An Uptick In Anti-Trans Rhetoric—The Beginning of a Trend

In 2021, Arkansas passed the first of many laws banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. Following this 2021 law, an onslaught of anti-trans bills has appeared. In fact, 37 of 50 states have introduced some form of anti-trans bills since this time. Most bewildering about the Arkansas law is that it was vetoed in its bill form by the Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, just for this decision to be overridden by a majority vote and implemented. This legislative voting dynamic speaks to increased anti-trans rhetoric in the late 2010s. This event is so salient because it started a trend: anti-trans bills built from anti-trans sentiment. Despite the fact that I picked the first anti-trans law in recent years as the most significant event in recent LGBTQ history, the ramifications of this law exist far beyond its passing in 2021, as many bills echoing the same sentiments of the 2021 law have been proposed and passed since. I should mention, however, that the LGBTQ experience has splintered into two distinct subcategories: the fight for sexual expression and the fight for gender expression. The latter is a fight that has yet to be won.