The Week In Trans 10/26/20

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Mia Mason

The Washington Blade ran a profile of Mia Mason, a transgender woman and Navy veteran who is running for Congress. She is opposing an incumbent who has “gone out of his way” to support anti-LGBTQ legislation. The Maryland district voted heavily for Donald Trump four years ago.

Presidential nominee Joe Biden continues to signal that transgender issues are important to him. This week, he said that violence against transgender women was “an epidemic that needs national leadership,” and he accused the Trump administration of stoking “the flames of transphobia.” NBC News has this story.

A much-shared article claims that Joe Biden said that an 8-year-old has “a right to transition, and there is no reason for you [the parent] to deny it.” A fact check by USA Today shows that Joe Biden did not say this.

Trans voter Palana Belken.

A lot of news outlets have been running stories about the difficulties transgender people can face in voting. New Hampshire Public Radio ran one this week. These stories tend to be by staff reporters. However, Mic has one that was written by a non-binary person.

Transgender people have a lot at stake in this election. One of the candidates has rolled back several protections that transgender people were given by a previous administration. A rundown of reasons to vote can be found at Well + Good.

Citibank has joined MasterCard’s True Name program, which allows transgender and non-binary people to use a name not on their birth certificate on their credit card. The Advocate has this story.

Q13 Fox in Seattle did a story about the increase in violence against transgender people.

A couple in the Grand Rapids area feel that their house was attacked because they have transgender symbols on the house. WOOD-TV has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

A transgender man in Washington, D.C., says that he contracted COVID-19 because he was denied a place in a homeless shelter, and had to instead go to a crowded shelter that accepted transgender people. The shelter which refused him had space, but only took in cisgender people. This story comes from WJLA-TV.

Jesse James Keitel

Vida’s Ser Anzoategui, Transparent’s Joey Soloway, Trinkets’s Quintessa Swindell, and Big Sky’s Jesse James Keitel have words of wisdom for the entertainment industry. Get the story from the Advocate.

A transgender man who worked as a shift manager in a restaurant of the Sweetgreen chain has filed a suit claiming discrimination because of his gender identity. He claims that repeated complaints about the behavior of co-workers went unanswered. Metro Weekly has this story.

Los Angeles police have made an arrest in connection with the recent stabbing of a transgender woman in MacArthur Park, and have also charged the individual in connection with a previous stabbing of a transgender woman. This story appeared in The Los Angeles Times.

We told you of Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was pardoned after serving six years in prison for the murder of a transgender woman in the Philippines and then deported back to the U.S. South Coast Today found some local reaction in his hometown. His family is glad that he has been pardoned, but others in New Bedford hope he settles elsewhere.

Pink News reports that Robert Sixco, the police officer from New Patz, New York, who recorded a rap in which he said that Hillary Clinton should be hanged (even though she has not even been charged with a crime) and that there are only two genders and they are based on genitalia (apparently he does not believe that intersex people exist) will not be fired. He has been on administrative leave since the video went public in June. He will be placed on probation for four years, which is something, but not much. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Natalie Weiss

The director of the Omaha Community Playhouse was determined to find a transgender woman to play the lead roll in I Am My Own Wife the story of trans woman Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. She found her star in Natalie Weiss, a trans woman actor from Lincoln, Nebraska. Learn more from the Omaha World-Herald.

This week saw the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advance the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, who seems to favor religious liberty over civil rights, especially for LGBTQ people. But, a new study from the Williams Institute found that a great many LGBTQ people also have religious beliefs. Brad Sears the interim executive director of the Williams Institute writes about the findings for The Advocate.

Boston Children’s Hospital has announced that it will stop performing clitoroplasty and vaginoplasty on intersex children who are too young to consent to the surgery themselves. Pink News has this story.

An article in Scientific American looks at research on a cause of gender dysphoria in people, and what the theories say about those who propose them.

While many studies have found that LGBTQ people, and transgender people specifically, are prone to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, there also can be great joy in being accepted, especially among those suffering gender dysphoria. Forbes has this story.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation looked at access to health care and insurance by transgender individuals in the United States.

Bob The Drag Queen and Peppermint have produced a video designed to get out the LGBTQ vote. Particularly in Pennsylvania where Peppermint is from. Here it is.

Dr. James Bradley, a plastic surgeon in the New York City area, tells The New York Post that he recently consulted with the U.S. military about how to do facial feminization surgery. This led to an article about what that type of surgery is all about.

A story in Healthline recommends using gender neutral language in reference to pregnant people, as more and more transgender men are becoming pregnant.

Franklin Pierce University has announced that they will not allow transgender females to join their women’s sports teams. This is in response to the Department of Education’s threats to cut funding to schools that allow transgender women to compete. The school had no transgender athletes. The New Hampshire Union-Leader has this story.

Stella Moore

Stella Moore of Portsmouth, England, has been told that she cannot compete in the local women’s bowling league until three years after her gender confirmation surgery. Her story appears in The Portsmouth News.

The Rochester Kink Society (RKS) is an education and social group serving and built by the community in Rochester, New York for 24 years. They are currently preparing for their 24^th Annual Kink Auction. If you’d like to pick up a new paddle, whip or ball gag and benefit a kinky cause check out their auction website.

TikTok announced their new policy changes this week. Among them, they banned white supremacist and Nazi content, videos that spread falsehoods about various religious and ethnic groups, and videos that promote conversion therapy or other anti-LGBTQ content. The Advocate has this story.

