The Week In Trans 3/29/21

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Dr. Rachel Levine was confirmed by the Senate to be the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. She is the first openly transgender person ever confirmed by the Senate. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins joined the Democrats in confirming her. The vote was 52-48. CNN has this story. (The Times of Israel as the AP’s story on this, but notes in its headlines her Jewish ancestry.)

A new poll by PRRI shows that 76% of Americans support equality for LGBTQ people in categories such as employment, housing, and health care. That percentage continues to rise, according to them.

Arkansas became the third state to pass a law banning transgender females from participating in girls’ sports, when Governor Asa Hutchinson signed the bill. Sports Illustrated has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

In reaction to this new law, transgender people in Arkansas said that they already felt like they were being singled out, according to a story in them.

Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee signed into law a bill that bans transgender females from participating in girls’ sports. ABC News has the AP’s story.

In South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem “partially vetoed” that state’s transgender athlete bill, despite initially saying that she would approve it. She said that the ban should take effect for elementary and high school sports, but not for collegiate sports. This is an attempt to appease the NCAA, but it angered both the members of the state legislators and social conservative lobbying groups, as the AP explains.

Since the governor can veto a part of a bill while approving another part, Governor Noem sent a revised version to the legislature, and urged them to accept her changes or pass a new bill which would apply only to K-12 girls sports. The governor mentioned the fact that other states are already involved in expensive lawsuits attempting to defend similar bills, but failed to mention that the bill she now says she will sign would also be fought in court. Some legislators seem disinclined to give her what she wants, and her popularity has taken a hit, as New York magazine reports.

While South Dakota legislators debate passing an amended transgender athlete bill, North Dakota’s legislature amended their transgender athlete bill to only apply to K-12 girls sports, according to The Bismarck Tribune.

Five years after North Carolina was the subject of boycotts due to the state’s law about which restroom transgender people could use, some legislators have filed a bill to regulate transgender women in girls’ sports. That bill includes collegiate sports. NBC News has this story.

In Iowa, three legislators introduced a proposal regarding transgender athletes, then withdrew it later that day. Their proposal was actually an amendment to a larger education bill, The Des Moines Register reports.

Two brothers from Florida spoke out to the state legislature in opposition to a proposed ban on transgender athletes. They urged the state legislators to “stop being bullies.” PinkNews has this story.

The Topeka Capital Journal has a story about Ashley Brooks, a transgender girl in the seventh grade, and how her mother is stepping up to be vocal about her rights.

A long article describing the current state of both regulations and research regarding transgender athletes concludes that there isn’t a demonstrated need for laws banning transgender athletes. This article from the Journal of Sports Medicine can be found in Springer links.

Governor Noem mentioned the NCAA as a reason why she would not sign the transgender athlete bill without revisions. The threat of the NCAA has been mentioned often in debates about transgender athletes. However, the NCAA itself has not yet said anything about the topic. NPR has this story.

A Tennessee pastor with a transgender son talked to News Channel 9 about the lack of transgender athletes and the lack of transgender children being asked about bills that would affect them.

Outside talked to some of the few transgender athletes, and found that competing was generally good for their mental health, and the friendship of teammates was a huge benefit.

Mack Beggs, who gained fame as a transgender male wrestling against girls in Texas, told Yahoo News that he was in a dark place mentally when he was told he could only wrestle as a girl. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Proponents of transgender athlete bans say that allowing transgender females to compete will ruin girls’ sports. However, they can cite few instances of transgender athletes winning, whether at the high school, college, or Olympic level. LGBTQ Nation has a video of lawmakers being unable to mention a single instance of a transgender athlete winning.

A story in Glamour suggests that transgender athletes are less of a threat on women’s sports than the bills that claim that they would protect women’s sports, especially with the medical examinations and the such which these bills would require.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota agreed to pay $300,000 as a settlement of a discrimination lawsuit by a former swimmer who said he was refused entry to the boys’ locker room because he is transgender. The New York Post has this story.

A transgender man was given a $25,000 settlement by a trade school whose employee denied him access to the restroom in front of other students, thus outing the man as transgender. This story comes from Gay City News.

