Daniel Trujillo, Libby Gonzales, Hobbes Chukumba and Grayson McFerrin started off like most teenagers this past Saturday night: debating the music. “There’s a lot of Taylor Swift, like a lot of ,” Gonzales exclaimed, a 15-year-old Dallas native lying on the carpet in his Washington DC hotel room. “Oh, I love Taylor,” squealed the Texan, McFerrin . “But there’s David Bowie,” Trujillo 13 interjects, grabbing his phone to scroll through their shared Spotify playlist. In his prism The Dark Side of the Moon T-shirt, the high school freshman from Tucson, Arizona clearly leans towards the classics: “I wonder if we should Add The Cranberry?” Duh, is the group’s census.
Every Gen Z knows how important music is to developing the right “vibes,” as they say. Any curation together matters more. Layered with tracks made up of queer icons, nostalgic power ballads, and gritty dance numbers, the remix is a reflection of each of them, even if they don’t think about it so explicitly. It’s Their Rage And the culmination of fear, excitement, and anxiety. All the excitement they harbor as four young transgender people in America at a time when their basic rights are not only openly questioned but continually repealed.
Than 500 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been enacted nationwide since the beginning of this year. This record is more than the past four years combined and counting For example, last Friday, Nebraska voted to become the 18 US state to ban people under gender-affirming care. Denying health care is just one of the ways these legislative attacks specifically target trans youth; A major event. “They’re trying to completely erase our existence,” Trujillo said somberly. “But the truth is, trans people have always existed and we will continue to exist. ”
Photography: Lia Clay Miller500500
