The Week In Trans 11/16/20

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Arielle Keil

A transgender Filipino woman, Arielle Keil, has won the crown as Miss Intercontinental New Zealand 2020. UNILAD says that she was disowned by her family when she transitioned three years ago, and now, she has won a beauty contest.

Although President Trump refuses to admit that he lost the election, Joe Biden is moving ahead with his transition. One of the people helping him to assemble a team of people on policy recommendations for the new administration is Shawn Skelly, a 20-year Navy veteran. The Washington Blade has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

President-elect Biden could quickly sign executive orders to reverse some of President Trump’s policies, including those that favored religious liberty over equal treatment for LGBTQ people, and especially transgender people. This story is in Politico. However, a similar story from NBC News cautions that the Senate might not be cooperative with legislation.

One item which president-elect Biden can address swiftly is the ban on transgender people in the military. Pink News reports that there are transgender people ready to enlist as soon as the ban is lifted.

In his first address to the nation as president-elect, Joe Biden gave a shout-out to transgender people, alongside other groups. The Washington Blade has this story.

Evelyn Rios Staford

For the first time ever a transgender person was elected in Arkansas. Evelyn Rios Staford was elected Justice of the Peace in Fayetteville. This story appeared in KTHV-TV.

Many people may have hardly noticed the mention of transgender people in president-elect Biden’s speech, but to transgender people, it was a big thing. Amber Leventry, a transgender parent with a transgender child, writes in Scary Mommy about how it made them feel seen.

LGBTQ Nation reports that vice president-elect Kamala Harris updated her Twitter profile, adding her pronouns.

Transgender candidates did so well in this election that NPR took notice.

Five months after Dominque “Rem’mie” Fells was murdered and dismembered in Philadelphia, a suspect has been arrested in California. The New York Post has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

The suspect in the murder of transgender woman Denali Stuckey in August, 2019, has been arrested for another shooting. Dominic Archield had been free on bond while awaiting trial. This story comes from WCSC-TV.

Nooni Norwood, who also went by the name Cinnamon, was shot to death four years ago this month. While the police have not closed the case, it has grown cold. However, her mother is undaunted, according to WTVR-TV.

Forbes has a run-down of the transgender people murdered this year.

Linda Dominguez

The New York Police Department agreed to settle a lawsuit stemming from the arrest of a transgender woman. The woman, Linda Dominguez, will get $30,000, and the department will provide more training on how to treat a transgender suspect. ABC News has the AP’s story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link to this story.

A rally in front of the Stonewall Inn was met with an aggressive response by the New York Police Department. This story is found in LGBTQ Nation.

In celebration of Transgender Awareness Week, USA Today has a story about some transgender teens.

UPS has updated its dress code. Men can now have longer hair, without getting having to get a religious exemption. LGBTQ Nation says that the new rules are meant to be more transgender friendly. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Alabama is not one of the more welcoming places for transgender people. However, the Magic City Wellness Center has been treating gender dysphoria for the last four years. They are now moving into a larger building, so they can serve even more patients. This story comes from WBHM-TV.

Borrego Health is opening a new clinic for transgender health in Cathedral City, California. The Palm Springs Desert Sun has this story.

A new study shows that many transgender people have undiagnosed high blood pressure or high cholesterol. U.S. News and World Report has this story.

The University of Michigan’s Health Lab reports that transgender people with no health insurance or whose health insurance does not cover hormone therapy will find hormones through “riskier sources.” They estimate 9% of transgender people may be using hormones without medical supervision–which comes to 170,000 people in the United States.

West Virginia is being sued because their health insurance does not cover HRT. This includes both Medicaid and plans for state employees. The Charlestown Gazette-Mail. has this story.

Ness Murby, a Paralympian, has come out as transgender. Ness is legally blind and has nerve damage in the left leg. Ness won a silver medal in javelin throw. This story can be found at Out.com.

Avery in Transhood.

The documentary Transhood premiered on HBO this week. It looks at four transgender youths in Kansas City over a five-year period. Reviews are positive in The Hollywood Reporter, the New York Times, Time magazine, The Guardian, IndieWire, Primetimer, and Popsugar.

Another new documentary, Becoming You, looks at gender fluidity in young people. It was released on Apple TV Plus. Pink News has a review. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Laverne Cox says, “[o]ne of the greatest joys of my life. . .is seeing young trans people shine.” People magazine has this story.

We have mentioned in the past that Angelica Ross founded TransTech, a company which trains transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. A story about Angelica Ross and TransTech appears in Variety.

Hailie Sahar of Pose will play Sir Lady Java in a new biopic. Sir Lady Java, who did a nightclub act and opened for some famous people, wants to tell her story. Pink News has this report.

