"What Threat Is She To Whom?" Chicago Stands Up For Trans Youth Care
Scenes from a protest. Trans Up Front mobilized to respond to UChicago Medicine’s decision to end gender affirming care for trans youth under 18.
photos and words by Piper Bly
On July 18, UChicago Medicine, one of the largest healthcare systems in the Chicagoland region, declared that they would universally cease to provide gender affirming care for anyone under 18, "effective immediately." Days before, Rush Medical Center had done the same, with Lurie Children's Hospital ceasing to provide surgeries back in January.
Within 24 hours of UChicago Medicine’s announcement, Chicago-based activist organization Trans Up Front announced a response and plan a protest. As their shirts say, they do in fact show up.
And, in turn, I showed up to Federal Plaza once again this past weekend, camera gear and field recorder in tow, to talk with some of the folk who attended the protest about the current state of affairs and the trans folk they're fighting for.
A long shot of the Flamingo statue in Federal Plaza, with the Trans Up Front crew setting up a festival tent in front of it.
One of the volunteers setting up the tent introduced themself as Starr, a fellow red state refugee. I asked them why they came out to Federal Plaza.
"I just moved here from Tennessee, which is a state where even though it hasn't been outlawed, most major healthcare providers are rescinding access to gender affirming care, and having access to that is life saving for so many people—myself included."
"So we want to make sure we're all showing up for each other, for those of us who have access to it, for those of us who don't Hopefully those who have lost it, we can help them to regain their access to it, and support them in whatever they need."
A portrait of Starr, a tattooed person with curly hair and a simple chain necklace wearing a shirt which reads TRANS UP FRONT SHOWS UP, standing in front of an all-set-up tent with cases of water on a folding table.
A smiling bearded masc wearing a TRANS UP FRONT tank hands out supplies and tape-marker signs to mark off sections of the plaza for media and ADA attendees.
Also volunteering was congressional candidate Joely Faren King, who is currently running to primary Jonathan Jackson in the campaign for Illinois' 1st Congressional District. Joely made it a point to let me know that she was not here to campaign, just to help out Trans Up Front and "look after the art piece".
"Trans people are part of our community. They're just as important as everyone else, and we need to stand up for our neighbors. I don't ever want to be the type of person who lets someone fall through the cracks because they're not like me."
A portrait of Joely Faren King, a young, thin femme with sunglasses atop her blonde hair and a small nose ring. She is also wearing a TRANS UP FRONT SHOWS UP! volunteer t-shirt.
The "art piece" in question was a gigantic banner, which the volunteers rolled out onto the granite of Federal Plaza. Markers and laughter were passed around, and the doodling began.
A group of smiling attendees and volunteers gather around a marker box and a gigantic white banner.
Two figures draw on the art banner, with the person closest to the viewer writing the words "YOU DESERVE SO MUCH LOVE".
Asher Mcmaher, founder and executive director of Trans Up Front, told the crowd to grab a pen and have at. "Feel free to join us in spreading messages of trans joy to our youth...It's something we're gonna hold onto in order to encourage people, and we'll continue to bring it to different actions and expand on it."
Joely didn't need to do too much supervising. "Everyone seems very cool, and no one's writing mean stuff, soooo...I feel like, I'm here for moral support", she said with a laugh.
Two trans femmes stand in the plaza, one of which unravels a trans pride flag she was wearing as a cape. A group of yellow-vested folk, most likely volunteers for Indivisible, pepper the background.
A portrait of Asher Mcmaher--on the left, with short cropped hair tied back in a bun and wearing sunglasses and green cargo shorts-- and co-founder Charlee Friedman -wearing grey cargo shorts and a sun hat--at the microphone.
"I feel like so many people have came up to me and said 'I see your name everywhere', and I wish you didn't.", Asher later said to the crowd."I wish that we were not here in this political climate. I wish that I wasn't constantly talking to media. I wish our organization wasn't having to come up with unique ways to make sure every kid gets care. I wish that we went back to the days where we were just helping parents say 'Hey my kid came out. What do I do?' instead of saying 'I'm so terrified for my child's life."
