In the spring of 2021, Adelyn Vigil should have been enjoying volleyball practice, hanging out with her siblings, or even doing homework. Instead, she was doing what so many transgender youth and their families are unfortunately called on to do each time an extremist lawmaker meddles in their access to medically necessary healthcare. Vigil was testifying on the steps of the Texas capitol, calling on lawmakers to roll back legislation that would constitute her parents sound decision to provide her with gender affirming care as “child abuse.”
“Have any of these legislators ever stopped to think about how scary it would be for me to lose the love and support of my family because they refuse to listen to us? … The real child abusers are the people writing these bills, forcing me to be something I am not,” said an impassioned Vigil, just 12 years old at the time.
The bill that would wrongly charge Vigil’s parents with child abuse, SB-1646, died in committee. But its legacy of harm and intent to restrict queer youth still stands, along with the 75 other anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced last year. The only one that passed does still affect Vigil – SB-14, a law barring trans kids from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies.
Still, Vigil forges on, positive and inspired. She’s appeared on national television to demystify what it means to be trans; she’s championed her Latinidad and Mexican heritage with the Human Rights Campaign; and she looks forward to the next chapter of her life, with plans to pursue a career in law and justice.
In a word of advice for LGBTQ youth, Vigil offers: “you’re not alone and other kids are out there feeling exactly what you are … stay true to yourself.”
Anna Hill
15, she/her, AAPI youth advocate
Disheartened by the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander stories being told in and out of the classroom, Anna Hill saw a need in the world, stepped up, and filled it. Alongside a powerhouse team of youth activists, Hill founded a non-profit organization called AAPI Youth Rising to make their voices heard.
Now editor in chief of the organization, Hill and the board are committed to educating classrooms nationwide about AAPI histories, advocating and speaking out against discrimination and hate-fueled violence, creating art, and taking impactful but smaller actions, like holding space for conversation on AAPI issues, engaging voters, and fighting for inclusive education for all. AAPI Youth Rising partners with organizations like Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Act to Change, and Teach for America, as well as research initiatives that provide youth insight and data for research about youth mental health, wellness, and safety.
On her intersecting identities as an Asian and queer woman, Hill feels grateful to have LGBTQ family and friends who not only accept, but celebrate who she is. “Growing up around queer family members and them existing as another way of life just like cis/het people made me feel a lot less scared of being different,” Hill said. “Showing youth that, as a queer person, you don’t always have to constantly be proving it and you can just live, is something I’d like to express more through my work.”
Chazzie Grosshandler
18, she/her, GenderCool champion
