In this op-ed, Raquel Willis offers advice to trans kids on resisting discriminatory times and calls on the strength and resolve of trans trailblazers throughout history.
Dear trans and nonbinary youth,
With the 2025 inauguration of Donald Trump, our community has witnessed the culmination of a yearslong attack on our truths and our lives. We are forced to reckon with the fact that millions of Americans elected a xenophobic leader with seemingly autocratic ambitions, one who seems hell-bent on making people on the margins disappear. There are many lessons to glean from this political moment, but one stands out: When hate is allowed to stand with inadequate resistance, it festers and grows.
I want to apologize to you for all the ways that this country has failed you. Beyond Trump, there are bigoted politicians, billionaires, and public figures who have decided to sell your future away to accrue more capital and power.
I also want to validate how you must be feeling. You may be mourning the life you thought you’d be living at this point. You may be fearful about the uncertainty of your future. You aren’t alone. Many of us adults have felt those things too.
On election night, after it became clear that the far right would have control of nearly every level of our government, a few friends and I collapsed into the arms of each other. Our shirts were soaked in tears as we tried to brace for the American nightmare heading our way.
The next morning, I wondered whether I should relinquish so many dreams I had for myself — I still haven’t grasped them back. I worried about my aging mother and the toll of another potential pandemic like COVID-19 under Trump, and what that might mean for the years I have with her. What about my niblings, ranging from age 7 to 14? How much smaller would this restrictive era threaten to make them?
Then I started to think about the changes I’d need to make for the sake of safety. After nearly 20 years of being some kind of openly queer, would I have to run back to the closet? What kind of new targets would be placed on my back as an activist and writer? Would I lose access to the hormones I’ve been on for nearly 15 years?
Then a familiar sense of resolve took over me. I remembered that I am just a bridge between our transcestors and you. Regardless of how impossible the obstacles feel right now, I am committed to building the freer, brighter future that you deserve.
Long before social media, AI, and reality TV stars-turned-presidents, our transcestors demanded dignity and respect — and they did so with far fewer resources. Despite erasure, many of the original Indigenous peoples of this land never allowed two-spirit and third-gender folks to be discarded. When right-wing politicians ousted government officials who were queer or suspected of being queer during the McCarthy era, our people didn’t disappear. When our people faced police brutality during the Stonewall riots, we came together in solidarity. Meanwhile, figures like Crystal Labeija built the foundation for Ballroom houses and culture, and now its fruits can be witnessed in music, entertainment, movement, and even in the slang that many use. Sir Lady Java picketed anti-crossdressing laws so that she could continue her thriving career as a showgirl. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera created Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, or S.T.A.R., and a safe haven to house street kids who’d been discarded.
In every era of US history, queer folks have carved out their spaces despite criminalization, discrimination, and violence. We must have faith that we can do it again now.
Our legends of today show us it’s possible. Stonewall veteran Miss Major, in her 80s, released a book in 2023 and is touring the country to encourage us to continue the fight. Attorneys like Chase Strangio — who dared to argue in favor of gender-affirming care in front of the Supreme Court just a few short weeks ago — are fighting back within the systems that have continuously failed us. And so many others, including Ceyenne Doroshow, Janetta Johnson, Toni-Michelle Williams, Bamby Salcedo, Qween Jean, and Laverne Cox remind us of our power every day.
Here’s some practical advice:
- Remind yourself constantly that no one gave you your identity, truth, or power, and no one can take them away without your permission.
- Learn about your history and devour it. It gives you a sense of meaning, and roots you in this earth.
- Curate your media diet. You have the power to find the books, videos, films, and art that will bring life to your soul. And you don’t have to feed into the alarmist nature of following every action of the Trump administration, nor do you have to consume media that feeds his disastrous agenda.
- Find people that affirm you and share the same values. Meet with them in person regularly. Online spaces are increasingly becoming less secure.
- Write down your dreams. What is the world you wish you lived in? What are the people like? What do you know? What can you create? Commit to building that vision. It may feel impossible today, but tomorrow could be different.
- Find a political home, such as a local organization or group that is fighting for your values and your vision.
You deserve the world that's in your vision, but you’ll have to fight for it every day. Truthfully, you have already been fighting. It probably took a lot for you to understand your identity, and even more if you’ve been able to share it with others. Lean into the fire, fight, and resilience that already lives inside you. I want you to be defiant. If there was ever a time to disobey, this is it. We are a creative, disruptive people who have never accepted silence.
