The LGBTQ community in Philadelphia reacts with concern and outrage to Trump’s election

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory is striking fear among the Philadelphia-area LGBTQ community, which now fears that hard-won gains in the fight against prejudice and discrimination could be erased.

Specifically, transgender Philadelphians and those around them allies claimed in interviews that they did concerned about the future after a fierce Republican election campaign that targeted the community with $65 million anti-transgender advertising campaign in 12 states, including Pennsylvania.

Across the board, gender reassigners are rushing – rushing to doctors to expedite gender-affirming care, rushing to lawyers to change names and genders on driver’s licenses and passports – all before they face the risk of losing the ability to control their lives, several said people.

“I know I should lead and fight for other members of my community,” said Mars Sharrock, 32, a transgender man and program director at Wardrobe, a thrift store for the nonprofit Northern Liberties. “But now I’m panicking for myself. I know that in time I will mend myself.

“Our resistance now just keeps alive. Right now you are seeing people in their purest form.

Given comments by Trump and other Republicans who will soon take power, the LGBTQ community fears a cascade of losses: marriage equality, the right to adopt children, anti-discrimination laws for jobs and housing, gender-based protections, and more.

In the movie statement originally last year on X, Trump said he would halt federal funding for programs supporting gender transition at all ages and that he would end gender-affirming care for minors.

Relying on false stories about children undergoing transgender surgery at school, Trump often peppered his rallies with stories about “Jimmyyour son who is coming back [from school] brutal operation.”

Trump promised that too ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports and said he would appeal to Congress Bill “establishing that the only sexes recognized by the United States Government are male and female – and are assigned at birth.”

“They/them” vs. “you”

According to the study, transgender people make up about 0.5% of the U.S. adult population and about 1.4% of teenagers ages 13 to 17. Williams InstituteLGBTQ advisory team at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

Yet the Trump campaign devoted what seemed to television viewers to an endless stream of ads about Americans questioning their gender, especially young people caught up in “left-wing gender madness”.

An effective anti-transgender argument for Trump came in the form of a widely seen ad in which Vice President Kamala Harris stated that she supported taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery for prisoners. The narrator ends the ad by naming transgender Americans: Harris is “for them/them. President Trump is for you.”

The “they/them” spot was broadcast on TV more often than 15,000 times. According to data in Philadelphia alone, between October 16 and November 5, the ad was viewed 781 times and its cost was over $1.3 million. AdImpactwho tracks political ads.

After Charlemagne God, the host Breakfast Clubpopular with black listeners of the show, saw an ad that played during a football game, shared some of his thoughts: “Hell no, I don’t want my taxpayer money going to this,” he said, and the comment was wrapped in another Trump ad.

Future Forward, Harris’s leading super PAC, said Charlamagne’s ad shifted the race by 2.7 percentage points in Trump’s favor, according to New York Times.

After the ads aired and Harris lost, some Democrats began suggesting the party take a up-to-date approach to transgender rights, particularly regarding transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D., Mass.) he said The New York Times earlier this month: “I have two little girls; I don’t want them to get run over on the field by an athlete or former athlete, but as a Democrat I should be afraid to say it.”

And Rep. Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) he told the New York Times. that Democrats “need to stop pandering to the far left” to win the election.

“The Reality of Hate and Ignorance”

In the wake of Trump’s triumph, LGBTQ organizations in Philadelphia “are dealing with the reality of hate and ignorance,” said Zach Wilcha, CEO of the Independence Business Alliance, a regional LGBTQ chamber of commerce.

Married LGBTQ people confer with lawyers about estate planning “if the marriage goes away,” Wilcha said. They also want to make sure adoptions stay in place.

Sharrock said he had safety concerns: “If my name on my driver’s license doesn’t reflect my gender, I’m a target. If I get pulled over, will the policeman think it’s a fake ID? What will happen then?”

On health care, Sharrock said: “Will doctors be forced to stop giving medications needed by transgender people? Will we be able to restock in advance?”

Agreeing with Sharrock, Wilcha said: “I hope we are overreacting and worrying too much. But I suspect this is not the case.

Across the local LGBTQ community, “leaders and members are taking time to metabolize their response to the election,” said Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way LGBT Community Center.

“We are particularly concerned about our transgender siblings – their need for current and future support – and we are listening carefully to them for guidance.”

But amid Trump’s concern among LGBTQ residents in Philadelphia, there is a lack of incentive to fight back with demonstrations because many people believe not enough Americans would care, several LGBTQ residents in Philadelphia said. After all, so the view goes, so many voters heard what Trump said about gays, lesbians and transgender people and yet pulled the lever for him.

“I’m very disappointed and scared that America has gone down this path,” said Jay Johnson, a gay man who leads volunteers at Action Wellness, a nonprofit that helps Philadelphians suffering from AIDS and addiction.

“People are so shocked they don’t even protest.”

“We’re not going anywhere”

A statement on the website of the Mazzoni Center, which supports healthcare and social services for Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community, acknowledged that these are “scary times” that leave people “vulnerable and afraid.” However, the announcement stated: “We’re not going anywhere.”

The same applies to the entry on the website Youth Center in the Atticwho provides services and support for newborn LGBTQ people: “You may worry about yourself and your loved ones. It’s okay to be shocked. It’s okay to be angry. Despair is okay.”

Jasper Liem, the center’s executive director, who describes himself as a “male transgender person,” said in an interview that there has been an estimated 30% augment. newborn LGBTQ people in Philadelphia have been contacting Attic to “express difficulties” since Trump’s election. “We’re all concerned that there’s going to be a lot of legally codified discrimination,” he said.

Throughout the country, Trevor’s projectwhich provides suicide prevention services to newborn LGBTQ people, reported receiving 700% more crisis hotline calls than usual on November 6, the day after the election.

According to Harris’ data, an overwhelming 86% of LGBTQ voters nationwide voted exit poll.

Still, the fact that 13% of voters supported Trump worried some of the local community.

“These people were like, ‘I’ve got my own thing, so why do I care about some 14-year-old trans kid?’” she said. Scott Gratsonwho is the director of communication studies at Temple University and was appointed one of the 48 most influential LGBTQ leaders according to Philadelphia Gay News. “They chose their salary over people.”

Gratson and others said they seek comfort in the support systems that exist in Philadelphia, including mental health and legal resources for LGBTQ people, as well as a number of laws prohibiting discrimination LGBTQ people in apartments, workplaces and public facilities.

“This city is a blue, rainbow island in a sea of ​​red,” he said. “So now, under Trump, the question is: Will we just stay on our island or will we fight?

“I don’t know the answer yet. It’s still a bit early.”