Survey finds LGBTQ+ adults have taken steps to become less visible given political climatehttps://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/10/13/lgbtq-adults-lowering-visibility-living-in-some-fear-survey-finds/86552187007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNd6ZhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHu3n9VtRJCTg237wmB34h5dYb20qBeVuEIZPDOjxoEG8ivQKVPSb0VBQ7zsM_aem_q1z5FsvaQ4-FSHnvQhjodQ 🔗Natalie Eilbert (13 Oct 2025)
Abigail Swetz had served as executive director of Fair Wisconsin, the only statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights and political advocacy group, just four months before the panicked emails started flooding in: Will I be flagged in a database? Can I safely change my name? Should my family move somewhere safer?
The deluge of emails coincided with the results of the 2024 presidential elections, following months of anti-trans ads from Donald Trump's campaign vowing to protect children from "gender ideology." For many families with LGBTQ+ loved ones, including children, the election of Trump only ratcheted up fears that a safe, normal life would be out of reach.
Since then, neither the fearful emails to Swetz nor the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from the Trump administration has eased.
Now, a new survey from Movement Advancement Project, offers a snapshot into some of the more dramatic changes in LGBTQ+ adults since November 2024, and it confirms the personal and professional conversations Swetz has been having. The survey, published Oct. 8, shows that a quarter of LGBTQ+ adults, and more than half of transgender and nonbinary adults, have taken steps to become less visible, less "out" as LGBTQ+ people in their communities.
