The Week In Trans 1/24/22

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Kai Shippley

Kai Shappley, the 11-year-old transgender Texan has been named a finalist for Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year. NBCNews says she first made national headlines last April, as the Texas legislature took up a bill which would forbid the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. We have been following her much longer than that. Alyssa Washington submitted a link to this story.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats have proposed removing “sex” from birth certificates. They have also proposed making a legal name change easier. Last year, the American Medical Association recommended such a change. PinkNews has the story.

The Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference is accepting proposals for workshops. The conference is scheduled for July 21 and 22 in the Pennsylvania Convention Center. If you would like to do a presentation during the conference you can get details on how to submit your proposal here.

A group of companies and industry groups signed on in support of an ACLU’s suit challenging a law in Arkansas that bans treatment for gender dysphoria in kids. The businesses and industry groups say the law is bad for business. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has this story.

Lilly Wachowski

58 prominent transgender people, including Jazz Jennings, Elliot Page, and Lilly Wachowski, have also signed an amicus brief in opposition to Arkansas’s law banning medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. The 31-page brief is the work of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, and is in support of the ACLU’s suit. Several celebrities submitted their own experiences with such medications. This story comes from Changing America at The Hill. Alyssa Washington submitted a link to the story.

The U.S. Department of Justice will join in arguing for Drew Adams, as his case against his old high school continues in an appeals court. The court approved the Justice Department’s request to participate. The Florida Times-Union has this story.

In Oklahoma, an executive order by Governor Kevin Stitt has prevented the Department of Health from changing the gender on a birth certificate, even with a court order. The executive order is being challenged in court, according to Oklahoma Watch.

This week marked the first anniversary of Joe Biden’s inauguration as president. The 19th, The Advocate, and LGBTQ Nation all note that several improvements in LGBTQ rights have occurred under President Biden, such as the overturning of the ban on transgender people in the military and the issuing of non-binary passports. The first two also note that he has not been able to do everything he wanted to do.

An opinion piece in The Hill says that transgender people’s rights are under attack, and, “The persecution should stop now.”

Jessica Watkins

Jessica Watkins is a transgender woman who participated in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. She is set to argue her case later this month. She is charged with sedition, and could face decades in jail, according to The Advocate. Alyssa Washington supplied us with a link to this story.

A recent headline in The New York Times says, “Doctors debate whether trans teens need therapy before hormones.” The debate, of course, is not whether they need therapy, but how much therapy and what type of therapy is needed. And, as you might guess, anti-transgender forces use this to repeat their unfounded, not-fact-based nonsense about how doctors are barely spending any time with transgender teens before prescribing hormone therapy.

A new study shows that bone density increases for transgender men, but decreases for transgender women when receiving hormone therapy. It is recommended that all transgender women receiving HRT take a proactive approach to bone health. Healio has this story.

A new study shows that transgender people who visit the emergency room are more likely to be poor. That seems unsurprising, but still, it’s good to have a study confirm it. This story comes from Psychiatry Advisor.

More than just polish.

Once nail polish on manly hands was limited to black polish on the fingers of rock stars or pretend vampires. These days the boundaries defining what guys consider fashion have expanded. Younger men, like Pete Davidson, Harry Styles, and Machine Gun Kelly, are painting their nails regularly–and not in just basic black. Get the story from Yahoo. 

The NCAA this week announced a new policy regarding transgender athletes. The new policy is to let the authority in charge of each sport devise a policy for that sport. Sports Illustrated has the story.

The new NCAA policy on transgender athletes looks a lot like the International Olympic Committee’s new policy on transgender athletes. The Guardian reports that the IOC’s new policy has generated some resistance.

Newsweek reports that some state legislators in Indiana want to pass a law on transgender athletes. Tucson.com reports that Arizona legislators are discussing rules for transgender athletes. As we mentioned last week, South Dakota has a transgender athlete bill on the fast track.

The new law on transgender athletes takes effect this week in Texas. The Texas Tribune reports that transgender students feel the new law will keep them out of sports, even though the state’s athletic authority required transgender athletes to compete in the gender on their birth certificates even before the new law took effect.

GLAAD released a list of nominees for their Media Awards this week. Several transgender stories are nominated, especially Pose, Star Trek: Discovery, and Sex Education. This story comes from them.

Laverne Cox has a new series for Netflix, entitled Inventing Anna. You can find a preview at Out.com. Alyssa Washington submitted a link to this story.

Ivory Aquino

Ivory Aquino has been announced as appearing in the new Batgirl film. A social media post makes it seem she will be playing Alysia Yeoh, Barbara Gordon’s roommate. In the comics, Alysia is transgender, although that does not guarantee the character in the film is transgender. Ivory Aquino has announced that she is trans, according to them.

Elliot Page is involved in a new Italian documentary about four trans men who are friends. PinkNews has this story.

Skyler Davenport is a non-binary performer. They can be seen in the new thriller See For Me. You can read about it in The Advocate.

Miss Veronica Vera is featured in a Netflix show titled Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer. She appears in episodes 1 and 3.

Mars candy, makers of M&Ms has remade the M&Ms characters in their commercials, trying to make them less gender-specific and more “inclusive.” It has become fodder for comedians. LGBTQ Nation has some of the comments.

Out.com has a list of the queens competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. vs. The World.

Bob the Drag Queen

Bob the Drag Queen and Monet X Changed appeared at the annual LGBTQ+ ski week at Aspen. Out Traveler has the story.

