More than ever has the presence of LBTQ+ youth been so hotly “debated” across America, as horrible as it is to even have to use such a descriptor. For every step forward our community has made—especially in a modern age where discussion on gender identity and sexual orientation has never been more publicly accessible—just the passing of a single anti-queer bill has gone a long way in unraveling much of that progress. To name some (more than a ‘single’), this year, Arkansas has seen the passing of Senate Bill 270, forbidding trans people from entering bathrooms aligned with their gender; Texas has seen the consideration of a bill that would prevent physicians from providing health care (i.e. puberty blockers, hormones) to transgender kids in the state; Tennessee this month has enacted the nation’s first law restricting Drag Shows; and at its most stark, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) speaker Michael Knowles has, verbatim, called for the eradication of “transgenderism” on Daily Wire News (rollingstone.com). In 2022, America saw the introduction of 170 anti-trans bills. This year, America has seen more than 350 anti-trans bills introduced in 36 states (translegislation.com).
It is remarkable how often anti-trans legislation sweeps America, especially when it has been proven since years ago that this fear of LGBTQ+ youth is rooted in a factual nowhere. Repeatedly, it has been shown there is no factual basis on the transgender population posing a threat to children in bathrooms; a UCLA School of Law study (2018) remarked on this lack of link between the rate of assaults in restrooms and trans-inclusive policies (nbcnews.com). In fact, it has been shown that transgender youth are more often victims of violence and assault in public restrooms than their cis counterparts. From a Harvard School of Public Health study (2019), more than 1⁄3 of trans teens (37%) reported being sexually assaulted in restrooms when they were forced into ones that did not align with their gender (hsph.harvard.edu). Six of ten trans adults in the U.S. have trouble using public restrooms out of this consequent fear (reuters.com).
The trans population has never been a defining factor for sexual offense or unsolicited violence in America; in fact, they’ve only fallen victim to these unfounded accusations. As these accusations seem to only increase over time, LGBTQ+ mental health is hit harder and harder with every word and rebuke. According to one study (Reisner 2015), transgender youth are four times as likely than their cis peers to experience depression. Others a part of the LGBTQ+ community have also been noted to experience significantly more depressive symptoms than their heterosexual peers (Marshal 2011). While 12% of non-LGBTQ+ youth stated they felt depressed most/all of the time in the past month before they were surveyed, 28-40% of LGBTQ+ youth felt these same symptoms (HRC foundation 2017). 60% of queer youth have reported being so sad/feeling so hopeless to the point they lost pleasure in their interests and ceased indulging in their daily activities (Kann 2016).
However, most unremarked in today’s political climate yet most serious of all, is that LGBTQ+ youth have, by trend, time after time again, been far more prone to suicide risk than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Non-trans queer youth are more than twice as likely to feel suicidal; and over four times as likely as to attempt suicide (Marshal 2011). Among trans youth, ⅓ of the population have seriously considered suicide and ⅕ have actually made a serious attempt on their life (Reisner 2015). Even something as “basic” as denied restroom access resulted in a 45% more likelihood in trans youth attempting to take their lives (Seelman 2016).
A gross amount of legislators across America fear for the lives of children in school and claim to only want the best for them, yet never consider the LGBTQ+ population as a part of that. Studies have proven that transgender youth are not a threat in bathrooms, yet this “issue” is still contended. As noted, studies have shown that transgender mental health is aided when they are allowed in the bathrooms of their gender, yet legislators refuse to accept that. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and American Medical Association (AMA) themselves support providing trans youth with social support and related health care, for the simple reason that the dysphoria of being born in the wrong body, especially in a society that will refuse to help alleviate that in any way, is enough to lead a kid to end their own life. With that in mind, it is almost like legislators will prioritize anything except mental health.
The poor mental health of the LGBTQ+ population has always been an issue in society; but more than ever, with greater obstacles and threats to safe LGBTQ+ living arising as of the past years, has that mental health been more at risk. It is ignorant to turn a blind eye against the impact these legislations, old and new, can and have had on LGBTQ+ youth. We deserve to be heard and cared for.
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