Trans in Trumpland looks at the lives of four trans people under Tr*mp’s administration.
Topic have released a trailer for the upcoming docuseries, Trans in Trumpland, which looks at the lives of four trans people during the Tr*mp administration.
Despite initial promises to protect LGBTQ+ citizens, the Tr*mp administration stripped away queer rights, particularly impacting the lives of trans people.
Trans people were banned from serving in the military, homeless shelters became able to refuse access, and laws allowing trans people to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity were rolled back.
Violence against trans people also escalated and last year, a record 44 trans people were recorded to have been murdered in the country; law enforcement would often misgender the victims in initial reports.
The docuseries comes from filmmaker Tony Zosherafatain, who told the Daily Beast last year: “Trump’s actions have left me feeling invisible, threatened, and unsure about the future. So, I was like, ‘OK, I need to do this. I need to combine my trans identity, my Iranian-American identity and my fear and translate that into film to help tell our stories.”
Trans in Trumpland will focus on the lives of four trans people, in Republican states North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi and Idaho. Some of the stories featured include a trans woman held at a men’s ICE detention centre, a trans army veteran coping with the military ban, and a 13-year-old trans youth who’s impacted by bathroom bills.
The powerful trailer starts with a voice clip of Tr*mp promising to protect America’s LGBTQ+ citizens, before clips from multiple news broadcasts highlight the rights that the administration stripped away and the violence that followed.
One interviewee says: “This particular administration has made it okay to hate again. It has affected the way people are treated.”
The trailer also faces some moving scenes, including one where Tony shows a trans youth pictures of a 12-year-old him before he transitioned, and tells them: “I just want to let you know that no matter what the president says about you, you exist. And you’re human.”
Another voice clip says: “If you have the support of your friends, you have the support of your family, nothing can stop you. Nothing can stop you.”
The new Biden administration has already pledged to be more LGBTQ+ friendly, and there are reports that the new administration is planning to reverse the military ban relax existing regulations to allow transgender students to access their preferred facilities in accordance with their identified gender; a rule which was implemented during Obama’s presidency.
You can watch the trailer for Trans in Trumpland here or below, and the docuseries releases on Topic on 25 February.
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