The true toll of the far-right’s war against LGBTQ+ bodies
On Oct. 24, 2023, a high school science teacher for Florida Virtual School was fired by the online public school for using the gender-neutral honorific “Mx.” Instead of “Ms.” or “Mr.” in e-mails and other school communications. They were not accused of any professional failing or any deficiency in teaching—instead, they were fired only because of who they are.
On Nov. 1, 2023, a far-right website published an article outing a small-town Alabama mayor and pastor, F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, accusing Copeland of using a string of social media accounts under a pseudonym to post pictures of himself in women’s clothing and makeup. Only two days after the article was published, Copeland died by suicide.
On Dec. 13, 2023, the mother of a transgender 12-year-old sobbed in federal court as she testified about the possibility of having to move away from her Navy officer husband to get healthcare for her daughter if Florida’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors is allowed to take effect.
These stories demonstrate the concrete harm caused by anti-LGBTQ+ policies, the ongoing stigmatization and demonization of LGBTQ+ people that the policies embody, and the broader “culture war” in which they are being enacted.
In recent years, Florida, like many other states controlled by far-right Republican legislatures, have waged war on the LGBTQ+ community by restricting access to life-saving gender-affirming healthcare that can be delivered to transgender teenagers and adults, and prohibiting academic instruction regarding sexual orientation and gender identity to all children. In public schools, LGBTQ+ children are subject to intentional misgendering by teachers, required to use bathrooms that contradict their expressed gender, and are outed to unsupportive parents.
Bills have already been filed for the upcoming legislative session that would further restrict diversity training offered by private companies to their employees and prohibit government entities from flying, among others, rainbow flags to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
According to The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, almost half of LGBTQ youth “seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year”; nearly 20% of transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide. Fewer than one-third of transgender and nonbinary youth found their home to be gender-affirming. And LGBTQ+ youth are significantly over-represented in foster care. It’s no wonder that LGBTQ+ youth are contemplating suicide at such a high rate in a reality where they are publicly denigrated by our elected leaders and referred to as “demons” and “mutants” during public hearings on proposed laws.
But why are we doing this? Is anyone being harmed by LGBTQ+ people existing and being seen? Why do our elected leaders continue with such a heavy focus on further restricting the right to simply exist for a comparatively small minority of people? Perhaps it’s easier than putting forward meaningful proposals to address the property insurance, affordable housing, or homelessness crises that currently plague our state. Or perhaps the attacks are an attempt to unify and mobilize the far-right voting base that simply enjoys watching harm come to members of the LGBTQ+ community—maybe the cruelty is the point. After all, the New York Times recently reported that “the effort to restrict transgender rights has supplanted same-sex marriage as an animating issue for social conservatives at a pace that has stunned political leaders across the spectrum.”
This post-holiday season, everyone should consider that, statistically, one out of every 14 of their family members sitting around the dinner table identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are out and proud—we exist in every family and will not play along with the hopes to return to a time before public acceptance.
As a state we should be better than this; let’s get to work fixing problems that actually exist, rather than inventing boogeymen and presenting “solutions” in search of problems.
Ian E. Waldick is a local attorney with many queer and trans family members, and who has been a licensed foster parent for queer and trans teens in Florida’s foster care system.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: The true toll of the far-right’s war against LGBTQ+ bodies
