As a 'domesticated' trans person and a politically independent observer, I’d like to make the following remarks:
First, the idea that trans activism significantly negatively impacted the election is misguided. Further, the Dems don't believe that either. But the whole push of the Democratic party since late October has been to move to the right and agree with Republicans on everything: immigrants, economic policy, and now trans people. Trans people have always been here living, working, peeing, playing sports, taking hormones, existing. For decades, we went about our lives largely unnoticed by the general public. It’s only in the last ten years or so that Republicans realized we existed and decided to turn us into their latest scapegoat. We didn’t overplay our hands; we were sitting here, minding our own business, when they made us a cultural battleground.
The debate over trans participation in sports isn’t really about fairness or competition. It’s a trap designed to weaponize public perception against trans people as a whole. Most trans athletes compete without incident, especially at non-professional levels, where sports are about learning teamwork, staying active, and having fun. Yet, these cases are cherry-picked and sensationalized to stoke outrage. Why? Because sports offer a convenient, emotionally charged narrative that obscures the broader agenda: to delegitimize trans existence entirely. If it were truly about fairness, we'd address systemic inequities in sports, like disparities in funding and opportunities for women and marginalized groups. Instead, trans athletes are used as scapegoats in a cultural war, leveraging fear and misunderstanding to rally political bases.
If trans people were to capitulate on sports, it wouldn’t end the attacks it would encourage them. This isn’t just about sports; it’s about erasing trans people from public life one issue at a time. If we concede on sports, the narrative becomes, “See? They admitted they don’t belong here,” which validates and fuels further restrictions in other areas like healthcare, public accommodations, and legal protections. Capitulation also sets a dangerous precedent: it signals that trans rights are negotiable, that we can be worn down issue by issue until our existence is entirely delegitimized.
This isn’t a compromise it’s a strategy of attrition designed to chip away at trans visibility and acceptance until we’re pushed entirely back into the shadows. And make no mistake, the fight won’t stop with sports. Once one battle is “won,” the next target will be trans people in schools, workplaces, and families. It’s a slippery slope, and sports are just the starting point.
The anger you see in the trans community doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a response to being relentlessly attacked for simply existing. Policies targeting healthcare for trans youth, restricting where we can go to the bathroom, and banning books about our lives didn’t arise because trans people were shouting too loudly or making unreasonable demands. These attacks are deliberate political maneuvers meant to rally a base by manufacturing outrage at a vulnerable group.
Social media undoubtedly amplifies division and gives disproportionate visibility to the loudest, most extreme voices in any community. But equating this amplification with the beliefs or behaviors of the entire trans community is disingenuous. Most trans people, like anyone else, are just trying to live their lives and don’t spend their days on Twitter screaming about sports or yelling at strangers. But the algorithm thrives on conflict, and that’s what people see.
To say trans activism might have backfired ignores that we were pushed into this fight. The narrative of the "woke mind virus" wasn’t born out of activism but out of a conservative playbook designed to stoke fear and division. If anyone “overplayed their hand,” it’s the politicians who decided to vilify an already marginalized group to score political points. We aren't going to moderate our tones for a party of politicians who don't really support us, or the working class for that matter.
Ultimately, if people feel strongly about trans issues in the context of elections, they should examine why trans people are even a political issue at all. It’s not because of some grand trans conspiracy. It’s because we’re being weaponized by those who benefit from keeping voters angry and divided. And as for the small percentage of “assholes” in the trans community? Every group has them. However, focusing on that small minority instead of the systemic issues at play is missing the forest for the trees.
