The Week In Trans 10/21/19

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Gigi Gorgeous

Family Equality held their awards dinner last week, and Gigi Gorgeous and Nats Getty were among the honorees. They received Family Equality’s 2019 Murray-Reese Family Award because their work has contributed to greater understanding of and empathy for the challenges faced by LGBTQ parents.You can read about this in LGBTQ Nation.

Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas has issued a ruling, long anticipated, in which he formally declared that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He also said that the section is contrary to law, arbitrary, and capricious. The ruling will be quickly appealed. Bloomberg Law has this story. Allison Hope talks of the potential consequences from this decision at CNN Opinion.

In May, the Democrat-controlled House passed the Equality Act, which would write sexual orientation and gender identity into Title VII; the vote was 236 to 173, with eight Republicans in the majority. That bill was stopped in the Senate by Mitch McConnell. An opinion writer in The Washington Post has more information. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for pointing us to the op-ed.

Actress Rosario Dawson is in the news in a bizarre story about her and her family allegedly assaulting a transgender FtM employee. The now former employee is suing the family for assault, battery, trespass, discrimination, civil rights, and labor violations. Get the details from Microsoft News.

The Department of Justice held an event to mark the twentieth anniversary of the expansion of hate crimes, partly named for Matthew Shepard. The parents of the namesake, Judy and Dennis Shepard, sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr, accusing him of hypocrisy for having this event “while, at the same time, asking the Supreme Court to allow the legalized firing of transgender employees.” You can read about it in NBC News.

Chase Stringio wrote about his experience arguing a transgender rights case before the Supreme Court, and about the potential consequences of that decision. Newsweek has this story.

Daniela Calderon

We told you last week that Daniela Calderon gave an interview from her hospital bed, while still recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. This week, Fox News reports that the man arrested for the shooting had been deported in 2010, was in the U.S. illegally, and has not been seen since he posted bail.

Another trans woman of color, Brianna “BB” Hill, was found shot to death in Kansas City, Missouri last week. She is the 20th black trans woman to be murdered this year. Alyssa Washington pointed out the story in The Huffington Post.

Senator Kamala Harris sat down with Mara Keisling to talk about issues facing transgender people. The Advocate has the story.

Senator Harris once opposed using taxpayer money to pay for gender confirmation surgery for an inmate. Senator Elizabeth Warren also opposed that policy, according to Real Clear Politics.

Alphonso David, the CEO of the Human Rights Campaign, has apologized for the fact that black transgender women were not a more visible part of the Town Hall on LGBTQ Issues. You can read about this in The Advocate.

The subject of the CNN HRC Town Hall was the background for the opening sketch on Saturday Night Live, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.

PSU drag performer Hexxa.

Penn State University students from all over the state have brought things from their urban homes to “Happy Valley,” including drag. That’s why PSU has a burgeoning drag scene. A group of performers known as Opulence serve as Penn State’s Drag Ambassadors. The group puts on shows on campus. Learn more about the campus queens from The Daily Collegian. 

This week marked Spirit Day. LGBTQ Nation has a story abut the history of Sprit Day, and how it’s being observed this year.

CBS This Morning went back to look at the three transgender youths whom they interviewed for a piece five years ago, and found them doing reasonably well.

WJBK-TV did a story about how some things that most people take for granted are important to a transgender person.

Harris Glenn Milstead as Divine.

October 19 was the 74th birthday of gay icon and drag performer Divine. Harris Glen Milstead always said he was not a drag queen but an actor. His creation and portrayal of the over the top drag goddess known as Divine assured him of stardom onstage, in film, and as a disco era singer. (Of sorts.) Get the whole scoop on Divine from the Back2Stonewall website.

Some people are worried that violent video games can cause gamers to lose empathy for other people in the real world and lead them to actual violence. For one trans woman, playing female characters in games helped her to decide it was time to transition. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for pointing us to the op-ed in The Washington Post.

A new notary service in Wichita opened up with the specific idea of helping transgender people. Brenda Way started Momma B Notary with the idea of helping transgender people get their papers notarized to get their birth certificates updated. The Wichita Eagle has this story.

Brittany Spencer

Brittany Spencer worked as a (cis woman) server at a diner in Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin. When a couple noticed a transgender woman at the bar they asked Spencer if she wasn’t repulsed by that customer, she replied in the negative, and asked her boss to find someone else to serve the folks who made the disparaging remark. The boss told her to suck it up or go home, so she went home. She has since been fired. WXYZ-TV has this story.

It took a while for CNN to do a follow-up on Pro Publica’s story about trans people’s problems with TSA screening. (CNN was likely looking for a slow news day, but those don’t seem to exist anymore.)

Illinois prison guards participated in a private Facebook group, in which they mocked and dead-named transgender inmates, according to research in Buzzfeed.

A transgender man in Philadelphia was punched in the head, thrown to the ground, and kicked several times. The New York Daily News reports that the incident was captured on surveillance video.

Connie Flemming, a trans woman, developed a form of breast cancer which seems to have been caused by her breast implants. She is now cancer-free, but she wants people to know about this rare but not unheard-of potential complication. She talked to The New York Daily News.

Homecoming Queen Trevor Mayer.

Trevor Mayer ran for Homecoming Prince three years in a row, and lost each time. This year, the nonbinary student ran for Homecoming Queen, and finally won. The Fresno Bee has this story.

