We’re living in a climate where 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously consider attempting suicide and 90% of LGBTQ+ young people reported that recent politics negatively impacted their wellbeing. (The Trevor Project 2024).
But research also shows that LGBTQ+ young people living in accepting communities attempt suicide at less than half the rate of those living in unaccepting communities. We asked ourselves, could a social media series become one of those accepting spaces? Rather than creating another project about survival, we created one about love and belonging. Our goal was to increase both positive representation and hope.
In The Midst Of… Love Flourishes was conceived as a documentary series that would become a community space. We recognized that social media is where many trans people find connection, but it is also where they encounter harassment and hostility. Rather than maximizing engagement at any cost, we deliberately chose to build a carefully moderated environment where trans people could participate safely.
Our goals were to:
Led by Kai Tillman, an award winning trans filmmaker with over 20 years of filmmaking experience under his belt, our core team began to conceive what this ‘safe space’ could look like for the community. Immediately we came up with the idea of remaking the ‘rom com’ and featuring trans love stories.
We drew on the visual language of the classic romantic comedy, a genre that has historically excluded trans people, to create something that felt immediately familiar while expanding audiences' expectations of who gets to experience love. Every creative decision, from the set design to the music, reinforced that sense of optimism and belonging.
To deepen that emotional connection, every interview was filmed with three cameras. Alongside the traditional two-shot, dedicated close-ups captured each participant's reactions, smiles, tears, and moments of connection. This allowed us to edit the series with the emotional language of romantic cinema, inviting audiences to experience the relationships rather than simply observe conversations.
The series was designed as a social-first experience. We filmed full-length interviews for YouTube and transformed each conversation into a steady stream of short-form films, montages, and memorable moments that encouraged audiences to return week after week.
To help shape this approach, we brought on trans creators Elle Deran and Ezra Michel, whose expertise in digital storytelling informed both our editorial strategy and the creation of our social content. Their lived experience, alongside that of our wider trans-led creative team, helped ensure the work resonated authentically with the community it was created for.
Just as importantly, we made the deliberate decision to prioritize community safety over algorithmic performance. Every platform is moderated daily to remove bullying, harassment, and anti-trans abuse, even when doing so may reduce engagement metrics. Rather than encouraging conflict to increase reach, we intentionally cultivated a digital environment where trans people and those who love them could participate without fear of hostility.
One of our greatest challenges was protecting both participants and the team behind the project while sharing deeply personal stories in an increasingly hostile online environment. Participants were notified before their episodes were released and received guidance on protecting themselves online, together with mental health and crisis resources, including contacts for our internal team, The Trevor Project, and other support organizations. We also assigned moderation responsibilities to non-trans members of our team to reduce the emotional burden on our trans colleagues, regularly checked in on moderators' wellbeing, and disabled comments whenever discussions became unsafe.
Within five months, In The Midst Of… Love Flourishes organically reached more than 40 million views across platforms and built a community of over 120,000 followers. More significant than the scale of that audience, however, was the culture that developed within it.
Viewers frequently commented not only on the series itself but on the kindness, encouragement, and positivity they found in the community surrounding it. Many remarked that seeing overwhelmingly supportive conversations beneath the videos restored their faith in online spaces and inspired them to participate themselves.
As trust grew, audiences became contributors. Viewers began sharing their own photographs and meet-cute stories, allowing Meet Cute Mondays to evolve into an ongoing celebration of community-generated storytelling. The comments regularly brought together trans elders, younger community members, and allies.
Comments from our pages:
“There’s so much clickbait out there that’s clearly seeking nasty bigoted comments. It is BEAUTIFUL to see a post with nothing but positivity… and comments that are a great reflection of how most people feel!”
“I've just found the best part of the internet”
“Imagine: a community of people that accepts and affirms humans the way they are. Miraculous. Makes me want to believe in the better angels of human nature, and to bring my better angel out, too. Thank you.”
“As a trans girl in Kansas. I'm crying. It feels so hopeless sometimes to be stuck in a rural area where the queer community is yourself and the one other trans person you know. Thank you”
