The Urgency of Being Trans: Quotes from the Crowd Outside U.S. v Skrmetti
by Valorie Van-Dieman
photography by Piper Bly
They spoke of freedom and pain, of respect and discrimination on this frigid Wednesday outside the U.S. Supreme Court. They talked about the lives that have been saved, the people who have thrived and the individuals who continue to live with uncertainty and apprehension.
And time and again, they spoke of the urgency of the moment.
Hundreds of trans people, relatives and allies gathered outside the courthouse in the nation’s capital while the justices heard oral arguments in U.S. v Skrmetti, a case that will decide the fate of health care for trans youth in Tennessee and beyond. Anti-trans advocates thronged the court as well.
Here is what they had to say:
Regardless of ruling, there is still plenty more of a fight ahead of us, as one anti-trans advocate, who identified herself as Sherry, made clear in an interview outside the court.
Speaking of trans people, she said, “They’ve been told that they’ve been born in the wrong body. That’s just not physically possible. That’s impossible. They’re transing away the gay kids. It’s modern conversion therapy.”
Still, the sight of so many trans people and their allies fighting for the rights of youth was a beautiful thing to see. The unity we saw in front of the Supreme Court will be needed to gain and keep the rights we all so deserve.
Valorie Van-Dieman (she/her) is the editorial assistant at Assigned Media. @valorievandieman.bsky.social
Piper Bly is a professional illustrator and underground cartoonist. When she’s not busy plowing away at her drawing board, singing dirges in the moonlight, or wandering throughout the United States, she can often be found tending to her ivies, frying up some biscuits, spending unreasonable hours in the gym, or floating above the Mississippi River at midnight, waiting for the tide to wrap her in its loving embrace and take her away. Her whereabouts are currently undisclosed. You, however, can find her at piperbly.com.