trans people wanting to move and declining to travel are probably higher now.
In his first 100 days, Trump issued executive orders banning trans women from women's sports and barring the federal government from recognizing genders other than male or female.
Trump also is pushing to ban transgender Americans from the U.S. military, writing in an executive order that transgender identity is a 'falsehood' inconsistent with the 'humility and selflessness required of a service member.' The Supreme Court cleared the way this month for that ban to take effect.
In California, Democrats are divided on some LGBTQ+ issues, such as trans athletes competing in women's sports. But progressive leaders have cast the state as a bulwark against Trump's opposition to transgender rights, which will probably be a big issue in the state's 2026 campaign for governor.
Rosenblum said she is grateful to live in California, where she feels protected by the state's antidiscrimination laws. But as she gets ready for vacation, she said, 'it feels like people are trying to shove me back into the closet.'
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Today's great photo is from contributor Gioncarlo Valentine in the studio of artist Diego Cardoso, who is painting L.A. as it really moves, one street at a time.
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