The Transgender Trance

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Transgender Americans have received a disproportionate amount of attention in the media. They have faced targeted ads and significant financial campaigns against them. Their identity has been central to American political discussions, both in the media and in our homes.

According to NPR, $222 million has been spent on anti-transgender ads. A frequent issue highlighted in these ads is the participation of transgender women in women’s sports. Yet, according to The New York Times, out of over 500,000 collegiate athletes, fewer than 10 are transgender. Additionally, transgender Americans as a whole make up only 1% of the population.

To put this in perspective, if we gathered 100 random people in a room, perhaps one would be transgender. Yet, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent to portray them as a “danger” to America’s social fabric.

Transgender Americans have become the latest scapegoat. Historically, America has often targeted marginalized groups to deflect from its own shortcomings. America has blamed immigrants for “taking American jobs.” Conservative America blames the LGBTQ+ community for challenging societal norms such as heteronormativity. Now, America blames transgender Americans for both.

Historically, America has always been “scared” of something or someone. We experienced the well-known “Red Scare” and the lesser-known “Lavender Scare.” The Red Scare, driven by Joseph McCarthy’s “McCarthyism,” saw one man lead a crusade that instilled fear of an enemy within. At its peak in 1940–1941, only 75,000 Americans were communists—far less than 1% of the population.

The Lavender Scare paralleled this, creating a moral panic against the LGBTQ+ community. Jennifer Levi, Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLAD, noted, “The goal was to demonize a community. It was to send a message that it’s not OK to be who you are. It was effective.”

Today, we are witnessing another scare, something I call the “transgender trance.” Whether it’s inflammatory rhetoric about transgender bathroom rights or policies banning transgender Americans from military service, one thing is clear: politicians are using transgender Americans as a way to direct the public’s attention away from other issues.

By talking about transgender issues with such vitriol and ignorance, politicians feed into a polarizing national discourse. Thus, they hijack our screens. They hijack our brains with anger. Essentially, they ragebait us into commenting. They utilize our anger for their prominence. Our anger is their virality. Good intentions and fact-based reporting do not feed social media algorithms. Hatred, anger, and controversy do. 

History offers a clear example. Joseph R. McCarthy was relatively unknown until he launched a witch hunt against communists. His crusade against communism and the Soviet Union catapulted him to national prominence, making him one of the most powerful men in America. His words could dismantle organizations, destroy families, and ruin lives. Today, we see modern-day politicians such as Nancy Mace who say Charlie Kirk’s shooter was likely “a transgender” without a single piece of proof, doing the same. Politicians' words are powerful and when directed negatively - they can cause a lot of damage.