I wish the t*rfs would just listen to trans and non-binary youth. I think that might help them come to a more loving & understanding place. I’ve been talking and listening to trans youth for years, and I have learned so much from them. They know who they are & what they need.

I’ve met thousands of trans youth: at school shows, at gigs, at conferences and festivals. I read their letters. I meet their parents. I’ve literally never met a single youth who felt pressured into hormones or surgery or blockers. I’ve been doing this work for over two decades.

To paint them all as innocent victims of some kind of trans lobby is not only unfounded fear mongering, it also ignores the voices of those youth. It devalues their power & their stories & their truths. Anyone who actually listens to trans youth would not dismiss them like this.

Anyone who listens to trans and binary youth know they have to fight to be believed. They are not being told they are trans, on the contrary, they have to fight an entire system that is trying to deny their existence. And still, they persist.

If there was a way to make t*rfs listen to trans youth that wouldn’t further harm those kids, I’d work to make that happen. Maybe I’m a dreamer, but I believe that anyone who actually listened to the youth themselves would give up their hater ways and join us in the struggle.

Nothing will bend a heart to all that is right and true like listening to someone tell their story can do. It’s why stories are so powerful. It’s also why people who are afraid of change won’t listen.