It All Starts Here
Valley Victory Dinner VII - Oshkosh, Wisconsin - November 15, 2025
Photos : Gordon Hintz
I will tell you, straight up, I’m proud to be on this journey.
When I began my transition in September of 2024, I knew the road ahead was gonna be difficult; the life and path of a transgender woman is not an easy one. Anxiety, self judgement, community acceptance, family reactions - these are all things trans people deal with, all things I knew I’d have to deal with. Then when November came and Trump got elected for the second time, I knew things would be incredibly worse. All of us in the community did. I had friends who voted for him tell me in a caring but nonchalant tone “he’s not going to do any of those things he’s said he will.” We knew better. Even so, none of us had any idea just how absolutely disgusting and disgraceful things would get for us. It started on January 20th with one of his very first executive orders, whereas he signed the EO titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" which mandates that federal agencies use a biological definition of sex and limit access to single-sex spaces based on that definition. A separate, subsequent executive order specifically targets sports and educational institutions. I’ll pause here to remind you gender and sex are not the same thing. If you’d like to see the entirety of this discriminatory piece of hate speech wrapped in White House stationary, the link to it is right here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/.../defending-women-from.../
Things have continued to get worse for trans people, and specifically more-so for transwomen. Trans men are typically less vulnerable to the hate targeting, while myself and my sisters are subject to daily harassment, threats of violence, and vile death ultimatums. I understand with CRYSTAL CLARITY the level of malicious intent, vile bigotry, and elimination protocols being foisted onto us. Over 1000 pieces of anti trans legislation have been brought forth in legislative bodies across this country since January, and the number of them continues to grow, fueled by false accusations, false information, and false signaling of virtue. So I Rise.
They will not stop coming for trans people.
So I Rise.
They will not stop coming for LGBTQ people.
So I Rise.
They will not stop unlawfully targeting immigrants.
So I Rise.
They will not stop coming for cis gendered women.
So I Rise.
They will not stop coming for black people.
So I Rise.
They will not stop coming for brown people.
So I Rise.
This will not end at trans people, cis women, gay people, black, brown, Native, Muslim, immigrant, disabled, elderly, or poor people. They will continue to strip away services which help us to survive, while putting the torch of greed fueled bigotry to our constitutional rights. These documents we live by, like our Constitution and Bill of Rights, they provide the framework, the outline of structure and protection with which a civilized and decent society can exist and thrive. But they do not defend themselves. They are mere principles, written on haloed paper, and they will absolutely burn to ash in the fires of authoritarianism if no one comes to defend them.
AND SO I RISE.
This is not the easy way. On the contrary, putting my neck on the line makes life exponentially more dangerous and hostile, but I truly feel this is what I am supposed to be doing and this is the way I must go.
And So I Rise, for you, your neighbors, your friends, your family, for all Democrats and yes for all conservative Republicans too, so that no one, NO ONE has to be subject to this level of tyranny and hate ever again.
This is America, God damn it.
I’m an American.
I Promise To YOU I will ALWAYS fight like one.
God bless America.
Miss Katrina deVille