"And so, today, we are here gathering together....no matter how big or small, you are here with us showing up for our trans youth. So thank you so much for being here."
Another group sets up near the protest, this one for Refusefascism.org. A small gathering of older white femmes talk and commiserate about the current state of affairs in the foreground, while a masc in a tank and shorts patiently waits to talk to one of them and a man in a blue hat holds the banner awkwardly in the background while staring at the viewer.
A portrait of Ed and Tracy Dembek. Tracy is on the left, wearing sunglasses and a striped shirt and carrying a Progress pride flag and a trans flag. Ed is on the right, wearing a shirt which says "DAD OF GIRLS #OUTNUMBERED", sunglasses, and a Cubs hat.
Ed Dembek took the time to let me snap a photo of his shirt, which read "DAD OF GIRLS: #OUTNUMBERED". It didn't take long before he and wife Tracy opened up about the girls they were here to support.
"We're here to support our granddaughter." Ed said. The two bounced off of each other, talking into and over each other's anecdotes as Midwestern couples who have been together long enough tend to do.
"Took us a little while to figure it out...but once we got it, we got it. She's a girl," Tracy explained. "You get to understand that you love 'em, regardless. And this is how she's comfortable--"
"She's happy". Ed interjected.
"--and happy." Tracy said. "We're here to support her, because we don't want her life to be a life of being scared, or being bully, or not have her rights? Gah. We all have the same rights."
"They're garbage."
"Garbage! People, just live and let live. Like...what threat is she to whom?"
Two figures stand in front of a tree in the plaza. The one on the left is a shorter femme with dyed blonde hair, a trans pride colored plaid tank, and blue jean shorts. On the right, a taller and very dignified looking masc-appearing person wears a pink shirt with a button that reads "GET IN LOSERS, WE'RE FIGHTING SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION", and holds a sign that says "PROTECT TRANS YOUTH". They both look very serious about things.
A portrait of Kathy, a blond haired woman holding a sign that reads "PROUD AND FREE- UNITED FOR TRANS POWER". Her shirt has a rainbow on it and says "PROTECT THE DOLLS".
For Kathie, it wasn't even her first rally of the day. She had came here from another earlier that morning, and she laughed as she told me about another she planned to attend that evening on Montrose Beach.
"Every day there's something new that they're trying to attack people's rights.", she explained. "I think the big--well, there's *so many* big issues, but *one* of the big issues is that taking anybody's rights away, healthcare away, right to work and live, is unacceptable. That's un-American, and that is not the United States Of America.
I asked her about her "PROTECT THE DOLLS" shirt, and she smiled. "I have two trans kids", she said. "Very proud."
"I think every person is—I'm Jewish—every person is created in the image of God, in the “b'tzelem Elohim”. And I believe we all have inherent rights, and we should all be here supporting each other."
Albie Gutierrez, a brown-haired femme with a blue beaded streak tied into her hair wearing a skirt and black shirt, stands at the far right of the image. Four of the other speakers--Hoan Huynh, Andre Vasquez, Channyn Lynne Parker and Corey Lascano--stand in a line behind the marble bench the protesters are using as a makeshift stage.
Another portrait of Albie Gutierrez, a brown-haired femme with a blue beaded streak tied into her hair wearing a skirt and black shirt, holding the microphone towards the crowd and smiling.
Albie Gutierrez of the Chicago Therapy Collective was the first speaker to take the mic.
"To our youth: we will not abandon you. Your elders were here long before the medical community started caring about your care and needs. We are here today, we were here yesterday, we will be here tomorrow."
"It's also important to note that research shows that 70% of individuals who access gender affirming surgeries are white, and when black and brown and people of color *do* access gender affirming surgeries, they face more insurance denials, higher costs, worse recovery outcomes and trajectories than white patients. So when these hospitals are closing these programs, it's mostly white youth who are losing access to gender affirming surgeries. Black and brown youth are unlikely to have access to these to begin with. And we need to have this conversation, because all of our community has needs, and it's important that we address the needs of all of our communities because we are all interconnected...especially with the wisdom of our ancestors, trans-cestors, and Indigenous people whom we are all descended of."
