Elliot Page took to Instagram to speak out against the wave of anti-trans legislation. (Instagram/ elliotpage)
Elliot Page has spoken out against the terrifying spate of “cruel and exhausting” anti-trans bills spreading across the US.
Page took to Instagram to urge his followers to also push back against anti-trans bills and laws, which include banning trans athletes from female sports teams, banning puberty blockers for trans kids, and even defining parents of trans kids who consent to their gender-affirming treatments as “child abusers”.
Alongside a photo of him holding a “protect trans kids” sign, Page wrote on Instagram: “As I watch the movement of these bills attacking trans youth across the US, especially this week in Florida, Alabama, Texas and North Dakota, I am thinking of my trans siblings and the collective pain that our community must endure to battle again and again for our right to exist.
“These bills are upsetting, cruel and exhausting.”
He told his followers: “Call your representatives. Tell them to oppose legislation that discriminates against us. Tell them our access to health care is an inalienable human right. Tell them to let trans kids play sports.
“Tell them that #TransPeopleBelong – we always have, and we always will.”
In March this year, Arkansas became the first US state to ban puberty blockers for trans kids.
This week, a Texas bill was introduced to do the same. Texas SB 1646 would define the parents of trans kids who consent to their gender-affirming treatments as “child abusers”, as well as doctors who provide the treatments.
A similar bill is also currently being considered in Alabama.
Mississippi passed legislation to ban transgender athletes from female sports teams in March, followed closely by Arkansas and Tennessee.
This week, the North Dakota representatives also passed a bill banning trans athletes from playing sports as their correct gender, and Florida advanced a bill that would not only ban trans athletes from school sports but would also, horrifyingly, require schools to perform an “examination” to verify a student’s genitals in some cases.
According to CNN, so far in 2021, 33 states have introduced more than 100 anti-trans bills across the US.
Elliot Page has pledged to use his platform to advocate for trans rights.
In his first interview since coming out as trans, Elliot Page told Time magazine that he is determined to use his “privilege” to fight for trans rights.
Page has long been an important voice for the LGBT+ community, coming out has given Page a global platform to advocate specifically for the trans community.
He told the magazine that he is aware of how his fame, money and whiteness put him at an advantage in many ways, and said: “My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today, and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”