I was very pleased on election night to learn that Sarah McBride of Delaware was elected the first openly trans member of the U.S. House of Representatives. I am a trans ally; Knowing that there is at least one member of Congress who understands and cares about the issues trans people face gives me some hope. I’m also worried about McBride.

The Trump 2024 campaign ran anti-trans ads intended to scare voters about trans women, drag queens and non-binary people. “Kamala is for them. President Trump is for you,” summed up one ad, portraying support for trans people as inherently against non-trans people.

It reminded me of previous campaigns against LGBTQ civil rights and the fight for same-sex marriage, which I am old enough to remember. Some believed that civil rights for gays and lesbians somehow diminished the rights of heterosexual people, or that granting same-sex couples the right to marry undermined heterosexual marriages. Previous campaigns against LGBTQ civil rights and same-sex marriage both used a similar tactic to anti-trans ads: othering. “Othering” is when you try to make your enemy seem inherently different and alien from you (and your followers) to the point where your enemy is no longer comparable on a human level.

I remember a parent who, when sitting or standing next to me, was careful not to let any part of them touch me. I used to joke that they were afraid of having lesbian cooties, but the fact is that it hurt me. Beneath the cootie joke was the question: “Am I that disgusting to you?” »

According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundationthere are an estimated 2 million transgender people in the United States. According to the Pew Research Centerin 2016, 30% of adults in the United States knew someone who was transgender, compared to 87% who knew someone who was gay or lesbian. In 2021, the number of adults who personally know a transgender person rises to 42%.

Harvey Milk encouraged gay people to “come out”: “You have to come out. Come out to your parents. Come out to your loved ones. Come out to your friends. Go out to your neighbors. Do this with your colleagues, with the people who work where you eat and shop.

But there is always some risk in “coming out” to family, friends, and acquaintances, especially if you see or hear them expressing anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Decades ago, I remember planning to come out as gay to a family member and hearing them say that lesbians deserved to be raped, which immediately led me to cancel my plans to come out. coming out. This comment was an example of the consequences of “othering”: a generally kind and reasonable person buys into the idea that LGBTQ people are so different and so bad – so “other” – that they deserve to be victimized, in this case by sexual violence. assault.

And that’s why we need allies to stand up for us and with us, to denounce the otherness of LGBTQ people, especially during campaigns for (and against) LGBTQ rights. It is often safer for allies to speak up than for targets.

Speak out and denounce anti-trans rhetoric and anti-trans policies, like the ban on gender-affirming medical care, a renewed ban on transgender people in the military, and the decision to no longer allow people to change their gender gender on government-issued identification documents. Trans people are not your enemies. There may even be a trans person among your loved ones.

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