The table read of the script for Brokeback Mountain with an all-transgender cast was shown at the New York LGBT+ film festival. You can read about it in Pink News. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the tip.

If you are non-binary and hoping to make it in Hollywood, Pink News says that casting directors are looking for more non-binary actors. Unfortunately, they want them young–mostly, they want non-binary actors under the age of 18. (I’ve got shoes older than that.) As that article and one in The Advocate point out, there are not a lot of non-binary characters at present, though casting directors expect more opportunities in the future.

A new graphic novel called Beetle and the Hollowbones features a non-binary character named Blob Ghost. The young adult graphic novel has a number of magical characters. You can read about it in The Advocate.

Brita Filter, a former contestant on Drag Race, said that bullying from alleged fans caused her to want to harm herself. This story appears in Pink News.

Brita Filter joins LaGanja Estranja and Willam Belli for “Drag Yourself to the Polls,” a series of drag performances designed to encourage people in Florida to vote. The performance videos are to be released on the Florida Democratic Party’s social media accounts. The Advocate has this story.

Toronto drag artist Sofonda Cox had released a new circuit-house track titled Thrive. This release is Sofonda’s first after signing with LGBTQIA+ music label, So Fierce Music, and is produced by So Fierce Music label founder and producer, Velvet Code. Listen to the track right here.

Rudolph Giuliani was pranked as a part of the new Borat sequel. Sacha Baron Cohen happened to be in a dress for the prank, though he was not presenting as a female. Nonetheless, Mr. Giuliani described the get-up as a “transgender outfit.” Please we have some taste. The Advocate has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to the story.

Caroline McAllister is a leader on the West Dumbartonshire council, and was hoping to stand for the Scottish National Parliament next year. However, she is also a vocal critic of her party’s plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act, and the party has told her that they will get someone else to stand for election next year. This story comes from Pink News.

The state Parliament of New South Wales has passed a motion to support the local transgender community. This is a response to a bill from a far-right politician, Mark Latham from the One Nation party, which calls for a ban on support of transgender students in Australia’s schools. Out In Perth has the language of the resolution.

Wendy Carlos

Electronic music composer Wendy Carlos has led an interesting life, and that life is the subject of a new biography by Amanda Sewell. The Washington Post has a review of the book.

Nicola Spurling, a transgender woman, is a Green Party candidate in British Columbia. When a person attended her rally wearing an “I [heart] J.K. Rowling” tee-shirt, with the phrase “gender ideology does not belong in schools” on the back, her opponents from the Liberal and NDP parties joined her rally to show their support for transgender rights. This caught the attention of CBC News. Thanks to Ronnie Gordon for pointing the story out to us.

100 male students at College Nouvelles Frontieres in Gatineau, Quebec, wore skirts to school for one day, to protest a dress code that mandates the length of a girl’s skirt but not the length of a boy’s shorts. Out.com has this story.

Pato, a transgender immigrant to Japan from the Philippines, spent 15 months in a detention camp, in very harsh conditions. She was only allowed out of her cell for two hours per day, at a time when both the men and the women were in their cells. She became so depressed that she attempted suicide, according to an account in The Japan Times.

Two student researchers invite people who identify as trans, 18 years plus who are currently living as their identified gender to participate in their student led research. This research explores how Occupational Therapy can effectively support those who are part of the transgender community. Contact Victoria Bell for more information on the study.

A former police officer in Novosibrisk, Siberia, Russia, has been charged with the murder of a transgender woman. Denis Kalinin led police to the body of Victoria Basakovskaya, who had been listed as missing, then confessed to having killed her. Meduza has this story.

Lea T

Elite Daily put together a list of fourteen quotes from prominent celebrity trans women in which they comment about coming out as their true gender identity. 

Daily Xtra has an autobiographical article from a Black, transgender, bisexual, non-binary person from Lesotho.

TWITs

Here is a surprise. Newsweek reports that some conservative Christians are expressing outrage that Joe Biden would give transgender people protection from discrimination. For insisting that God wants you to treat others as less worthy than yourself, when Jesus kept expressing his disapproval of using religion in that way, the Family Research Council and other conservative Christian groups get a TWIT Award.

Franklin Graham lashed out at the Pope for comments approving of civil unions for same-sex couples. The Evangelical leader insists that the Bible condemns homosexuality, and his first proof is the famous line, “Male and female created he they.” First off, that line comes, not in the middle of a discussion of gender norms, but in a story of creation. It is saying that the same being created both males and females, a contrast to other early religions which the creation of females was the work of a different being from the one who created the males. Taking that inclusive passage and using it as he does shows that he is looking for anything to twist into saying what he wants to hear. Beyond that, he is conflating gender identity with sexual orientation, which are not the same thing. Franklin Graham gets a TWIT Award for this. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Piers Morgan, not one to shut up, has said that allowing transgender women to play rugby is “obviously wrong.” Even more obvious is the fact that Piers Morgan has no expertise in sports medicine, and is therefore making nothing but a layman’s statement. Also obvious is that he isn’t consulting with experts. Also obvious is the fact that a one-size-fits-all rule is not the ideal way to handle a matter like this. For rushing to opine without much thought, Piers Morgan gets another TWIT. You can find this story at Pink News.

A new ad says that Congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones would close military bases in order to get money for transgender surgery. It is a ludicrous claim, with no basis in fact, and the budget numbers are simply laughable. For making such a stupid claim, the National Republican Congressional Committee gets a TWIT Award. You can read about it in Metro Weekly.

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