The Week In Trans 11/1/21

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CeCé Telfer

Trans triathlete Chris Mosier was on the Olympic Team USA sprint duathlon men’s team in 2015, and in 2019, Franklin Pierce University senior CeCé Telfer became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA title. Both sat for an interview with LGBTQ Nation.

The U.S. State Department has issued its first gender-neutral passport. It is said that Dana Zzyym, who has been fighting in courts for a gender-neutral passport for years, got the first gender-neutral passport, although the State Department will not confirm that. Them has this story.

The Biden Administration also acknowledged Intersex Awareness Day. The State Department tweeted, “We recognize the voices of intersex people around the world. Here at the Department, we are committed to promoting and protecting the human rights of intersex people.” This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

A new study from The Center for American Progress finds that 69% of intersex people reported some form of discrimination in the last year, often in difficulty with identification documents or obtaining medical help.

Sam Alleman is the new LGBTQ liaison for the Democratic National Committee. He does not have a background in LGBTQ rights, but rather in abortion rights. He brings his experiences from that fight into the fight for LGBTQ rights. He sat for an interview with The Washington Blade.

Jo Acker, a 26-year-old transgender woman, was a security guard at a mall in Boise, Idaho. She was killed while attempting to stop a mass shooting there. KTVB-TV has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

Jessi Hart

The body of Jessi Hart, a 42-year-old transgender woman, was found in Oregon on October 17. She had been killed about two weeks prior, and it took a while to identify the remains. She and her teenage son had been the subject of a story about homelessness, and now her death was reported in the same periodical, Willamette Week.

To the surprise of pretty much no one, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law the transgender athlete bill that the state legislature passed in its third special legislative session. ESPN has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

The Texas Tribune has a rather long story about how Texas politicians who were unable to get an anti-transgender bathroom bill passed managed to get an anti-transgender athletic bill through the legislature.

Despite the difficulties in getting the athletic bill through the legislature, Texas unquestionably has an environment which is not friendly to transgender children. Them reports several Texas families have developed plans to leave if the atmosphere becomes even less healthy for their transgender children.

In Virginia, there is a different problem. The state passed laws requiring schools and school districts to respect the rights and dignity of transgender students, but those requirements are often not being met. The requirements are in the form of guidelines, not hard-and-fast law, and that hinders enforcement, according to WWBT.

Back in Texas, we told you last week that the Magnolia School District suspended male and non-binary students who had long hair. The Advocate reports that a judge has blocked the enforcement of that policy, pending a trial.

If you have or are considering breast implants you should know that Federal regulators have placed so-called black box warnings on breast implant packaging and told manufacturers to sell the devices only to health providers who review the potential risks with patients before surgery. The warnings advise patients that breast implants have been linked to a cancer of the immune system and to a host of other chronic medical conditions, including autoimmune diseases, joint pain, mental confusion, muscle aches and chronic fatigue. Learn more from The New York Times.

Zachary Willmore flanked by members of his cheerleading team.

Zachary Willmore is a senior at Rock Bridge High School in Missouri. He is a cheerleader, and he was just elected Homecoming Queen. He identifies as male, at least publicly. The Advocate has this story.

A furniture store in Bemidji, Minnesota, has agreed to pay $60,000 to a transgender person who was refused a job with the company. The Chicago Tribune has this story.

A mother in Staten Island has created a line of clothing for her transgender daughter and other transgender people. This story come from Staten Island Live.

Education Week presents six things to know about transgender students and sports. The first thing is that laws prohibiting transgender female athletes are logistically hard to enforce.

Friend of TGF Rev. Yolanda has just released a new EP from an autobiographical musical called The Church of the Alien Love Child Presents: The Passion of Rev. Yolanda. It’s a musical that follows her story from 1956 Alabama to 2021 NYC. You can check it out on Yolanda’s website. Any musicologists out there who’d like to write a review of the EP for TGF? Let us know.

Baltimore film legend John Waters has an exhibit of his artwork coming to the Baltimore Museum of Art. It will open in November of 2022 and run through April of 2023. In the meantime another Waters feature will open on December 12, The John Waters Restrooms. At Waters insistence they will be all-gender facilities. Read more from the Baltimore Fishbowl

We reported last week that Dave Chappelle offered to meet with the transgender community. However, The Hollywood Reporter quotes him as saying, “I am not bending to anyone’s demands.” He, on the other hand, does make a demand, or prerequisite. The people he meets with have to have watched his special.

Them has an opinion piece about the Dave Chappelle controversy as a transgender employment issue.

Brandy Rodriguez

Brandy Rodriguez, a transgender activist from Trinidad, passed away. She is remembered by Stabroek News.

