The Week In Trans 11/30/20

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Sarah McBride

Sarah McBride made history by winning her election to be a state senator in Delaware. McBride will the highest-ranking transgender elected official as the only trans state senator in the nation. It didn’t take long for a social media troll to ask her an inappropriate question. Find out how she shut him down in LGBTQ Nation.

President Trump’s order banning many transgender people from serving has eroded the military’s ability to fight and win wars by narrowing its recruiting pool and lowering morale among transgender troops exempt from the policy, former top military physicians said in a study. Get the whole story from The Washington Post.

Gris Soriano, the mother of a seven-year-old transgender child, says she has tried to show her support to her son. “Let’s not turn a deaf ear when our children share their feelings and worries,” Soriano said. “The first step is to show affection and love above everything.” Several support groups are there to help parents with trans children. Support Groups in Southern California

Translatina Coalition: (833) 847-2331

Translatinx Alliance (Orange County): (714) 760-4465

Bienestar: (866) 590-6411

NBC Miami  has the story of a 27-year-old trans woman named Alana Gibson who drove from Maine to Venice because she wanted to be with the woman, who was a former co-worker. When she got there she used a machete to stab the husband of her former co-worker.

A 32-year-old man has been charged with the robbery and murder of a 39-year-old transgender woman, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Monday. Oct. 11 officers found Sara Blackwood with gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital and later died of her injuries. The full story can be found on the WISH-TV website.

Chae’Meshia Simms

Police in Richmond, Virgina are investigating a shooting that claimed the life of Chae’Meshia Simms, a transgender woman in her 30’s. Learn more from WRIC. The HRC responded to the killing.

Asia Foster is the first transgender woman murdered in Houston this year and is believed to be the 38th transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming person killed this year in the U.S., according to the Montrose Center. The Houston Chronicle has the story.

A transgender woman named Daniela, who was the victim of a brutal attack in MacArthur Park in October, says she is “alive” and “fighting.” Daniela was stabbed 16 times in different parts of her body, including her neck, during the October attack. KNBC-TV has the story.

As part of Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremonies, dozens gathered over Zoom to honor the legacy of the Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman from Allston, Mass. who was brutally murdered in 1998. Learn more from the Suffolk Journal.

A transgender woman who was incarcerated in Georgia has filed a lawsuit alleging that officials not only did not protect her from sexual assault and harm but inflicted it on her themselves. CNN has the story.

Aimee Stephens

The funeral home that fired transgender woman Aimee Stephens, sparking a historic case that was decided in the Supreme Court this year, appears to be nearing a settlement that includes paying the late woman’s estate and training its workers on gender discrimination, according to a proposed federal consent decree. Find more in the Detroit News.

The Human Rights Campaign has released the Blueprint For Positive Change, which includes 85 individual policy recommendations for the Biden/Harris administration that would ensure the protection and advancement of LGBTQ+ rights. LGBTQ Nation reports.

Over the past four years, Donald Trump exploited divisions and tensions within the United States and internationally. While he campaigned in 2016 saying he would be the best president ever for LGBTQ people he quickly moved to act against LGBTQ people. President Joe Biden has a chance to do something about transphobia in America. An opinion piece in LGBTQ Nation tells how.

A commentary in LGBTQ Nation by Katrina C. Rose tells about instances of confrontation with transphobic people in which felt felt that her luck, “often with the substantive integrity of Swiss cheese”, had run out.

Businesses in the U.K. are being urged to include the gender-neutral title Mx on forms because recognizing their non-binary customers is “the right thing to do”. Learn more from Pink News.

Illona Verley

The Advocate has an interview with Ilona Verley a two-spirit queen who says, “F*ck Gender”. She just wants to be herself and worry about labels later.

A new study by the Fenway Institute published in LGBT Health found that frequent exposure to negative depictions of transgender people in the media was significantly associated with clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, global psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in that population. Pink News covers the story.

The Human Rights Campaign estimates that there are more than two million transgender people in the United States. While the transgender community has always been instrumental in the fight for equality, many transgender people today are having a hard time finding healthcare providers who are competent and compassionate. The Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials has the story.

There is a report from KIRO-TV [Seattle] that a transgender teen is suing his health insurance company for discrimination in violation of the Affordable Care Act. In a federal lawsuit, the teen said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is denying him access to gender-affirming care.

The Transgender Film Center, a new nonprofit organization established to support transgender filmmakers with resources and opportunities for their projects, announced its first initiative, the Transgender Film Center’s Trailblazer Grant. The grant will provide start-up and completion funds to qualifying narrative or documentary projects written, directed or produced by trans creators. Learn more from Variety.

During Transgender Awareness Week USA Today ran article on what films and TV shows people should watch to educate themselves about transgender issues.

The Advocate published an article titled 21 Movies That Queered Christmas. A few of the titles feature trans characters.

RuPaul ready for the RuPaulidays.

If you watch a lot of TV you may have seen RuPaul in an Old Navy commercial. Not only does the glamazon appear on screen but she sings the spots jingle. Also in conjunction with Old Navy RuPaul has a holiday series that is being distributed on the Old Navy Instagram and YouTube channel. Find out how RuPaul celebrates the holidays from out.com.

The Advocate features an interview with  drag performer BenDeLaCreme. The interview is part of  The Advocate’s “Rocky Road” series, inspired by the upcoming Amazon Prime Video film Uncle Frank, out November 25, and its themes of family acceptance, coming out, and revelatory road trips.

Dwayne Wade said he “appreciated” Mike Tyson defending his daughter against rapper Boosie Badazz’s tirade of transphobic comments. Find the story at Pink News.

