The Impact on Queer Young Under Trump's Administration
Our country is regressing, what does this mean for our future generations…
By Morgan Magats ★ March 18th, 2025
Design by Finley Banks
“I am scared that my only sin is loving another woman, while theirs is egregious hatred.” I dated my journal entry, “11/5/24” and went to sleep. I was nine when same-sex marriage was legalized. At 19, I sat on my dorm floor in fear that I may not ever be able to be legally wed. Trump’s administration continuously assured us our rights wouldn’t be touched. It’s been less than six months, and headlines like “Want Supreme Court to Overturn Same-Sex Marriage” or “Order Restricting Gender-Affirming Care” have flooded my feeds. The Trump administration has sent the LGBTQ+ community into a state of panic. Expecting us to sit back and watch our basic human rights slip from reach. The ones we’ve tirelessly fought for; ones people have died for.
“For so long queer people had to live their lives hidden and in fear. Now, it feels like we are going backwards,” said freshman Sally Pinchot. Other students I talked with came to a similar conclusion: we are moving backward.
Trump’s return to office has queer youth questioning their safety.
“Do I have to hide who I am to stay safe?” said sophomore Rhylee Hudson. While public safety is something that many of us fear, the ultimate danger can be our mental well-being.
Even before coming out, the shame and guilt I felt for being queer, which is commonly perpetuated by our heteronormative society, drove me to feel as if I didn’t deserve to live in this society or live at all.
A first-year design student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said, “I'm most fearful for the futures of queer children everywhere. Children should feel comfortable expressing their identities.” I spent 17 years of my life closested in fear that if I told others who I loved, they would stop loving me. I never want to feel like it was better being dead than being queer ever again.
A target is being placed on the backs of queer and transgender children. These children will grow up believing it is better to be dead than to be themselves; these children could take their own lives. Restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth and removing support for queer children will result in a lack of the ability to express themselves.
As helpless as many of us feel, we have control over how we let this make us feel about ourselves.
“They haven’t changed how I feel about myself and my identity, simply because I won’t allow them to, I refuse to let hate and fear control me, not when I spent so much of my life in the closet,” said Pinchot.
We must continue to celebrate our differences and our overall existence. Hope must prevail in a situation like this. Hope that things will change, hope that loving who you want to love isn’t seen as disgusting. Hope that our differences aren’t something we should feel negative about.
“I think that he wants everything to be the exact same way,” said Hudson. “I'm like that's not how anything works like as humans were supposed to grow.”
Continue the conversation, continue to share what you believe. Make your voices heard and know. Change will come, like knowing that loving another woman is not a wrong, but rather a gift.
We’ve compiled a list of resources for those who might want to seek support during these times:
Trevor Project- text (text ‘START’) at 678-678 or talk to a crisis counselor at 1-866-488-7386.
ACLU- call (212) 549-2673 or fill out their confidential online form
The LGBT National Hotline- call (888) 843-4564
Trans Lifeline- call (877) 565-8860
PFLAG- offers support to LGBTQ+ and trans youth and families