Under the Trump administration, we’ve seen repeated attempts to whittle down the rights of the LGBTQ community, and especially those of transgender folks. Whether it was the administration trying to essentially define both sex and gender as unchanging and based on genitalia at birth, or a guidance on how to detect transgender women at homeless shelters, we’ve seen both queer and transphobia run rampant in the past four years.
An issue that gets less attention, but has an enormous impact, however, is the slow but steady attack on the rights of transgender youth. A flurry of anti-trans bathroom bills made national headlines, as well as state-level attempts to block trans youth from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity. It’s all abhorrent but especially so when we consider new data from the Trevor Project that shows what an enormous positive impact affirmation can have on queer and trans youth—and what’s at stake when affirmation doesn’t come.
As some background, GLSEN studies from years back have also shown that LGBTQ youth—and especially transgender youth—have higher rates of dropping out of high school and skipping class than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, LGBTQ youth also report higher rates of bullying and harassment from their peers. In the long term, trans youth also experience higher rates of homelessness and employment discrimination. So while some may feel this data isn’t exactly new or surprising, the build of consistent evidence over the years is actually a reminder that changes need to happen, and that LGBTQ protections can’t rest on the sidelines.
In this large-scale survey, the Trevor Project surveyed more than 17,000 LGBTQ-identified youth enrolled in middle school or high school between 2019 and 2020, with a total of 40,000 LGBTQ people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the United States. According to the Trevor Project, this breaks down to include more than 500 Native youths, 4,000 Hispanic/Latinx youths, 1,400 Black youths, and 1,500 Asian/Pacific Islander youths. The survey was conducted online.
In terms of mental health, trans youth report higher rates of depression, generalized anxiety, and engaging in self-harm. Transgender youth who report having their pronouns correctly used all or most of the time attempted suicide at half the rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected—that’s a huge deal in itself. While acceptance (obviously) doesn’t make up for a wide spectrum of systemic discrimination, it clearly makes a big difference in terms of mental health.
Sadly, less than one in 10 nonbinary youth report having their pronouns respected all or most of the time.
A full 46% of respondents said they wanted mental health counseling within the past 12 months but were unable to get it, citing the affordability of care and LGBTQ competency as two of the biggest barriers. Over 85% said recent politics have impacted their mental health, and two out of three transgender and nonbinary respondents said they’d experienced major depressive symptoms in the two weeks prior to the survey.
Though obviously much harder to access amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, in-person LGBTQ affirming spaces seem important. On the bright side, nearly 80% of LGBTQ youth said they had access to at least one in-person, LGBTQ affirming space; 12% of respondents who had access to such a space said they attempted suicide in the last year, while 20% of respondents without that access said the same.
The majority of transgender and nonbinary respondents said they’d been either been prevented or discouraged from using the correct bathroom for their gender identity. The most frequent place that happened? School.
A whopping 80% of LGBTQ youth said that openly LGBTQ celebrities positively impacted how they feel about their identities. While some people criticize or dismiss brands or corporations who make a point of supporting the LGBTQ community, a solid 50% of LGBTQ respondents said such support positively impacted how they feel about their identity.
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