Between 20, the number of Americans saying they knew a trans person grew from one in 10 to one in three. Trump’s administration is expected to usher in a sea change after several years in which transgender rights activists notched critical victories in the culture and government. In her online network of trans friends, “The general reaction that I’m seeing is, ‘Oh my God. Now, we’re scared to even have the conversation.” We didn’t know before how we wanted to define ourselves, if we even wanted to. I’ve never had to deal with this kind of fear before.” Their fiance is also frightened to live openly as a transgender person. “I’ve been out and proud for most of my life, with supportive people around me. “It might be safer passing” as a straight, cisgender person, said this person, who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity. A friend of hers in California posted on social media about “going back into the closet”. By Wednesday morning, it seemed as though every trans person she knew had gone into mourning. Cate Brenner, a trans woman on Long Island, said she was “absolutely terrified” for trans people and their movement.
