LGBTQ culture at its best does not just tolerate trans people. It learns from them. It understands that sexuality is not fixed, gender is not destiny, and liberation cannot be parceled out to the most palatable among us. The rainbow flag, created by Gilbert Baker, originally included a pink stripe for sex and a turquoise stripe for magic/art. Over time, it was simplified. But the magic has always belonged to those who refuse to be simplified.

In the end, there is no LGBTQ culture without the T. There is only a half-finished revolution, waiting for its most fearless members to lead the way again.

For much of the 1970s and 80s, trans people were the shock troops of gay liberation, yet they were often sidelined in the push for mainstream respectability. The early gay rights movement, eager to prove that homosexuals were "just like everyone else," sometimes distanced itself from the gender non-conforming radicals. This tension—between assimilationist politics and liberationist identity—has defined the relationship ever since. In recent years, a vocal minority within the LGB community has attempted to cleave trans identity from the larger coalition, arguing that sexual orientation (who you go to bed with ) is fundamentally different from gender identity (who you go to bed as ). This position, often called trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERF) or, more broadly, LGB drop-the-T rhetoric, misunderstands queer history.

This has caused friction. Some older lesbians and gay men feel that the focus on infinite genders dilutes the political fight for same-sex marriage or adoption rights. But for a generation of queer youth, being trans is not about "switching teams"—it is about rejecting the game entirely. The transgender community is not a satellite orbiting the gay planet. It is a core engine of LGBTQ culture. Every time a queer person questions a norm—of dress, of role, of expectation—they are walking a path lit by trans pioneers. The current moral panic over trans youth in sports, gender-affirming care, and drag story hour is a direct attack on the foundational queer principle: the right to self-determination.