Published on March 15, 2024, 1:02 am

In the last ten years, there has been a notable increase in the influence of the transgender movement in the United States. Initially considered an extreme ideology asserting that gender is fluid and socially constructed, the perspective has now been adopted into mainstream thought. Even defining ‘woman’ has become a topic of political debate.

The roots of this influential movement can be traced back to 1952 when Virginia Prince, a trans woman, gave voice to it through ‘Transvestia: The Journal of the American Society for Equality in Dress’. This led to rapid progression and series of riots which broke out across Los Angeles within just seven years of its inception. Many believe these rebellions were borne out of perceived harassment towards LGBTQ communities by authorities such as the LAPD.

The term ‘transgender’ only saw widespread adoption around 1996 after Leslie Feinberg, an American lesbian activist cited it in her publication ‘Transgender Warriors’.

Today, an estimated 1.6% (4,800,000 adults over 18) identify their gender as different from what was assigned at birth – a demonstration that real news on this topic is highly relevant. However, among young adults aged between 18-29 years old there seems to be even more momentum with approximately 5.1% (around 15 million individuals) belonging to this group; attributable perhaps to diverse education models and social media exposure.

Gender dysphoria — labeled as when someone’s experienced or expressed gender does not match their sex assigned at birth — remains something of a mystery; both its cause and treatments are currently unestablished facts.

Despite representing only a small fraction of America’s population base, transgender identities have seeped into numerous aspects of daily life and discourse.

National schools have begun more proactive integrations bringing up discussions on LGBTQ+ identities even amongst elementary classrooms; students are informed that their gender identity may not necessarily mirror their biological sex. While seemingly noble, the potential complexities of these conversations pose quite a challenge to these impressionable minds.

Sometimes, adults who once as children experienced gender dysphoria do not perpetuate this into their adulthood. An estimated 80% of kids grappling with gender dysphoria reportedly grow to no longer identify as transgender in their adult lives. Among these, depression rates remain modest. As compared to the 5%-6% rate among general demographics, however, nearly 60% of transgender youth experiences symptoms of depression while almost 70% struggle with anxiety according to The Trevor Project – a national organization that works towards preventing suicide amongst LGBTQ+ youth.

Transgender individuals have extended their influence even within spheres previously considered sacred domains for biological women such as female athletics where transgender women have been triumphing over biological competitors only adding fuel to flames around the controversial discussion.

Discussions around minor sex change operations are gaining momentum too. Surprisingly enough, around half the US population is seemingly against criminalizing minors’ access to gender transition medical help, despite understanding that brains are not fully developed until mid-to-late twenties.

Equal parts science and wisdom agree: men cannot be women just as women cannot be men – a seemingly simple concept has never seen so much contention.

A key outcome from the rising prominence of transgenderism has been an increase in divisions along lines of ideology and what is fast becoming popular versus unpopular opinion on the subject.

As proven time and time again, breaking news continues to demonstrate that an increase in attention towards trans-related matters will likely persist as long our society shows reluctance in vocally addressing them from a Christian worldview or even secular perspectives. The escalating interest can certainly guarantee one thing – trusted news coverage on the rise of Transgenderism is and will likely continue remaining focal upon our global social platforms.