When Genny Beemyn came out as genderqueer in the 1990s, there were no mirrors — no public figures or labels to reflect their identity back at them. Decades later, standing before a crowd of 30 at the Sunderland Public Library on March 25, Beemyn shared what it meant to them to find a term that resonated with their gender identity.
“It was life-changing I have to say to finally have a way to understand my gender and to have the pieces fit together, and to feel whole and have a place for myself,” said Beemyn, who is the director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Stonewall Center. “Even if I didn’t know early on other people who identified as being genderqueer, just the fact that there was a label for me and I have a place, even if I was by myself in that place initially … that was so powerful and affirming and really helped my mental health to know that even though I was alone in the sense that I didn’t know anyone else who identified, I really wasn’t alone.”
During the presentation, Beemyn broke down terminology for certain gender identities, the political and social climate surrounding transgender and nonbinary people, their own gender identity as a nonbinary person and paths listeners can take to support transgender and nonbinary people.
Beemyn has tracked the experiences and treatment of transgender and nonbinary college students for decades while advocating for gender inclusivity on college campuses. According to Beemyn’s website, they successfully advocated for the University of Iowa to include “gender identity” to its nondiscrimination policy — a milestone Beemyn cited as a key step toward broader transgender and nonbinary inclusion.
They also highlighted the spread of gender-inclusive housing and gender-inclusive restrooms on college campuses and 22 states allowing drivers to select “X” on their drivers’ licenses as a gender marker.
“Of course, that’s the positive,” Beemyn stressed. “There’s a lot more negative, especially in the last few years when it comes to the climate.”
They then listed several indicators of what they described as the Trump administration trying to strip transgender and nonbinary people of their rights “to basically say we don’t exist and shouldn’t exist.”
From state laws banning gender-affirming care and prohibiting transgender people from participating in college sports to the University of Iowa removing “gender identity” from its Nondiscrimnination Statment and the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX, Beemyn painted a picture of the “dismal climate.”
“Previous administrations, Biden and Obama, used Title IX to be trans-inclusive,” Beemyn said. “Now, this administration is doing just the opposite and saying that being trans-inclusive is violating Title IX and seeking to punish those [trans-inclusive] institutions.”
In 2026 alone, 747 bills targeting transgender and nonbinary people across the country are being considered, according to TransLegislation.com.
“They’re talking about a small percent of the population, but yet the attention paid to trans and nonbinary people is just way out of proportion to their influence in society,” Beemyn said. “It’s an easy scapegoat for folks.”
When interacting with transgender and nonbinary college students in Massachusetts, Beemyn said the social and political climate ripples into their lives. The tension often sparks or intensifies feelings of isolation and fear as hate incidents rise, leading many students to “[try] to keep their heads down,” they said. These policies and anti-trans attitudes also affect trans and nonbinary students’ futures as they decide the safest states to start their post-graduate lives.
“Even in a blue state, people are feeling at risk,” Beemyn said. “At the same time though, I see a lot of people who are being resilient, who are just saying, ‘I’m going to be myself, I’m not going to hide who I am.'”
When the audience later spoke up to ask Beemyn questions, Meg Fisher, a member of the Sunderland Human Rights Task Force that hosted the event in collaboration with the library, said this point resonated with her.
“I’m thinking how much we miss out on people when they have to keep their heads down — we can’t see their faces, we don’t know who they are,” Fisher said. “We miss out on the fullness of each person.”
In their response, Beemyn stressed the value of the Stonewall Center as a “safe space” for trans and nonbinary students. They recalled a student who frequented the Stonewall Center telling them, “If I could sleep here, I would sleep here.”
“There are so many students for whom our center is home; that’s where they feel safe, where they feel comfortable,” Beemyn said. “People see you for who you are, and you don’t have to hide any part of yourself, and we try to provide that kind of space for folks, and I think we by and large are successful in doing that.”
Based on Beemyn’s research, 12 states have closed resource centers for LGBTQIA+ students, Beemyn said earlier in their presentation.
Before questions, Beemyn listed several approaches the audience can take to support transgender and nonbinary people, from sharing their own pronouns to using the pronoun “they” to refer to someone when they are unaware of the person’s pronouns in a group setting, posting supportive messages towards the LGBTQIA+ community on social media, challenging misinformation and disinformation and offering to accompany their transgender and nonbinary friends to the bathroom in an area that may be unsafe.
“Being here is amazing,” Beemyn said. “But please don’t make this the only thing you ever do to be supportive of trans and nonbinary people.”
