The social psychology behind the trans terrorism panic

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

The social psychology behind the trans terrorism panic

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/the-social-psychology-behind-the-trans/ 🔗

Jelinda Montes (10 Jan 2026)

Morgenroth thinks many people who endorse rhetoric around transgender domestic terrorism are threatened or afraid of otherness and of the breaking of traditional gender norms.

"People are very attached to the way that they think about gender because it gives them a sense of certainty—it gives them a sense of who they are and who they're not," they say.

Morgenroth says people come up with justifications for their discomfort, even if they don't make sense.

"'Here's an explanation for why I should be scared. I'm gonna endorse that and I'm gonna believe that regardless of whether that makes logical sense or not,'" they told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES. "I think that's what's happening and why people are so willing to endorse these conspiracy beliefs or theories about trans people."

Joseph Vandello, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida, says that when influential figures ramp up a threat, it triggers an emotional response of fear or anger, which leads to a desire to punish or exclude people.

"This is the same playbook that people were using against gay people going back to the 1970s or against other kinds of marginalized or minority groups like Jews," Vandello told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES, referencing the gay panic of that era. "I think there's this idea that if you frame the issue in terms of a threat, then it becomes an issue of moral protection of the community."

[Dances With Trees]

I'm not a bit concerned about being punished or excluded. Slap me on the wrist! Kick me off the volleyball team! Hang me in effigy. But, please dear countrymen, don't send me to a reeducation camp in Kentucky. Humor aside, I am so worried.