The Anti-Trans Blame Game: Predictable, Wrong, and Fueling a Dangerous Agenda

Anti-trans pundits are pushing Democrats to join a harmful agenda that erodes basic rights.

On October 13, I found myself texting with a friend about the relentless wave of anti-trans attack ads being hurled by Republican candidates ahead of the upcoming election. Frustrated, I typed out my take:

It’s crazy because Democrats have gone out of their way to not mention trans issues (or even reference trans people) the entire campaign. Throughout the DNC, there was maybe one offhand mention of trans people, total. It drives me crazy. And if Dems lose, the message they’re going to take away from this is that they weren’t anti-trans enough.

My friend, trying to reassure me, replied, “I don’t think so.” But deep down, I knew. I could see where this was going.

Weeks later, I voiced the same concern during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. He asked me what I was hearing from trans people—those who weren’t necessarily as outspoken as I am but who couldn’t ignore the barrage of hate-filled campaign ads.

“Yeah, I mean, they’ve spent tens of millions of dollars doing this,” I replied. “And it’s not just the Trump campaign. Republicans across the country have been running ads making these similar points. They see trans people as a small group—just 1% of the population—that’s easy to demonize. And in talking to trans people, they’re frustrated. It’s made a lot of people scared. And one thing people are worried about is if the election goes to Trump, trans people will be blamed for this outcome.”

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And here we are. Trump won, and—just as I predicted—trans people are getting blamed.

A handful of Democratic representatives, along with a small but loud chorus of media voices, have rushed to blame support for trans student-athletes and other marginalized trans issues for the Democratic Party’s losses.