The most significant cultural change is generational. Among Gen Z, the idea of separating "gender" from "sexuality" is foreign. A 2022 Pew Research study found that roughly 5% of young adults identify as transgender or nonbinary. For these youths, a "gay bar" is assumed to be trans-inclusive. Drag shows are often headlined by trans performers. The strict boundaries of the 1990s—"I'm a gay man, that's a trans woman"—are dissolving into a fluid "queer" identity.
The modern LGBTQ+ rights movement was largely forged by the bravery of transgender individuals, particularly trans women of color.