Based in Asheville, the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) has been working for legal and lived equality for LGBTQ southerners since 2011. Its Trans Youth Emergency Project, a program offering logistical and financial support for families, was mentioned in a story in The New Yorker in 2023. Robert Lasner, editor-in-chief of Ig Publishing, saw the article, contacted Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, CSE’s executive director, and suggested a book.
Writer Alexis Stratton, who had helped write grants for CSE, and Adam Polaski, CSE’s communications and political director, along with Beach-Ferrara, became co-authors of Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth, interviewing 50 people in 19 states in less than four months’ time. The entire CSE team helped bring the work to publication.
They began work in January and Lasner wanted a first draft by April. “Part of the reason we were open to such a tight turnaround time is the urgency of the moment,” Stratton says. “Our book provides a snapshot of life in the US for trans youth and their families in early 2024. But even in such a short time period, laws were constantly changing and bills were being proposed that would impact trans youth.”
In 2024 alone, the ACLU reports, 532 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been proposed in 41 states, most of them targeting trans and queer youth. In addition, 26 states have passed gender-affirming care bans for trans minors and some have restricted care for trans adults as well.
“While these numbers are striking, we wanted folks to see the real human cost behind these numbers—and hear the stories of trans youth and their families who are being impacted by these discriminatory bills,” Stratton says. “And we also wanted to share stories of some of the amazing activists, health care providers, lawyers, faith leaders and organizers who are making the world better for trans and gender nonconforming youth.”
With its inclusion of real-life stories, the book is a way to raise awareness and to share narratives about the positive things happening. “We hear stories every single day of families who love their kids and are moving mountains to support them, activists digging deep to create safe and affirming spaces, and young people themselves who are holding their heads high and showing tremendous courage even in the face of such extreme oppression,” says Polaski, who adds, “There is a real concern that a complacency could set in around these issues in the next few years: a public sigh that yes, we are just a country where in some states, people have fewer rights. But we should never be complacent when folks are losing access to critical lifelines and the country is moving backward. We need to stay engaged, stay angry and stay committed to making things better—no matter how hard it is.”
The stories are sad and difficult to tell, Stratton says, but the book is a hopeful one. “Yes, we lay out the ever-growing challenges that trans youth and their families are facing,” they say, “but then we also share stories from this range of amazing humans and groups who are really building safe and brave spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, from an LGBTQ+ youth camp in east TX to a queer prom in Charleston, SC, to a scrappy trans community center in AR. The work people are doing for LGBTQ+ youth is truly amazing—as are the parents and providers and lawyers who are constantly going to bat for them.”
All royalties from the book will support the work of the Trans Youth Emergency Project.
Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth, September, 2024, $19.95, written by Adam Polaski and Alexis Stratton, and published by Ig Publishing, Bronx, NY. To order a copy and to learn more about the advocacy work the non-profit Campaign for Southern Equality is doing, visit SouthernEquality.org.
