The rights of LGBTQ youth all over the country are being challenged and threatened by bills like the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In late March, Florida Governor Ron Desantis signed the controversial bill, “Parental Rights in Education,” into law. The bill is more formerly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill because it prevents public school teachers from having any conversation with children about gender identities or sexual orientation.
Florida was just the start. Over the last few weeks, over a dozen states have kicked the wheels into motion for the consideration of similar bills that deny medical care and educational support to queer and trans youth. In Alabama, the state legislature voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender kids, in addition to signing a “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law. As for Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has confirmed that he will make a similar bill his top priority in the coming year.
In the growing battle over trans and LGBTQ rights, it can be incredibly difficult to sort misinformation from fact-based realities. It doesn’t help when certain groups make wild accusations about a notoriously under-supported and misunderstood community. For that reason among others, you might be wondering what exactly is taking place in classrooms that’s so bad, or how dangerous this targeted medical care is for children. And if you are, you’re certainly not alone.
To answer these questions, we spoke to Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at the Human Rights Campaign, to answer all the top questions about the crisis taking place for trans kids across America.
First things first, how exactly did we get here, to this moment in time?
In 2015, we had overwhelming popular support for marriage equality, but the state legislators were not in quite the same place. In response, we saw this incredible uptick in the amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation filed that year. That legislation was largely related to religious refusals and wedding service refusals. But over time, our opponents pivoted, partially because they tried things and then when those things didn’t work, they tried something else.
In the last three years, they’ve really focused their attacks on transgender folks, particularly transgender youth. In 2020, 79 bills that specifically targeted the transgender community were introduced, which was a record at the time. In 2021, we had 150. And this year, we’re at more than 140. And we still have more than half of the year to go.
So I very much anticipate we will cross over that 150 threshold and set a new record this year for specifically anti-transgender bills. As for overall anti-LGBTQ bills, we’re tracking at something like 325 anti-LGBTQ bills this year.
Anti-trans legislators and organizations reference detransition rates, medical issues, and reports of genital mutilation when they argue for these bills. Is there any truth to that?
There’s a lot of conversation taking place, like, well, maybe the medications aren’t safe. And, what about kids who change their minds? And [the truth is that] transition surgeries reflect a 99 percent satisfaction rate. That’s higher than satisfaction rates after cancer surgery. And you’re never going to have a 100 percent happiness rate with any kind of medical intervention, right?
The focus on detransitions is just smoke and mirrors. And it is not about efficacy of medication, either. And the way that you know that is they’re allowing for cisgender girls who might need puberty blockers to take puberty blockers but are also claiming that puberty blockers are apparently not safe for those with gender dysphoria.
What’s the goal of all of this misinformation around trans children and medical care, then?
We’re talking about a package of bills across the country that is trying to knock out every element of support a trans kid has. So in Florida, that’s teachers, books, history, and curriculum; then in Texas, it’s parents and doctors; and in Alabama, it’s doctors. And then it’s also coaches and teammates. And it’s bathrooms at school. It’s trying to take all of the support systems trans kids have, and knocking them out one by one.
If you’re an organization like the Alliance Defending Freedom, that is their goal: To make it as difficult as possible to survive as a trans kid and to use that as a wedge to make people feel afraid of the larger LGBTQ community. What’s at stake, for these organizations, is a really rigid understanding of gender roles. They want to force people to behave in a very gendered manner that’s consistent with their worldview.
As for the politicians who are pushing this, they always have the next election in the back of their minds. And they see that there’s an electoral advantage for them. So they’re using this as red meat for that very small group of people who care.
Do you have advice for parents or grandparents who want to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ children?
My number one piece of advice for parents, grandparents, and caregivers — but frankly, also just everyone — is to educate yourself about what it means to be trans. Find out what the pediatricians are saying; ask your pediatrician. The American Academy for Pediatrics has come out very strongly against these medical care bans.
Look to people who are in sports that you respect. In women’s sports, Megan Rapinoe, Billie Jean King, and the Women’s Sports Foundation all strongly embrace trans to transgender women participating in women’s sports.
So that’s what I would ask people to do: Lead with your compassion. You don’t have to understand what it means to be a five-year-old trans kid or a 16-year-old trans kid, but you can lead with compassion anyway.
