In March of 2016, North Carolina passed House Bill 2, legislation that would come to be known as the “Bathroom Bill.” This bill required that transgender people use the bathroom that matches their sex assigned at birth. While this controversial law was repealed in 2017, its passage marked a unique development in America’s war against trans people.
Prevalent violence and discrimination against transgender Americans has continually reared its ugly head throughout this nation’s history — a hatred steming from the colonial treatment of indigenous communities with differing cultural understandings of gender and the genocide perpetrated against native people since the founding of our country. This marginalization has evolved alongside our society, with powerful institutions and leaders abusing this country’s bureaucratic defects to adopt rules and laws meant to forbid trans existence.
Despite this, trans people have overcome challenges and made extensive progress since the late 1900s: In recent decades, trans people gained access to gender reassignment treatments, the ability to change gender markers on documents to match their lived identities and reached greater cultural acceptance. It seemed that things were getting better for trans people, and while there was work that still needed to be done, our society was progressing on the right track.
The recent backtracking on progress and societal acceptance cannot be chalked up to a vibe switch, a political realignment or the end of woke. Rather, this hostile, persecutory era is the product of a concerted effort on behalf of the American right to erase trans identity. The American right seeks to rid our society of pluralism, with trans people acting as one of the first victims of this horrific, white, Christian, cis-hetero, ethnonationalist crusade. This persecution must be combatted with comprehensive organizing and resistance to prevent the situation’s further devolution.
Recently, the state of Kansas sent letters to all trans people in the state informing them that their driver’s licenses were no longer valid, and they would have to get new licenses that match their sex assigned at birth. Furthermore, President Trump enacted a similar policy in his “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order in 2025, which forced transgender people to receive passports that match their sex assigned at birth. Overall, 2025 was a uniquely dangerous year for trans people, with over 1,000 anti-trans bills being introduced nationwide.
This problem is much bigger than the Trump administration, as state legislatures continue to endorse anti-trans laws, and Congress crafts legislation vilifying and targeting trans communities. Attacks on trans people have long been a stronghold for the conservative movement in the United States. This latest iteration is another coordinated attempt at isolating trans people, a backlash to the forward progress made for trans rights in the United States. It is not a stretch to say that conditions have deteriorated for trans people — currently, their access to medical care, protection from discrimination and legal recognition are all at risk.
We as a nation have abandoned trans people, leaving them vulnerable to the ongoing persecution they face. Our inaction has allowed the political right to effectively dominate the sphere of discourse and mobilize against trans people by wrongfully shaping their narratives and legal realities. We must take this threat seriously and prioritize the defense of trans people in our political action.
This attack is not the result of just a few malignant figures in power at this moment. Rather, it indicates an ongoing systemic destruction of trans rights in America. Trans people have not become victims by accident: Far-right actors’ selection and villainization of trans communities serves as a scapegoat for longstanding American tendencies of hostility toward those who do not fit the cis-hetero mold. The persistence of this tactic signifies an attempt by the state to rid society of pluralism through the purging of marginalized identities. Trans people are facing abuse right now as a litmus test of what our society will accept. Conservatives have found that they are able to exploit the ubiquity of cultural transphobia and queer hate in our world, and this attack on trans people is functioning as the first step in a Niemöllerean nightmare.
We must take the threat against trans people seriously right now, because we have seen this play out before. Too often, queer people are among the first attacked by authoritarian regimes: These attacks are often followed by or coincide with attacks on other minority groups.
Our case is particularly concerning and needs urgent attention because this attack is not limited to the federal level, or one state’s regime. This attack is permeating all aspects of our political society and modern cultural discourse, and is being carried out across the nation. It is not an attack that will end if the current administration departs the White House, and it is not something that will be magically fixed if Democrats win the midterms this year. The fact that trans rights have regressed so rapidly signals a deep cultural depravity — in standing by, we are allowing a vulnerable community to face harassment and bigotry at a systemic level.
If we are to move forward in building a humane society, it is time to cease pretending that these attacks are innocuous or any less grave than they truly are. We must do a better job at calling out these attacks, recognizing the ways in which trans people need our help and protecting our community members. Diversity cannot be taken for granted, and it should never be the target of political whims, as coexistence with those who are different from us makes our society better as a whole.
It was trans people who began the fight for queer liberation in the United States, in a moment that seemed exceedingly dark for queer people. It is time that we return this favor — not only because trans people are valued members of our community, but also in recognition of their contributions to our history.
Be kind to your trans community members and get involved with organizations that work to provide access to gender-affirming care, expand legal recognition and promote social acceptance. This is yet another dark moment, one that seems nearly impossible to reckon with. But it is precisely because of the level of darkness surrounding our nation that we must work to fight it and find the light.
Alex Benach PO ’28 is from Washington, D.C. and wonders if their transness will impact their eligibility for the draft…
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