Transphobia Doesn't Ruin Elections, But It Can Still Ruin Lives
Today is no different than yesterday- Trans liberation isn't going to come from a ballot box filled with cis votes. It is going to come from the actions of trans people working together for our own interests.
Zohran’s victory is a triumph for the people of NYC, especially trans people. Outside of the city, that triumph is mostly symbolic.
Last night, three major elections were won by Democrats, all running against candidates who sought to use bigotry to scare voters into voting against said Democrat.
Notably, New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani won while putting support for trans (and even transsexual) rights at the forefront of his messaging. His championing of our people’s rights goes beyond what even the one Transsexual in congress (Sarah McBride) is willing to do for us.
This has led to a wave of optimism about the future of trans rights and dignity in the United States that I have not seen matched in many years. The last time I remember joy like this was when Trump was voted out of office in 2020.
I think the optimism about trans dignity in politics is premature.
This election wasn't about trans rights, no matter what Republicans like Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears wished it to be. It was about government shutdowns and ICE kidnappings and SNAP benefits and a referendum on Trump as a person. This wasn't about us. The American electorate has a completely different set of priorities than my friends who are looking to stockpile hormones and who are wondering if they should flee the country.
For reference, I live just outside of NYC, a major destination for transsexuals and other outcasts from Middle America, driven from their homes by the rising tide of bigotry. Every time I show up to a trans-led event, I get introduced to the latest internal refugee, typically a trans woman from some godforsaken backwater with a backstory that sounds like a horror movie.
If transphobia was on its way out, these waves of huddled masses would not still be streaming into our cities with nothing left to lose.
Transphobia isn't dead, it just didn't make it onto the ballot this year. We have to grapple with that.
Just because this election year wasn't about transphobia, doesn't mean that transphobia isn't still a factor in our politics. It might not show up at the ballot box, but it is a constant force in the lives of trans people.
To understand transphobia as a fact of life, you have to look at our lives directly, and what it has done to us. That is why I am less concerned about how transphobia makes cis people vote at the ballot box, and more with how it makes trans people vote with their feet.
In this regard, today is no different than yesterday.
I still think some good will come of last night’s elections.
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