Queer kids, I love you!
I’m absolutely sickened by the new onslaught that has been brought down on queer kids and their families again this week. From the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that passed through the House in Florida, to Greg Abbott asking professionals to investigate parents of trans kids for abuse in Texas, the US should be fully ashamed of itself. While once again, the ACLU claims a lot of these bills are legally baseless, the ability to incite terror for LGBTQ+ individuals and families is undeniable. Regardless of the ability of these laws to be enforced, the result instills suspicion from the mainstream culture towards queer people. Once again, we’re portrayed as threats to civilization. What the fuck. While people saying shitty things against queer people happens too often to count, the collective impact sends gigantic ripples through the community. It’s hard to remain calm and freak out at the same time. Even when these bills don’t pass, they terrify, they leave us exhausted, and they remind us that we do not live in a country where queer people are actually safe. So, I take it upon myself to once again lambast these fucking shitheads. With every new proposed bill, they seek to claim the narrative about how dangerous trans people are. We don’t deserve to be vilified. We’re just living our lives, not giving a shit, certainly not nefariously “converting” straight cis kids. But these assholes make us have to constantly defend ourselves against their egregious accusations. Trans kids need support, not condemnation. Let me repeat, it is absolutely despicable, and predictable, that a country that claims it stands for “freedom,” would continuously attempt to pass bills that put queer children in danger, all to appease the nonsensical fantasies of lunatic cis politicians. This shouldn’t have to be said but let’s do it anyways:
Queer children deserve safety
The prospect of removing kids from their families puts them in danger. Period. It’s hard enough for queer children to receive adequate support in order to aid in their transition but to then threaten to criminalize this process is beyond unethical. Further, the prospect of taking away queer kids and placing them in potentially transphobic households in the name of “safety” reveals the actual intention of these bills. They don’t give a shit about the welfare of kids, they want to exterminate them. Putting children at risk in these horrifying ways all under the guise of public decency is abhorrent. Attaching the potential for violence to the identity of trans children is sickening. Again, how these bills are actually enforced is beyond the point, families still have to worry about whether supporting their trans child could result in having them taken away. I cannot even begin to wrap my head around the psychological consequences of being so young, coming into your identity, and knowing that doing so could put your entire family at risk. Trans kids are never to blame. The parents who support their kids’ transition are never to blame. Trans kids deserve all the love to be themselves and to fully express their identities. Parents of trans children deserve all the institutional support to make these transitions as easy as possible. There’s nothing abnormal about gender expansiveness. There’s nothing abnormal about social or medical transition. What’s abnormal is grown-ass adults who twist reality to justify grotesque threats all in the name of appeasing their perverted fears.
Queer children deserve education
It took me over 20 years to realize I was a lesbian and nearly 30 years to realize I was nonbinary; I didn’t get queer education in school. Not having information that normalizes our identities has tremendously damaging impacts on the way we see ourselves. Our early lives are spent feeling at odds with our internal understanding and external reality. I didn’t feel safe being myself. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know there were others like me. Our queer elders have been hidden from history, that’s the ones who weren’t systemically eradicated by negligent and outright violent state actions. Queer children deserve so much better than what I got. Queer children deserve to know that they’re normal, that others like them have always existed, and that we’ve risen and found ways to live happy lives. Queer children deserve to be brought up in families who’ve been educated on queer issues, understand the richness of our experiences, and are able to provide adequate support. Children do not deserve to be raised by conservative fanatics who treat us like freak show acts. Without education, ignorance continues to wage wars on our bodies and souls. Queer children deserve better.
Queer kids deserve honest support
What I find particularly disgusting in this whole situation is the inconsistency of a federal government that claims to protect queer rights and states that enact harmful measures. We’ve seen multiple presidents pay lip service to support the LGBTQ+ community, and remain silent in the face of injustice. And sure, some will argue that states must be allowed to operate independently in order to maintain a balance of power, but when that means squashing our human rights, it seems like a pretty fucking high price. And sure, this will probably be moved up to the supreme court where once again our lives will become public fodder, our stories will be told and manipulated by shitty cishet politicians who understand nothing about us. But at the end of the day, we deserve fucking better. Queer kids deserve to know that they are supported in their true experiences. Queers deserve to tell their stories, we deserve to yell and scream when our stories are unjustly taken from us and used as political bait. We deserve support for who we ARE, not fear and hate for who they make us out to be.
I’m fucking tired. I’m fucking tired of writing these blogs. I’m fucking tired of this never-ending cycle of defamation, vicious intent, and dehumanization. I’m fucking tired of cishet white men holding exclusive power to shit on lives that don’t match theirs. I’m fucking tired of the impact these bills have on our community. I’m fucking tired of being tired from being scared. I’m tired of worrying about what happens next. I’m tired of always hoping that once again a bill won’t pass or that the fallout won’t be so bad. I’m fucking tired of trans people dying way too young because the world won’t fucking love them. I’m fucking tired of worrying about the safety of queer kids. I’m fucking tired of fearing that too many won’t make it into queer adulthood. I’m fucking tired of not knowing how to help all of our queer nibblings because there’s nothing to do for all of them against a hypocritical government that claims it stands for freedom. I’m fucking tired of it all. If you’re tired too, remember that you’re not alone. If you’re scared, remember that you’re not alone. If you’re so furious you don’t know what to do, go outside and scream “FUCK YOU GREG, CHOKE ON MY TRANS CLIT” at the top of your lungs, you won’t be alone 💕
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