I think this is one of those things that's stunning, in all the worst ways, and most of them aren't obvious.
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Really sit with that for a moment.
The only comparable historical mass-movement like it is The Great Migration, in which about 40% of the Black population of America moved north, to safer states.
Over a period of *sixty years*.
And the trans population isn't as concentrated as the Black population was.
According to the 2022 USTS, about 60ish percent of trans Americans lived somewhere in the American south. That means that about 3.3 million trans Americans lived in those high-danger states, of which 400,000 moved.
That's over 12% of the trans population of the region.
And, like any mass-migration, the folks moving first are those most able to. People with money, family, connections--this migration is ***noooooot*** over.
If this keeps up, percentage-wise, it may be the most rapid non-forced (ie Trail of Tears) mass-migration in American history.
I could absolutely be wrong here, to be clear. If I am, I'd appreciate any sociologists or historians popping in to correct me.
But over 12% of a demographic fleeing a region in a year is beyond flabbergasting to me.
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And, like any mass-migration, the folks moving first are those most able to. People with money, family, connections--this migration is ***noooooot*** over.
If this keeps up, percentage-wise, it may be the most rapid non-forced (ie Trail of Tears) mass-migration in American history.
I could absolutely be wrong here, to be clear. If I am, I'd appreciate any sociologists or historians popping in to correct me.
But over 12% of a demographic fleeing a region in a year is beyond flabbergasting to me.
It's more than that, though.
According to research from *a year ago*, almost half of all trans people are considering moving for their safety. Remember that 60ish% of all trans people live in the south.
So, let's do a little napkin math here.
If 50 percentage points of a population that constitutes 60 percentage points wants to move, that means that 83% of the people in those states want to move, give or take.
Now, that number isn't quite good. On one hand, we'll have folks in, say, Wisconsin who want to skip town to Minnesota in there. On the other, Colorado is in the regions I'm talking about, and not many trans folks are leaving there, and for pretty good reason.
So, the real percentage needs to be lower, to account for dangerous states outside of the south, but what that is? Impossible to know.
But the point here is deeply disturbing: if even half of that percentage actually act, it would, percentage-point-wise, be a migration equal to that if The Great Migration.
And there's absolutely no way to slice this that's not horrifying.
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It's more than that, though.
According to research from *a year ago*, almost half of all trans people are considering moving for their safety. Remember that 60ish% of all trans people live in the south.
So, let's do a little napkin math here.
If 50 percentage points of a population that constitutes 60 percentage points wants to move, that means that 83% of the people in those states want to move, give or take.
Now, that number isn't quite good. On one hand, we'll have folks in, say, Wisconsin who want to skip town to Minnesota in there. On the other, Colorado is in the regions I'm talking about, and not many trans folks are leaving there, and for pretty good reason.
So, the real percentage needs to be lower, to account for dangerous states outside of the south, but what that is? Impossible to know.
But the point here is deeply disturbing: if even half of that percentage actually act, it would, percentage-point-wise, be a migration equal to that if The Great Migration.
And there's absolutely no way to slice this that's not horrifying.
@Impossible_PhD A friend of mine in Texas compared the migration from there to the AIDS epidemic in terms of its scope; so many people leaving, and no one knew who would be gone next.
Said friend let her lease end, and is staying with a friend while she seeks employment in friendlier locations.
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It's more than that, though.
According to research from *a year ago*, almost half of all trans people are considering moving for their safety. Remember that 60ish% of all trans people live in the south.
So, let's do a little napkin math here.
If 50 percentage points of a population that constitutes 60 percentage points wants to move, that means that 83% of the people in those states want to move, give or take.
Now, that number isn't quite good. On one hand, we'll have folks in, say, Wisconsin who want to skip town to Minnesota in there. On the other, Colorado is in the regions I'm talking about, and not many trans folks are leaving there, and for pretty good reason.
So, the real percentage needs to be lower, to account for dangerous states outside of the south, but what that is? Impossible to know.
But the point here is deeply disturbing: if even half of that percentage actually act, it would, percentage-point-wise, be a migration equal to that if The Great Migration.
And there's absolutely no way to slice this that's not horrifying.
@Impossible_PhD
I think they would be welcome here in Colorado, but yes, this has very serious implications -
R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
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@Impossible_PhD A friend of mine in Texas compared the migration from there to the AIDS epidemic in terms of its scope; so many people leaving, and no one knew who would be gone next.
Said friend let her lease end, and is staying with a friend while she seeks employment in friendlier locations.
