REPLAY: The Advocate hosts virtual roundtable with trans youth and author Nico Lang

The Advocate hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with trans teens from the nonprofit organization GenderCool Project on October 23 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The was moderated by queer journalist and book author Nico Lang. Lang's book American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era came out earlier this month. American Teenager explores the experiences of growing up trans the U.S.

The ACLU has tracked hundreds of anti-trans bills over the last couple of years, and Republican politicians have made trans youth a prime target in political attacks, especially trans youth in sports. But these teens are speaking out and living their authentic lives, regardless.

Related: Meet the young transgender teens changing America and the world

Recently, several teens involved with The Gender Cool Project graced The Advocate's latest cover.

“These young people are having such a consequential, positive impact on how the country and the world actually understands and appreciates that transgender and nonbinary kids are just like all other kids,” co-founder and executive director Jen Grosshandler says. “‘If you got to do what I do, if you got to spend your days in the presence of these young people, you would feel so positive, so optimistic, so empowered.”

The discussion touched on the everyday experiences of trans youth, including the narratives that often aren't highlighted like the joy these young people have.

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“We're thriving in our communities. I think so much of the narrative isn't around that,” Rebekah, one of The GenderCool Project teens interviewed for the cover story, says. “We don't think about being trans every second of every day. We don't think about being LGBTQ every single second. We're just kids, and we just want to have fun. We want to play on our sports teams. We want to get involved with school activities.”