Affirming Trans & Non-Binary Youth in Our Jewish Communities

This Pride Month, NFTY North American Board members Daniella Abbott and Cameron Samuels joined HUC rabbinical student Kelly Whitehead to discuss how their trans and non-binary identities have influenced their attitude toward systems of oppressions in the wake of new legislation aimed at attacking queer identities.

Whether it's anti-trans bathroom and sports bills, book bans, internet censorship, or even the directive in Texas that has opened way for "child abuse" investigations into families of trans youth, queer identities are being targeted. As Jewish people, we must not stand idly by in the face of injustice. We must not only shape inclusive spaces in our Reform Movement, but we must shape spaces that affirm queer community members.

This video originally aired as a Facebook Live on June 30, 2022.

More information on the concepts and events mentioned by our speakers

• Learn more about the 300+ anti-LGBTQ+ state attacks from our partners at the Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU.

• Hebrew is a gendered language, meaning it has two inbuilt grammatical genders. The Nonbinary Hebrew Project has developed a gender-expansive Hebrew grammatical system as an alternative for when the original binary doesn’t work.
• In February 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton made statements defining gender-affirming medical care as child abuse and punishable by law. These statements were hateful, erroneous, and will only exacerbate the existing mental health crisis among LGBTQ+ youth.  Read the RAC's statement to learn more.
• The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. According to the 2022 National Survey on Youth Mental Health, 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. However, LGBTQ youth who live in a community that is accepting of LGBTQ people reported significantly lower rates of attempting suicide than those who do not.
• Learn more about URJ Camp Harlam’s all gender bunk

Here are several ways to take action for LGBTQ+ equality

• Learn more and register for the RAC’s four-part training series on racial equity, diversity, and inclusion beginning July 27.
• Check out the RAC and Keshet’s Transgender Inclusion Guide for terminology used in the discussion, as well as additional resources for how you can make your community more gender affirming
• Normalizing pronouns and other behaviors can have a life-saving impact on transgender and gender expansive individuals, especially youth. Use the URJ Quick Guide to Pronouns to learn how to incorporate pronouns into your everyday life.
• Tell your Senators to pass the Equality Act
• Learn more about the RAC’s work on LGBTQ+ Equality