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Micah is one of many queer people feeling the sheer weight of the election and what’s at stake for their community. It’s no wonder they feel upset and fearful. Being trans in America is already difficult and dangerous – in 2023, 32 trans people were killed in targeted attacks – but amidst the news of Trump’s win, the precarity of being trans in America is growing exponentially. Plus, a current Supreme Court case, US v Skrmetti, is about to determine whether or not states can ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth.
Against the backdrop of a second Trump presidency – when the first was a disaster for queer people – the LGBTQ+ community is feeling the weight of the moment (crisis calls from queer youth have reportedly spiked). And rightfully so, given their futures are at serious risk.
“Under normal circumstances, the American system of checks-and-balances would keep Trump from enacting his harmful beliefs but the House, Senate, and even Supreme Court have become Trump-ified,” says Madison Werner, a trans advocate and beauty influencer. “No one is completely safe.” With this, she says that Trump’s reelection is a “declaration of war on everyone who’s not a white, cisgender, straight man.”
According to Human Rights Watch, Trump’s first term resulted in a wave of discriminatory measures aimed at limiting protections for LGBTQ+ people across the United States. The organisation says that state legislatures around the country have since continued to pursue or pass draconian bills to limit the presence of LGBTQ+ people in public life, including rolling back freedoms for transgender children.
Trump’s administration has long been associated with dangerous bathroom bills and other anti-trans measures. During an event in August 2023 Trump promised, “On day one, I will sign an executive order instructing every federal agency to cease the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age. They’re not going to do it anymore.” Beyond this, Trump has repeatedly said that public schools will no longer receive federal funding if they promote ideas related to gender transitioning or transgender people.
In his first term President Trump also attempted to ban transgender Americans from military service and accessing gender-affirming care in the military, but these efforts were overturned by the Biden administration. Additionally, Trump’s administration also tried to remove discrimination protections for trans people from healthcare laws, which was blocked in court. Currently, at least 17 states face legal challenges over laws limiting youth access to gender-affirming care.
As the former president’s inauguration looms over us, queer people are bracing themselves. According to Werner, trans people are scrambling for supplies to get them through as “their life-saving medical care could run out without a replenishment in sight.” Though scheduling gender-affirming surgery can take years, some folks are stockpiling hormone therapy drugs while others are updating their identification documentation. “I’ve definitely been thinking about making it a priority to get that stuff figured out, so I have my documents ready just in case,” says Micah. Reflecting on these conditions, Josie*, a trans teacher based in New York, says “it’s likely the next four years will be difficult for a lot of people, including transgender people.”
There was already a queer American exodus brewing but now, more people online are talking about leaving the US for countries with better LGBTQ+ rights. Josie* says the presidency may also make certain states particularly dangerous for queer people. “I’ve never really thought about parts of this country being off limits,” they tell Dazed.
Additionally, some queer couples are rushing to get married and have children while some wedding venues, photographers and planners are offering free services to same-sex couples before Inauguration Day. According to NBC, some couples are pushing up their wedding timelines, starting fertility treatments, and taking other measures out of fear their rights will be rescinded during Trump’s second presidency.
These fears aren’t unfounded. While back in 2015, the Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court decision ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples, some are worried that after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, right-wing legislators will overturn Obergefell too. Back in 2020, these concerns were stoked when Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued blistering rebukes of Obergefell and signaled that they would be open to reversing it. Thomas again expressed an interest in overturning Obergefell in his concurring opinion in the decision to overturn Roe, which alarmed the queer community.
With a second term looming, activists are worried Trump’s administration will “bulldoze” LGBTQ+ rights. But groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Transgender Law Center and others are gearing up to combat Trump policies on trans Americans in the courts. “Litigation will be essential, but it will not be enough,” Sruti Swaminathan, a staff attorney with the ACLU, said during a recent GLAAD media call. “We will engage on every advocacy front, including mobilising and organising our network of millions of ACLU members and activists in every state to work to protect LGBTQ people from the dangerous policies of a second Trump administration.”
“I’ve become numb to all of this,” Werner says. “It’s the only way that I, and many other trans people, can survive right now.” She isn’t giving up just yet, though. “But we have to keep fighting. Nothing good has ever come easy, and this is one of them. Our fight will pay off eventually. I know it.”
