Transgender Awareness Week 2024 - A Call to Action Amidst Uncertainty & The Weight of Visibility: Being Trans in America Today

Living in Fear, Fighting for Our Rights - Preparing for the Worst, Hoping for the Best: Life Under Trump 2.0

Transgender Awareness Week (TAW), observed from November 13 - 19, is a week-long event dedicated to raising visibility and awareness about the unique issues and challenges members of the Trans community face. It serves as a platform for education, advocacy, and community building.

Trans Awareness Week leads up to the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Wednesday, November 20th, which is a solemn day that memorializes the lives of those who have been lost to transphobic violence.

Transgender people are more than four times as likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime, and these numbers have been rising in recent years. It is my personal belief that this increase has been fueled by the fact that our political leaders have used fear-mongering tactics, such as spreading misinformation about gender identity and promoting discriminatory policies, to rile up their bases to gain political power, with Trans people as a scapegoat.

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Image of a Trans pride flag drawn on asphalt in chalk.

This year, Transgender Awareness Week arrives at an especially crucial time when many Trans people are (justifiably) in distress due to unease over uncertainties regarding the recent election, the impending potential for four years of fascism, and the return of a president who has been openly speaking about hurting Trans people with increasing ferocity for months.

Throughout his political career, Trump has a long track record of attacks on the Queer community.

Most recently, Trump and his affiliated PACs spent millions on TV ads, such as one declaring, "Kamala Is for They/Them. President Trump Is for You."

In the broader scope of things, Republican Candidates have spent over $65 million on anti-trans ads since August.

I've already shared my feelings about this news (the official announcement of another Trump presidency) in three separate posts (titled Election 2024: The Morning After—When Fear and Hate Win, Project 2025: The Looming Threat to Everyone, and Election Aftermath—Navigating Trump's Re-Election and its Implications: Fear, Uncertainty, and the Future of DE&I) since the news was announced.

I promise it is not my plan to make this entire publication about the election, Trump, and Project 2025, but for me (and countless other Queer people) many feelings are still swirling.

I'm feeling many emotions.

I'm seething with anger and gripped by fear because a significant portion of our country, including the president-elect, don't think I (or any Trans person) should exist.

I'm filled with a deep sense of sorrow, though not a shred of surprise, that many in our country believe Trans (and other Queer) people should be forced into hiding, back into the closets, or into ineffective and harmful conversion "therapy."

I am frustrated with the people around me who voted for Trump but still dare to call themselves allies to Queer and other marginalized groups of people. They seem to overlook, fail to understand, or not care about how much harm would be caused if the plans outlined in Project 2025 and the related Agenda 47, (which include rolling back protections for Queer people, limiting access to trans healthcare, erasing trans people anywhere they can, and promoting harmful conversion therapies, directly threatening our rights and safety) are successful.

Even worse are the people who agree with what Trump wants to do to those who are marginalized.

I am tired from years of constant assaults from strangers on the internet telling me how they would like me to off myself or threatening to hunt me down and harm me and those I care about (just because I openly speak about my refusal to identify with the gender assignment I received at birth).  

I'm scared that legislators are working to legally erase Trans people.

I feel powerless, counting down the days until Trump (who plans to make drastic changes starting on day 1) takes office.

Is the US on its way to becoming another country in the world where being Trans is illegal?

I'm angry that many people say they voted for Trump because they "think he is a good businessman who can fix the economy," even if they disagree with his "other plans" - plans like eliminating abortion and birth control and rolling back protections for Queer people.

Image of a trans flag with a pride flag in the background.

What does it mean to be "visible" as a trans person in America today?

That (what it means to be openly and visibly Trans in America) often depends on your city and state.

For example, when traveling through most of Colorado and New Mexico, it felt very safe to wear my rainbows and Trans pride flags out and about. However, since returning to Texas, where the vibe has worsened recently, I've put most of my Pride gear away and am seriously considering taking the rainbow laces off my roller skates.

I don't feel safe going out unless I'm wearing "traditionally feminine" clothes and styling... but then again, because I was told never to "go out alone because I might get abducted" my entire life, I don't feel safe going out alone here at all (though I do it anyway).

In the mountains, deserts, and wildernesses of the southwestern United States, our biggest threats when out and about on foot were bears and mountain lions, but back in the city, the human predators seem much more dangerous (to me).

I feel much safer alone in the woods than I do in a city full of people, especially recently.

I'm worried about the uncertain future.

I'm worried about what Project 2025 could mean for many Queer Americans.

I'm worried about some of my close friends, who are immigrants to this country (since Trump has been threatening mass deportations as a top priority from day 1).

I'm worried about the economy (since tariffs will likely raise the costs of goods) and my career since I work as an independent DE&I consultant (in the field of Queer and NeuroInclusion).

As an independent journalist and activist, it worries me that Trump has promised to throw reporters in jail and strip major television networks of their broadcast licenses as retaliation for publishing coverage he does not appreciate, which could have devastating impacts not just for journalists but for this country as a whole. If Trump has his way, I could be thrown in jail for writing this (and a multitude of other) piece(s).

Will pro-Queer and pro-trans content ALSO be listed as “forbidden” or “pornographic”? If so, what will happen to my blog?

I’m worried about so many things, I can’t even articulate all I’m worried about at this moment.

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I hope this helps,
- Lyric