Movement Advancement Project

The Power of Affirming Community: How Local Spaces Support LGBTQ Youth Outcomes This blog post draws from MAP’s recent report and explains how community support systems are linked to better life outcomes for LGBTQ…

MAP's new blog, cowritten with Advocates for Youth, summarizes our recent report findings and showcases testimonials directly from LGBTQ young people, illustrating how community spaces contribute to their well-being and allow them to thrive.

⬇️ Read more below.
lgbtmap.medium.com/the-power-of...

A mother and her transgender daughter on what Coming Out Day really means In 2017, a viral photo of Jamie Bruesehoff's daughter, Rebekah, sparked their family's journey into public advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth. And despite the world's challenges, she has thrived with love and ...

Happy #NationalComingOutDay. Today, MAP is lifting up a new op-ed penned by LGBTQ+ advocates Jamie Bruesehoff and Rebekah Bruesehoff.

Below, Jamie and Rebekah explain why it's so important to show up for LGBTQ youth — and especially trans youth — on #ComingOutDay.

⬇️ 🔗
www.out.com/voices/natio...

You might be #VoteReady, but what about your friends and family? Our communities are stronger when everyone participates. As #NationalVoterEducationWeek comes to a close, you can help your loved ones register, make a plan, and vote.

🗳️ Visit NationalVoterEducationWeek.org/share for more information.

“Every Child Needs a Safe Place”: How Home Life Impacts LGBTQ Youth In observance of National Coming Out Day 2025, this blog provides stories of LGBTQ families and research findings on LGBTQ youth…

LGBTQ youth just want to be themselves. They deserve unconditional love, support, and safety. But for many parents, affirming their LGBTQ child requires overcoming their own deeply held biases against LGBTQ people.

Read more in a co-authored blog with @pflag.org.
lgbtmap.medium.com/every-child-...

YouTube video by Movement Advancement Project How Does Your Vote Get Counted? (Infographic)

During #NationalVoterEducationWeek, it's important that voters understand how their vote is counted, why results take time, and how results are verified and finalized. Our video below explains each of these steps.

Learn more at: nationalvotereducationweek.org/process
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuCQ...

Movement Advancement Project | Absentee and Mail Voting Policies This Democracy Map indicates which states do or do not conduct all-mail elections, in which every eligible voter is mailed a ballot without having to request one.

Every state provides options for at least some voters to cast their ballots without having to appear in-person at a polling place.

See below to learn more about your state, as well as the landscape of absentee and mail voting policies, via our Democracy Map.
www.mapresearch.org/democracy-ma...

Movement Advancement Project | Early Voting Availability Almost all states offer some form of early voting, but the length of the early voting period varies by state.

Did you know? Almost all states offer some form of early voting, but the length of the early voting period varies by state. Click below to view our Democracy Map.

Note: hours and locations may vary, and these laws are applicable to general elections only.

www.mapresearch.org/democracy-ma...

What's your plan to vote?

🗳️ Voting early? You'll avoid lines, vote at your convenience, and ensure your voice is heard.

✉️ Voting by mail? It's safe, secure, and accessible, but the rules on how to vote by mail vary by where you plan on voting.

🔗 Get #VoteReady: NationalVoterEducationWeek.org/plan

Because of these well-documented harms, historically, there has been widespread public support for protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion “therapy.”

Keep reading in MAP's "LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Laws Protecting LGBTQ Youth From Conversion 'Therapy'" via www.mapresearch.org.

Movement Advancement Project | LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Laws Protecting LGBTQ Youth from Conversion This report by Movement Advancement Project and The Trevor Project details the shifting landscape of efforts to protect LGBTQ young people against conversion

Families need to be able to trust that therapists will help and not hurt their child. Our laws should protect families from unethical therapists who use pressure and shaming tactics to make LGBTQ young people hate themselves and who they are.

🔗 📒 Learn more: bit.ly/conversion-therapy-spotlight

Conversion “therapy” is not actually therapy. There’s no training for it and no science-backed guidelines supporting it. All the nation’s leading medical and mental health authorities warn that these discredited practices put LGBTQ young people in danger.

In conversion “therapy,” LGBTQ youth are pressured to change a part of themselves that can’t be changed. These unethical, dangerous practices isolate and psychologically harm kids, scapegoat parents, and divide families through blame and rejection.

Supreme Court weighs case on conversion therapy for youth The case will likely decide the fate of laws in almost half of the states that restrict the practice.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case earlier today involving laws that protect young people from dangerous, discredited conversion “therapy” practices.

Read more in our thread below. ⬇️ 🧵
www.axios.com/2025/10/07/s...

Because of these well-documented harms, historically, there has been widespread public support for protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion “therapy.”

Keep reading in MAP's "LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Laws Protecting LGBTQ Youth From Conversion 'Therapy'" via mapresearch.org.

Movement Advancement Project | LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Laws Protecting LGBTQ Youth from Conversion This report by Movement Advancement Project and The Trevor Project details the shifting landscape of efforts to protect LGBTQ young people against conversion

Families need to be able to trust that therapists will help and not hurt their child. Our laws should protect families from unethical therapists who use pressure and shaming tactics to make LGBTQ young people hate themselves and who they are.

