The Last Day of Pride Month 2025 – Embracing Our Full Humanity

The final day of Pride Month beckons us to reflect on a journey of resilience, identity, and the unyielding fight for acceptance. Eric Matheny’s post from June 29 on X (

@ericmmatheny

, 1939349095400747089) strikes a nostalgic chord: “Those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s knew plenty of gays and lesbians. They were normal people who lived normal lives and didn’t make their sexuality the primary focus of their existence. Just live your life as you please and leave others to do the same.” This longing for mutual respect echoes through the thread, evoking a time of quiet coexistence.

Yet, for many, those decades were marked by survival, not simplicity. Take my story of a DES son—exposed to diethylstilbestrol, linked to gender incongruence by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (2025)—who endured intersex genital mutilation and conversion therapy, hiding behind a beard until a Lakota friend named them “winkte,” a Two-Spirit identity celebrated as a gift in Lakota culture, as Rev. Brokenleg of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe noted in a 2021 Public Opinion article. Being queer has never been without stigma, and for many, the closet was a necessity, not a choice.

Matheny’s nostalgia glosses over the violence of those years—murders and bullying recalled by

@MichelleMaxwell

—while

@BraddrofliT

critiques the “TQ” expansion. Yet, data from the American Psychological Association (2021) shows transgender youth face heightened mental health risks without affirmation, a gap closed by gender-affirming care’s 73% suicide risk reduction (AAP, 2024). The conversation isn’t about living quietly; it’s about living authentically.

This Pride Month closes amid a fierce cultural battle. On August 24, 2019, updated September 10, 2019, Tucson.com reported on a Tucson Unified School District meeting where a fact-based, age-appropriate, fully inclusive K-12 family health curriculum faced strong opposition from the Christian right, particularly Latin Catholics. I attended that meeting, witnessing the debate firsthand. Carol Brochin, a University of Arizona professor and mother of a gender-nonconforming (GNC) teen, declared, “The validity and existence of the gender identity of our children is not up for debate. To do so would be to engage in the discrimination of our own children.” Her words align with evidence that 7-10% of births reflect gender incongruence, a figure supported by the World Health Organization’s intersex estimates (1-1.7%) and the Williams Institute’s broader data on gender nonconformity (up to 10% when including psychological spectrums). Masculinity and femininity, as the 2016 Frontiers study confirms, exist on a spectrum—physically through hormonal variations and psychologically through self-construal—defying rigid norms.

Most GNC children settle into a gender role without medical intervention, and of those who don’t, surgery remains rare—only 0.003% of U.S. minors undergo gender-affirming surgery (Trevor Project, 2024), with strict oversight. Yet, hysteria persists, driven by figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, whose psychophants (a blend of “psychos” and “sycophants”) amplify a non-issue. Their rhetoric—e.g., Musk’s 2025 X posts decrying “woke medicine”—ignores evidence, stoking panic. At worst, a few unscrupulous primary care physicians and surgeons may fast-track girls into testosterone, mastectomies, and hysterectomies without proper psychiatric or endocrine support, as a 2024 JAMA investigation noted in 12 outlier cases. This is a systemic lapse, not a trans-specific crisis—mirroring overzealous cosmetic surgeries in cisgender youth.

The heart of this struggle is autonomy. Government and NGO bans on youth gender care in 25 U.S. states by June 2025 violate family rights, per the ACLU’s 2025 report, while permitting intersex mutilations (1-2% of births, Intersex Society) despite advocacy to end them. Puberty blockers, safe for decades in cisgender children with precocious puberty (FDA, 1990s), face selective outrage when used for trans youth (Endocrine Society, 2024), a disparity rooted in transphobia. A 2025 Pew survey shows 48% of Republicans oppose blockers for trans kids versus 12% for cis kids, exposing the bias.

Sex is not a spectator sport, and no one holds a moral imperative to judge how those identifying beyond cisgender heteronormativity choose to live. This is not a debate—it’s a defense against the genocidal intentions of fascist religious fanatics intent on enforcing an unnatural patriarchal sex/gender binary. As we close Pride 2025, celebrate the struggles and successes of families like Amber Briggle, who fought Texas investigations to protect her trans child; Kimberly Shappley, who relocated to affirm her daughter Kai’s identity; Debi Jackson, advocating for her non-binary teen Avery amid Missouri’s anti-trans bills; Carol Brochin, championing her GNC child’s rights; and Lizette Trujillo, supporting her trans son against societal pushback. A huge shout-out goes to trailblazers like Lynn Conway, whose VLSI patents revolutionized technology while she lived her truth; Caroline Cossey, breaking barriers as a trans model; Jennifer Boylan, a literary voice for trans rights; Kate Bornstein, redefining gender performance; Julia Serano, challenging cultural narratives; Alex Consani and Hunter Schafer, slaying runways with unapologetic style; and Grammy-winning Kim Petras, reigning as the queen of queer pop. Their advocacy and visibility light the way.

Happy Pride, and onward to a world where autonomy triumphs over judgment.