Assessing the queer fightback

Trump’s relentless offensive on trans people has been a feature of his second term. Like all of his recent attacks on civil liberties, the offensive against trans people has come quickly and dramatically in the first few months of the presidency. Since he has taken office, the President has signed five executive orders targeting trans people, their healthcare, their education, and their ability to participate in public life.

The attacks have escalated so rapidly that even trans people in New York City (NYC) are frightened and questioning their safety. NYC has long been considered a center of trans and queer resistance, and a place of relative refuge from the right-wing transphobic agenda that has swept the country in recent years. In NYC, gender-affirming care is readily available from both public and private hospitals; public school regulations from both the city and the state are designed to uphold and defend the rights of trans youth, and city agencies are governed by a trans-inclusive anti-discrimination policy. More recently, the City Council approved wide-reaching legislation aimed at protecting the rights of trans and gender non-conforming communities.

It is important to remember that this refuge didn’t come without a struggle. The NYC of 1969 was a dangerous place for queer youths, and Christopher Street Park in the West Village provided only moderate safety from the violence and abuse that queer street youth were often exposed to. The boiling point came that summer, when on June 28 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village.  Police raids of gay bars were routine at that time, and patrons could be arrested on false charges, such as bootlegging or disorderly conduct.  But this particular raid, on this night, was different. Instead of dispersing as the crowd would routinely do, the people fought back, resisted the police, and the six-day riot, known as the Stonewall Rebellion, was born.

Of course, Stonewall didn’t change the everyday reality for everyone. The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was founded in the weeks following Stonewall, and the Christopher Street Liberation March commemorating the first anniversary of the uprising attracted thousands of participants, but the most vulnerable of the queer community (trans people, people of color, lesbians, sex workers, and the unhoused) were for the most part marginalized by the mainstream movement. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which provided shelter, food, legal support, as well as giving the trans community a radical political movement to belong to. “STAR was for the street gay people, the street homeless people, and anybody that needed help at that time,” Rivera recalled in an interview with Leslie Feinberg.

Despite the important gains made by NYC queers in the 55 years following Stonewall, even the relative safety of NYC has been challenged by Trump’s executive orders. But, as in 1969, the queers are not going down without a fight. Within a few days of Trump’s first anti-trans executive order, protests were called, and trans people and their allies began to gather in large numbers to demonstrate their opposition in NYC and beyond. To grow and sustain this opposition, it is important for organizers to recount and reflect on the shape and form of struggle thus far.

Why are schools so important in the struggle for trans rights?

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s attacks on trans people have been largely carried out at sites of public goods, particularly public schools. Schools have long been a site of struggle, but the stakes have never been as high as they are right now. We have seen attacks on the federal Department of Education, on DEI initiatives in schools across the country, and even on individual teachers who support trans and gender non-conforming students in school.

Thus far, the NYC Chancellor has maintained the public schools will remain a safe haven for trans and queer people, especially for queer youth, but organizers understand we must remain vigilant. This is particularly true when considered within the landscape of Mayoral school control. In early April, a federal judge ruled to dismiss all charges of corruption against NYC mayor Eric Adams, a ruling which came at the request of the Justice Department with the argument that Adams couldn’t carry out “federal immigration initiatives and policies” while facing these charges. With Mayor Adams in Trump’s pocket, trans youth and their allies question how long it will be before Adams demands changes to NYC school policy regarding the treatment of our most vulnerable students, which includes not only trans kids, but also immigrants, students with disabilities, and students of color.

Schools are often thought to be a “second home” to students, but for trans kids, this may not always be the case. It is true that NYC schools enjoy protections that do not exist in other places. City Department of Education policy maintains a safe and supportive environment for all students, queer teachers can for the most part be “out” at work, Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) can exist in any school that can organize one, and curriculum is intended be LGBTQ+ inclusive. However, despite these broad policies, on the individual level, it can be difficult to determine whether every school is truly safe for LGBTQ+ students.  A GLSEN 2019 school climate report determined that New York schools were not always safe for LGBTQ students, with 54 percent of transgender students unable to use the school bathroom that aligned with their gender, and 36 percent being prevented from using their chosen name or pronouns in school.

