Contemporary Transgender Voices: American Lives Under Political Repression

The Book

Contemporary Transgender Voices: American Lives Under Political Repression is an oral history of transgender life in the United States, documented during the current period of political repression. The book will present approximately 40 edited first-person narratives from transgender and non-binary Americans across race, class, geography, generation, and identity. This page provides details about the project as of February 2026.

Why Now?

In May 1933, Nazi students ransacked the world's leading center for transgender medicine: the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin. Books, patient files, photographs, and decades of clinical research were seized and burned. The goal was the systematic destruction of any proof that transgender people had existed and thrived, so the state could define them as deviant and unnatural.

We are watching a version of this happen again. The current campaign against transgender Americans is systematic and intentional. The administration has redefined sex as strictly binary across every federal agency, document, and database, purging terms such as gender, non-binary, and assigned male at birth from government web sites and scientific manuscripts.

The assault has been equally relentless at the state level with more than a thousand anti-trans bills targeting all facets of trans existence. Proposed laws include bounty-hunter-style provisions to enforce bathroom surveillance, the extension of restrictions from minors to adults, and bills that would criminalize trans existence as a form of “gender identity fraud.”

The rhetoric has escalated to match. After the Charlie Kirk assassination, elected officials and media figures openly called for transgender people to be “rounded up, detained and studied.” A former White House physician said on national television: “We have to get them off the streets and we have to get them off the Internet. We can’t let them communicate with each other.”

Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey of the Lemkin Institute argues that the United States is in the early-to-mid stages of a genocidal process against transgender people, pointing to forced invisibility, legal erasure, and medical erasure. Dr. Gregory Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch, has said plainly: “I think what they’re doing here is they’re trying to destroy a gender group.”

The Ask

If you’ve been invited to participate as a narrator, here is what the process would look like.

The interview.

We will have a conversation that lasts approximately 90 minutes, either face-to-face or via Zoom. I’ll ask open-ended questions about your life, your experiences, and your perspective on this moment. You can share topics or questions in advance if you’d like, and you can skip any question or stop at any time.

The transcript.

After the interview, I will produce a complete raw transcript and will share this transcript with you so you have a full record of everything you said.

The edited narrative.

I will also edit this transcript into a first-person narrative between 1,000 and 2,500 words. This involves removing my questions, reorganizing for flow, smoothing transitions, and shaping the material into a piece that reads as your voice telling your story.

Your review.

I share both the raw transcript and the edited narrative with you. You review the narrative, suggest changes, and flag anything you want removed or reworded.

Your sign-off.

I will not submit anything to the publisher without your explicit written approval. We are telling your story as you want it to be told.

You choose how you are identified.

The default for oral history is the use of your real name, but you may use a pseudonym, and you may request that specific details be excluded. We’ll discuss this before the interview.

There is no financial compensation for participation.

If your narrative is included in the published book, you will receive a complimentary copy. All royalties from this book project will be donated to Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE).

About Me

My name is Althea Delwiche. I am Professor and Chair of the Department of Media and Communication at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, currently on sabbatical in Philadelphia.

My research spans participatory culture, digital storytelling, and the social impact of emerging technologies. At Trinity, I co-facilitate the university’s trans and non-binary student group, lead an AI research lab, and teach courses on computational propaganda and the intersection of AI with creativity, politics, and culture. I created and maintain the Propaganda Critic website, and I regularly perform standup comedy on topics of technology, gender, and geek culture.

This project matters to me because I cannot sit quietly while the world I see from my supportive university is being systematically dismantled everywhere else in Texas and at public institutions around the country. Our stories matter more than ever. You can reach me at: adelwich@trinity.edu.

FAQ

Who is being interviewed?

I’m casting a broad net and reaching out to approximately 40 transgender and non-binary Americans from as many walks of life. The book will be organized around emergent themes such as becoming, body, family, faith, work, place, power, culture, and community.

Will I be identified by name?

That’s your choice. The default for oral history is the use of real names, but you may choose a pseudonym, and we’ll work together to remove or alter identifying details if you prefer. You can also request that specific topics or anecdotes be excluded entirely.

What if I change my mind after the interview?

You can withdraw at any time before publication. If you withdraw, your interview data will be destroyed and will not be used in the project. You can also change your identification preference at any point before the book goes to print.

How will my interview recording be stored?

Audio recordings and transcripts are stored on an encrypted, password-protected system accessible only to me. Recordings will be permanently deleted by December 31, 2027. Your contact information is stored separately from interview data and is never shared with third parties.

Is this a research study?

Yes. The project has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Trinity University. Before the interview, you’ll receive and sign an informed consent form that explains the study’s purpose, your rights, and the protections in place. You’ll have time to review it and ask questions.

Who is the publisher?

Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. The book is under contract with a target publication date of 2028.

What is oral history, exactly?

Oral history is a method of documenting lived experience through recorded interviews that are transcribed, edited, and preserved. The methodological inspirations for this project include Studs Terkel’s Working and Hard Times, Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl, and Dave Isay’s StoryCorps project. The distinguishing feature of oral history is that it centers the narrator’s voice. My questions will disappear, and what remains is your story in your own words.

How can I get in touch?

Email adelwich@trinity.edu.