Rhodes Brothers Read Stories of Harassment From Transgender Teens

Watch how they react to the heartbreaking stories.

Transphobia is discrimination against transgender people, and if someone is transphobic, it means they dislike or even hate trans people for no reason other than their identity. Today, 41% of transgender and gender nonconforming people have attempted suicide because right now the world is not just unsafe but actively violent toward trans people. Furthermore, a recent study shows that simply accepting transgender kids will lower depression and suicide rates. (We didn’t really need science to figure that out.)

Part of accepting all identities is recognizing the unique struggles everyone deals with, but even within LGBTQ safe spaces, transgender stories often go unheard. In an effort to get more voices involved in the conversation about stopping and preventing transphobia, Teen Vogue asked Aaron and Austin Rhodes to share experiences with transphobia submitted to us by trans teens.

"Now more than ever, it's important for the LGBTQ community to stand together and make sure that all of our stories are heard," Aaron says.

Because, as Aaron says, "Whether you're an ally or a member of the LGBTQ community, the only way to fight transphobia is to be able to identify it."

"If you know what it looks like, you can help fight against it," Austin says, and he couldn't be more right. It's up to all of us to stop transphobia when we see it happening.