Trans and gender-expansive American teens have found the last school year a puzzle.
There has never been a time when diverse identities and expressions have been acknowledged so publicly and openly. With Generation Z leading the charge, new discussions are being held that challenge conventional gender stereotypes. Transgender and nonbinary identities are being embraced by young people. two-spirit,There were also other identities that existed at older ages. There’s been an “explosion of language” in how young people express their gender, as Jonah DeChants, a research scientist at LGBTQ suicide-prevention nonprofit the Trevor Project, put it to TIME. According to the UCLA Williams Institute, 150,000 trans people are 13-17 years old. It studies gender-identity policy and sexual orientation. The Trevor Project released a national survey in May that found 67% of LGBTQ youth did not identify themselves as cisgender. Transparency and representation are at an all-time high, with increasing acceptance of and understanding of gender differences.
However, the attacks on these youth have escalated in the face of the attack from the various statehouses across the country. Conservative lawmakers have turned the full force of America’s fiery “culture wars” on trans and gender-expansive youth, unleashing a torrent of anti-trans state-level legislation that limits whether they can play sports, use a bathroom aligned with their gender identity, study LGBTQ issues in school, or access medical care to affirm their gender. After Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed several of such policies into law in April, she said she believes “very strongly” that “if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.” LGBTQ advocates argue such laws seek to legislate trans and gender-expansive people out of existence. NBC News reports that around 240 antiLGBTQ bills have been introduced since 2022. Half of these were specifically targeted at trans people.
Childhoods—which can be difficult to navigate in the best of circumstances—have been disrupted for the kids being vilified and pathologized by lawmakers. Advocates say they’ve seen a spike in bullying in schools. Families in Texas, Alabama, and elsewhere are contemplating moving to states less hostile to their children’s rights. As conservative politicians use their attacks to rallies their base, political passion is set to increase with the upcoming midterm elections.
Annie Flanagan was a photographer who spent over a year documenting young women in the United States as they navigate a turbulent period of political and cultural change. Flanagan’s subjects are supporting one another, thriving, and finding joy. They’re getting ready for summer vacation. They’re hanging out with their friends. They’re maneuvering the social dynamics of prom. They’re walking across the stage at high school graduation and getting their diplomas, looking to the future, and planning for better days. This is their way of communicating something. Says Zuri, 19, a trans woman in Alabama: “We aren’t going anywhere.” —Reporting by Annie FlanaganAnd Kara Milstein
This article appears in TIME, June 20/June 27 2022.
Asher, 16, left, and Blake, 15, celebrate Asher’s birthday at a roller-skating rink near Asheville, N.C. For his next birthday, Asher says he wants to invite all his friends to a dinner party where the dress code is “fancy—whatever that means to you.” He wants to make it special. “I really like having reasons to dress up,” he says.
Annie Flanagan
Zuri (aged 19) makes a TikTok Video in Alabama. According to her, the platform is a refuge. Zuri shares her trans experiences and helps to lessen her dysphoria. She also discusses makeup and beauty. “My goal is to make sure people’s voices are heard,” she says. “It’s OK to come out. It’s OK to be yourself.”
Annie Flanagan
Alex, 17 years old, in Watertown, S.D.
Annie Flanagan
Alex’s bedroom, Watertown (S.D.
Annie Flanagan
Ace (12 years old) plays video games at his Watertown home, S.D. Ace said that the last school year was difficult and that he could “barely walk down a hallway without being made fun of”. His sibling Aja (not pictured) is also gender expansive, and he says it’s been nice that they understand his experience, at least partly. “But also with being trans, something that makes it so special is that it’s not the same thing for everyone,” Ace says. “Everyone is going through their own thing.”
Annie Flanagan
Eli (12 years old) gets his nails done in Mooresville (N.C.).
