'We Aren't Going Away': Transgender Teens Slam Trump's Bathroom Stance

Trump's action has been perceived as hostile to the rights of transgender kids, and it quickly became the leading story on publications from NPR to the New York Times. Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican, has spoken out against Trump saying, "this is a disaster," as has Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace, who told the President to "fuck off" in an interview with Rolling Stone.

The ACLU has publicly argued that Title IX still protects trans students, regardless of the guidance issued by Trump—the law hasn't changed. This March, the ACLU will bring the case of Gavin Grimm—a trans boy fighting for bathroom access at his school—to the Supreme Court, where our nation's highest judiciary will determine whether "sex" in Title IX can be interpreted to include trans people or not.

Seventeen-year-old James van Kuilenburg became an advocate for trans rights after being expelled from a Ted Cruz rally last spring. "I knew some action against LGBT+ students was going to be taken by this administration, but I didn't expect it would be so soon," James told Broadly. "I was part of the team of trans students interviewed by the Secretary of Education in 2015 that prompted the guidance from Obama, so this also hits me on a very personal level."

Protections for trans students in James's school district vary from supportive to regressive, creating an unclear and imbalanced culture toward trans acceptance. Trump's letter is damaging, James said, because "many teachers and administration members don't feel pressured to do the right thing."

Grace is an Afro-Latina trans teen who, like James, was part of the 2015 council that helped direct Obama's progressive trans guidance. "We were invited to sit down and tell our experiences of discrimination in schools and brainstorm remedies," Grace says, adding that she "felt supported and empowered," by that experience. When Obama's letter came through in May, it was a strong statement that meant a lot to Grace and her family. "We DO exist! We DO matter! We CAN'T be discriminated against! Trans kids and their parents cried tears of relief, including me and my mom," Grace says.

Trump's action this week was obviously crushing for Grace. "[This] cruel and vindictive, small-minded, and uninformed action sends a clear message: We don't care about children. We especially don't care about the most vulnerable children. You are free to discriminate against them, free to cause them physical and emotional harm, because they are not entitled to equal treatment," she says.

Though Grace is appalled by the recent guidance, she has a rallying cry for trans youth around the country. "We will fight," she says. "We aren't going away. Trump and his administration can try to erase us, but they won't be able to."

Fifteen-year-old Drew has also been demoralized by Trump's guidance letter. "As a transgender student who has been fighting my school district on my right to use the men's rooms for a year and a half, I feel completely defeated," Drew says. But like Grace, Drew knows he and other trans kids can overcome this: "We must go on. We must push forward. We must keep fighting. No matter what happens to our protections under Title IX, trans students still deserve support," he says.

"I will keep speaking out and trying to educate people about what it means to be trans," Drew continues. "I support Gavin Grimm and his case at the Supreme Court, and I hope it raises more awareness of who we are. There is always hope. We can't give up."

Though litigation and policies surrounding the use of restrooms by transgender people have been brewing for a couple years, it remains somewhat shocking to see that the bathroom has become the center of debate around the civil rights of trans Americans—let alone children. "I don't understand why the bathroom is such an issue," Charlie, a 13-year-old trans girl, says. "You've been peeing with trans people for years. We go to the bathroom to do exactly what everyone else does. It's that simple."

Trinity is also 13. Her mom took her out of public school early on, after school administration told her there was no way they would ever consider Trinity a girl. This has devastated her family; Trinity's mother had to leave her job to care for her child at home, putting a serious strain on the family's finances. "I don't like this," Trinity says. "[Trans kids] are just students who want an education, not to do anything to anyone. Just because we're transgender doesn't mean we're not people with feelings. We just want to learn and be treated like our friends at school."