Sexual Orientation

An Invisible Attack on LGBTQ People in the United States

Personal Perspective: Overt violence may not be required to end LGBTQ lives.

Posted March 12, 2025 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

Key points

The United States is increasingly hostile toward the LGBTQ community.
Research shows a lack of social support can increase LGBTQ suicide rates.
Intentionally fostering a hostile environment for LGBTQ people is not seen as violent but it can be.

The United States has recently seen an unprecedented increase in the number of anti-LGBTQ bills and policies. At the time of publishing this article, the ACLU is tracking 505 bills meant to remove rights from LGBTQIA+ people. Already, federal guidelines have led to the removal of information relating to LGBTQIA+ health and history from government websites. This includes everything from removing references to legendary transgender activist Marsha P Johnson from the Stonewall Inn monument website to deleting data essential for research on LGBTQIA+ community needs.

This anti-LGBTQ legislation seems reasonable if you do not believe the experiences of LGBTQ people. In other words, there is no reason to support a group of individuals when you do not acknowledge their existence. Critically, declining social support is a significant driver of mental health burdens for LGBTQ individuals. When communities refuse to affirm the experiences of LGBTQ people, it significantly increases suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and deaths among LGBTQ youth and adults [1, 2]. Indeed, LGBTQ communities routinely have higher suicide rates than the straight and/or cisgender population [3, 4].

By erasing LGBTQ people broadly, more individuals may exist in communities entirely cut off from information on LGBTQ identities. I experienced this lack of knowledge as a child growing up in a conservative community where it was understood that LGBTQ people were straight and/or cisgender individuals giving into some unethical desire. From this viewpoint, removing the structures that support LGBTQ identities becomes necessary to save misguided individuals from themselves. Being steeped in these ideas makes rejecting LGBTQ identities a foregone conclusion, even for LGBTQ people themselves.

An LGBTQ person rejecting their identity may stay closeted or even feel forced into conversion therapy. From firsthand experience with being closeted and conversion therapy, I know how harmful denying your own experiences can be. Like a lack of social support, identity concealment and conversion therapy exposure can increase suicide risk among LGBTQ people [2, 5-7], and this was certainly the case for myself and others I knew. Some of these individuals would take their lives before disclosing their identities to someone invested in their survival.

In the United States, transgender youth are being forced into a form of conversion therapy by having their access to puberty blockers prevented. Incarcerated transgender people are being forced to detransition after their gender-affirming hormone treatments have been stopped. The Supreme Court has even agreed to hear a case on legalizing conversion therapy for LGBTQ children soon. As our society becomes increasingly hostile toward LGBTQ individuals, it is critical to question how this will impact the mental health of the LGBTQ community. Research and experience tell us that our current social climate could lead to the deaths of many LGBTQ people. Though it is often suggested that individuals pushing anti-LGBTQ agendas do not understand this, a chilling alternative is that they are relying on this research being correct.

We are already seeing an intentional cultural purge of the LGBTQ community, and people may be waiting for direct violence against LGBTQ lives before drawing their own conclusions. However, a group seeking to start the erasure of the LGBTQ community need never raise a weapon when they know controlling society can silently lead to LGBTQ deaths. Research to examine this framework is necessary but the data to inform that research is no longer being collected and such studies are no longer being funded. Still, there is no denying that exploiting the vulnerability of LGBTQ lives requires no direct intervention, yet potentially has the same outcome as direct action.

If you or someone you love is contemplating suicide, seek help immediately. For help 24/7 dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.

References

1. Mustanski, B., Andrews, R., & Puckett, J. A. (2016). The effects of cumulative victimization on mental health among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents and young adults. American journal of public health, 106(3), 527-533.

2. Rood, B. A., Puckett, J. A., Pantalone, D. W., & Bradford, J. B. (2015). Predictors of suicidal ideation in a statewide sample of transgender individuals. LGBT health, 2(3), 270-275.

3. Wolford-Clevenger, C., Cannon, C. J., Flores, L. Y., Smith, P. N., & Stuart, G. L. (2017). Suicide Risk Among Transgender People: A Prevalent Problem in Critical Need of Empirical and Theoretical Research. Violence and gender, 4(3), 69-72.

4. Haas, A. P., Eliason, M., Mays, V. M., Mathy, R. M., Cochran, S. D., D'Augelli, A. R., . . . Rosario, M. (2010). Suicide and suicide risk in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations: Review and recommendations. Journal of homosexuality, 58(1), 10-51.

5. Rood, B. A., Maroney, M. R., Puckett, J. A., Berman, A. K., Reisner, S. L., & Pantalone, D. W. (2017). Identity concealment in transgender adults: A qualitative assessment of minority stress and gender affirmation. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87(6), 704.

6. Campbell, T., & van der Meulen Rodgers, Y. (2023). Conversion therapy, suicidality, and running away: An analysis of transgender youth in the US. Journal of health economics, 89, 102750.

7. Glassgold, J. M., & Haldeman, D. C. (2023). Evidence of sexual orientation change efforts ineffectiveness and risks of harm: A response to Sullins (2022). Archives of sexual behavior, 52(3), 881-883.