*Names have been changed
How Donald Trump’s victory is already impacting queer Americans
Micah*, a trans student living in Florida, wasn’t necessarily shocked when Trump was re-elected on November 5. “But it was definitely upsetting,” they tell Dazed.Micah is one of many queer people feeling the sheer weight of the election and what’s at stake for their community. It’s no wonder they feel upset and fearful. Being trans in America is already difficult and dangerous – in 2023, 32 trans people were killed in targeted attacks – but amidst the news of Trump’s win, the precarity of being trans in America is growing exponentially. Plus, a current Supreme Court case, US v Skrmetti, is about to determine whether or not states can ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth.
Against the backdrop of a second Trump presidency – when the first was a disaster for queer people – the LGBTQ+ community is feeling the weight of the moment (crisis calls from queer youth have reportedly spiked). And rightfully so, given their futures are at serious risk.
“Under normal circumstances, the American system of checks-and-balances would keep Trump from enacting his harmful beliefs but the House, Senate, and even Supreme Court have become Trump-ified,” says Madison Werner, a trans advocate and beauty influencer. “No one is completely safe.” With this, she says that Trump’s reelection is a “declaration of war on everyone who’s not a white, cisgender, straight man.”
According to Human Rights Watch, Trump’s first term resulted in a wave of discriminatory measures aimed at limiting protections for LGBTQ+ people across the United States. The organisation says that state legislatures around the country have since continued to pursue or pass draconian bills to limit the presence of LGBTQ+ people in public life, including rolling back freedoms for transgender children.
Trump’s administration has long been associated with dangerous bathroom bills and other anti-trans measures. During an event in August 2023 Trump promised, “On day one, I will sign an executive order instructing every federal agency to cease the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age. They’re not going to do it anymore.” Beyond this, Trump has repeatedly said that public schools will no longer receive federal funding if they promote ideas related to gender transitioning or transgender people.
In his first term President Trump also attempted to ban transgender Americans from military service and accessing gender-affirming care in the military, but these efforts were overturned by the Biden administration. Additionally, Trump’s administration also tried to remove discrimination protections for trans people from healthcare laws, which was blocked in court. Currently, at least 17 states face legal challenges over laws limiting youth access to gender-affirming care.
As the former president’s inauguration looms over us, queer people are bracing themselves. According to Werner, trans people are scrambling for supplies to get them through as “their life-saving medical care could run out without a replenishment in sight.” Though scheduling gender-affirming surgery can take years, some folks are stockpiling hormone therapy drugs while others are updating their identification documentation. “I’ve definitely been thinking about making it a priority to get that stuff figured out, so I have my documents ready just in case,” says Micah. Reflecting on these conditions, Josie*, a trans teacher based in New York, says “it’s likely the next four years will be difficult for a lot of people, including transgender people.”
There was already a queer American exodus brewing but now, more people online are talking about leaving the US for countries with better LGBTQ+ rights. Josie* says the presidency may also make certain states particularly dangerous for queer people. “I’ve never really thought about parts of this country being off limits,” they tell Dazed.
Additionally, some queer couples are rushing to get married and have children while some wedding venues, photographers and planners are offering free services to same-sex couples before Inauguration Day. According to NBC, some couples are pushing up their wedding timelines, starting fertility treatments, and taking other measures out of fear their rights will be rescinded during Trump’s second presidency.
These fears aren’t unfounded. While back in 2015, the Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court decision ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples, some are worried that after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, right-wing legislators will overturn Obergefell too. Back in 2020, these concerns were stoked when Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued blistering rebukes of Obergefell and signaled that they would be open to reversing it. Thomas again expressed an interest in overturning Obergefell in his concurring opinion in the decision to overturn Roe, which alarmed the queer community.
With a second term looming, activists are worried Trump’s administration will “bulldoze” LGBTQ+ rights. But groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Transgender Law Center and others are gearing up to combat Trump policies on trans Americans in the courts. “Litigation will be essential, but it will not be enough,” Sruti Swaminathan, a staff attorney with the ACLU, said during a recent GLAAD media call. “We will engage on every advocacy front, including mobilising and organising our network of millions of ACLU members and activists in every state to work to protect LGBTQ people from the dangerous policies of a second Trump administration.”
“I’ve become numb to all of this,” Werner says. “It’s the only way that I, and many other trans people, can survive right now.” She isn’t giving up just yet, though. “But we have to keep fighting. Nothing good has ever come easy, and this is one of them. Our fight will pay off eventually. I know it.”
*Names have been changed
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