Content warning: Transphobia, brief mention of violence
For years, transgender people have constantly lived in fear. There have been times when I was afraid to leave my house in fear of being attacked or harassed simply for being who I am. I still remember the time my neighbor told me about how one night, when they were going for a walk, they were violently attacked because they were trans. Between 2017 and 2021, violence and murder of transgender people have drastically increased.
And now we have even more to worry about.
In 2022, in the state of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order that commanded the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate the parents of transgender children simply for “allowing” them to be themselves. Another anti-trans bill deemed allowing children gender-affirming care–hormone replacement therapy and puberty suppressors–child abuse. Child abuse is illegal and can result in a child being forcibly taken away from their living situation. Now, not only do people continue to harass and hate us, but we have to worry about breaking the law simply for being ourselves.
In 2022, queer journalist Nico Lang spent their year travelling the country to document the lives of transgender and nonbinary children and their families. Lang aimed to get their perspectives and experiences on all of the anti-trans bills being introduced across the country. They spent approximately 2.5 weeks with each family, attending homecoming games and participating in family outings. They documented these experiences and made the book, American Teenager (October 8, 2024). Each kid was equally unique and struggling with their own things. For example, Wyatt, a teenager from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shares his experience of meeting his best friend at a summer camp from queer youth, and how he exchanged poems and letters with them.
I met the author, Nico Lang, at their author talk at the Downtown Ann Arbor Public Library, and let’s just say that they are one of the funniest humans alive. They bring such light to the room, and their way of speaking makes you want to listen. I think it’s amazing that they are representing the trans community so well and bringing queerness to the journalism field.
Lang’s writing is wonderful in so many ways, and I saw myself in the youth portrayed in this book. I laughed, cried, and it felt like I was there with the families. I had a great deal of fun annotating the book, and I will definitely revisit the tabbed pages.
