By mid-February, it was already clear that 2023 would be a catastrophic year in terms of anti-trans legislation. Multiple states had already banned gender-affirming care for trans adolescents and hundreds of bills were pending, moving rapidly through legislatures across the country. That is why, when a group of four young people wanted to disrupt the cycles of attack, the ask felt so urgent. Over the last three months, a team of us, led by those four trans youth – Grayson, Hobbes, Daniel, and Libby – worked to organize a spectacle of trans love and joy at the Capitol: Trans Prom. It was a magical, unforgettable demand for the country to see trans and non-binary youth in all their fullness and glory, and a demand to our own communities to remember our power and strength.
On May 22, over 50 trans and nonbinary youth from at least 18 states gathered in front the U.S. Capitol with their birth and chosen families, including over 50 trans and nonbinary adults, to throw the party and issue a manifesto. While the country regressively debates the contours of gender-affirming healthcare and the validity of trans people, we collectively made the decision not to entertain those debates and instead celebrate our powerful lineages of resistance. As we move into the even more deadly and toxic discourse of the presidential primary season, Trans Prom was designed to be a reminder and an anchor.
There are serious and unrelenting threats to our survival that are happening at every level of government. Those must not be minimized or forgotten. At the same time, as Trans Prom hopefully called forth, we have a rich history of taking care of each other, of surviving impossible material and political realities, of transforming what we believe to be possible for ourselves and the world. I believe, as Mariame Kaba says, that “hope is a discipline.” And for me, my practice of hope is found with my community. I am forever grateful. — Chase Strangio
To document the joy and humanity of Trans Prom attendees, Them partnered with We Are the Youth, an ongoing photojournalism project sharing the individual stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. and queer+ youth in the United States. See more of their work on Instagram and at WeAreTheYouth.org. See their portraits and interviews from Trans Prom below. \
Why is this event important?
This event is important because it kind of sends a message to the world — and that’s especially what we need right now — for other people to see us and see that we’re not like everyone else, but we’re humans and we deserve equal rights and we deserve health care and we deserve what everyone else who is not part of our community, receives.
Today means being joyful about who I am. Today means relating to other people. I didn’t know anyone before I came here.
What does it mean for you to be here today?
That I’m a proud person. It’s nice to see so many families and people supporting each other. It means that they’re comfortable with me being who I want to be.
Is there anything you want to say about today, anything that you feel strongly about?
I feel that we should be able to play sports and that they shouldn’t make laws that prevent us from playing sports.
If I would have known, from an early age, that it’s not just female and male. If I could have known there were more genders, I would have been able to come out earlier. I think I would have had the language. Before, I would just tell my mom, like ‘oh I’m not really a girl, but I don't feel like a guy.' And she’d be like, ‘Oh you’re just a tomboy.’ And I was like, ‘nah.’ And I didn’t have a way to say how I felt. So knowing that [language], definitely would have helped.
Is there any specific language you use to describe yourself?
Flamboyant. I identify as trans-masc., non-binary, lots of genders…all the genders. I think that gender expression does not equal gender as a whole. Same with pronouns. You can be trans masc. and still want to wear a dress and that’s ok. And you should do whatever makes you feel comfortable in your own skin.
Today is absolutely great. Just being around so many other trans youth, it’s amazing. And it’s especially great to see that they’re all very active and passionate and ambitious about this. Because it shows that they understand exactly what is happening. I feel like a lot of the time, the conversation is that trans youth don’t really understand what they’re doing, they don’t understand what they're saying, what they’re going on to do. But to show that they’re so prideful here, that they’re feeling so joyous and empowered in this exact moment, it shows that they do understand and that they will continue to fight for their rights. I think it’s absolutely beautiful.
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