Annie Flanagan
Tiana, Yani (31), Tiffany (19), and Marlo (23) at Stafford House in Orlando, where they host a drop-in for LGBTQ persons. Tiana feels at home in the trans community. Mulan Williams runs Divas in Dialogue, a support group for Black trans women. Tiana claims that Mulan has been her mother since she was a teenager. Williams provided support, connected Tiana with a group of people, and helped push her towards graduation. “I really don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have her,” Tiana says.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Maya, 11 years old, swims in Houston. State law prohibits Maya from playing girls’ sports in school, but she swims on a private team. It’s not the first time being trans has prevented her from competing—she quit gymnastics years ago because she didn’t want to risk disqualifying her teammates. The experience made her “mad and sad,” she says. But she finds swimming on her new team “really fun and relaxing.”
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Leah (18 years old) and Evan (18 years old) arrive together at the high school graduation ceremony in Florida. Last fall, Evan was crowned her school’s first out trans homecoming queen. “It’s like a new season of a show,” she says about graduating. “It feels like something good is going to come from this next chapter.”
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Petra is 18 years old and sits in her Iowa yard on a stool.
Annie Flanagan
Kendall, 17 years old, near Temple, Texas. Kendall says her school denied her access to the girls’ locker room in September, spurring Kendall and her friends to lead a walkout in protest. But Kendall still uses the girls’ bathroom: she goes every morning to touch up her makeup and catch up with friends. Kendall’s interest in makeup first bloomed in sixth grade when her mom caught her stealing her grandma’s makeup and bought her an Ulta palette instead. Makeup is now her passion. She is planning to study cosmetology.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Tiny (12 years old) and Ace, 12 (Watertown, S.D.). Ace loves to listen to music and learn how to drum.
Annie Flanagan
Fiesta Youth LGBTQ Youth Prom attendees dance in San Antonio The group hosts a spring prom for LGBTQ teens each year.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Before high school graduation, Evan was in Florida’s bedroom.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Aja (14 years old) is seated in a Watertown car. Their interests include video games, bass playing, and spending time with Ace and Taco their cat Taco.
Annie Flanagan
Vienna (16 years old) sits in San Antonio with her mom. Vienna, 16, will be starting college this fall. She hopes to major in journalism. They say they are fascinated by the way “journalism affects how we as a society get our information.” In their future reporting, Vienna hopes to elevate trans and nonbinary voices.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Maya Houston
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Adrian, 18 years old, lives in Mobile, Ala. Alabama’s anti-trans laws have been some of the toughest in the nation for the past one year. “It’s been scary,” says Adrian, who serves as the teen program director at the local LGBTQ youth group Prism United. “A lot of youth are genuinely struggling right now.” Adrian says Prism United aims to give young people “a place to feel safe” and ensure they have access to any help that they need.
Annie Flanagan
Eli is 18 years old and he sits in their Charleston room, just a few hours after being on the panel discussing how to treat and interact best with trans youth. The panel was comprised of only one trans youth.
Annie Flanagan
Léo, 18, who is qariwarmi, a two-spirit gender from their father’s Quechua culture in Peru, at the Fiesta Youth LGBTQ Youth Prom in San Antonio. Léo likes the sense of community they find there. “There’s no judgment,” they say. “You’re not a spectacle—unless you want to be a spectacle.”
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Tiana at Stafford House in Orlando.
Annie Flanagan for TIME
Austen (17) in South Dakota’s bedroom
Annie Flanagan
Maddie (right center), 15, eats dinner together with her North Carolina family. “My family is my whole life,” Maddie says. She says that whenever they make decisions, they consider the impact it will have on all of their children. “I love that for us,” she says. “All the times I’m with my family, whether we’re fighting or whether we’re laughing, it’s always good times.”
Annie Flanagan
Austen is pictured sitting by a bonfire alongside his South Dakota parents. Austen has loved storytelling ever since he was a kid, when he and his dad would tell each other scary stories on walks, “popcorning off of each other.” Now, with dreams of being an author, he makes a point of fighting stereotypes by representing diverse genders and sexualities in his writing—including a book project already in progress.
Annie Flanagan
Read More From Time
