opinion
Stand With Transgender Teens
T his year for Transgender Day of Visibility on
March 31, some of us felt a little too visible.

It felt like all eyes are on our trans and
nonbinary teens, and not all of those looking are
gazing with the compassion trans people deserve
as beings created b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image.

Across the nation, many states have already
passed state laws restricting the ability of trans-
gender people to access medical care, to transition
socially, or to live publicly in safety at all. In fact, at
427 bills so far this year, anti-trans legislation makes
up the largest category of bills proposed in state
houses — more than infrastructure bills, budget bills,
or any other category of legislation.

Why 427 similar bills all of a sudden? Why, when in
affirming states across the country, trans teens have
been allowed to use the right bathroom in school for
years with no issues?
The movement to eliminate transgenderism — that
is, to eliminate trans people from public life — is
intertwined with other hate movements. Some of the
same groups advocating for these legislative attacks
connect their hatred of trans people with their
hatred of Jews. We see that when, as ADL Center
Extremism reported, transphobic attacks on medical
programs that help transgender youth are accompa-
nied by antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

In this environment, is it any wonder that LGBTQ
teens are at greater risk for mental health conditions,
including anxiety, depression and suicide?
According to a February report from the Center
for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of
Adolescent and School Health, 69% of LGBTQ teens
felt persistent sadness, 45% considered suicide and
22% attempted suicide, compared to 6% of non-LGBTQ
teens. To repeat: That means one out of every five
LGBTQ teens you meet has attempted suicide, and
nearly one out of every two has thought about it. This is
the future the transphobic antisemitic hate movement
wants for our trans teenagers — to die, preferably early,
never having been able to live their truth.

Thankfully, we know that support for transgen-
der teens’ identity and access to gender-affirming
medical care are powerful protective factors against
depression and suicide. For example, gender-affirm-
ing medical care was associated with a 60% drop in
depression and a 73% decrease in suicidality in this
study of trans and nonbinary teens reported in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 APRIL 27, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
It is an act of pikuach nefesh, the Jewish value
of saving a life, to ensure that our trans teens are
fully supported in living into their full selves. Not
only because the facts are that trans teens who are
supported have a much lower rate of depression and
suicide, but because it saves the potential person
they could have been.

I believe that a sacred vision sees and loves our
trans teens in all their infinite potential.

Thankfully, scores of Jewish organizations —
Federations, Jewish Community Relations Councils
and individual synagogues — are working to support
transgender teens in the face of these difficulties,
participating in the Thrive Coalition, led by Keshet
and Sojourn. The Thrive coalition tracks, studies and
organizes against anti-trans legislation. Working with
Jewish organizations like these, I know I’m not alone
in striving to help trans youth be able to live full and
healthy lives.

Moving Traditions — where I work — is also helping
to build an ecosystem of support for trans youth
through programs such as Tzelem, a teen group curric-
ulum for trans, nonbinary and LGBQ youth, created in
partnership with Keshet. Together with our commu-
nity partners, there are 20 Tzelem groups across the
country serving more than 150 participants.

According to Moving Traditions’ robust outcomes
data, youth in the Tzelem program learn that the
Jewish community is here to support them, that
they are not alone and that they are made b’tzelem
Elohim. For example, 94% of the teens in Tzelem report
that in this group, they have developed a connection
to a supportive community, found a place where
they could be themselves and feel accepted for
who they are, and felt supported in their mental,
emotional, social and/or spiritual health needs by
their peers. And 100% of respondents report that
within Tzelem, they feel supported in their mental,
emotional, social and/or spiritual health needs by
their group leader, the trained adult mentor who
facilitates our curriculum.

These findings align with what mental health
experts identify as some of the most powerful
protective factors against mental health crises,
particularly for LGBTQ youth. We know from scien-
tific studies of resilience that a robust support
network and a sense of connection are powerful
protective factors against mental health crises in
the future.

The news about new anti-transgender laws can
feel overwhelming, but the antidote to overwhelm
is action. Here are three ways you can positively
support trans teens on the Transgender Day of
Visibility and throughout the year:
• If you have trans, nonbinary or gender-ques-
tioning teens in your life, please help them get
through this difficult and scary time by connecting
them to resources for support, such as our Tzelem
groups, which give Jewish teens a safe place to
be themselves.

• Educate yourself and other adults: Help connect
parents and helpers of trans teens to educational
resources. Moving Traditions also offers parent
education programs, such as Demystifying Teen
Language Around Gender. Keshet helps to train
staff and leadership of synagogues and Jewish
organizations on LGBTQ inclusion.

• If you don’t directly know any trans teens, please
consider supporting Moving Traditions and Keshet
and spreading the word about our work.

It might be through you that a trans teen makes the
connection that could save a life. ■
Kerrick Goodman-Lucker is a curriculum manager for
Moving Traditions and a transgender man.

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Kerrick Goodman-Lucker