Susan Stryker: Trump's War on Transgender People, A Historian's View

"A lot of the actions of the federal government since January 2025 are really designed to make being trans impossible on paper and increasingly to put people who are trans in these very unlivable and

It's a scary time for trans people.

I don't think I need to list all of the reasons why. If you're reading this, you're already aware. It's been inescapable.

But one stat that I've thought about a lot (from

Erin Reed

’s critical work) is that in 2020, there were just over 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the U.S.

In just the first four months of 2025, there have already been more than 850 bills, the vast majority of which specifically target the trans community.

I've been a longtime reader of Susan Stryker's and was eager to talk to her about how we got to this current moment and how she's thinking about things overall. Susan's a historian, one of a handful who helped to forge and legitimize "transgender studies" in academia. She's the author of Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution and When Monsters Speak: A Susan Stryker Reader.

We also talk about her time with the activist group Transgender Nation, her relationship with Lou Sullivan's archive, and what effective resistance looks like in the age of Trump.

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This is one of our longer interviews…it’s about 45 minutes. Most of our interviews land somewhere in the 25-35 minute range, but over the years, I’ve received messages from listeners asking for longer cuts of the conversations. I personally favor a tighter edit—I don’t want to lose anyone’s attention—but I’m curious what you think. Do you enjoy listening to a longer interview like this? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

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And thank you for listening.

Much love,

Jeffrey
@jeffmasters1