🔗 📒 Learn more: bit.ly/conversion-therapy-spotlight

Conversion “therapy” is not actually therapy. There’s no training for it and no science-backed guidelines supporting it. All the nation’s leading medical and mental health authorities warn that these discredited practices put LGBTQ young people in danger.

In conversion “therapy,” LGBTQ youth are pressured to change a part of themselves that can’t be changed. These unethical, dangerous practices isolate and psychologically harm kids, scapegoat parents, and divide families through blame and rejection.

It's Day 2 of #NationalVoterEducationWeek! Before you vote, it’s easy to read up about the candidates running for office in your community.

Have you received your ballot for this fall? Do you know what’s on it? Learn all you need to know at NationalVoterEducationWeek.org/ballot!

Election Dates & Deadlines - Rock the Vote

Want to see a comprehensive calendar of 2025 elections?

See below for a listing of upcoming elections provided by @rockthevote.org via National Voter Education Week (#NVEW).
www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/...

Movement Advancement Project | Voter ID Requirements for In-Person Voting In a majority of states, voters show some form of identification when casting their ballot in-person. This map displays state-by-state requirements—which may include photo ID, non-photo ID, other info...

The majority of states require some form of identification to be shown by voters who cast a ballot in-person.

Our scoring gives negative points to states with strict procedures in place for voters that do not have acceptable ID.

⬇️ Learn more about your state. www.mapresearch.org/democracy-ma...

Movement Advancement Project | Voter Registration Deadlines This Democracy Map visualizes voter registration deadlines by state, which vary from up to 30 days in some states to states that allow registration through Election Day..

Every state determines their own #registrationdeadline. These vary from up to 30 days in some states to states that allow registration through Election Day.

Allowing #ElectionDay registration increases voter access and can boost voter turnout.

⬇️ View our map.
www.mapresearch.org/democracy-ma...

It's National Voter Education Week!

Did you know? Some states have changed their registration laws and voter ID requirements since the last federal election. Some states even remove voters from the active registration list if they haven’t voted in a few years.

⬇️ 🧵 See your state's policies below.

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: How Providers Can Best Support LGBTQ Youth For LGBTQ youth, achieving a healthy life must include being accepted and affirmed for who they are.

Like all youth, LGBTQ youth need medical care providers who can support them from a place of knowledge, openness, and cultural competence about all aspects of their health and their identities.

⬇️ Keep reading.
📒 View MAP's full report: bit.ly/lgbtq-youth-report
lgbtmap.medium.com/healthy-bodi...

Everyone deserves access to quality health care when they need it.

A new blog from MAP and @transequality.bsky.social provides a summary of how medical and behavioral health providers can best support the overall health of LGBTQ youth, which includes their physical and mental well-being. ⬇️ 🧵

Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Trans Bathroom Bill Into Law With $125,000 Fines The legislation covers government-owned buildings, public schools, prisons, and domestic violence shelters.

Including a new law in Texas, 1 in 3 transgender people now live in the 20 states with a bathroom ban, though they vary in scope.

🔗 Learn more via our map: bit.ly/3LOIUSw

Note: TX's law does not go into effect until December 4, 2025, and it will likely be challenged.
www.them.us/story/texas-...

More than 1 in 4 trans people live in states with 'bathroom bans' Nearly 10 years after North Carolina’s HB 2 caused nationwide boycotts, 19 states have enacted restrictions on what bathrooms transgender people can use.

I wrote this a few months ago using data from @mapresearch.bsky.social.

The piece also evaluated why there's been less pushback to bathroom bans in the decade since North Carolina's HB 2.

www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...

Texas to become the 20th state with a transgender bathroom law The bill, which Texas first attempted to pass in 2015, will require transgender people to use restrooms in public schools and government buildings in accordance with their birth sex.

Texas to become the 20th state with a law restricting what bathrooms transgender people can use

For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...

As the LGBTQ Youth Population Doubles, Number of Bills Targeting Them Triples New research finds half of LGBTQ young people live in the 27 states where a swell of new laws restrict their in-school rights.

New from me @the74.bsky.social , via @mapresearch.bsky.social & its partners:

'As the LGBTQ Youth Population Doubles, Number of Bills Targeting Them Triples'

Some cool interactives in here, people!

Today marks Celebrate Bisexuality Day, an annual day acknowledging the contributions and history of bi+ people. #BiVisibilityDay

Movement Advancement Project | In Their Own Words: Learning from LGBTQ Youth Experiences to Tell a New Story Combining new insights on who LGBTQ youth are and examining how social dynamics and public policy shape their lives, this comprehensive report and its companion report expand our understanding of an o...

Like all youth, LGBTQ young people’s lives are shaped by their home and family, their community, their school experiences, and their access to health care.

To read more in our full-length policy report, as well as our companion narrative report, visit our site. ⬇️
www.mapresearch.org/2025-lgbtq-y...