It is uncomfortable but necessary to acknowledge that the LGBTQ community is not immune to transphobia. This manifests in several ways:

The transgender community is an integral, vibrant, and historically foundational part of LGBTQ+ culture. While significant progress has been made in visibility and legal recognition, trans people—particularly trans women of color and non-binary individuals—face disproportionately high levels of violence, discrimination, and political attack. Strengthening LGBTQ+ culture requires actively centering trans voices, resisting internal divisions, and recognizing that the fight for sexual-orientation rights and gender-identity rights are inseparable.

LGBTQ+ culture, led by the transgender community, isn’t just about pride parades or pronouns. It’s about dismantling the factory settings of human life—including the ticking clock that says you must hit certain milestones by certain ages. Trans people are the time travelers of the human experience. They’ve seen two puberties, lived multiple identities, and learned to celebrate a 60th birthday as a second 20th.