LGBTQ Nation has a long story about the ballroom scene in Philadelphia.

A woman is having a problem with her transgender ex-husband, who seems to dress too daringly. At school, their child is called “the drag queen’s son.” (Of course, most drag queens dress quite differently in the streets than they do on stage.) Pink News has some of the reactions the ex-wife got after asking Reddit for opinions.

Transgender people who transitioned as adults sometimes miss their transgender childhood. This recently became the topic for a Twitter discussion, as Pink News documents.

Pioneering transgender male Reed Erickson is profiled in LGBTQ Nation.

Nyla Rose said at a recent event that it amazes her how some people can be fine with ghosts and other phenomena, but cannot believe in transgender people. You can read about it in Game Spot.

Daphne Dorman, a transgender comedian and software engineer who was referenced in a recent Dave Chapelle television special, committed suicide. Deadline carried this story. Gwen Aviles of NBC News tied this to the subject of suicide among transgender people.

During a recent interview with the London Times, Hillary Clinton answered several questions about gender identity, while her daughter Chelsea, who was sitting next to her at the interview, gave more trans-inclusive answers. Mrs. Clinton said that this showed a generational shift in views. You can read about it in Teen Vogue.

Dr. Seymour Diamond passed away at the age of 94. He changed attitudes about migraine headaches, but in his obituary in The Chicago Sun-Times, his daughter Merle praises him for studying up on gender dysphoria and for giving unquestioning support to his transgender grandson, actor Zach Barack.

Cyrus Grace Dunham has written a book called A Year Without A Name, a memoir of coming to grips with a complicated gender identity. Dunham, sibling of Lena Dunham, is the subject of this week’s LGBTQ&A podcast, where we learn that Dunham’s gender is still evolving and growing.

Jamie Clayton starred in Sense 8.

Insider has a feature on sixteen transgender actors on television.

Canada is having an election, but some transgender people are finding that their voter cards still have their dead names on them, despite legal name changes. Global News has this report.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is proposing a law which would require photo ID to vote. Pink News points out this photo ID law will suppress the vote among transgender people, while addressing a non-existent problem of voter fraud at the polls.

Pink News held their awards banquet, and several of the speakers talked abut the reform of the Gender Recognition Act, which is still being written, over a year after the public consultation. The Mirror has an overview of the evening, while Pink News covered the speeches in separate articles on former Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt and Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

The Pink News Awards banquet happened to fall on Pronoun Day, an event designed to highlight sharing and respecting the pronouns that others prefer. Labour Party head Jeremy Corbin and Penny Mordaunt were among those who shared their pronouns, according to a story in Pink News.

Pink News also reports that some women are threatening to quit the Scottish National Party over its support of reforming the Gender Recognition Act.

The Diversity Trust in Britain says that there has been a 50% increase in requests for their diversity training courses. The BBC has this happy news.

In bad news hate crimes are up in Britain, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes are up significantly, and anti-transgender hate crimes are skyrocketing, according to Home Office data featured in a story in Pink News.

Ria Cooper

Ria Cooper filed a hate crimes charge recently, because she was turned down for a “role” in a porn film due to her pre-surgical anatomy. The Sun has this story.

Over 17,000 people have signed a petition asking for the removal of Piers Morgan from Good Morning Britain. The petition specifically mentions his “dehumanizing dismissal of transgender/non-binary/gender-fluid individuals that perpetuates those suicide rates and keeps them alarmingly high.” You can read about the petition in Pink News. Mr. Morgan responded to the petition with another anti-transgender rant, according to another story in Pink News.

A transgender man in Brazil showed his family the results of his top surgery, and they all had bandages like his, in solidarity with him. The video went viral, as Pink News explains.

A project that started as a way for one transgender person to pay for surgery has grown to become a Utah-based nonprofit helping others who can’t afford the procedure. Learn more from U.S.News.

CNN International has a picture story about transgender people in Tahiti.

A new blob, which can heal itself, can eat though it has no mouth, and can learn though it has no brain, went on display at the Paris Zoological Park this weekend. It is said to have over 700 different sexes. Pink News tells us about this thing.

TWITs

The Pickens County School Board in Georgia approved a policy whereby transgender students could use the rest room and locker room of the gender with which they identify. However, the board has now reversed that policy, citing “many serious safety concerns raised in the past few days.” No, the transgender students (if indeed there are any) did not pose any safety concerns. The concerns were death threats, student harassment, and vandalism, all of which were reactions to the announced policy. Those members of the community who overreacted with death threats and vandalism get a TWIT Award. People magazine has this story. Alyssa Washington pointed out the story in The Huffington Post.

Madeleine Kearns writes in The National Review about “The Origins of the Transgender Movement.” Given that this is in the National Review, and is adapted from a speech she gave at the Heritage Foundation, you can be sure that this is revisionist history at best. And it certainly is. She also tells us that “transgenderism” puts children at risk. Transgender children are at extremely heightened risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide, yet Ms. Kearns has no problem denying them an equal place in society. She believes transgender people have a mental health problem, which she feels gets accentuated when they present in the gender with which they identify, when in reality that is exactly opposite the truth. For fabrication, Madeleine Kearns gets a TWIT Award.

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