Trump’s executive orders have only widened this unevenness. His attacks on vulnerable groups nationwide also pose a threat to teachers, students, and the integrity of education in NYC. In the climate of federal permissiveness around discrimination and violence against trans people, administrators and educators in NYC schools will not feel as much pressure to ensure that the rights and safety of trans students are being enforced. In-service teachers who advise GSAs, make their spaces safe for students, and push back against discriminatory school practices on behalf of students are facing a new and sometimes dangerous challenge. NYC schools are a site of struggle, and teachers are on the front lines–teachers who are dedicated to making our schools safe for every student, so that every student can learn.

The attack on NYC’s trans youth in Manhattan’s District Two

As reported in Tempest Magazine, conservative Moms for Liberty-backed Community Educational Council (CEC) members in Manhattan’s District Two have been waging a war on NYC trans youth, but educators and community members are not backing down. Students, parents, and allies have sustained a 15-month protest against an anti-trans resolution passed by the conservative-dominated District Two CEC since March of 2024, when Resolution 248 was passed. The resolution makes a recommendation to New York City’s Department of Education to reconsider its policy of allowing trans youth to play on the sports teams that align with their gender identity. While the recommendation is not binding, trans students and their allies have organized to challenge it.

Since March of 2024, hundreds of angry activists, community members, and parents have come out every single month for the CEC District Two meeting to urge the CEC to rescind Resolution 248. Aunties and Friends for Liberation and Trans Formative Schools have been mobilizing for the past year to take on transphobia with well-orchestrated speeches and actions at the monthly meetings, as well as organizing a cohort of District Two parents to run against the right-wingers and depose them in the spring 2025 elections. The CEC of District Two has been pulled sharply rightwards with the election of Moms for Liberty member Maud Maron and her allies, who have thrown the Council into chaos and crisis.

On April 10, a letter to Melissa Avilés-Ramos, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, signed by a host of New York elected officials, denounced the blatant lack of democracy and rule-manipulation that have dominated CEC District Two meetings, efforts designed to thwart activists from overturning the hateful, anti-trans resolution. Calling on the Chancellor to investigate the body and enforce open-meeting laws, the letter sharply condemned the way “certain members of CEC D2 have engaged in behavior that undermines the Council’s ability to conduct its business, violates the public trust, and disregards the basic principles of good governance and transparency.”

Speaking with educators and students at the April CEC District Two meeting, the feeling across the board was one of frustration and distrust: trans students expressed their desire to feel safe and seen at school. “As a trans kid, what I need to feel safe and comfortable and happy in schools is to see trans adults in my schools. That’s a really crucial thing for me, and I had a trans teacher who left my school but was absolutely vital in my early transition, and really and truly saved my life,” said Mina, a 17-year-old student and activist.

The monthly actions have also raised the stakes for trans allies. “I think it’s important to not underestimate the small gestures, but also acknowledge that small gestures just aren’t enough at this point,” said Auggie, another trans activist who organizes with Aunties and Friends for Liberation. “You have to be willing to fight for the safety of trans kids because I know in my heart that if any kid were in danger, you would want to put yourself in front of that kid, in between that kid and danger. So, I think it’s about more than just putting your own pronouns in your email address.”

The turnout of many of these protests has been enormous and vibrant, showing a great opportunity to build ongoing mobilization and organization, with increasing numbers of trans people, parents, and activists involved. It’s empowering to witness massive numbers turning out month after month to remind the conservative members of the council that we are not going away quietly. There is a festive and communal mood when folks gather to enter the school auditorium en masse. Solidarity with other movements is strong. As you look across the group, it’s not unusual to see many keffiyehs worn, and in public testimony, references to intersections with the rights of migrants and people with disabilities are often cited. Attending the meetings is empowering, and the organizing will continue to grow as a wider group of participants has begun to steer the ship with the recruitment of parents to run against the conservative Councilmembers. City-wide CEC elections concluded on May 13, and the results will be announced later this month. Organizers hope that their long fight against Resolution 248 will effect change in the outcome of the election.

