“It’s difficult to have people talking about your identity like it’s something to be feared or hated or boxed away, hidden,” said Blue, a 24-year-old resident of Madison who identifies as queer and trans.

“My identity is something beautiful and to be celebrated — that stark difference is difficult to live with.”

Blue uses both he and they pronouns and has chosen to conceal their identity and name on account of their safety. Their daily life is shifting under the new presidential administration.

“I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” said President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025. “There are only two genders: male and female.”

Within a week of being in office, Trump issued executive orders banning trans people from women’s sports and the military, and defunding youth gender-affirming care.

“When your government doesn’t want you to exist, it is scary and it is a heavy burden,” said Blue.”I exist exactly as I am — and Donald Trump gets and doesn’t get a say in that.”

Questioning trans rights at all levels has been an issue Republicans have been running on in recent years, and helped propel Trump to the White House in 2024.

“I do appreciate the fact that he’s now defining for America, for government policy, that there are two genders, you know, men and women,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, in an Jan. 23 interview with Here & Now about the start of Trump’s second term. “He’s moving to protect women from having to compete against male athletes, from having biological males invade their locker rooms and other private spaces, their bathrooms. So, I certainly appreciate that. That’s something that I think is also very popular. That’s what the American people support.”

Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group based in Madison, points to the impact of transgender voices themselves.

“The general public is told a lot about trans people and very little of it is told by trans people,” Swetz said. “And that is striking to me because of the fact that that creates not only an absence of knowledge, but an absolute misunderstanding of the reality of the lived experience of trans people.”

Fair Wisconsin is looking toward policy protections for trans rights, at all levels.

“The local avenue, the school board avenue, the state avenue — those are open. And we will go down that road,” said Swetz.

“It’s difficult to know that those conversations are happening and it’s difficult to feel so powerless,” Blue noted.

Therapists like Coltan Schoenike — who is transgender and non-binary and uses they/them pronouns — are ready to provide support and resources.

“It also, again, just confirms that this is not about any particular issue that folks have with trans people. It’s just about removing trans people from us, from society,” they said.

Schoenike’s practice is based in the small city of Menomonie, where access to LGBTQ+ providers is already limited.

“You probably got to go out to the big city to access them, but I can be like, ‘No, I’m right here,'” Schoenike said. “We’ve been thinking about people having increased demand, increased need, also trying to be thoughtful about people not dropping off if they start to feel hopeless,”

Since November 2024, LGBTQ+ crisis hotlines have spiked, one hotline seeing a 700% jump after Election Day. Blue remembers needing community support.

“Being able to see trans adults not only surviving, but thriving in adulthood and loving their lives and the people that they became gave me hope for my own future,” they said.

“I also do not think you need to know every detail of someone’s identity to respect them as people,” said Swetz.

“If you’re not getting hit by the stones thrown at us, you’re not standing close enough,” Schoenike said.

“I am scared beyond belief for the future of trans rights in this country, for the future of trans people in this country,” noted Blue. “I am also stubbornly hopeful that trans people and our allies will come together and will resist every attempt to strip us of our rights and our humanity.”