Last night, President Donald Trump’s administration rescinded protections that the Obama administration put in place to prevent discrimination against trans students on a federal level.
This move will put the power in the hands of the states, and enable legislators to enshrine bigotry against young transgender Americans into law ― including forcing these kids to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Why is this so dangerous?
A large percentage of Americans have never met a trans person ― let alone a transgender kid or teenager ― so understanding the impact or importance non-discrimination protections on a human level can seem challenging. But compassion begins with education, and Kate Couric recently released a documentary that serves as an ideal resource for this crucial moment for transgender Americans.
" target="_blank" class=" js-entry-link cet-internal-link" data-vars-item-name="Called “Gender Revolution,”" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="58aef9eee4b057efdce9a880" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="/%3Casset-code%20id=%225852d7ef120000c40beef7dd%22%20type=%22image%22%3E%3C/asset-code%3E" data-vars-target-content-type="feed" data-vars-type="web_internal_link" data-vars-subunit-name="article_body" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="2">Called “Gender Revolution,” the film came out earlier this month in conjunction with National Geographic’s groundbreaking January issue of the same name. Produced by Couric, Nat Geo and World of Wonder, the film is both complex and easily digestible, and intended to be a resource for individuals who are encountering and processing these ideas for the first time.
From talking to the families of transgender children to having conversations with educators and people who transitioned much later in life, ‘Gender Revolution” is the perfect film for this moment in our country’s history.
It’s crucial that we all make an effort to understand the lives and experiences of people who are facing institutionalized discrimination at the hands of the Trump administration. The full documentary is available on National Geographic’s website. Check it out for yourself ― and then tell others about it.
Couric has learned herself over the years and decided to produce this documentary after “embarrassing” herself during a 2014 interview with Laverne Cox and Camern Carrera. “I was willing to embarrass myself to help other people understand and make a point,” she said.
It’s all of our jobs to change the hearts and minds of those around us ― and to speak up for these transgender kids and teens who may not have a voices of their own.
James Michael Nichols is a queer writer and cultural critic whose work focuses heavily on the intersections of identity, art and politics. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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