The District Two organizing demonstrates that even in a hostile and reactionary political moment, offensive struggles are possible.

Responding to cancellations of gender-affirming care

Hospitals are another public good caught in Trump’s anti-trans line of fire. In response to Trump’s executive order threatening to withhold federal funding to hospitals that provide gender affirming care for youth, NYU Langone Health and several other private hospitals preemptively cancelled appointments for transgender children. NYU Langone Hospital has provided a lifeline to many seeking gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers for trans minors. Unfortunately, after Trump’s order threatening to pull federal funding, the clinic silently cancelled all gender-affirming care appointments for those 17 and younger.

In response, the NYC Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) called an emergency rally for February 3 to demand that gender-affirming care be immediately reinstated at the hospital. The rally drew about two thousand people to St Vartan’s Park near NYU Langone’s Murray Hill facility. The speakers included several young trans students, activists, celebrities, and union representatives, with speakers from NYU Contract Faculty United (CFU-UAW local 7902), along with Dr. Michael Zingman, a Child and Adolescent Psychology Fellow at NYU, who is active in the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU) at NYU.  Rabbi Abby Stein of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice spoke of her trans-friendly congregation and actress Cynthia Nixon expressed fears for her queer family. Local Black trans activist Qween Jean Johnson offered connections to other queer issues, vowing that we would not stop fighting, and that we would win. Importantly, there were also visible representations from union members. There was a significant representation from UAW, and many members of the crowd carried the instantly recognizable wheel symbol sign.

St. Vartan’s Park is set back from the street, and by the time the rally kicked off, only the main part of the area was illuminated by spotlights. On the heels of speeches by DSA electeds such as NYC Council member Tiffany Cabán and NYS Senator Kristen Gonzalez, the MC reiterated that DSA would stay in the struggle, encouraging people to join the organization and take part. However, there were no calls for organizing a coalition of different organizations, or information about how to involve individuals who did not want to join DSA, either from the right or the Left. The demonstration itself was a model of working together, which could have been extended to an ongoing organization.

The crowd was eager to march to the hospital doors, but the NYPD refused to allow it, citing that there were too many people to fit on the sidewalk. Luckily, Jay W. Walker of Reclaim Pride started to chant and led people out of the park, taking over the sidewalk behind a long row of cops along First Avenue. After a brief scuffle between cops and protesters, we marched down the avenue across from the hospital entrances, chanting “Shame on you, NYU” and “When trans kids are under attack… stand up, fight back.” By the day of the rally, it was understood that other hospitals in the city were following suit and obeying Trump’s order in advance of any actual federal withholding of federal funds. But within days, state Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement reminding hospitals that they were breaking state law by denying care to trans minors. Similar actions took place outside hospitals in Arizona, Chicago, Colorado,Los Angeles, and Virginia where youth gender affirming care was also temporarily suspended.

Five days later, an even larger crowd turned out for the “Rise Up For Trans Youth” rally at Manhattan’s Union Square, called by the Gender Liberation Movement, ACT UP-NY, and Trans formative Schools. There were many young people there, though the action lacked the visible union presence of the first rally. DSA member, NYS Assemblymember, and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani participated, joining many trans speakers at the mic. Eliel Cruz, of the Gender Liberation Movement, said New York cared about trans young people, and the “few people in power currently who are trying to demonize them and take away their health care are not the majority of people.” Cruz voiced confidence that we would force the hospitals to reverse their decision. One parent of a six-year-old trans daughter received affirmative cheers when she asked the crowd, “Our kids are on the front lines of the great battles of our time…they are fighting for you, so will you fight for them?”

