MINORITY THREAT RHETORICAL REPERTOIRE: EXAMINING DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES IN SUPPORT OF ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION

Anti-trans legislation has surged across US state legislatures, with over 2,500 anti-trans bills introduced from 2022 to 2025. Anti-trans mobilization discursively constructs trans people and rights as responsible for various perceived social ills and threatening certain groups or social beliefs. I propose a minority threat rhetorical repertoire – a three-pronged framework in which dominant groups deploy specific targets, grievances, and authorities to articulate support for anti-minority legislative social control. I use the anti-trans movement as a case study that wields anti-trans legislation to reinforce cisgenderism – an ideology hierarchizing cisgender and masculinized people and bodies across resources, power, and social status. This study analyzes over 6,500 written public comments in support of anti-trans legislation across four state legislatures to uncover distinct clusters of anti-trans discourse and arguments across legislative contexts. These findings provide insight into how mobilization operates to protect ideologies or forms of oppression that benefit dominant groups.