Another supportive parent of a transgender child is Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones who has said he is proud of the way his family rallied round after his son came out as transgender. Pink News has the full story.

Olivia Colman, Jameela Jamil and Paloma Faith are just three feminists who have condemned “violence and hostility” against trans women on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls (November 25). See more including a list of all those who signed an open letter on the Pink News website.

What could be merrier for Christmas time than glitter, tinsel and holiday lights? All that when it’s on a gaggle of drag queens, that’s what! A cast of 10 drag legends has come together for the Drag Queen Christmas VOD event, a virtual adaptation of Murray & Peter Presents’ annual nationwide holiday tour amid the coronavirus pandemic. Find out who everyone is from Msn.com. The show is streaming on demand at dragfans.com.

Being non-binary can form the basis of an asylum claim, a British court has expressly ruled for the first time. The judgment comes from the Upper Tribunal in the case of an El Salvador citizen who has been given asylum in the UK because they would face persecution for their gender identity if returned to El Salvador. Pink News has the story.

Pink News reports that Scotland’s justice minister has confirmed that new hate crime legislation will mean anti-trans activists who “aggressively campaign” against transgender people will be breaking the law.

The Scotsman reports that not everyone is happy with the definitions used in the bill. The Justice Secretary has refused to define “abusive” in the new law, but said expressing opinions such as “transwomen are not women” would not be prosecuted.

A mother fighting to stop the frozen sperm of her late trans daughter from being destroyed has been given new hope as the courts grant another reprieve. You can find the story in Pink News.

Out reports that three transgender women were spared jail time in the United Kingdom after they kicked and stomped a transphobic teenager who had verbally assaulted them with racist hate speech. LGBTQ Nation also has the story.

In October a new inquiry into transgender equality was launched by British politicians. The deadline to respond to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) inquiry is Friday, 27 November. Pink News has the details.

Millen Cyrus

Millen Cyrus, a 21-year-old trans woman Instagram influencer, was arrested in North Jakarta on drug charges and initially held in a men’s cell because her ID document states she is male. The story is in This Week In Asia [South China Morning Post].

Pink News reports Finland’s feminist prime minister Sanna Marin comes out swinging for trans people’s right to self-identify. She said: “It’s not my job to identify people. It’s everyone’s job to identify themselves.”

A leaked report into German health insurance imposes tough new rules for trans people and erases non-binary people completely. Find out more at Pink News.

Good news comes from Hungary where a court has requested a constitutional review of a chilling law that ended legal gender recognition for trans people, effectively erasing trans, non-binary and intersex folk from existence. Again, the story can be found in Pink News.

Associated Press reports that Pakistan’s Christian transgender people, often mocked, abused and bullied, say they have found peace and solace in a church of their own.

A comics series illustrates the lives of transgender people in India’s STEM education system. Find the story in Indian Express.

While the U.S. still bans transgender people from serving in the military, a new employment quota for Argentina’s army will soon require the service’s personnel to be at least 1% transgender. LGBTQ Nation has the details.

Insider has a list of 9 problematic phrases you may not have realized are transphobic.

Eva Vildosola

Pink News has the story of a 19-year-old trans girl who was brutally attacked by two men and called a ‘monster’ on Trans Day of Remembrance in Barcelona, Spain.

The presence of transgender people is impacting the general population to the point that Massage magazine recently ran an article aimed at massage businesses on how to deal respectfully with transgender clients.

The New York Times has released a list of the “The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century (So Far)” but sadly that list doesn’t have any out LGBTQ actors on it. Get the story from the Advocate.

There is no transgender angle to this story on Out.com about gay penguins who raised one chick and have now hatched a second. Who doesn’t love penguins?

LGBTQ Nation reports that Pride celebrations were held together on the North & South Poles for the first time. Two years after Pride officially reached all seven continents on the globe, the first-ever Polar Pride Day has been celebrated. People working at both poles of the Earth recognized the landmark event simultaneously on November 18.   

The Liberty Counsel, the self-proclaimed Christian defender of Christmas known for using the courts to try to overturn LGBTQ rights, has issued their annual holiday “Naughty or Nice” list. Find out who they are condemning for not being in the Christmas spirit this year in LGBTQ Nation.

According to inside sources, First Lady Melania Trump wanted to light up the White House in rainbow colors to honor Pride month this year, but was shot down by Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. In fact, Meadows so adamantly opposes LGBTQ equality, Donald Trump didn’t acknowledge the month as he did in 2019. LGBTQ Nation has the story.

Drian Juarez

Along with her team, Drian Juarez, VP of Programming for LA-based organization Trans Can Work, has spent months building a toolkit to answer this question. Learn more in Forbes magazine.

LGBTQ Nation muses that by sitting out the election, Trump supporters who spent the past four years opposing the equality of their fellow Americans could inadvertently advance civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community.

TWITs

LGBTQ Nation reports that Rick Wiles, evangelical pastor and host of TruNews, encouraged viewers to do everything possible to “rise up” and “chase” Pennsylvania’s top health official Dr. Rachel Levine out of the state. He repeatedly referred to her as “it”, “a man”, and a “freak transvestite.” He also said that Dr. Levine is mentally ill. For seeming more than slightly unhinged about the good doctor we grant a TWIT Award to Wiles and his right wing show.

One of the friends of Lewes, Delaware assistant fire chief William Buckaloo talked him into going clubbing is Rehoboth Beach, a well known spot for LGBTQ people. Buckaloo used his social media account to express his disgust at being taken to a club where a drag queen was performing. He used an anti-gay slur in his post. Now gay residents of the area and the queen he insulted are demanding that he lose his job. Buckaloo gets a TWIT Award for being uptight and not just enjoying the show. 

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