Gender Liberation Movement organizing

A coordinated effort to merge pro queer / pro trans struggles is seen in the newly formed Gender Liberation Movement, which held its first of several mass calls on January 27. The call brought roughly 900 participants to its initial virtual meeting, and attendance on the calls has remained high since. The strong attendance reflects the widespread outrage and horror and the sense of urgency among a significant number of both new and seasoned activists.

To place GLM’s organizing in a historical context, it’s important to remember that up until ten to fifteen years ago, transgender rights were pushed to the margins of the mainstream LGBT movement. During the summer of 2020, a massive trans liberation march in Brooklyn at the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) uprising launched the GLM, marking a qualitative breakthrough and a turning point in the trans rights movement. Those developments were the culmination of several converging factors in the post-marriage equality landscape and represented a radicalization in the queer movement towards incorporating issues of gender liberation and bodily autonomy, racial and economic justice, issues of imperialism (chiefly Palestine solidarity) that until not too long ago were points of contention and sources of extreme division. Virtually all mainstream LGBT groups have become corporatized or focused on an NGO-style organizing model. Any kind of protest or grassroots movement-building strategy since the late 1980s to early 1990s has been rejected in favor of fundraising and lobbying. The fact that a group has come together to attempt to build a movement for trans and queer liberation that’s based on challenging both political parties and centering a strategy of protest and grassroots activism is an important breakthrough. Whether this momentum grows into sustained movement organizing will depend on the ability of organizers to break out of the NGO model and create open, democratic organizing spaces that provide an opportunity for new activists to debate, strategize, and become active leaders in shaping the trajectory of the struggle.

Given the concerted effort of Trump and the ruling class to aggressively smash and roll back the various social movements of the 2010s, and the incredible degree to which many have been absorbed into the Democratic party over the past four years (the contrast between the size of the protests at Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and 2025 speaks volumes), the fact that new activist formations are actively seeking to build a renewed resistance outside the confines of standard electoralism and making a deliberate effort to foreground Palestinian liberation, union solidarity, anti-racism and economic justice as central components of a broader and more comprehensive vision of queer and trans liberation is significant. This development demonstrates the degree to which Trump and the sections of capital which he represents as a full frontal assault on our class, oppressed people, and the Left has not been effective in completely wiping out the ideological gains of our side or smashing all forms of resistance they have accumulated over the past decade and a half. Again, whether or not this new movement will be able to build the disruptive social power required to secure lasting material victories will depend on the organizers ability to move beyond the NGO model which has dominated the Left throughout the neo-liberal era and build open, democratic organizing spaces that foster critical discussion and debate and facilitate the development of new organic movement leaders and fighters.

An important next step in growing this newly emerging resistance is supporting member-driven organizing wherever possible, locally and nationally, as an alternative to NGO, staffer-driven, and top-down approaches. Even splashy actions, designed to elicit large media attention, sometimes miss the crucial day-to-day organizing and base-building so needed right now. Contrary to claims that people are “exhausted” from protesting and that we need to find more “creative” ways to resist, many people today are disenchanted with the Democratic party and very clear that the Democrats are equally to blame for the current state of affairs and furious with their abandonment of trans issues in the past election. These conclusions present an opportunity for a shift in approaches from the common form of organizing found today, where a small number make decisions behind the scenes and protests are meant to be splashy and tightly orchestrated to target politicians, not embolden and further organize larger masses of ordinary people into self-activity. Emphasis on the former can limit the degree to which new people will be pulled into organizing and building new infrastructures of resistance.

As a whole, the organizing and actions within NYC schools, and the refusal to allow hospital administrators in both NYC and beyond to turn their backs on trans youth, demonstrate important offensive struggles. Formations like the Gender Liberation Movement may be able to extend the influence of and provide coherence to organizers at these seemingly disparate sites of struggle. Our resistance need not rely only on the courts; active resistance is possible even in the most hostile of political moments.