Friend -
Being a parent in this timeline is the ultimate whiplash.
One moment I’m spiraling into existential dread over our basic human rights and whether we’re on the brink of WWIII… and the next, my daughter is asking me to braid her hair and play Barbies. It’s jarring. It’s disorienting. It’s the fiercest, most emotional kind of whiplash.
And I bring that up because, for many in the LGBTQIA+ community—especially our trans siblings—that kind of emotional whiplash is daily life. One minute, you're just trying to live, to love, to get through the day… the next, you're fighting for your very existence in a country trying to legislate you out of public life.
Despite hard-won victories (Happy 10th birthday to marriage equality!), attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights have only intensified—particularly against the trans community. The current administration is openly toying with erasing protections, while far-right politicians fuel panic and lies about bathrooms, sports teams, and drag shows. And let’s be honest—it’s not just coming from the usual suspects. Some Democrats (looking at you, Gavin) are either quiet or complicit.
I was recently asked if I cared that transgender kids might be playing on the same sports teams as mine. Point blank? I don’t care. I welcome it. I embrace it. I root for it. And if needed, I—and my daughters—will riot for it.
