May 1 isn’t just Kentucky Oaks Day or the opening of The Devil Wears Prada 2. It’s also the tenth anniversary of starting HRT.

Ten years. I’m still here.

None of that happens without access to gender-affirming care.

I’ve been very open about reaching transition or die shortly before Passover in 2016. But between the holiday diet and being on spiro, I had to wait until May 1 to actually start HRT. It wasn’t easy. Once you come to terms with being transgender, that “point of no return” doesn’t just go away—you either move forward or you don’t.

For me, that moment came in mid-April.

I already had my prescriptions by mid-February, right after I moved. The delay wasn’t hesitation—it was logistics. I wanted to freeze sperm so I could have biological children one day. I tried. It didn’t work out. That door is closed now, and not for lack of effort.

So when I look at what’s happening across the country—this wave of transphobic legislation at both the state and federal level—it hits a nerve.

Just the other day, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr floated the idea of exploring content ratings for discussions of gender identity. I’m sorry, but what the fuck are we doing here?

There is no place for that. None.

And that’s why it’s especially frustrating to see multople Jewish influencers talk about leaving the Democratic Party over antisemitism and moving toward the GOP.

Do I think Democratic leadership has done enough? No. Not even close. But I’m also not going to align myself with a party that excused January 6, or one that continues to platform and pass openly anti-trans policies. This doesn’t even begin to start on the GOP issues with antisemitism or has everyone forgot Kevin Roberts defending Tucker Carlson?

We can talk about a “sane center” all we want, but at some point you have to deal with reality: the modern Republican Party is the Trump Party. That’s not a hot take—it’s the structure of the thing.

And if you’re willing to sign on to that, you’re also signing on to everything that comes with it. The anti-democratic tendencies. The attacks on trans people. All of it.

Meanwhile, The Bulwark reported that U.S. passports are going to be redesigned for the 250th anniversary in a way that includes the sitting president’s image—something that has never happened before in American history. I won’t be renewing my passport or traveling until decency returns to the White House.

That’s where we are right now.

A country where norms are being rewritten in real time because enough people decided January 6 wasn’t disqualifying. Where personal branding bleeds into public institutions—whether it’s renaming landmarks or reshaping cultural venues in one person’s image.

And if you think it stops there, it won’t.