Transgender people represent every racial, ethnic, and religious background. Growing Visibility:
Younger queer people are increasingly identifying as transgender or non-binary. A 2024 Pew Research study found that nearly 5% of U.S. adults under 30 identify as trans or non-binary, up from 1% a decade prior. These young people don’t see a distinction between fighting for trans healthcare and fighting for gay marriage. To them, it is the same fight: the right to be your full self.
When you watch RuPaul’s Drag Race , you are watching a sanitized, commercialized version of trans innovation. When you hear Beyoncé vogue to “Pure/Honey,” you are listening to a beat born in a Harlem basement. When a Gen Z kid says “slay” or “mother,” they are invoking a lineage that runs directly through Black trans women.