By Cristopher Pineda, Nov. 26, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign and Republican ad campaigns spent nearly $215 million to target transgender and queer communities and their rights throughout the election cycle even though transgender people only make up 0.5% of the U.S. adult population.
Trump’s campaign has unfairly attacked the lives of transgender people in a demoralizing effort for the Republican Party to target a small community.
As a member of the trans community, I came out during Trump’s first presidency. I remember the amount of ridicule and hate I experienced from other members of my Latino community. Having people cut off contact with me or express confusion as to why I am the way I am, I found myself isolated. This worsened with the offensive rhetoric Trump had at the time toward queer people, even with questioning their existences. Throughout high school I experienced a toxic atmosphere of having to stick up for myself to teachers, coaches and other students.
Trump makes it abundantly clear, with Agenda 47, that he will be attacking transgender rights by calling for the termination of gender-affirming care from Medicare and Medicaid while also stripping federal funding from schools where LGBTQ+ rights are being taught.
The identity development and education coordinator of the Pride Center, Joshua Salazar, explained this termination wouldn’t just prohibit minors from having surgeries to change their gender; it would also cost them access to mental health services.
“Folks have a skewed view of what gender-affirming care truly is, it actually provides young adults with strategies on mental health wellness and practices,” Salazar said.
When I was younger, trying to figure out exactly who I was, I looked at these services provided by the government to find guidance to feel OK in my body. Having access to school therapists and mental health professionals, I had a safe space where people who I could count on to hear me out. They made it so much easier to be me.
Trans people are not the problem that America seems to believe they are. With the amount of money being spent to eradicate the lives of such a small minority of people, it is difficult to imagine how we as a community impact every American’s life in this way.
Losing gender-affirming care is a devasting feat to both trans people and nontrans people alike. Those who are struggling to grasp their own identities and identities of others can use gender-affirming care for their own benefits and mental health well-being.
Not only will Trump strive to deny the trans community access to important medical services and safe spaces that have helped so many like me, he will worsen the quality of life of trans and queer people across the board. And it’s already started.
The American Civil Liberties Union has tracked 558 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S.. Most of them deal with curriculum censorship, denying trans kids access to sports, healthcare barriers and school facility bans on transgender students and workers. 237,500 transgender youth live in states where there have been bills banning gender-affirming care.
Rosalie Williams, a physics student and a social justice leader at Cal Poly Pomona’s Pride Center, believes American politics have become rooted in a culture war, and a lot of what Republican nominees try to instill is their own religious beliefs into political decisions about everyday life.
“It is indicative that U.S. politics has shifted to aim towards our ignorance and prejudices as opposed to what will truly impact us in our daily lives,” Williams said.
With the amount of money spent during the campaign to ridicule trans and queer people, many Americans were misled with certain messaging. To appeal to certain beliefs and morals, Trump’s campaign antagonized the trans minority o so everyone else felt protected. Many Americans did not understand what they were voting for, which led to Google search results after the election regarding the policies. Some of the search results questioned tariffs, the Affordable Care Act and “Can I change my vote.”
What made it worse was seeing people’s indifference to Trump’s messaging. Even if voters chose Trump for his tax policies, people voted for an openly hateful candidate who openly discriminated minorities.
Even under Biden’s administration, while he’s acknowledged the existence of queer people, he did nothing in his power to protect the community from laws being passed. He merely kept the status quo, which was left damaged from Trump’s first presidency.
Williams mentioned there are still attacks on LGBTQ+ members through legislation, even though we currently have a seemingly progressive government. Democratic leaders don’t help the communities they preach to, and they cause more damage by not speaking against these state bills.
“Voting in any election now is preventative, and it’s letting us as an American people permit bad policy,” Williams said. “People who want policies that benefit them are getting power and will not change the systems that put them in power.”
After Trump’s presidential win was called Wednesday, Nov. 6, I woke up to messages from people asking if I was OK. Others being angry, and all of us felt dread.
Reminded of what Trump’s first presidency did for minority communities, it felt scary to be alive, especially since Republicans have control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.this time around. I felt scared to believe what the next four years of my life would look like, where I would end up and what I would be facing.
And I wasn’t alone. The Trevor Project reported a 700% increase in calls to its crisis services Nov. 6, and around 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted by the election results.
Salazar grappled with the reality of how we got to this point as a country is stressful and many students come into his office for support and guidance after they saw the preliminary election results.
“Dealing with the ramifications of Tuesday night was emotionally taxing,” Salazar said. “I had students coming to me looking for guidance, and I was heartbroken that I didn’t have that to give, because I don’t know where we go from here.”
Compared to cisgender adults, trans adults are seven times more likely to contemplate suicide due to issues of discrimination through legislation, work-related incidents or family and friends, according to UCLA Williams Institute. Under Trump’s presidency, this will worsen, and it is vital for trans and queer people to protect themselves but also form impactful communities with one another.
The announcement of his presidency made me recall all the instances where I felt insecure about myself, who I was, how I acted and the person I had become. But it reminded me I was lucky to have already gone through all these experiences myself. I want others to understand we will make it through, and we will make progress.
One sign of progress is Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride will be the first openly transgender person to serve in the U.S. Congress. While some might think it’s small, being able to have representation on a national level is huge accomplishment for people to be heard. We also have representatives fighting back against bills attacking LGBTQ+ members, earlier this year is a 17-hour filibuster in Alaska to fight anti-trans legislation against trans kids in sports. Even though Trump might be a loud voice pushing us from equality, there are people in powers of position willing to fight and won’t stop fighting.
I keep on remembering that even though so much is happening in our country, the important part is, as queer people, we are alive, and we are seen. It is difficult to live in a country that doesn’t support you or your existence. As long as we are alive, we can fight.
As Vice President Kamala Harris said in her concession speech, “The adage is, only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.”
Feature image by Katelyn Chow
