21 Inspiring Quotes from Transgender Activists

Supporting and learning from trans people is essential in fostering an inclusive and compassionate world. Members and allies of the trans community recognize the unique struggles and challenges that trans individuals currently face: discrimination, marginalization, and dangerous legislation.

By actively supporting and learning from trans activists and leaders, we can better understand these challenges and work together to create an environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their gender identity.

We’ve compiled a list of impactful quotes from trans activists to foster understanding and appreciation for the trans community.

Please share and utilize these quotes to promote support for trans people and create a more inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for everyone.

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Explore inspirational transgender quotes and captions — to help celebrate trans liberation & fight for trans rights

“I’ve never been interested in being invisible and erased.”
— Laverne Cox

“Trans people are extraordinary, strong, intelligent, persistent and resilient. We have to be. And we will not stand for the picking and choosing of rights. We still have hope.”
— Grace Dolan-Sandrino

“Despite the constant hatred we face as the LGBTQ+ community, we must stand united and strong in spreading our message of love.”
— Jazz Jennings, in a tweet

“I think trans women, and trans people in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your own terms.
A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and moving outside of expectations of who and what you’re supposed to be to live a more authentic life.”
— Laverne Cox

“They can try to ban us. They can try to get rid of our health care. They can try to deny us housing, credit, and public accommodations. They can try to shame us. They can try all they want to erase us, but at some point, they will realize the trans community is never going away.
Trans people are everywhere.
Every country, every race, every ethnicity, every religion, every socioeconomic level, every period of human history — we are everywhere. We are natural. You can’t rid of what’s natural. I think they know that, and it terrifies them.”
— Charlotte Clymer

“I want to make a difference in the world by speaking out and spreading hopeful messages. I want to send the message of “you are not alone and you are safe” to other transgender kids.”
— Rebekah Bruesehoff

“I don’t know what I am if I’m not a woman.”
— Marsha P. Johnson

“We have to be visible. We are not ashamed of who we are.”
— Sylvia Rivera

“Being transgender is not just a medical transition. … [It’s about] discovering who you are, living your life authentically, loving yourself, and spreading that love towards other people and accepting one another.”
— Jazz Jennings

“Trans people are extraordinary, strong, intelligent, persistent and resilient. We have to be. And we will not stand for the picking and choosing of rights. We still have hope.”
— Grace Dolan-Sandrino, in an interview with the Washington Post 

“All of us are put in boxes by our family, by our religion, by our society, our moment in history, even our own bodies. Some people have the courage to break free.”
— Geena Rocero

“We have to remain visible. They have to see us, they have to know that we’re not going [nowhere], that we’ve been here ever since God made man and woman, and they have to get over it.
I don’t need their permission to exist; I exist in spite of them. I want you to train and teach and love on and create families within my community and gender non-conforming people, so that we can understand that we have a culture, we have a history, we have a reason to be here.
We have a purpose.
We’re entitled to be loved, and seek happiness, and share that with the people that we care about.”
— Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

“We used to accept this crap of: ‘We’re not worthy,’ and ‘We shouldn’t exist’…We’ve got to revolt, and we’ve got to reclaim who [we] are and let these people realize, before they came along, we were honored and worshiped and appreciated and adored.
If this world is going to get its act together, they have to support and put in the front to lead this revolution the people who are the most oppressed, which is my Black transgender community.”
— Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

“I genuinely hope that... anti-trans folks someday experience the joy and liberation of being comfortable in your own skin enough to know that the liberation of others is no threat to you.
Equality is not a pie; there is more than enough for everyone.”
— Charlotte Clymer

“When I was younger, I wish I would have been told more often that I was right and nothing was wrong with me, that I was deserving of everything this world has to offer, and that my visions for my future were worthy of pursuit.”
— Janet Mock

“Nature made a mistake, which I have corrected.”
— Christine Jorgensen

“Breaking apart the forced unity of sex and gender, while increasing the scope of liveable lives, needs to be a central goal of feminism and other forms of social justice activism. This is important for everybody, especially, but not exclusively, for trans people.”
— Susan Stryker

“I’ve always been Sarah. My gender identity has always existed. I’ve always been a woman. Gay people aren’t straight before they come out as gay, and transgender people are who they are before they come out and transition.”
— Sarah McBride

“Every time a trans person comes out publicly, my heart leaps for joy. That kind of visibility is essential to progress.”
— Charlotte Clymer

“It’s easy to stand tall when you’re on the right side of history.”
— Zooey Zephyr

“The more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I thrive.”
— Elliot Page