Pride and LGBTQ+ under Trump

June marks Pride Month, a commemoration of LGBTQ+ progress and the ongoing struggle for equality. 

Significant advancements for the community have been made in recent decades, but some worry the second term of President Donald Trump — along with the conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court — could lead to an erosion of hard-fought gains.

The most divisive issues in recent years have centered on the debate over gender issues. Trump pounded the airwaves with anti-trans ads during his candidacy and has targeted the group in his first few months in office. The president has signed executive orders to oust transgender people from the military and rescind funds from educational organizations that allow trans women and girls to compete in women’s athletics.

Other ideas facing conservative backlash include pronoun usage, drag shows for minors and certain books being shelved in school libraries.

Locally, some of these pushbacks can be felt, for example, in Penn Medicine’s decision to cease gender-affirming surgeries for minors and the Philadelphia Zoo’s cancellation of a drag queen story hour. 

These hot-button issues face debate inside the LGBTQ+ community as well.

On this episode of Studio 2, we unpack these debates with two members of the LGBTQ+ community who offer differing views, and we explore if the larger community should be concerned about the rollback of fundamental rights, including marriage, that have been assumed safe. 

Guests:

Deja Alvarez – activist and advocate

Albert Eisenberg – principal at BlueStateRed