Electoral victories for Donald Trump and other candidates whose campaigns denigrated transgender people reinforced a widespread backlash against trans rights. For America LGBTQ+ rights movement, adds to one of the most sustained failures in its history.

For transgender Americans, it’s personal: There’s a palpable fear of the potential the Trump administration steps to further marginalize them. But there is also a spirit of resilience – a determination to persevere in the search for acceptance and understanding.

“I just went through an election where I couldn’t watch a sporting event on TV without seeing a commercial in which trans people were portrayed as monsters,” said Jennifer Finney Boylan, a transgender author who teaches at Barnard College from New York.

“This hurts more than any other time I can remember. We’ve been knocked down before. We will be knocked down again. All we can do is fight.”

Anti-trans momentum has been building for several years, with Republican-governed states passing dozens of laws restricting trans people’s options for health care, participation in sports and access to public restrooms.

Activists fear the movement will grow and the Trump administration takes over as many Americans question the trans rights agenda. Overall, 55 percent of voters — and 85 percent of Trump supporters — said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far, according to AP VoteCasta survey of more than 120,000 people who voted nationwide.

“There is an urgent need to show the American people the reality of transgender lives — ordinary people for whom being trans is not the center of their lives,” said Shannon Minter, transgender civil rights attorney at the National Lesbian Rights Center.

“This is a frightening time for transgender people and their families. There is a very real possibility that the new administration will adopt policies that will cause them devastating harm.”

Trump and others have threatened to roll back various trans rights

Trump won the presidential contest over Vice President Kamala Harris after a campaign that included ubiquitous TV advertising mocking his support for trans rights. “Kamala is for them/them,” stated one ad that was run more than 15,000 times. “President Trump is for you.” Other Democratic candidates they were also targeted with anti-trans ads.

On a number of issues, Trump — and other Republicans who now hold majorities in both the House and Senate — have threatened to roll back protections and civil liberties for trans people.

— Education: Trump has pledged to impose sweeping restrictions transgender students. His administration could move quickly to exclude them Title IX protectionaffecting school policies regarding student use of preferred pronouns, bathrooms and locker rooms.

— Health care: At least 26 states have adopted laws that restrict or prohibit gender-affirming medical assistance for trans minors. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton is the introduction of civil processes against the doctors he claims prescribe such treatments. Trump says any doctor or hospital that provides gender-affirming care should be excluded from Medicaid and Medicare.

– Sports: Trump and other Republicans have embraced the anti-trans mantra opposing “boys in girls’ sports.” At least 24 states already have laws on the books that prohibit trans women and girls from participating in certain sports for women or girls. In March, 16 college athletes submitted a lawsuit against the NCAAaccusing her of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the 2022 national championships, where she won the 500-meter freestyle.

— Military: Trans rights activists worry about this Trump could reinstate a ban on trans people serving openly in the military or, alternatively, banning all future recruitment of trans people and restricting the availability of gender-affirming health care for service members and veterans.

Lawyers say they are angry and anxious

Trans rights organizations are calling for coalition building and renewed efforts to increase public understanding. They celebrated some notable victories. Sarah McBride won Delaware’s sole seat in the House of Representatives to become the first openly trans person elected to Congress. In Montana, the transgender state Rep. Zooey Zephyr won re-election and will be able to return to the House floor nearly two years after being silent and sanctioned by her fellow Republicans.

But nationally, anger and anxiety were the dominant emotions among trans activists.

“This election season has been brutal,” the leaders said Transgender Equality Advocates he wrote to their supporters. “Trump has targeted trans people since the launch of his campaign. It targeted our existence. It targeted our rights. He promised to continue targeting trans people if he wins – and we know he will keep his promise.”

Shelby Chestnut, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, said trans people “have become pawns of political groups that don’t understand our communities.”

“It’s a very precarious time,” Chestnut said. “We will get through this but we have to step up and support each other. … How we see the long game, not just the immediate narrow view, because it’s very daunting right now. Where do we want to be in 15 years?”

Public opinion on trans rights issues is not uniform. According to AP VoteCast, slightly more than half of voters in the 2024 election strongly or somewhat opposed laws banning gender-affirming medical treatment, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for minors. Just under half of voters favored them somewhat or strongly

And according to a Gallup poll last year, 69 percent of Americans say transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that conform to their birth sex.

A history of struggle

In the past 25 years, perhaps the most daunting earlier phase of the LGBTQ+ rights movement began in 2004, after Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Between 2004 and 2008, voters in 26 states approved ballot measures that defined marriage as between a man and a woman — effectively banning same-sex marriage.

By 2012, however, public opinion was in favor of same-sex marriage. Supreme Court legalized it nationally in 2015and has had the support of most Americans ever since.

Boylan recalled how that long and bitter debate tipped in favor of legalization when same-sex marriage advocates popularized the phrase “Love is love.”

“That opened doors and opened hearts,” Boylan said. “The challenge for trans people is that we don’t have such an expression… the issues are more complex.”

Boylan noted that the anti-trans campaign seemed to be making progress on issues that are not among the core concerns of most trans people: “The main thing we’re fighting for is not the right to play with other women on a football team. We are fighting for dignity, for respect, for the right to be left alone.”

Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender man who works as a film editor and writer in rural Ohio, said he was “tired” of the relentless targeting of trans people and blamed Trump for perpetuating it.

Looking back, he said life as a trans person “forced me to learn a resilience that I will lean on as I continue to speak out against prejudice and discrimination.”

Christine Zuba, a transgender woman from New Jersey, described a recent surge in Zoom meetings, allowing trans people to voice concerns and determine next steps.

“One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard throughout this discussion is to not isolate yourself, but rather surround yourself with your support group — the people you love and who love you,” she said. . “Don’t despair. There are many people who will work with you and for you.”

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David Crary, currently news director of the AP’s global religion team, has been covering LGBTQ issues since 1999.