Kro, age 15, Tennesse
KRO: It’s scary. I don’t go out often because I’m disabled and chronically ill, but when I do go out it’s usually in Tennessee which is where all these anti-trans bills are being enacted. It affects me personally, every day. If I want to go pee, I’ll see those transphobic signs on the doors and think, ‘Man, I just want to pee! I had a little too much to drink at lunch, I just want to go!’ Our president claims he wants to protect us, and then this stuff happens. It makes it harder for me to live as a normal person.
I don’t think the politicians passing these bills realize how much of an affect it can have on us. While there may be some liberal people in power, when it comes down to it a lot of their beliefs are still very, very conservative. Most radical ideas aren’t even that radical. Trans people just want to live a normal life, and that’s not radical. Some people think that letting trans people use the bathroom or play sports is radical. Cis women can produce more testosterone than men, intersex women can produce more testosterone – are the politicians going to make them play with men? If they are going to make laws based off testosterone or estrogen levels, why not do it with cis people, too? That way it can be fair.
MOM: These bills are happening because people aren’t educated enough. They don’t know what to think or feel, they’re fed so much through the media and they don’t take the time to do their own research. They just go with the majority. I’ve always been one of those moms that believes as long as something’s not hurting you, if that’s what you love and want to do, I’m going to support you however I can.
KRO: Since coming out, I’ve made a lot more friends in the trans community and a lot more leftist friends, and that’s really helped me find my voice and learn how to use it. BIPOC trans people, especially Black trans people, especially Black trans women, don’t usually have the opportunity to be vocal so as a white trans person it’s very important to me to help raise their voices and help them be heard. I think trans people sometimes forget that having a supportive family is technically a privilege- a privilege that can save their life.
MOM: Our house has an open-door policy for anyone who needs a safe place to land. It’s very well known, and there are queer people who pop in and out or stay for a couple weeks. Whatever they need. It’s something that we’ve always made a point to do, especially for Kro’s friends because they need a lot more support than they get from their families, and now they have a place they can call home.
KRO: I wish these politicians would focus on climate change because it impacts all of us, especially the indigenous community, Hispanic community, Black communities – basically everyone that’s not cis het white. I think we need to be focusing on how corrupt the current government is and how the policing system constantly fails minorities. For example, I constantly hear about black trans women being killed and the police doing nothing about it. I won’t ever have to experience that – I won’t ever have to experience what they go through every day because I’m White and I’m ‘stealth’ because I still present very feminine. I think older trans people are scared to speak out because of how they were raised and how transphobic our community has always been. I believe it’s important for younger generations to speak up now because we can.
Even as a little kid I knew I was different, I just didn’t know how. When I was 10 years old I found trans people on YouTube and thought, ‘Oh that’s makes so much sense!’ Then I found the non-binary community and the label ‘agender.’ I was scared to come out as non-binary, but I finally felt like I knew who I was.
MOM: I literally grew up in the gay community- most of my family on my mom’s side is gay so I’ve been around gay people, drag queens, everything. Even though I was comfortable in that world, we didn’t have any sort of queer education and I think it’s really important that our kids have that so they can start becoming themselves at a younger age. I was 26 when I came out, but I knew I was gay when I was 5.
KRO: The politicians are scared that people are going to rise against the power, find out the truth - that trans people aren’t these scary, evil monsters and that the laws they’re putting in place put us in more danger. They’re scared, and they want to silence us. Every minority group goes through this. It’s just fear. Politicians think that by putting in place these laws we’re going to calm down, but it’s going to make us even more mad and we’re going to do even more stuff to fight them.
I want other trans and non-binary kids to find support somehow, to know that there are other people out there like them and that they’re not alone. Go find a support group online, find your people.