Protect Trans Youth from Anti Trans Laws

A wave of anti-trans laws is a disturbing new trend across the United States. The “Don’t Say Gay” Bill in Florida, The “Oklahoma Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act,” child abuse investigations for parents supporting their kids’ medical gender affirming care in Texas, 4 separate bills targeting medical care in Arizona, and bills in 26 states excluding trans youth from athletics. These are only some of the state legislative efforts introduced in 2022 criminalizing trans youth and their caretakers.

Sex work is an LGBTQ issue for so many reasons. This new wave of laws throws into stark relief the fact that queer youth have a higher likelihood of being ostracized from family and community from a young age. This, combined with employment discrimination, makes young trans people more likely to have to rely on themselves for basic survival and financial needs, which means that trans youth are more likely to get involved in the sex trades than their cis straight peers. And because they are more heavily policed, they’re more vulnerable to staying in a cycle of disenfranchisement and poverty. We must support trans youth against these heinous laws and the bigotry that enables them, and continue to fight for a world in which sex work is not a shameful or unsafe choice for them or anyone.