“That one’s a liar,” said a voice.

This has forced the broader LGBTQ culture into a clarifying moment. Gay and lesbian organizations—from the Human Rights Campaign to GLAAD to local community centers—have had to decide: do we defend our trans siblings, or do we distance ourselves to maintain “respectability”?

The "T" is not an island. Trans rights are human rights, and they are inextricably linked to the broader LGBTQ+ movement. To support the community:

Understanding the Transgender Community Within LGBTQ+ Culture: History, Intersectionality, and the Fight for Visibility

The political landscape for the transgender community varies drastically across the globe, characterized by both monumental legal victories and severe pushback.

Shows like Pose (which centered on the ballroom culture of trans women of color in the 80s and 90s), Disclosure (a documentary about trans representation in Hollywood), and actors like Laverne Cox, Elliot Page, and Hunter Schafer have forced the culture to see trans people not as punchlines, but as protagonists. For the first time, cisgender (non-trans) people could see trans joy, trans romance, and trans tragedy depicted with nuance.

For the LGBTQ community to thrive, it must embrace a future beyond the binary. That means:

Respect pronouns and use identity-affirming terms.