Defending Trans Lives in a New Political Reality

January 30, 2025

Dear Trans Lifeline community,

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order defining gender strictly as male or female at birth, effectively eliminating federal recognition of transgender and nonbinary identities. This action rescinded Title IX protections for LGBTQIA2S+ students, which had allowed transgender students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns aligning with their gender identities. Additionally, Trump revoked several Biden-era policies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and rescinded a Biden-era policy that allowed trans people to serve in the military.

Cartoon drawing of a dumpster on fire.

Beyond these federal rollbacks, social media platforms—including Twitter (or X 🙄) under Elon Musk’s leadership and Meta’s platforms, like Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, have increasingly targeted trans communities through policy changes and content moderation practices. These shifts have led to a rise in hate speech and the amplification of transphobic content, making digital spaces more hostile and unsafe. This online climate not only fosters discrimination but also has real-world consequences for the mental health and well-being of our communities.

As a trans-led organization, we feel the weight of these attacks deeply. But we also know that this is not the first time our community has faced hardship. History shows us that trans people have always found ways to survive, resist, and persevere—even in the face of attempts to erase us. Our ancestors—Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, We’wha, Lucy Hicks Anderson, and so many others—did not wait for permission to exist. They built networks of care, fought for their rights, and ensured that future generations could live more freely. 

We will continue that legacy. Now more than ever, we must lean on one another. We need to find solace in our community and strength in our shared resilience. 

At Trans Lifeline, we know that ongoing, sustainable peer support requires care not only for our callers but also for our operators, who hold space for our community through deeply challenging times. As we navigate this political moment, we are making adjustments to better care for our team and ensure the long-term sustainability of our work. One of these changes is closing our hotline on certain holidays—days of cultural, political, and community significance that deserve space for reflection and rest.

Here are the dates when our hotline will be closed in 2025:

  • (No More) Presidents Day – February 17
  • Ramadan (observed) – March 3
  • Passover (observed) – April 14
  • International Workers’ Day – May 1
  • Memorial Day – May 26
  • Juneteenth – June 19
  • Stonewall Anniversary – June 26
  • Fourth of July – July 4
  • Labor Day – September 1
  • Indigenous Peoples’ Day – October 13
  • Trans Day of Remembrance – November 20
  • National Day of Mourning – November 27
  • Christmas Day – December 25

We are also expanding how we provide support. Soon, we will begin offering text-based peer support, a long-requested service that will help us reach even more people who may not be able to call our hotline. We will share more details on this in the coming weeks.

Additionally, due to the increasingly hostile landscape of social media, we are reducing our posting and engagement on major platforms until we can better assess the safety and strategy of continuing to use these spaces. We encourage our community to stay connected by signing up for our mailing list, where we will share updates on our services, political developments affecting trans communities, and ways to take action.

Through all of this, we remain committed to our mission: providing direct support, resources, and care for trans people. Whether through our hotline or simply by holding space for trans joy, we will persist. We will continue to live as our authentic selves because trans joy is resistance. It is a declaration of our power, our love, and our unwavering hope for a better future.

In solidarity,
Trans Lifeline

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