Transgender Rights in Flux : From Progress to Regress

Transgender rights in the United States are under attack. While transgender equality expanded during the Obama and Biden years, it was significantly eroded in the two Trump administrations, especially in the second term. Susan Gluck Mezey details how, beginning in 2020, there was an upsurge of anti-transgender bills, especially aimed at transgender youth, in many GOP-led state legislatures. The laws included barring entry to public bathrooms on the basis of gender identity, monitoring transgender-related material in public schools and libraries, and limiting transgender students’ rights to privacy. By 2025, over half the states had adopted policies restricting access to athletics and gender-affirming health care. Transgender Rights in Flux assesses the role of federal, state, and local authorities in determining the rights of the U.S. transgender community.