We reported recently about an ad for John Lewis, an insurance company in the U.K., which featured a boy in a dress and make-up. The company decided to pull the ad, not because anyone was bothered by the clothes and makeup, but just because the boy seems to be doing deliberate damage to the house, and that sort of thing isn’t covered in their policies. This story comes from The Advocate.

Kathleen Stock has resigned her position as a professor at the University of Sussex. The University had recently announced new steps to defend the professor and her freedom of expression, even to the point of denying others the freedom to express opposing viewpoints. PinkNews has this story.

PinkNews also reports that a group of transgender students and their allies are claiming victory because of Dr Stock’s resignation.

“Gender critical” activist Marion Millar was charged with making transphobic comments, which apparently can be a crime in Britain under some conditions. However, the charges were dropped, according to PinkNews.

An article in The Times of London claimed that, if the U.K. passed a ban on conversion therapy, the transgender support group Mermaids would be outlawed. While the claim is laughable, Equalities Minister Mike Freer nonetheless felt it necessary to officially state that Mermaids would be safe. PinkNews has this story.

A bill in Quebec would only change sex on documents upon proof of surgery. This would be a step backwards for Canada. One possibility being discussed is separate listings for sex and gender, according to the CBC.

A week after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared transgender ideology to be a crime against humanity, all references to transgender people were removed from a health guide for teenage girls. The Moscow Times has this story.

The organizers of the Taiwan Trans March held their event online this year, which allowed for some speakers. Focus Taiwan has this story.

Angel Maxine

African Arguments has a profile of Angel Maxine, the first transgender person to have her correct sex listed on an I.D. document in Ghana.

A group of protestors met outside of ICE headquarters, where they requested that transgender detainees be set free. The Washington Blade has this story.

A viral hashtag #CisWithTheT shows that TERFs are losing in the court of public opinion, according to them. Actually, it shows that opponents of TERFs are unafraid of expressing their opinion.

PinkNews has an article about pink for girls and blue for boys.

Recently, the Oklahoma State Department of Health agreed to allow people born in the state to declare themselves non-binary on their birth certificates. This infuriates some lawmakers, including the governor, but state Representative Mauree Turner, who is non-binary, approves of the concept. PinkNews has this story.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Judith Butler looks at why the idea of “gender” is provoking a backlash around the world. She also compares TERFs to fascists.

TWITs

U.S. Representative Jim Banks had his Twitter account suspended due to his deliberate misgendering of U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine. For crossing the line into something that risks suspension, Representative Jim Banks gets a TWIT Award. The Hill has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link to this story.

The school board in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, decided that students should decide whether to tell their parents that they are transgender, not the school. This angers The Federalist. For demonstrating exactly the reason why some children feel unable to talk to their parents about their gender identity, The Federalist gets a TWIT Award.

Caitlyn Jenner stepped into the Dave Chappelle debate, and she sided with him. She claimed, “This isn’t about the LGBTQ movement, it’s about woke cancel culture run amuck, trying to silence free speech.” For failing to acknowledge the harm that is done by opposing her, Caitlyn Jenner gets a TWIT. The New York Post has this story.

Texas state Representative Matt Krause sent a letter to school libraries, investigating whether they have any LGBTQ books. While the letter only asks for information, it is obvious that he will use the information to further his standing with the sort of people who would support banning books. For being uncomfortably close to Fahrenheit 451, state Representative Matt Krause gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from them.

The LGB Alliance held an event in London, and all sorts of TERFs and near-TERFs were invited to speak, including Rosie Duffeld and Graham Linehan. At it, there were the expected condemnations of “transgender ideology,” with no acknowledgment of their ant-transgender views are part of an ideology. For creating their own event to condemn others who are actually willing to listen to and be concerned about someone other than themselves, The LGB Alliance gets a TWIT Award. PinkNews has this story.

A school survey asked if “queers” should be allowed to use the same restroom as “normal people.” For an amazingly biased question, the people behind this survey get a TWIT Award. Out.com has this story.

We mentioned above the first gender-neutral passport issued by the U.S. Department of State. Franklin Graham has called on nations around the world to reject all people who carry gender-neutral passports. Passports are never mentioned in the Bible, so he certainly has no solid ground to stand on. For reading his own prejudice into matters and pretending it is God’s intent, Franklin Graham gets another TWIT. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

Senator Marco Rubio decided to step into the “culture war,” telling an audience that he hopes Pope Francis would tell Joe Biden to keep “transsexual” teachers out of preschools. For elevating a non-issue to such a high status, and for using old-fashioned terminology, Senator Marco Rubio gets a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

The BBC recently hosted an article, in which the author claimed that transgender women were somehow tricking lesbians into having sex with them. The entire article makes no sense, except as a transparent attempt to say that transgender women are not women. And yet, the BBC agreed to put this on its website. For dismissing transgender women as unworthy of inclusion, the BBC gets a TWIT Award. The Daily Beast 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