We owe it to trans kids to be brave
Popped onto Bluesky after seeing a post cautioning against doomerism over the SCOTUS case on reddit. I found it to be a measured, pragmatic response. The replies were fucking terrible, though.
People are so viciously outraged that anything short of full-on rebellious outrage is taken to be fascist capitulation. My issue with these people is that no one ever thinks about what to do after outrage. There are no solutions; only problems. If something breaks, you don't fix it—you just break everything else along with it.
We lead by example. Young people emulate what they see in us. Throwing temper tantrums does not demonstrate what trans kids will need to survive this. We need to remain optimistic and resilient for their sake, and model healthy emotional regulation and bravery in face of hardship.
Dysphoria is not a death sentence. Being trans is not a death sentence. Suicide is never inevitable for trans kids; I would know.
This SCOTUS decision reaffirms the need for strategic political activism. This article covers the nuances of trans healthcare for minors across the US, and explains possible avenues to contest this matter under a different litigation. It also highlights how two states, Montana and Arkansas, have successfully blocked similar bans based on their state constitutions. If judiciary review will not work, then we take steps to begin lobbying legislatively.
Furthermore—and I intend on extrapolating further in another post soon—some of the arguments brought up to SCOTUS were not, in my opinion, as strong as they could have been. See, for example, Strangio's responses to Justice Alito pressing him on the issue of gender fluidity:
MR. STRANGIO: I think that the -- the distinguishing characteristic is to have a birth sex that does not align with -- or a gender that does not align with one's birth sex. So it may include people who have different understandings of -- of their gender identity, but I think it is still the distinguishing characteristic of a birth sex and a gender identity that are incongruent.
[...]
MR. STRANGIO: Well, I think people's understanding of it -- of it shifts, but the evidence shows that there is at least a strong underlying basis. And I think the normative reason for that particular consideration is whether or not this is something that someone should or could change and whether they should have to change it in order to receive constitutional protections, and I think transgender status squarely fits within that.
"Different understandings of their gender identity" is simply too solvent a definition under legal scrutiny. I think this is why rhetoric needs to return to sex-based dysphoria. Physical sex is not an identity; it is a material reality; something more than "a strong underlying basis" or "understanding". For example, there is neurological evidence that the brains of trans people more closely resemble those of the sex opposite to their birth sex. A materialistic modality brokers no room for interpretation, it is simple fact.
There is always something to be angry about, yes. But there is always something to be done, too. And that is much more productive. In my opinion, a reexamination of how the trans experience is illustrated and returning to a materialistic modality is a good place to start.
✘ Posted on — 06/20/25
✘ Last modified — 2 months ago
✘ Link — https://blog.xavierhm.com/we-owe-it-to-trans-kids-to-be-brave