• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

Trans youth in US facing a conservative offensive

Towleroad April 8, 2023 Leave a Comment

Published by
AFP
Supporters of LGBTQ rights during the 'Transgender Day of Visibility' in Washington

Washington (AFP) – Leo is 14 years old and has been taking testosterone for about six months.

“It definitely helps me. It makes me feel more confident,” the teenager from rural Pennsylvania told AFP. “I feel more in tune with my gender identity.”

Leo is worried, however, about laws adopted in a number of conservative US states that ban hormone treatments for minors like him, who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

“I just want to be able to take my shot every week,” Leo said, adding that he feels “less depressed” thanks to the testosterone that blocks his menstrual periods and stimulates muscle and hair growth.

Leo said he is one of just a few “queer kids” in the coal country region of Pennsylvania where he lives.

For the moment, local lawmakers have not proposed any legislation that targets trans youth and, for his own mental health, Leo hopes it stays that way.

Before receiving the hormone treatments, “I hurt myself because of being queer,” he said.

More than half of trans youth had seriously considered suicide and nearly one in five made a suicide attempt during the past year, according to 2021 survey by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit engaged in suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth.

They are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, risky behavior and self mutilation than other adolescents.

‘More comfortable'

Jack Drescher, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, said studies show that kids “feel more comfortable being allowed to express the gender that they feel themselves to be.”

Nevertheless, citing the irreversible effects of some treatments, lawmakers in a dozen Republican-ruled states have adopted laws restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.

“There may be some children who are confused and may think they're transgender,” Drescher said. “And therefore you don't want to do something that they might regret later on.

“But they're trying to protect those children at the expense of children who will benefit from treatment,” he said.

In addition to banning medical intervention, Republican-led states have passed a raft of laws determining what trans students can or cannot do — from which school bathrooms they can use, to which sports teams they play on.

Pushing back against trans rights has become a rallying cry for the current generation of US conservatives, and advocates fear children are increasingly being caught in the middle.

Rachel Smith, 47, a trans woman who works as a behavioral health therapist with trans youth in Baltimore, said “a lot of kids are very depressed, not hopeful about the future” because of the anti-trans bills.

“There is a high level of anxiety,” Smith said.

According to the Trevor Project, 86 percent of trans or nonbinary youth say the legislative frenzy has a negative impact on their mental health.

‘I fear for my kids'

Smith and Leo recently attended an event in Washington called the “Transgender Day of Visibility” during which an artist dressed in white was covered in fake blood to draw attention to the suicide risks in the community.

Also attending was Jaclynn, a 44-year-old mother of four children — “one trans, one queer” — wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “Proud Mom” underneath a rainbow.

“I fear for my kids,” said Jaclynn, who lives in a small town in North Carolina she described as being in the heart of the “Bible belt.”

“Both are in therapy,” Jaclynn said, fighting back tears, and one had attempted suicide.

“That's part of why we are here,” she said. “I came with my kids. I think it's very important that they see that I support them and that the rest of these people support them.”

Leo was accompanied by his stepfather who said it “feels good being here.”

“There is a good turnout,” his stepfather said. “There don't seem to be any folks shouting at us.”

That was not the case the following day when there was an altercation between trans activists holding signs reading “Protect Trans Youth” and a handful of right-wing demonstrators outside the Supreme Court.

Police rapidly intervened and no one was injured.

Topics: Aaon, Social Media, Trans Rights More Posts About: Columbia University, Jack Drescher, Testosterone, The Trevor Project, Transgender

Related Posts
  • Stonewall veteran Miss Major is on the road, urging trans people to ‘stand up and fight’
  • Tennessee pride celebrations showcase queer joy amid neo-Nazi threats, legal attacks
  • Pregnant transgender man featured on cover of Glamour magazine
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Mel B will “always be open” when it comes to her sexuality. The Spice Girls singer, 48, who reunited with her bandmates including the group's ex-singer Victoria Beckham for the fashion …Read More »
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Megan Thee Stallion is being sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment and forcing her cameraman to watch her having lesbian sex. The 29-year-old ‘Savage' rapper faces the salacious claims …Read More »
  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Bennett's life was “changed forever” by his role in ‘Mean Girls'. The 42-year-old actor starred as heartthrob Aaron Samuels in the 2004 cult classic – which followed Lindsay Lohan, Rachel …Read More »
  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass a gift basket after he came out as gay. The 44-year-old NSYNC star revealed the legendary singer showed his support when Lance decided to reveal …Read More »
Previous Post: « Italy celebrates its second ever LGBT History Month – Here’s why it matters
Next Post: Sam Smith still faces homophobia despite fame and success »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

    Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

  • Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

    Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

  • JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

    JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

  • Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

    Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

Partner Links

  • Five Years Ago Today, George Floyd Was Murdered
    May 25, 2020 is a dark day in the history of […]
  • Mike Johnson Says He 'Hasn't Even Heard About' Trump's Unethical Crypto Dinner
    House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) downplayed President Donald Trump's "private" dinner […]
  • Trump FDA Commissioner Complains About 'Throwing Insulin" To People With Diabetes
    Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary argued that insulin […]
  • C&L's Late Night Music Club With ROSÉ - 'On The Ground'
    I was looking for something newish and I found Blackpink's ROSÉ […]
  • Cher on 60 years of fame, making music, movies, writing her memoir and giving back
    Pop icon, movie star and conservationist Cher’s career spans an incredible […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Ptown Hacks 2018

Read

  • Travel
  • Film
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Log in

×
×