In recent years, while gay marriage has become settled law in many Western nations, trans rights have become the new political battleground. Bathroom bills, sports bans, and healthcare restrictions for minors are being legislated at an alarming rate. This legal scrutiny creates a specific kind of psychological stress—the feeling that your very existence is up for public debate.

As Marsha P. Johnson famously retorted when asked what the "P" in her name stood for: "Pay it no mind." In that spirit, we must pay no mind to the bigots who seek to divide us. Instead, we must look to the trans elders who threw the first bricks and the trans youth leading the next parade. The story of queer culture is the story of trans culture. And that story is far from over.

If you’d like, I can instead provide:

Despite the "pride" of the umbrella, the transgender community often faces steeper hurdles than their cisgender (LGB) peers.