The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.
Join the Fight for Trans Liberation
By UUSC Staff on June 13, 2025
Many associate LGBTQ Pride Month with rainbow accessories, fabulous music, and sparkling beverages over brunch. While this celebratory tone reflects the hard-won, rebellious joy of queer people, it’s essential to recognize Pride’s history and broader social implications.
The original Pride was a riot, as Black and brown trans women fought back against police brutality at the Stonewall Inn. Today, the brutality continues as conservatives in power seek to villainize trans, 2spirit, and gender expansive people and eradicate them from public life. There are currently 920 pieces of anti-trans legislation in consideration across the country. In 2024, states with laws targeting LGBTQ people saw rates of school hate crimes quadruple. The Supreme Court is about to rule on a landmark case that will determine the future of healthcare for trans youth.
If we want Pride to continue, we must fight for trans liberation. If we want trans liberation, we must be strong advocates for the trans, 2spirit, and gender expansive community in all we do. Commit to acting in solidarity with trans people by signing the Resistance Network’s pledge.
Once you’re committed to standing up for gender justice, what does solidarity look like in action? Check out these five ways to be a better advocate:
- Prioritize pronouns in unexpected contexts
While sharing pronouns should be normalized everywhere, in many spaces, cisgender identity is still broadly assumed. If you’re a cis person, introduce yourself with your pronouns at work, school, places of worship, and community spaces. Ask people for their pronouns when you meet them and advocate for including a prompt for pronouns on nametags. Model these practices with your cis peers.
- Read, watch, and view art by trans, 2spirit, and gender expansive people
- Interrogate gender (including your own)
Fighting for trans liberation requires that we unlearn gender normative thinking. You may call your nonbinary friend by their correct pronouns, but you may still associate facial hair with masculinity or the color pink with femininity. Interrogating your relationship to gender is good for the trans liberation movement and your personal development. One place to start is Kate Bornstein’s My New Gender Workbook.
- Advocate for equitable policies in your community
Cis people have more opportunities to advocate for gender equity than they might think. If you serve in a leadership position at work, at a religious organization, in a Parent Teacher Association chapter, or in another community capacity, you can leverage your status to advocate for DEAI training, all-gender bathrooms, pronouns on nametags, and trans-inclusive policies. It is an advocate’s responsibility to use their social position to fight for trans liberation.
- Follow developments in anti-trans legislation and take action
UUSC’s Resistance Network is a great resource to learn about anti-trans legislation at the federal level and contact representatives. Follow legislation specific to your state by using the 2025 Anti-Trans Bills Tracker. Write or call your representatives to share your dissent. You can share letters you write or scripts for phone calls on social media and encourage your friends to adapt the resources and use them for their own advocacy.
Make the biggest impact in gender justice advocacy by inviting your friends to join you! Now that you’ve signed the Resistance Network’s pledge, share it with three friends to grow the movement in your community.
This Pride month and beyond, your advocacy supports the fight for trans liberation.