"So if you are here to lift up the loss and support those who have lost medical care...for some members of our community, we need to lift up those who never had access to begin with."
A man in a pink polo, white baseball cap, and sunglasses holds a protest sign that reads "TRANSPHOBIA? THAT'S A DRAG! PROTECT TRANS KIDS AND OTHER KIDS TOO".
A portrait of Corey Lascano, a femme wearing glasses and beaded earrings with their hair tied back in a pony tail, reads from an Iphone and speaks to the crowd.
Dr. Corey Lascano--a name you may recognize from the last time I covered a Trans Up Front protest for Assigned—was up next.
"Whether it's in our hospitals, in our schools, in our religious institutions, or on our streets, we demand a society that is safe and affirming, and that is rooted in anti-oppression, and we demand that it begin today. We demand that our state and federal legislators fight to defend gender affirming care and the ability for young people to have autonomy over their bodies and their futures."
The Parents And Caregivers Advisory Board for Trans Up Front holds a long trans pride flag banner, with speaker Bob—a long-haired masc figure wearing glasses, sporting long sandy blonde hair, and with a shirt that says ALL I WANT TO DO IS EAT PIZZA PET CATS AND END TRANS ERASURE—behind the banner, reading a prepared speech to the crowd.
Next up was the Parents and Caregiver Advisory Board, lead by Bob.
"I read all 900 pages of Project 2025, but even I'm still shocked by what's happening today. All that shock and distress was supposed to stay away from the secure confines of this sanctuary state, but then Luries took a step back."
"FUCKERS!" rang out a voice from the crowd.
"It wasn't hard to see the dominos--which, for trans rights, have always been teetering precariously—begin to fall.", Bob continued. " And now here we are, early August, only six months in, in a sanctuary city, in a sanctuary state, having to hold a rally in support of trans rights, and the right to healthcare?"
"How the fuck did we get here?"
"The answer is simple, and way too common: as usual, trans voices were ignored."
Another protest group, Socialist Alternative, hands out buttons and flyers at their table on the edge of the plaza, as a gigantic tour bus passes by.
Alderman Andre Vasquez, a bald, tattooed, and bearded masc figure wearing a pink polo and shorts with black sneakers, stands next to Evryn Sevcech, who is wearing jeans, slides, and a black Trans Up Front shirt. Andre is addressing the crowd, and Evryn is translating his speech into ASL and is clearly having the time of their life doing so.
Alderman Andre Vasquez of the 40th ward—shown here being translated into sign language by ASL interpreter and Advisory Board Chair for Accessibility Evryn Sevcech, who leads what is honestly the best and most energetic ASL team in Chicago as far as I'm concerned--asked the crowd: "How many of y'all are just tired? Seriously, just tired of it? Seven months in, and everything has been an attack on everything and on everything that you are?"
"There's a cloud, because every single second on your phone, twenty-four seven, someone else is being attacked. And it is intentional. It is absoultely intentional, and meant to break you and meant to seperate you."
"But what I'd like for you to be grounded in, is everyone else here. Because everyone else here completely understands *why* we're here; because we've all felt that way. And so when you see someone walk away, know there's more people *here.*"
"We're in Chicago. We might feel like a blue oasis in a blue state, but we are not safe. But we keep each other safe. And so whether it's volunteering for organizations, creating mutual aid systems, or just being available to hear somebody cry out: make yourself available to do so, because you're gonna need it as well."
"So often we see elected officials talking the talk but then they don't show up.", said Asher, thanking Alderman Vasquez before handing the mic off to the next speaker.
Dr. Chris Balthazar, executive director of Task Force Chicago and sporting a beard and short cropped hair and wearing a black workout shirt and shorts, speaks to a crowd into a microphone, reading off of a note-sheet.
