On February 22, 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reached out to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services with a letter that sought to have them investigate trans children and report their parents for “child abuse.” The letter also stated that professionals, such as doctors and teachers, were expected to report these households for “child abuse” or face consequences.
It’s as appalling as it sounds, and the worst part is that Texas is just one of several states armed with politicians actively working to create legislation that harms the trans community. Abbott’s awful directive may have taken center stage that day, but the truth is politicians like him have been going after trans folks for a while now. Since the beginning of 2022, multiple states have proposed anti-trans bills, and it’s been a growing issue for well before this year.
In an effort to uplift the kids affected by this news, Queer Kid Stuff has created a new project that seeks to connect queer and trans adults with queer and trans kids to reassure them that they’re fine just the way they are. It’s something that I feel is sorely needed right now as Abbott’s letter not only targets trans children, but it targets anyone who supports them. It’s bad enough that bills like this are so cruel toward trans children, but this particular bill would punish their loved ones and other adults who stand with them.
That’s an unbelievable weight to put on a child’s shoulders.
What is Queer Kid Stuff?
I first learned about Queer Kid Stuff back in June 2021. Created by Lindsay ‘Lindz’ Amer and their bestest stuffed friend, Teddy (the bear in the header image), the page provides resources and tools to educate folks about the queer community. The web series, for example, covers a range of topics in a kid-friendly way so children can get a better sense of queer and trans identities.
Spoiler: it’s also helpful for adults so they can have these conversations with kids. Queer Kid Stuff offers an amazing amount of resources specifically for parents, teachers, and others who want to be able to discuss the queer community with children—or gain a better perspective about a community they may, or may not, be a part of.
What is Dear Queer Kid?
In response to the anti-trans legislation going on throughout the country, Dear Queer Kid has queer and trans adults writing letters to queer and trans kids.
Dear Queer Kid is a newsletter-based project connecting rad queer grown ups to rad queer kids through monthly heartfelt letters.
This series puts the affirming words of queer, trans, and nonbinary grown ups in front of queer, trans, and nonbinary kids and youth in order to combat the horrific anti-trans legislation targeting trans kids that has swept the nation with intergenerational queer joy.
But just because these letters are technically for queer and trans kids, that doesn’t mean your kid shouldn’t read them too, no matter how they identify! Kids need WAY more queer and trans representation in their lives and exposing them to these letters might help them more deeply understand queer and trans experiences. So read our existing letters, sign up for new ones, and support queer and trans kids!
At the time of writing this, there are five letters available with audio versions available over on their Patreon. I’m personally hoping that the project is so successful that there’s a way for queer and trans adults to submit letters in the future. The more letters, the better, so kids affected by men like Greg Abbott know that they aren’t screaming into the void and that they aren’t alone in their feelings.
You can sign up for the newsletter to receive monthly letters here.
(Image: Lindsay ‘Lindz’ Amer)
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