Samsung had an ad showing a Muslim mother supporting her son’s drag performance. The ad played well in some places but Samsung pulled the ad from Singapore, where the local reception was not as good. This story comes from The Advocate.

Scottish police have concluded their investigation into the protest that was recently held outside of J.K. Rowling’s house. The finding was that the protest was legal. This story comes from them.

The Times of India has a profile of the first transgender doctor in Pakistan.

Two Black transgender people created the Black Trans Prayer Book in an attempt to overcome the religious beliefs which not only isolate transgender people but lead to violence against us. PinkNews has the story.

Some transgender people who have found acceptance by embracing their surgical scars are profiled in LGBTQ Nation.

Transgender teens in Arkansas are uncertain over what the future holds for them. They talked to The New York Times about it.

Amy Schneider

Amy Schneider continued her impressive run on Jeopardy!. In an interview with NPR, she mentioned receiving a message about how her appearances on Jeopardy! helped an 83-year-old father to become more respectful of transgender people. PinkNews has this story.

TWITs

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) has proposed a bill that would insist federal prisons house prisoners according to their “biological sex.” Of course, biology is hardly as cut-and-dry as Senator Cotton believes, and of course, his proposed goal of “protecting women” is hardly what he does in other matters. Sexual assault of transgender women in men’s prisons is a significant problem; sexual assault of female prisoners by transgender women is not such a big problem. For a lack of concern for transgender people in prison, for suggesting legislation to prevent a problem which is not a problem, and for attempting to score political points by denying the rights of a group of people, Senator Tom Cotton gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from The Advocate. Alyssa Washington supplied us with a link to the story.

Wisconsin Republicans have proposed a bill which would forbid doctors from medically treating gender dysphoria in minors. The governor of the state has no intention of signing such a bill, but that is not stopping eight Republican members of the legislature from introducing it. For wasting the time of the legislature with a bill that is going to fail, for insisting that they are helping transgender children by refusing to allow them medical treatment the American Medical Association believes to be not only the best way to treat gender dysphoria in minors but also a lifesaver to transgender people, and for attempting to build their political reputations by mistreating others, these eight Republican legislators get a TWIT Award. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has this story.

A swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania team spread a rumor that Lia Thomas conspired to throw the race she lost to the other transgender swimmer. She finished fifth in that race. The teammate accuses Lia of not really trying, as evidenced by her time. For smearing her teammate’s reputation, and for using weak evidence, this anonymous teammate gets a TWIT. She shares it with the media who repeated the rumor so gleefully, such as The New York Post.

Fox News interviewed Caitlyn Jenner on the subject of transgender athletes. She brought no particular expertise to the subject, beyond her supposed credentials of being transgender and being a former athlete. Ms. Jenner gave them the sort of quotes they wanted, calling transgender athletes a symptom of “a woke world gone wild” and claiming, “I am out there to protect women’s sports.” For relying on a fake expert, and for putting an emphasis on repeating talking points rather than genuine information, Fox News gets another TWIT Award.

Another story in The New York Post declares in its headline that Governor “Hochul Wants Transgender Inmates To Choose Where They’re Housed In Prisons.” That is not precisely true, of course. While not precisely false, it leaves the impression that they will get what they want. In reality, their choice will be one factor in deciding where a transgender person is housed. The exact nature of the crime will also be important. For slanting the news, The New York Post gets a TWIT.

Some legislators in Florida have introduced a bill which, if passed, would make it illegal for a teacher of kindergarten to fifth grade to discuss LGBTQ identities. Students are not so bound, but teachers would be unable to correct a student who lies about the topic, since teachers cannot teach the topic. For making a bigger problem than the one they sought to solve, and for the bad logic of thinking that LGBTQ identities go away if no one discusses them, these legislators get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

In Virginia, Delegate Jon Avioli has introduced a bill to restrict restroom access in schools according to “biological sex.” The matter of restroom access by transgender students in Virginia (and Maryland, North Carolina, and West Virginia) was settled by the ruling in the Gavin Grimm case. For attempting to overturn a court ruling through a bill that is already declared unconstitutional, and for using discrimination against others as a way to enhance his own political future, Delegate John Avioli gets a TWIT. This story comes from The Advocate.

LGBTQ Nation reports that thousands of Christian pastors preached on the value of conversion therapy last Sunday. Conversion therapy does not actually change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but it can induce tremendous shame in the individual. For promoting a therapy that does not work, and for causing mental health issues, these pastors get a TWIT Award.

A new study found that some parental control apps are not only blocking LGBTQ sites, including The Trevor Project, but also reporting to the parents that their child attempted to visit that site. For blocking access to critical resources, and for outing LGBTQ children without their permission, these parental control apps get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation. Alyssa Washington submitted a link to this story.

Dr. Phil McGraw invited Matt Walsh from The Daily Wire onto his show, to discuss pronouns. His other guests were a non-binary couple, Ethan and Addison. Walsh used the platform to spread all sorts of anti-LGBTQ nonsense, much of which was patently untrue. He then went on to brag about it on social media. For outright discrimination, for being a bully, and for grandstanding on an issue that he obviously has never studied, Matt Walsh gets a TWIT. For both booking him and airing the show, executives of Dr. Phil’s show share in that TWIT. Out.com has this story.

TWIT is assembled by Cecilia Barzyk with additional content and editing by Angela Gardner. Care to make a comment on this post? Login here and use the comment area below.

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Category: Transgender Community News