58 Time June 20/June 27, 2022
For trans and gender-expansive
American adolescents, the past
school year has been a paradox.
Never before have diverse gender
identities and expressions been cele-
brated so openly and inclusively, with
Generation Z leading new conversations
that challenge traditional conceptions of
the male- female gender binary. Young
people are embracing a wide range of
gender identities and coming out as
transgender, nonbinary, or the pan-
Indigenous umbrella term two-spirit,
among other identities, at earlier ages.
There’s been an “explosion of language”
in how young people express their gen-
der, as Jonah DeChants, a research scien-
tist at LGBTQ suicide- prevention non-
profit the Trevor Project, put it to TIME.
The Williams Institute at UCLA, which
Above:
Asher, 16, left, and Blake, 15,
celebrate Asher’s birthday at a
roller-skating rink near Asheville,
N.C. For his next birthday, Asher
says he wants to invite all his
friends to a dinner party where the
dress code is “fancy—whatever that
means to you.” He wants to make it
special. “I really like having reasons
to dress up,” he says.researches sexual- orientation and gen-
der-identity law and policy, estimates
that 150,000 Americans ages 13 to 17
are trans. A national survey released in
May by the Trevor Project found that
67% of LGBTQ youth surveyed did not
identify as cisgender. Visibility and rep-
resentation have never been higher, and
acceptance and understanding of gen-
der diversity continue to climb.
But at the same time, these young
people have experienced escalating
attacks from statehouses around the
country. Conservative lawmakers have
turned the full force of America’s fiery
“culture wars” on trans and gender-
expansive youth, unleashing a torrent