@NicolaElle @Impossible_PhD anecdotally these numbers fit my experience as someone who lives in a state people are moving to. I live in a very small town that is a very red area in a very blue state but our local LGBTQ group is seeing a small uptick of people moving from southern states.
I also work at a very small college and in the past year we went from zero trans fems to three that I know of. I know 2 of them are transfer students fleeing southern states. Don’t know about the third. Trans masc population has been holding steady. We have always had a few and still have a few.
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@Impossible_PhD
I think they would be welcome here in Colorado, but yes, this has very serious implications@screwturn@mastodon.social I've got someone from Colorado sitting on the couch beside me who thought, moving in the US only gets me more US, and fled on a cook's pay and ridiculous overtime to Germany in 2021, because she wasn't about to wait out the shitshow that was about to come. @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
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@screwturn@mastodon.social I've got someone from Colorado sitting on the couch beside me who thought, moving in the US only gets me more US, and fled on a cook's pay and ridiculous overtime to Germany in 2021, because she wasn't about to wait out the shitshow that was about to come. @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
@thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn@mastodon.social @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
Yeah I'd be one of those mass migration statistics. I had people trying to push me into fryers/got fired for being trans. I find that blue states just like to shove their fingers in their ears and scream "It doesn't happen here" and ignore I worked with a black guy that was almost lynched and received rohipnol for my activism. The USA is the USA imo, it's just a difference in how much hate is outwardly allowed. Federal law is Federal law and the US President is acting like a dictator. State Laws are worthless in such a situation.
I struggled every day in the USA, developed severe trauma and an alcohol addiction, was almost homeless several times. Now I am a respected head chef of a restaurant that I have watched fire people for disrespecting my identity. That's Colorado vs Nordrhein Westfalen for ya. -
I think this is one of those things that's stunning, in all the worst ways, and most of them aren't obvious.
Let's start with the basics: there are about 5.5 million trans Americans. This means that *nearly 10% of the entire trans population of the nation* has moved.
Just
Last
Year
@Impossible_PhD While it is a sad time without constitutional protections, I am thankful that some have found a safer community - it is a shame to the nation they even felt they needed to, but here we are. May decisions for the future provide a better enforcement of the constitution of the united states and/or justice for those harmed by those in 'power' that ignore the constitution even now.
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@screwturn@mastodon.social I've got someone from Colorado sitting on the couch beside me who thought, moving in the US only gets me more US, and fled on a cook's pay and ridiculous overtime to Germany in 2021, because she wasn't about to wait out the shitshow that was about to come. @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
@thatfrisiangirlish
I hear them -
@thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn@mastodon.social @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
Yeah I'd be one of those mass migration statistics. I had people trying to push me into fryers/got fired for being trans. I find that blue states just like to shove their fingers in their ears and scream "It doesn't happen here" and ignore I worked with a black guy that was almost lynched and received rohipnol for my activism. The USA is the USA imo, it's just a difference in how much hate is outwardly allowed. Federal law is Federal law and the US President is acting like a dictator. State Laws are worthless in such a situation.
I struggled every day in the USA, developed severe trauma and an alcohol addiction, was almost homeless several times. Now I am a respected head chef of a restaurant that I have watched fire people for disrespecting my identity. That's Colorado vs Nordrhein Westfalen for ya.@GoldenRetrieverGF @thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn @Impossible_PhD
This is probably a really difficult (impossible?) study to do because it would involve Americans now living all over the world, but I would be curious as to what the “already left the country" numbers are. I also am one of those.
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@thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn@mastodon.social @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io
Yeah I'd be one of those mass migration statistics. I had people trying to push me into fryers/got fired for being trans. I find that blue states just like to shove their fingers in their ears and scream "It doesn't happen here" and ignore I worked with a black guy that was almost lynched and received rohipnol for my activism. The USA is the USA imo, it's just a difference in how much hate is outwardly allowed. Federal law is Federal law and the US President is acting like a dictator. State Laws are worthless in such a situation.
I struggled every day in the USA, developed severe trauma and an alcohol addiction, was almost homeless several times. Now I am a respected head chef of a restaurant that I have watched fire people for disrespecting my identity. That's Colorado vs Nordrhein Westfalen for ya.@GoldenRetrieverGF
All true
But for those whom leaving the country entirely is not a practical option, Blue States at least offer something slightly better. -
@GoldenRetrieverGF
All true
But for those whom leaving the country entirely is not a practical option, Blue States at least offer something slightly better.@screwturn@mastodon.social @thatfrisiangirlish @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io fair point. I had to work myself to arthritis and alcoholism to get out. Not possible for many, and not recommended for all.
