Bradie Anderson has been fighting to be herself for as long as she can remember. She knew she was a girl ever since she was very young, but others havent always seen it that way. When Bradie was 7 years old, her Catholic elementary school in Ohio gave her the choice to either pretend to be a boy or leave, so she left. And being the only out trans girl at her new public school drew the wrong kind of attention: At one point, a group of boys added her to a group chat in which they threatened to violently attack and castrate her.

Bradie struggled with the harassment she faced, never quite sure who she could trust or who was really her friend. It felt like everybody was against me for something that I couldnt control, she recalled. It just felt like the whole world was on top of me, and I couldnt do anything about it. It just got worse because once everybody starts hating on someone, everybody else thinks that they can do it, too.

Although the bullying has tapered off in high school, Bradie said her family was recently forced to get a temporary protective order on her behalf after she was harassed by a local right-wing activist. Bradie said the woman made a lurid remark about her genitalia, an invasive comment made all the more insidious by the fact that she is only 15 years old. Her mother, Anne, said her daughter shouldnt have to worry about this stuff at such a young age, and yet these concerns have dominated so much of their lives. After an eight-hour court hearing, the family is waiting to hear back from a judge on a request to make the protective order permanent.

The Andersons dont know how many battles like these they can take, and they have discussed the possibility of leaving Ohio altogether, depending on the outcome of the states proposed trans bathroom ban. In June, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban trans students from using locker rooms and restrooms consistent with their identities in both K-12 schools and state-funded colleges. It still needs to clear the state Senate and get approval from the governor before becoming law, but similar policies are already on the books in 13 other states.