Every one of us wants our children and our neighbors’ children to be safe, healthy, and happy.
On June 18, 2025, many of us read headlines about the United States v. Skrmetti case in the Supreme Court. Six of the nine judges ruled to allow Tennessee (and all other states whose legislative bodies currently have bans or those that create them in the future) to keep its ban on certain types of medical care for transgender youth. Families of transgender kiddos learned that they may end up losing access to medical care for their children, care that helps their children’s bodies feel normal.
Here’s what we can do *today* to help our kiddos feel emotionally safe right now:
✅ Tell them that they are beautiful and cherished.
Today, our trans kiddos across the country need to hear from their adults that they are beautiful, worthy and loved. Period. Even if they lose access to medical care and have to live for a while in bodies that feel uncomfortable and alien to them, they are beautiful and cherished.
✅ Show them trans adults who are flourishing, happy and loved as we are.
Show them me, the Executive Director of Those Nerdy Girls. I didn’t have the safety to be myself in my body until I was 48. And here I am now, feeling whole and fabulous at age 50 as my trans non-binary self! Here and here are more examples of super cool folks who offer inspiration and a sense of possibility.
Let them know that we are here to show them a path forward and through the hard years until affirming medical care is again available to them.
✅ Give them this list of resources:
Trevor project has a hotline for LGBTQ+ young people
Finding Support & Building Community Amid Political Uncertainty
LGBT national help center has many resources
And these success stories:
Society for Research on Adolescence: Trans Stories
Human Rights Campaign: Trans Stories are Everyone’ Stories
The Trevor Project: Stories of Pride: Sophia
Creating emotional safety for our kiddos is a daily process.
While we are doing this, let us also learn about what gender-affirming care for kids actually is and share research supporting the safety of medications when they are appropriately prescribed and monitored by a child’s clinician. See our resources below. Please comment if you have other resources or strategies that you would like to share.
Love,
Those Nerdy Girls &+
Further reading:
Those Nerdy Girls – Are puberty blockers helpful or harmful for trans youth?
Response from American Academy of Pediatric’s President Dr. Susan Kressly
American Academy of Pediatrics – Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and gender-diverse children
Mayo Clinic – Puberty blockers for transgender and gender-diverse youth
GLAAD – Medical Association statements in support
P.S. In this time of rapid changes in the realms of science and health information, Those Nerdy Girls would like to reaffirm our commitment to building trust in these spaces.
There is ample reason to be concerned about widening health disparities, lack of access to trustworthy information, and monumental decreases in the public’s trust in health and science.
For the past five years, we have brought you honest answers to your questions, held up the highest standard of evidence, and given you strategies to counteract misinformation in your communities. We will continue our efforts and recommit to bringing you what you need to stay afloat in a very challenging environment. In other words, we recommit to you, our dear readers.
And a special thank you to AR McKenzie, Jonathan Rochkind, and Andy Izenson for sharing their thoughts on this topic which provided the inspiration and energy for this post.
