Hawaii recognizes the gender of trans people. I.E. trans women are considered women, trans men are men, and non-binary people, at least in some instances are recognized as non-binary. Some recognition may require identification documentation changes, and some organizations or agencies may not fully recognize these changes.
Hawaii does not appear to place child custody at risk.
Note that colonization disrupted Hawaiian culture significantly, significantly impacting Māhū, or "people in the middle," who today sometimes (but not always) also refer to themselves as trans. Many indigenous Hawaiians view tourism today as continuing the colonization of Hawaii and ask tourists without connections to indigenous Hawaii to plan vacations to places other than Hawaii, because of the harm that will be done by this continuing form of colonization.
- Trans people are specifically named in Hawaii non-discrimination laws.
- Trans people are allowed to use the facilities they are comfortable in, including bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, etc. Legal documentation of your gender is not required for this protection.
- Drag performance and cross-dressing is legal in Hawaii.
See the USA TSA document.
- Trans women are usually housed with men
- Trans men are usually housed with women
- Nonbinary people would typically be housed according to sex assigned at birth
- News reports indicate that gender affirming care is sub-par or unavailable in custody.
- There is no legal definition of male/female in Hawaii.
Non-binary people are recognized, at least by some aspects of government, such as in the ability to change driver's licenses but not birth certificates.
- Trans medical care is legal for all ages.
- Transition care is not defined as child abuse
- Hawaii does not have a "sanctuary law" protecting people receiving care in Hawaii.
- Same-sex marriage (and thus all trans marriage) is recognized
Because of the rhetoric around trans people in the political and media space, trans people should use caution, particularly in bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, etc. Random and targeted attacks may occur, and trans people who report these attacks can expect to sometimes be misgendered by officials and public institutions.
However, much of Hawaii is considered reasonably safe. Indigenous Hawaiians culture recognized people who were Māhū or "in the middle." As a result, there is some familiarity with non-cis gender expression. However, due to the impact of Christianity and colonialism, prejudice exists both within and outside of indigenous culture in Hawaii.