As part of LGBTQ Nation’s January issue, we asked readers to tell us how one year of the second Trump administration has affected their lives and what they hope LGBTQ+ leaders and allies do differently in 2026.

We received dozens of submissions and will be sharing them throughout the month.

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Trump-induced stress gave this nonbinary person chronic pain. They’re asking folks to “give a damn”

Kyla, a 36-year-old bisexual woman, wrote about watching the lives of her close friends fall apart due to the GOP’s war on trans women, and she urged action from LGBTQ+ leaders and allies to protect what were once online safe spaces for trans folks.

Here’s what she had to say.

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How has living under the second Trump administration affected you personally over the last year?

I feel like I’m walking on a frozen lake, never knowing if the next step will be the one that breaks the ice and pulls me under.

The Republicans’ war on trans women has already ruined the lives of so many of my close friends. Compounding on that is an increasingly pervasive atmosphere of conservatism, white supremacy, and an online witch hunt of trans women, especially from liberal and left-wing circles.

While I’m fortunate to be privately insured, I fear every day of suddenly losing my employment, home, marriage, or life at the whim of anyone who decides to target me. I can feel the ice getting thinner under my feet.

What do you hope to see from LGBTQ+ leaders and allies in 2026?

In online spaces, trans women with any kind of following are being accused – with no evidence – of being “pedophiles,” and are being mass-reported in an organized effort to remove them from those spaces. This oftentimes extends to other online platforms, and some have even lost their employment or family ties due to these smear campaigns. 

These witch hunts need to be reported on, investigated, and prevented. “Pedophile” is being used as a boogeyman term easily assignable to any dessenter of fascism. The general public does not seem to realize they are being manipulated into doing the bidding of Republicans. 

I believe Americans should have the right to access their online data. When these women are mass reported, social media companies delete their accounts. In some cases, this results in decades of art, writing, music, friendships, and opinions being irrecoverably erased.

I know this doesn’t sound like the most important issue on earth, and admittedly, it isn’t. But especially for vulnerable communities who can sometimes only express themselves in online spaces, this data can represent a life. At the absolute least, social media companies must offer a grace period to download that data in the event an account is targeted, reported, and eventually deleted.

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