As we’ve come to the forefront of national conversations in recent years, the public’s view of trans people has been blemished. Simultaneously, the number of adverse legislative measures against trans people is increasing. In order to protect the lives and vital resources of the community, there needs to be a shift in narrative that can largely be accomplished through cohesive, collective action.
A greater degree of credibility must be established through strategic negotiation with the rest of society. At the same time, the truths and tangible benefits of trans existence must shine through the struggles trans people face — both in the eyes of the general public and within the community itself. Now more than ever, it’s vital to acknowledge the fact that our previous approaches have seldom been effective, and readjust with a more thoughtful strategy.
While conversations about trans people have surged through the mainstream in recent years, there have been previous decades of discourse within the LGBTQ+ community about the best path towards securing human rights for trans people — and moreover, human dignity. The question of whether or not cultural assimilation is a worthy or necessary trade-off gives crucial insight into one of the main issues that the trans movement actively struggles with: balancing self-affirmation with social reputability.
Put simply, assimilationists believe erasing perceptible giveaways of being trans and disappearing into cisgender society through appearance, disposition and lifestyle is the only viable option for escaping social and political subordination. Conversely, those in favor of liberation advocate for an approach that entirely and boldly rejects the cisheteronormative tendencies of society — i.e., the belief that heterosexuality and identifying with one’s biological sex is the correct way to live.
The pro-liberation account of securing trans rights and trans dignity is quite appealing to those disgruntled with the constrictive norms of society or dependence on external support for a sense of acceptance. However, this approach often misses the mark when it comes to establishing a sense of reputability, and the impact this has on the movement is severe.
In 2024, Gallup found that over half of Americans see gender changes as morally wrong. A nationwide poll by the Los Angeles Times found that even those who are otherwise supportive of the LGBTQ+ community tend to shy away from pro-trans initiatives. If the goal is addressing and deconstructing these patterns, it’s necessary to consider and work with where they stem from. Simply dismissing or ignoring them by labeling them as ignorant, then refusing to strategically challenge that ignorance, consequently allows these patterns to thrive in many corners of society unchecked.
While there’s no doubt that true hate and deliberate misinformation are prolific, a significant number of people who oppose transgender issues are earnestly unclear on important truths that are hard to access without insider knowledge of the trans community. To meet the majority of society where they are at, there is a necessity to make negotiable claims — not louder, more emotionally-charged or more extreme claims — at least at this point in history.
Without knowledge on the benefits of these initiatives and focuses, it can seem like a rather provocative idea to put children on hormone replacement therapy as early as their tween years. Concepts about “undoing the Western gender binary” and many our specific in-group terminologies read as complete gibberish to the average American. Especially in the midst of other marked political conflicts, many would agree that personal gripes with gender dysphoria are utterly nonsensical issues to be preoccupied with. Knowing this, our sense of efficacy could benefit from dialing back and starting on a more agreeable basis before making staunch claims that might be perfectly understandable to us but are nearly impossible to comprehend for much of society.
On the flip side, however, the assimilationist account can come with many setbacks. For one thing, not all trans people have the luxury of becoming imperceptible. Genetics, social environment and resources all contribute to a person’s level of passability, and many of these elements can be formidable to overcome in many cases. Furthermore, many trans people see value in intentionally and openly owning their transness — and the reasons behind this are significant.
One of the biggest benefits of outward gender diversity is the social progress and personal growth that it can elicit. Traditional views on sex and gender often bind certain vocations, social customs, and even virtues to one sex or the other with strict exclusivity. However, people who willingly exhibit and live by more expansive views on gender are willing to eliminate psychological and social barriers that would otherwise inhibit their full potential — both to contribute to society and as an individual. In this way, a world with gender diversity and more expansive ideas about gender is a world with less restraints that the individual imposes on themself and that society collectively imposes on one another.
With the exception of going stealth for safety or personal well-being, total assimilation poses risks to sustaining the widespread ignorance and limiting conceptions society holds about gender, which have made conditions so difficult to navigate for trans people in the first place. Deferring to automatic conformity would reproduce the same limiting social circumstances that negatively affect people of any gender, and limit us to mere bystanders as it happens.
Erasing transness via total and intentional erasure of its manifestations would also limit the amount of knowledge humanity can access about itself. When engaged with sincerity and in good faith, discussions on gender transitions and gender diversity can enhance understanding of larger concepts like those discussed within the social sciences, what personal autonomy can and should mean to society, medical ethics to meet the state of the modern world, evolutionary psychology, biological sciences and even more philosophical concepts like metaphysics.
Gender transitions are life-changing processes centered around breaking barriers with intentional self-improvement. The benefits of these pursuits are countless for trans people, but the motivation behind them can be beneficial to anybody in society. This valuable truth cannot be accessed in hiding.
It’s time to reroute the trans rights movement by combining the strengths of both assimilation and liberation to form a stronger approach. Establishing a clear, realistic and persuasive philosophy will not fix all of the issues we face, but it could be a major step in gaining social dignity and the level of respect necessary to enact meaningful change. We are absolutely capable of upholding healthier values and more productive principles with resolve, and it’s absolutely imperative that we commit to seeing it through.
Casey Mendoza is a 2025-2026 Assistant Opinion Editor. He can be reached at caseym4@uci.edu.
Edited by Isabella Ehring and Kailee Kim.
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