The title of an article in Them says, “Jamie Clayton Says Trans Actors Should Be Able To Audition For Any Role.” If you read the article, though, the suggestion is made that having a transgender actor play a character who is not specifically transgender in the script will make the character transgender. It’s an interesting concept, but cannot be applied to several characters based on real-life people.

Bambi Lake

Bambi Lake, a famous transgender performer in the San Francisco, has passed away. She was 70 years old, according to The Advocate.

Ewan Mcgregor and Charley Boorman filmed a motorcycle trip they took, and the various people whom they met along the way. In Mexico, they visited the Muxe of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Mexico. The Advocate has a review of this episode.

Victoria Volkova appears on the cover of Playboy Mexico, the first transgender person to appear on that magazine’s cover. NBC News has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Ryan Cassata says that he was recently denied medical care because of his gender identity. He talked about it in a series of tweets, which are recalled in Billboard.

Heather Gay, not trans.

Heather Gay is a cisgender woman who is in the cast of the upcoming series The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City. She keeps getting messages asking her to discuss her transition, even though she is not transgender. Heavy.com has this story.

Sasha Velour talks with Out magazine about how plans for this year did not come to fruition.

Stephanie Burt is an English professor at Harvard and a poet. Her interest in literature started with an interest in science fiction, and science fiction plays a part in her poetry. Metro Weekly has a profile.

Target had said that it would not sell the book Irreversible Damage, but they put it back on their website. The book, with a very anti-transgender view, appears to only be available through the website, not on the shelves in stores. This is seen as good news at The Blaze.

Although Stephen Fry signed a letter expressing disagreement with J.K. Rowling’s view on transgender people, he did not let that keep him from doing the audiobook for the Ickabog. Pink News has this story.

Northwestern University recently hosted a roundtable discussion of art by some queer artists. It was written up in The Daily Northwestern.

Gigi and Naomi.

Gigi Goode and Naomi Smalls have landed a new makeup ad campaign, according to Out magazine.

The highest court in the United Kingdom has agreed to hear arguments in a case that involves gender-neutral passports. They last heard the matter 25 years ago. Pink News has this story.

The Metropolitan Police of London are facing the possibility of a legal challenge for the way in which they approached people at a transgender rights protest. The organizers say that they had met all of the requirements for the protest under the coronavirus laws at the time, but that they were nonetheless told that they could not hold their event. This story can be found in Pink News.

Fox Fisher tells Pink News of a mother who lost her children because she supported her transgender child, then had to sell her house to pay the legal fees from the court case.

Transphobia is so rampant in Britain that four out of five transgender people have experienced what they consider to be a hate crime in the last 12 months, and half are afraid to use a public restroom. You can read other sad results of this survey by Galop at Pink News. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Norway has extended its hate speech laws, which have protected gay men and lesbians for almost 40 years, to include transgender and non-binary people as well. Pink News has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to the story.

Yaisah Val

Yaisah Val is a transgender woman and an activist in Haiti. She opened the country’s first safe house for transgender people last week. UNAIDS has this story.

A bill which would ban LGBTQ Pride parades is under consideration in Poland. In a country where politicians have frequently declared “LGBT-free zones,” this bill has a chance to pass, according to Pink News. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for this link.

The CBC reports that Nova Scotia will provide breast reduction surgery for non-binary people assigned female at birth.

Vicky Hernandez was shot and killed during a coup d’état in Honduras back in June of 2009. Although eleven years have passed, the case was heard before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights this week. Pink News has this story.

Farida Aly

Reuters has a story about a transgender woman in Egypt, Farida Aly, who is shunned because she does not pass.

In India, the Kerala High Court took exception to a transgender person being barred from the National Cadet Corps. “A person cannot be denied a legitimate right only because she is a transgender,” wrote Justice Devan Ramachandran in his decision. You can read about this in Scroll.In.

The Better India has a video story of a transgender woman who has become the foster mother to eight orphans.

TWITs

Many people are upset with a statue of Mary Wollstonecraft which was unveiled in London recently. It seems that the statue depicts her in the nude. Some people who dislike the statue decided that the solution was to cover it up–with a tee shirt that bears an anti-transgender slogan. For pushing your prejudices on someone else, these “gender-critical feminists” get a TWIT Award. You can read about it in Pink News.

While most of the media reacted fairly well to Joe Biden’s proposed agenda, The Washington Examiner did not. Among the things they claim that the Biden administration wants to do is “Nominating many gay and transgender judges.” Transgender federal judges are not a thing, but if they were, disqualifying them automatically just because they are transgender would be wrong. For hyperbole and for approving of discrimination, the Washington Examiner gets a TWIT.

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