A Guide for Trans & Nonbinary Americans
1. Build Community
Find alliance with other queer folks, and well-vetted cis allies.
Learn to distinguish danger from discomfort. Community cannot happen in an echo chamber.
Be frank with cisgender people about your safety.
Reimagine your role outside of capitalism — what skills can you bring to your community?
2. Study Liberation History
Queer people are far from the first to face systematic oppression, and plenty of people (especially Black and Indigenous people, particularly Women) have documented their resistance.
You might be “new here,” but the blueprints of survival and organizing already are written.
Listen to Black Women.
3. Resist When You Can
Flaunt your freedoms. Go out in public. Speak your mind. Share heavy shit. Participate in sports. Chat with cis people about your trans experience. Pee in public bathrooms.
Authoritarian regimes rely on assimilation and repression.
Remind yourself that “the law” doesn’t give a pan-fried crap about morality.
Fight immorality.
4. Touch Grass
We are so stinkin’ lucky to be earthlings.
Sip sunshine daily.
Leave your phone at home.
Sleep under stars.
Blow kisses to all the birdies.
Love your Mother Nature.
5. Create an Action Plan
Spec out how you will remain safe through a mass killing event. This may look like concealing your location, or fleeing if you have the resources. Keep your plan closely guarded. Ensure those you tell would be comfortable lying to law enforcement to keep you safe.
Start imagining enacting your action plan. List 5 people you can trust. Are there steps you can take now to limit your paper trail or digital footprint?
When traveling, do not expect safe passage from TSA or border control.
6. Learn How to Ground Yourself
We must adapt to survive. Find what methods work for you to quickly adjust to new environments.
I highly endorse journaling and the “54321” exercise below:
What are 5 things you can see?
What are 4 things you can touch?
What are 3 things you can hear?
What are 2 things you can smell?
What is 1 thing you can taste?
7. Think Critically
Authoritarianism relies on fear and chaos. Censorship is the vehicle. Fact check regularly.
Keep a journal. You may become accustomed to nonsense you wouldn’t usually put up with, and your written testimonies can help extinguish myth.
Review historical record of the rise of tyranny, racism, and authoritarianism. Buy banned books. Be critical of information from AI and social media.
8. Avoid Surveillance
Be cautious with your digital footprint.
Consider what you would do if you needed to abandon your electronic devices.
Opt out of biometric harvesting and data scraping when possible.
If you must travel, minimize the trail you leave.
9. Review Your Medical Needs
If you use GAHT, start stocking up. Research DIY options (if available). Download, print, or write down necessary information. Don’t plan on online resources being available forever.
Shop now. Consider storing multiple forms of hormones.
Contemplate how you will behave when another trans person runs out of HRT. Think about how you will behave if you run out.
10. Live Your Freaking Life
Say YES.
Fill your calendar.
Meet new homies.
Create art.
Enjoy your body.
Kiss cuties in the rain.
Knock some items off that bucket list.
Try one new thing each week.
Dispense hugs like confetti.