Watching the inauguration? Here are ten less apocalyptic things to do.

(because who on earth would watch the inauguration?)

If you’re trans and/or…you know…generally care about other living beings and don’t enjoy dealing with the fash, Inauguration Day is going to be very weird for you. Especially given the general scariness of Project 2025. I already know that I’m spending the whole day hanging out with a bunch of other equally-freaked-out trans teens. If you’re in a similar situation, or better yet, if you are cis and want to spend those couple hours doing something actually helpful for folx who aren’t—here are some recs. (Yas, I already made a zine about this, but this advice is inauguration-specific lol.)

NOTE: This will not be a post about political news or where to get info; check

Jessica Valenti

,

Christina Lieffring

, and

Erin Reed

for that. (And

Frankie de la Cretaz

for analysis specific to trans sports bans.) This is about how to get involved in your community and resist fascism. <3

Reach out to your queer and otherwise marginalized friends.

Fascism is scary for everyone (that’s the point) but especially so for trans communities, undocumented immigrants, communities of color, and anyone else who Trump and his followers target. Checking in with your friends will not only make them feel seen, but open the door to asks for support—maybe your trans friend is worried about accessing HRT under Trump due to anti-trans legislation (p.s.

Ashley Hartman Annis

has some great writing on accessing healthcare!!), maybe your friend of color who lives in a red state needs help finding spaces that feel safe and accepting, maybe your teenage friend wonders about places to organize, maybe your undocumented friend needs recs for affordable immigration lawyers they can work with. As a trans youth, I always appreciate when cis friends (of all ages) check in about harmful political situations.

Also reach out to anyone you know who lives in a red state.

Living in the Midwest, I feel this one acutely—even if I’m not having a great time that day (because, you know, trans and neurodivergent and also deeply anarchist), a lot of folx in my state and region will support Trump, watch the inauguration, and maybe even feel emboldened by the change of administration. Being anarchist and antifascist in a red state is generally a time (which I made a zine about a few months ago, btw…and also angsty poetry…and also way too much flash fiction…it kind of is terrible), to say the least, and that goes double if someone lives in a small town or doesn’t have much community. So please, check in with your red state friends. Especially if they need direct support, like with relocation, this could mean a lot to them. (And if they’re in need of resources,

Elizabeth Doerr

’s blog has a lot of great safety-related content. And

lyz

is my go-to for red state cultural criticism.)

Create some digital media of your own. (Bonus: once the inauguration transcript comes out, use it for erasure poetry.)

The inauguration is terrible politicly, but it’s also a huge, televised attention grab—meaning that Trump will hugely benefit from any attention on it, even and especially outrage. The good news is, many other things can get attention online. So if you make art of any kind, putting it online or submitting it somewhere (

fifth wheel press

has an open call right now! so does

wishful thinking press

!) is a great idea; trans communities need escapism, interruptions in their doomscrolling, other things to focus on. I personally made a zine about election angst that really helped me process. You can even take the smaller step of changing your socials over to Bluesky or Mastodon instead of platforming something bigoted. And of course, once the inauguration transcript is out, you can always do the obvious thing;)

To state the obvious: vote with your wallet.

If you have access to financial resources, this is a great time to funnel it into trans communities that need them. I’m not just saying this to plug my Substack and my sort-of-Patreon (I swear that’s become a running joke on this blog though). I’m saying this because a lot of trans comrades need to relocate, are struggling with employment discrimination, or otherwise need financial help. If you have a local mutual aid thread, clicking through and donating where you can is super helpful. If you need some kind of creative labor done, commission a trans artist or writer. If you want to make things easy on yourself, use

The Anti-Misogyny Club

or other newsletters that round up lists of artists to support. If you’re a reader of news, support something explicitly anarchist. If you’re low on money, follow some trans small businesses and media makers online or promote them—there are plenty of non-financial ways to help with this side of things.

Learn more about, or join, your local antifascist orgs.

Most cities have some kind of hatewatch or antifascist group, and right now, that’s incredibly necessary—so please look these up and try to follow them online, if only so you can be aware of possible fascism and hate in your community and be able to stay safe. If you have capacity, volunteering with these groups can be deeply necessary direct support—and making art in response to fascism can also be weirdly cathartic. Half my poetry is about anti-trans legislation.

Fundraise for a trans relocation network.

Get some friends together and host a donation-based event—could be a traditional event, something on social media, whatever—on Inauguration Day for a group that does this work! SEA TRAINS is a great one (they help trans red state refugees move to Seattle) but there are orgs like this in almost every blue state. If you don’t have event capacity, there are more lowkey ways to fundraise—I’ve seen groups organize online raffles, do charity art commissions, make itch.io bundles, and more. And it can be a great way to get to know other organizers, highlighting the positive cultural aspects of being trans (seriously it’s not all doom and gloom) while raising money for communities who truly need it.

Attend or organize a People’s March.

This one is self-explanatory—if you go to their website, most places will have some kind of march against Trumpism, and it’s a public green-level action. The readership of this newsletter is probably all already going.

If you absolutely have to be in front of a television, support some independent anarchist video content (rather than the dumb inauguration).

If you aren’t watching the inauguration, but are considering it because you need to watch something, there are so many better options. There’s all of SubMedia. There’s Klee Benally’s film. There’s BreadTube as a concept. There’s ACPC’s new docuseries about the Stop Cop City RICO case. There is (not to toot my own horn) some of my podcast on youtube. There’s

Pearson Bolt

’s excellent podcast. And also

Margaret Killjoy

’s. And

Shane Burley

’s many podcast interviews. And if I kept naming podcasts this list would last forever, but you get the gist. You don’t need to watch the inauguration to enjoy film and television—in fact, those things may be mutually exclusive. And if you’re more of a book person,

Raechel Anne Jolie

has some truly amazing theory recs in her newsletter, and

Cyrée Jarelle Johnson

and

nat raum

are both great for poetry.

Hold space, somehow, some way.

Whatever you do, try to build community. The point of fascism is in large part to scare marginalized populations into isolation, and when we’re isolated, we can’t effectively organize against it. Whether that looks like protesting, creating art, or just checking in with your trans friends, find a way to hold space on Inauguration Day. And know that this too shall pass, but only if we resist it.