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b'Masha Gessen has long written about Russia, and recently the war in Ukraine. But Gessen also has a deep background reporting on L.G.B.T.Q. rights. A dual citizen of Russia and the U.S., Gessen fled Russia when they were targeted by government repression of L.GB.T. people. Some of the same rhetoric that Vladimir Putin used is now appearing in bills that aim to criminalize transitioning. \\u201cAll of these bills are about signalling, and what they\\u2019re signalling is the essence of past-oriented politics,\\u201d Gessen told David Remnick. \\u201cA message that says, \\u2018We are going to return you to a time when you were comfortable, when things weren\\u2019t scary \\u2026 when you didn\\u2019t fear that your kid was going to come home from school and tell you that they\\u2019re trans.\\u2019 \\u2026 Promising to take that anxiety away is truly powerful.\\u201d Gessen looks at the rapid escalation of laws in the United States that ban medical treatment for trans youth, and aspects of trans identity. \\u201cWhen I see that transgender care \\u2026 for kids \\u2026 is already illegal in some states,\\u201d Gessen says, \\u201cand for adults is likely to become illegal in some states, I know that my testosterone in New York is probably not as safe as I think it is.\\u201d\\nGessen also discusses how the embattled political climate and clear dangers for trans people make nuanced conversations difficult. For instance, Gessen feels that at least some of Dave Chappelle\\u2019s jokes about trans people could be seen as sophisticated, \\u201cnext-level trans accepting.\\u201d Gessen also discusses the recent backlash against mainstream media outlets for coverage of issues like detransitioning. Detransitioning has received too much of a focus, Gessen says, and focussing on it plays into a narrative that transitioning young should be discouraged. Yet the possibility of regret on the part of trans people shouldn\\u2019t necessarily be denied; better, Gessen said, to accept that regret may accompany any major life change. \\u201cWe normalize regret in all other areas of life,\\u201d Gessen told Remnick. \\u201cKids and their parents, especially teen-agers, make a huge number of decisions that have lifelong implications.\\u201d'