ATLANTA — After losing the White House and both houses of Congress, Democrats are grappling with how to handle transgender politics and policy following a campaign that featured withering and often misleading GOP attacks on the issue.
Protesters advocating for transgender rights and health care stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24 in Columbus, Ohio.
There is plenty of second-guessing after President-elect Donald Trump anchored his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris with sweeping promises on the economy and immigration. But Democrats also will not soon forget the punchline in anti-transgender Trump ads that became ubiquitous by Election Day: “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you.”
“Week by week when that ad hit and stuck and we didn’t respond, I think that was the beginning of the end,” former Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said of the 30-second spot that was part of $215 million in anti-transgender advertising by Trump and Republicans, according to tracking firm AdImpact.
“They painted her as something I don’t think she is," Rendell said. “They painted her as a far-left liberal.”
The fallout left some progressive and moderate Democrats struggling between the party’s modern identity as a champion of civil rights and its electoral fortunes across swaths of America with whom those attacks resonated.
Ohio lawmakers pass bill banning transgender students from using bathroom they identify with
“There are just a number of issues where we’re out of touch,” Rep. Seth Moulton, a moderate Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview, days after he set off recriminations within his party for saying he didn't want his daughters playing in sports against biological males. Critics said Moulton echoed Trump’s talking points about liberals allowing “men to compete in women’s sports.”
“I think that Republicans have a hateful position on trans issues,” Moulton told The Associated Press, but insisted that Democrats still lose voters because of the party’s “attitude.”
Sarah McBride, Democratic candidate for Delaware's at-large congressional district, speaks during an election night watch party Nov. 5 in Wilmington, Del.
“Rather than talk down to you and tell you what to believe,” he argued, Democrats should “listen to hard-working Americans.”
LGBTQ+ advocates, meanwhile, are arguing that the 2024 election turned more on economic issues than Trump’s transgender rhetoric. They're urging political leaders to counter misinformation that they say threatens the health and safety of transgender Americans, who make up less than 1% U.S. population.
“Trans people have been existing and co-existing,” receiving health care and participating in society for years, said Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group. “Nothing new happened,” Ellis said, other than Republicans singling them out in a presidential campaign year.
“It didn’t change one vote,” Ellis argued. “But it did make the world way more dangerous for trans people.”
Another Democratic Massachusetts lawmaker, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, didn't name Moulton, but said some reactions to the election “scapegoated and dehumanized” transgender people. “This Congresswoman sees you and loves you,” Pressley wrote on the social media platform X.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump stands on stage with former first lady Melania Trump, as Lara Trump watches, at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Certainly it’s difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint single issues that can tip a national election, and there are mixed findings on what voters think about transgender rights.
According to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 people who cast ballots this fall, more than half of voters said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far. About 2 in 10 said support has not gone far enough and another 2 in 10 said it’s about right. But among Trump voters, 85% said transgender support had gone too far.
Still, slightly more than half of all voters oppose banning gender affirming medical treatment such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers, while slightly less than half support such proposals.
About one-quarter of Harris voters said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far. About 4 in 10 said it’s been about right and about 4 in 10 said it hasn’t gone far enough.
Trump and Republicans were relentless in trying to capitalize on the issue. They piled on transgender athletes, with Trump falsely labeling two Olympic boxers as transgender women. They used Harris' comments as a presidential candidate in 2019 — before she became vice president — effectively to blame her for laws granting transgender health care to federal prisoners and detainees.
And Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed that “your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation” changing their sex.
In reality, the Biden administration has held that Title IX bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity — but Education Department rules do not explicitly address transgender athletes. Federal law that Trump ads cited does require people in U.S. government custody to have access to gender-affirming medical treatments. Those policies were in place throughout Trump’s 2017-21 term; they are not something Biden’s administration instituted specifically.
And it is not legal in any state for a school to determine and carry out surgical treatment for minor students.
“You gotta fight back” with those explanations, Moulton said, adding that the silence compounds the negative effects for transgender people. “What did we show about our willingness to stand up for trans people by just being silent and ignoring the issue and ignoring the attack?”
5 simple ways you can make bathrooms safer for trans and nonbinary people
5 simple ways you can make bathrooms safer for trans and nonbinary people
Updated
For many trans and nonbinary people, bathrooms can be complicated places to navigate — a fact highlighted by the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is far from an outlier when it comes to failing to provide safe and equitable bathrooms for transgender people. According to the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks LGBTQ+ policy, 13 states have a policy that prevents transgender people from safely or legally using public bathrooms.
But data shows that even in states with trans-friendly policies, transgender and nonbinary people report high rates of harassment in public bathrooms. Advocates say everyday people can have a big impact in interrupting discrimination in gendered restrooms. The 19th shows how anyone can help prevent abuse.
Acknowledge that bathrooms can be scary, and help locate safe options
Sex-segregated restrooms have historically been a hostile space for Tat Bellamy-Walker, a Seattle-based journalist and Black gender-fluid trans person. In graduate school and at journalism internships, they had to go far out of their way to find all-gender single-stall restrooms they could use safely.
"You never forget being told you don't belong in a restroom, you never forget not having a place to dispose of sanitary products if you're on your period in the men's bathroom," Bellamy-Walker said. "It's just clear you do not belong in public spaces."
Allies can help tremendously by locating and pointing out gender-neutral bathrooms to friends or family who might need them. This is especially important for people planning events or parties. Make sure your space has safe bathrooms.
Offer to be a bathroom buddy to your trans and nonbinary friends
Carrie Soto, a South Dakota parent of a transgender child, said she lives by the mantra "see something, say something."
That means speaking up when there is bullying and harassment and volunteering to accompany a trans/nonbinary friend or family member when they have to head into a public bathroom.
"Validate a trans person's fears and anxiety about the situation," Soto said. " If [my daughter] uses a gendered restroom and feels anxious, I go with."
Make trans and nonbinary people welcome if you see them in bathrooms
It may seem obvious, but transgender health advocate Jamison Green notes this step can really help trans people feel safe. Consider first that according to 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 59 percent of trans people avoided using a public restroom due to fear of harassment. Data from 2022 found that 6 percent of trans people said they were physically or verbally attacked while trying to use a bathroom, while 4 percent were denied access to a bathroom.
"If you see someone who you clock as trans or nonbinary, just smile or pay them a non-provocative compliment. … Wish them good day or good evening, and move on," Green said. "Of course that only goes for the women's room! In the men's room, talking is extremely rare."
Green recommends that cisgender people offer a kind, silent nod.
Ask for more gender-neutral options
Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., allow residents to opt for "X" gender markers on their IDs in addition to selecting "M" or "F." Still, in every state, regardless of laws, most bathrooms in government buildings, schools, businesses, places of worship and cultural institutions are gendered.
Advocates say people can help change this by simply asking businesses and building owners for more options to accommodate all genders.
"Advocacy is the most important part of the fight for transgender rights," Lambda Legal notes in its guide to restrooms. "And if employers adopt pro-trans policies proactively, instead of waiting for a transgender person to pave the way, there's much less chance of having problems down the line."
Try to leave single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms free unless you need them
The internet is full of rants not appropriate for a news article about people using the only single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms available not for safety but for … well, pooping. As a result, gender-neutral bathrooms, especially in airports, are almost always occupied.
There are many reasons why a cisgender person might need a single-occupancy bathroom (accessibility, illness, child care and, yes, even a little more privacy). Just like accessible stalls, it's a kindness to leave gender-neutral restrooms unoccupied when you don't need them.