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It's more than that, though.
According to research from *a year ago*, almost half of all trans people are considering moving for their safety. Remember that 60ish% of all trans people live in the south.
So, let's do a little napkin math here.
If 50 percentage points of a population that constitutes 60 percentage points wants to move, that means that 83% of the people in those states want to move, give or take.
Now, that number isn't quite good. On one hand, we'll have folks in, say, Wisconsin who want to skip town to Minnesota in there. On the other, Colorado is in the regions I'm talking about, and not many trans folks are leaving there, and for pretty good reason.
So, the real percentage needs to be lower, to account for dangerous states outside of the south, but what that is? Impossible to know.
But the point here is deeply disturbing: if even half of that percentage actually act, it would, percentage-point-wise, be a migration equal to that if The Great Migration.
And there's absolutely no way to slice this that's not horrifying.
@Impossible_PhD yeah speaking from Colorado - and not even the “good” destination city in Colorado, the one people settle for due to cost of living - there’s a lot of trans transplants. Texas, Georgia, and Kansas are the sources that come to mind but I don’t have like, counts or anything of course.
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I think this is one of those things that's stunning, in all the worst ways, and most of them aren't obvious.
Let's start with the basics: there are about 5.5 million trans Americans. This means that *nearly 10% of the entire trans population of the nation* has moved.
Just
Last
Year
impact
Over 400,000 transgender people have fled their home states for safer ones since the 2024 election.
A key ring with two keys and a transgender pride flag key fob.
This marks one of the largest domestic relocations in modern U.S. history.
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@GoldenRetrieverGF @thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn @Impossible_PhD
This is probably a really difficult (impossible?) study to do because it would involve Americans now living all over the world, but I would be curious as to what the “already left the country" numbers are. I also am one of those.
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@Impossible_PhD While it is a sad time without constitutional protections, I am thankful that some have found a safer community - it is a shame to the nation they even felt they needed to, but here we are. May decisions for the future provide a better enforcement of the constitution of the united states and/or justice for those harmed by those in 'power' that ignore the constitution even now.
-
@GoldenRetrieverGF @thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn @Impossible_PhD
This is probably a really difficult (impossible?) study to do because it would involve Americans now living all over the world, but I would be curious as to what the “already left the country" numbers are. I also am one of those.
@sophiesometimes @GoldenRetrieverGF @thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn @Impossible_PhD
Moi aussi!
And, yeah, we already know multiple people who've moved here from the US in the last 9 months. My wife has a coworker who moved shortly after us. There's a (cis?) lesbian couple in my wife's French class who moved. A few others we know of. And we're not even that well-connected!
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I think this is one of those things that's stunning, in all the worst ways, and most of them aren't obvious.
Let's start with the basics: there are about 5.5 million trans Americans. This means that *nearly 10% of the entire trans population of the nation* has moved.
Just
Last
Year
@Impossible_PhD
I left Florida! Now in Arizona, but it's not safe either. Probably going to Pennsylvania in a few months. -
@GoldenRetrieverGF @thatfrisiangirlish @screwturn @Impossible_PhD
This is probably a really difficult (impossible?) study to do because it would involve Americans now living all over the world, but I would be curious as to what the “already left the country" numbers are. I also am one of those.
@sophiesometimes@anarres.family
I would also be interested in this information but I believe the US government does not make it readily available as it would thwart the American Dream argument. At least I think that's what I've heard. You'd need to look at each countries immigration stats and compare that to past years personally. I don't know if it's accurate but the recent stats I heard here in Germany is US immigration has increased some absurd number like 4000% over last year. if anyone has better access to those numbers I welcome correction.
I personally fled as soon as the borders opened after Covid Quarantine. Because I left the country too.
@thatfrisiangirlish @Impossible_PhD@hachyderm.io @screwturn@mastodon.social -
I think this is one of those things that's stunning, in all the worst ways, and most of them aren't obvious.
Let's start with the basics: there are about 5.5 million trans Americans. This means that *nearly 10% of the entire trans population of the nation* has moved.
Just
Last
Year
@Impossible_PhD I know so many trans people who've recently fled to Seattle from Texas, Florida, etc. The ones who first moved had connections, jobs, housing to land in, money. But I'm seeing more and more who don't know a soul, don't have networks, don't have money or jobs or housing, and capitalism and our high cost of living is a different kind of disaster when they get here.
