The Week In Trans 2/21/22

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Brianna Titone

Brianna Titone, who is a member of the Colorado state legislature, has decided not to run for Congress. The U.S. representative for her district surprised people by deciding to retire, opening a path that she could have taken to Washington. But, she decided that it was too soon for her run for Congress. In a profile on MSNBC, she talks of how she not only represents her district, but also represents the trans community, and often has to be a problem solver for trans people and their families.

A new Gallup poll shows that the number of American adults who identify themselves as LGBTQ has doubled in the last decade. The biggest change has been in the number of younger adults who identify as “bisexual.” About 10% of those who identify as LGBTQ claim “transgender” as their identity. has this story.

Lia Thomas and Iszac Henig both won races at the Ivy League swimming championship. CNN Sports only covered Lia Thomas in their story, partly because Iszac Henig is a trans man who has delayed starting testosterone in order to keep swimming as a female.

PinkNews reports that over 300 swimmers have signed onto a letter to the NCAA, showing their support for Lia Thomas.

GLAAD released their annual “Where We Are On TV” summary of LGBTQ characters. They found 42 transgender characters in returning roles on television. Last year’s survey only found 29. This year’s survey included several new streaming services, including HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Peacock. TVLine has this story.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez

GLAAD also announced that Michaela Jae Rodriguez will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. The award honors an LGBTQ+ professional who has made a difference in promoting queer acceptance. You can read more at The Advocate. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

Two more transgender women of color who were killed last year were identified as transgender The Human Rights Campaign remembers Martina Caldera, who was murdered in Houston on December 6. Initial investigation seemed to show that she had been hit by a car, but further examination showed she had been shot to death.

Keeva Scatteer was shot to death in Louisiana in October, but is just now being reported as another trans death of 2021, after much misgendering and deadnaming, according to The Advocate. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

We reported last week about a violent incident at a high school in suburban Boston. Police have arrested two high school students in connection with this assault. The assault happened after a basketball game, and the alleged attackers attend the school playing against the transgender student’s school. The Associated Press has this story.

Bans on transgender athletes in women’s and girls’ sports are being discussed in state legislatures. The Washington Post has a story about transgender lawyers who are fighting these laws as discriminatory.

A ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports continues to make its way through the Iowa state legislature. LGBTQ Nation reports that the only Democrat on the House Education Committee called out the Republicans who support the bill, accusing them of “state-sponsored bullying.”

Elliot Page

Elliot Page announced that he will be writing a memoir, and yes, his transgender feelings will be front and center. The title will be Pageboy, and it will arrive at bookstores next year. The Advocate has the story.

The new Republican majority in the Virginia House of Delegates passed its first bill rolling back the rights of LGBTQ people. The bill allows religious businesses and nonprofits to claim a “religious exemption” from laws saying people cannot be refused housing because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Since much of that is covered by federal law, the state law is not final in all cases. The bill now heads to the state Senate, where Democrats have a slender majority. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

The Alabama House Education Policy Committee advanced a bill to prevent transgender students from using the restroom that matches their gender identity in public schools. The bill’s sponsor again said it aims to prevent sexual predators from gaining access to the restroom, even though that never happens. The bill now goes to the full state House. This story comes from The Associated Press.

The Utah House of Representatives has passed two controversial bills. One is about the sports team on which a student athlete can play. The bill in Utah would create a panel of doctors who could determine if a challenged student is indeed transgender. This is controversial, as cisgender females could be made to disrobe in front of the doctors, in order to prove they are cisgender. KSL-TV has this story.

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox will turn 50 this year. For the last two decades, she has been lying about her age. PinkNews reports that she talked about it on Ellen.

We reported last week that one Republican in Arizona sided with Democrats to prevent a bill that would outlaw the medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. LGBTQ Nation tells us it was the testimony of transgender children and activists that changed his mind. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to the story.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear a name change petition from a transgender woman, but is unable to do so because she is on the sex offender registry. This story comes from WLUK-TV.

Three transgender women say they were strip searched and otherwise subjected to dehumanizing procedures when they were arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest. Local 10 News in Miami has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to another version of this story.

A federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s new law on restroom use by transgender students at school is about to be dismissed. The particular students on whose behalf the suit was filed have moved out of the state. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the ACLU are looking for other transgender students who are staying in the state of Tennessee, in order to file a similar lawsuit on their behalf. This story comes from The Nashville Tennessean.

David de Alba, The Cuban Legend

The Cuban Legend, David de Alba, recently sat down for an interview with the Las Vegas media. You can watch the video on YouTube.

A child whose mother is a member of the Loudon County School Board in Virginia received a threatening letter, sent anonymously. The letter said, “It is too bad that your mama is an ugly communist whore. If she doesn’t quit or resign before the end of the year, we will kill her, but first, we will kill you.” The school board member in question supports trans student’s right. PinkNews has the story.