Dr. Chris Balthazar, executive director of Task Force Chicago, told the crowd to "look around. Every person in this space is a testament to the truth that love is louder than hate, and that justice is stronger than fear."
"These rollbacks on trans youth rights are not about safety at all...and they are not about fairness, either. They are about control. They are about taking away the freedom to be who you are, to access healthcare, and to learn your history; to live your truth without fear."
Channyn Lynne Parker, sporting long black braids and a long necklace and wearing a silk topper, a black camisole, and blue jean shorts, speaks to the crowd.
Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO of Brave Space Alliance, told a story of her own journey. Parker, who transitioned as a child in the '90s, did not have access to modern gender-affirming medical care. As a result, she had to take matters into her own hands, and one night her mother walked in on her having a pulmonary embolism as a result of taking what she thought was hormones.
"In an attempt to self-medicate, [I] went black-market route to access hormones. Why? Because, again, gender affirming care for young people just wasn't a thing yet."
"So here we are, 30 years later, having this 'debate'...Children who had not even been *thought* of, long yet to be born, I would never have even thought that they would exist in a time where they would have less rights than me back in 1999."
State Representative Hoan Huynh, wearing a blue button-up and jeans) speaks to the crowd into a microphone.
State Representative Hoan Huynh of the 13th District (where yours truly is happy to call home) was the last to speak.
"Right now, what we are seeing at the federal government has been horrific. In the last seven months of this administration, they have cut millions of dollars form LGBTQ+ support services for our young people."
"We have been a refuge in this state. We have enshrined the rights of trans kids and our LGBTQ+ commuinity into our state laws. We have fought to make sure that Illinois is a refuge and a bastion in the Midwest for young people in our country--"
"WHERE'S KWAME? WHERE'S KWAME? HE SHOULD FUCKIN' BE HERE! HE'S FULL OF SHIT!" a member of the crowd screamed, breaking through and confronting Huynh about the absence of Attorney General Kwame Raoul showing at protests and public actions, despite him recently filing a lawsuit to protect gender affirming care. "WE NEED ALL OF THESE FUCKIN' POLITICIANS TO RISE UP!""
"He should be here! You're right.", replied Huynh."You're right. Here's the thing: we can't back down. We cannot back down from this fight. When times are tough across this country, we gotta fight back! We have to use our voices to fight back!
"So are you with me in this fight?"
The crowd roared.
A woman in a blue shirt and glasses with a trans flag wrapped around her as a cape gestures angrily towards someone offscreen, while members of the crowd look on.
Dr. Corey Lascano, wearing jean shorts, a Trans Up Front shirt, and thick rimmed glasses stands with her shoulders back, holding a sign reading "TRANS KIDS MATTER". Behind her, a sign reads YOU FUCK WITH MY SISTERS YOU FUCK WITH ME.
The fight is long from over, sadly; we all still have at least three more years of this administration to go, provided they don't throw a coup and try to stay in longer.
But if you take nothing else from this, remember: when there is fascist and transphobic nonsense, there will always be folks who will be in your corner. Folk who'll use their voices to fight back with you, folk who understand why you're here, and folk who'll love ya, regardless. Those folk are here today, they were here yesterday...
The entire crowd at the protest, standing in front of the giant art banner. It is covered in affirming slogans like YOU ARE WANTED and YOU DESERVE TO THRIVE. A group of trans kids are posing in front of the banner, being goofballs.
..and, heaven willing and hell permitting, we'll all be here to help the next generation of trans and queer youth into a better tomorrow.
And hopefully, we'll have plenty more giant art projects to all doodle on together when we get there.
Piper Bly is a professional illustrator and underground cartoonist. When she’s not busy plowing away at her drawing board, singing dirges in the moonlight, or wandering throughout the United States, she can often be found tending to her ivies, frying up some biscuits, spending unreasonable hours in the gym, or floating above the Mississippi River at midnight, waiting for the tide to wrap her in its loving embrace and take her away. Her whereabouts are currently undisclosed. You, however, can find her at piperbly.com.