Since the beginning, trans people have found ways to see and support each other through our mutual struggles. For some of us, that means connecting with our communities as a family of choice. For some, it means joining a collective. Discovering others who share your affinities and interests is key to feeling strong, ready to stand tall as yourself. Plume’s support groups offer safe spaces to explore your identity, beliefs, and gender journey.
Moving away from a traditionally defined family group—with rigid power structures—is a common experience for trans people. Your circle might include your friends, housemates, a caring cousin, a recovery support group, and your therapist and trans-led care team. It might also include your biological and adopted family members, in a restructured dynamic that is healthy for you.
Walking Toward Our Collective Future
It is an inherently radical act to live as a transgender person in the world, but simply because you are trans or queer does not mean you are radical. Being radical means making a commitment to embodying the principles of positive change that uplifts all trans people. It goes beyond just reading a book or putting #BLM in our bios. It is a kind of fearlessness that permeates every aspect of our lives—from how we shop, to how we show up for each other.
In doing this work, it’s crucial to acknowledge that not all trans people have the same privilege. Proximity to Blackness changes the way that we move through the world. Non-Black nonbinary and trans people are often celebrated for using language, clothing, or modes of expression that Black people and other folks of color are regularly punished for. Black creativity is a powerful force. That’s why, in honoring our identities, it’s important to avoid appropriation of these gifts—the tools many of us use for self-expression.
Much of the impactful change that benefits the trans community works because it centers and re-defines power as belonging to, and coming from Black people and other historically marginalized folks. We dream of a world where trans people are valued. Where BIPOC trans people are integrated into the culture, not sidelined and stolen from. Where trans children are protected, believed, and understood. This future has overcome hatred and supplanted it with abundance, love, and ingenuity. It is a place where we are cherished members of our families, and our truths are held sacred.
Dreaming of Trans Futures
In this future that we walk toward, trans people live without fear. The anxieties or defense mechanisms we used to need, no longer apply. We can dress and behave in a way that feels natural to us, never having to hide ourselves. Our names and pronouns are respected without question. We get the healthcare we need, find housing that is safe and accessible, and feel validated when we ask for help. Our emotional health is understood as part of us, and treated with the same seriousness as our physical bodies.
This shared future is beautiful and bright. When we describe the dramatic social and political change we dream of—a radical clearing, as though an irresistible wind swept away all the transphobia, restriction, and gender rules—it is not a passive experience. It is an action that we, as trans people, are called to participate in. We do this by organizing, marching, educating ourselves, and creating meaningful change inside and outside our communities.
This revolution happens between our ears too, as we practice nurturing ourselves and others, offering tenderness in a world that seems to want to grind us to dust. We connect with other transgender people, find support groups, and build affinity networks that are meaningful to us. We become the change we want to see, and we defend ourselves and our loved ones.
The liberation our ancestors dreamed of does not happen overnight, but it is worth walking toward. All actions—the large and small, the personal and universal—contribute to that liberation. You deserve to be free, in every way. To feel yourself. To name your limits and hopes. The future may not be today, but we’re working toward it. We believe we will get there—together.