A new survey by Pew Research Center finds that, although more people say they know someone who is transgender, public opinion on the acceptability of transgender people is still wide, and if anything, it is growing wider. The split seems to be happening along political lines.

Erin Reed has made a map of doctors who offer HRT on an informed consent basis. While informed consent does involve less gatekeeping, it can make it harder to get surgery, and in some states, it can be harder to get a legal change of gender. This story comes from them.

Out.com has a story about how many followers each of the queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race has gained on Instagram in the last year.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars has been renewed for a seventh season. However, the new season will only be on Paramount+. This story comes from Out.com.

RuPaul Charles is branching out to host a game show. It’s a reboot of Lingo, a game show that kind of resembles Wordle. Out.com reports the show will run on CBS.

Ms. Demure

Ms. Demure is a drag queen who has been hosting a show on public access cable for over 20 years. She is well known in Dayton, according to a profile in The Advocate.

Fair Play For Women, which is actually a group of TERFs, lost a court decision. The judge ruled that transgender people can self-identify their gender in this year’s Scottish census. The Guardian has this story.

A new poll found that a majority of women in Scotland support reform of the Gender Recognition Act. Mind you, supporting reform does not automatically mean that they will support the specifics of every reform proposal. This story comes from PinkNews.

Baroness Falkner says that she does not know what the word “transphobe” means. Of course, you don’t have to be able to define it in order to be it. Also, as someone whose job involves protecting the rights of vulnerable people, such as transgender people, she really ought to learn what the word means. PinkNews has this story.

In Goa, the former Portuguese colony of India, transgender people were able to vote in their correct gender for the first time last Monday. That day was also Valentine’s Day, as PinkNews points out.

Jowelle De Souza

In Trinidad, Jowelle De Souza, who has a reputation as an activist, was appointed as a temporary Senator, replacing a senator who is ill. She is the first transgender person to serve as a senator in Trinidad. Stabroke News has this story.

Dorcce Gamalama, an Indonesian transgender singer and TV personality, passed away. Her family buried her as a man, despite her fame as a transgender woman. She had lived as a transgender woman for four decades, gaining fame for her legal battle to get her gender recognized. This story comes from PinkNews. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Amnesty International reports that a court decision in Kuwait has decriminalized being transgender. Until now, being transgender was considered “imitation of the opposite sex” under Kuwaiti law. That article was overturned by the country’s Constitutional Court. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Transgender people have difficulty traveling. Too often, transgender people find we are unwelcome in many places. Out Traveler reports on some places that are trying to make us feel more welcome.

Lyla “Sugar” Harrod

Lyla “Sugar” Harrod is a transgender woman who just hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. Her story is in Outside Online.

An editorial in The Kansas City Star tells us, “Trans people have always been with us. They aren’t ‘pretending’ about anything.”

“Transgender people deserve safety, healthcare and recognition,” according to an editorial in The Irish Examiner.

Charlie Middleton, from the transgender charity Just Like Us, writes of four transgender icons from history in PinkNews.

TWITs

The National Health Service in the U.K. has been overwhelmed by the number of people requesting help with their gender. The wait times have been long and growing. so it is not surprising, but it is problematic, that they have tightened the requirements for those who get to see a doctor. Specifically, they can now drop a patient who misses one visit to a gender clinic. For creating additional problems for transgender people (as if the rampant TERF sentiments in the U.K. weren’t enough), The NHS and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust get a TWIT Award. PinkNews has this story.

A transgender girl in South Dakota pretended to have a broken arm in order to explain why she kept going to the nurse’s office. In reality, she was going there to use the only single-person restroom in the school. For their lack of reality and lack of concern about how their laws affect real people, the legislators of South Dakota get a TWIT Award. This story comes from PinkNews. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to the story.

Governor Kristi Noem, who pushed for South Dakota’s anti-transgender laws and signed them, says she is “sad” that LGBTQ people are struggling, but she says that she can’t figure out why they are experiencing mental health problems. For denying her obvious role as part of the problem, Governor Kristi Noem gets a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler, who is running for the Senate in Missouri, has decided to run an ad on the most pressing issue facing the nation–transgender athletes “pretending to be women.” Until now, she has been most famous (if she is famous at all) for sponsoring the amendment that would have prevented the U.S. military from paying for transition-related healthcare. For overstating any advantage that transgender athletes may have, and for making a problem where there is none–while ignoring real problems, Representative Vicky Hartzler gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from Politico.

Alex Jones is not exactly known as a reliable source of information, often going into strange territory for no logical reason. He stated recently that, while Russia “comes in and, you know, beats” Ukraine “up on a routine basis, it’s not like the Huns, it’s not George Soros that’s going to cut your son’s balls off, okay?” So, allowing Russia to simply come in and take over is to let George Soros perform transgender surgery on your child? For an obviously false dichotomy, and for bringing up transgender people in a way that not only makes no sense at all but also makes transgender people into villains, Alex Jones gets a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation 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