A transgender woman in Philadelphia was stabbed multiple times in a rape attempt. Police have a suspect in the case, which occurred in the transgender woman’s home. WPVI-TV has this story.

Rayanna Pardo was a transgender woman from East Los Angeles who was struck by a car and died. It is said that she was trying to get away from people who were harassing her when she was hit. Her family thinks she may have been pushed into the street. This story comes from KCBS-TV.

A man in Carlsbad, California, says that he was beaten up at a bar after telling other patrons that he is transgender. Police say that it was “mutual combat,” but somehow, he was the only one to sustain significant injuries. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

A new study from the Williams Institute shows that transgender people are four times as likely to be a victim of violent crime than a cisgender people are. You can read more at The Advocate. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

A bill regarding medical treatment of minors is making its way through the Tennessee legislature. This bill would require three doctors, including a child or adolescent psychiatrist, sign their consent before medical treatment could begin. WATE-TV has this story.

Another bill advancing in the Tennessee legislature would ban textbooks that “promote, normalize, support, or address” LGBTQ issues or people. This story comes from them. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

March 24 was Equal Pay Day in the U.S. Megan Rapinoe testified before Congress on the subject. Since the star of the far more successful U.S. women’s soccer team makes less than a player on the U.S. men’s soccer team, it is hard to imagine why a man would want to compete against women. LGBTQ Nation has this story. She also expressed support for transgender athletes while at the White House, as them reports.

A transgender woman named Giana Desir, who won a $50,000 settlement for her discrimination case, says that she has not seen the New York City Commission of Human Rights since the settlement, despite the fact that she never received payment. This story can be found in THE CITY.

PinkNews reports that a video in which a transgender woman talks about her problems with airport security has gone viral.

A study in the U.K. shows that 2/3 of transgender people do not feel comfortable coming out at work. Moreover, only 51% of those who are out at work report a positive reaction from their colleagues and employer. PinkNews has this story.

Wynne Nowland, CEO of the insurance brokerage Bradley & Parker, tells CNBC, “Once you have come to the conclusion that this is who you are. . . don’t delay.” She wishes that she had transitioned a work sooner.

An editorial in The Lancet Hematology suggests the need to improve medical care of transgender people.

Hormone Replacement Therapy has an effect on HDL, which is known as “good cholesterol.” Transgender women get an increase in HDL, while transgender men see a decrease. This information comes from Healio.

An article in Medical News Today looks at several reasons why transgender people are at risk for HIV.

Robyn Reeder is competing in the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship as a woman. She once competed in the same tournament as a man. She was interviewed by WPEC-TV.

We told you recently about Lenya Bloom, the Black transgender woman featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. M.J. Day is the editor responsible for putting that issue together, and she said in an interview with Yahoo Life that she can’t wait until hiring a transgender model is no longer “a big deal.”

Gabbi Tuft is famous in WWE circles. She says that, without the gender-affirming healthcare she received, she “would not be here today.” She said this in opposition to bills attempting to limit medical to transgender minors. PinkNews has this story.

Dwyane Wade has received a lot of compliments regarding his acceptance of his transgender daughter, Zaya. He says that he noticed things about her which made him wonder about her eventual gender identity and sexual orientation, and yet, even though he prepared himself for these conversations, it took him a bit to be comfortable with the situation. You can read about this at Out.com.

Connie Norman was a transgender woman who spent a great deal of her life trying to raise awareness of AIDS, including its presence in the transgender community. Often forgotten now, she is profiled in PinkNews.

Pantene has again expressed their support for transgender youth. Their new commercial features a transgender girl, with her two mothers. When the commercial caused some talk, the company made clear in tweets that they are supportive of transgender people. Yahoo Sports has this story.

Rupert Grint was the last of the three major child actors from the Harry Potter films to make clear his opposition to J.K. Rowling’s comments on transgender people. He talked about it recently, saying he has “huge respect” for the author, but “still disagrees” with her views on transgender people. This story comes from PinkNews.

Eddie Izzard was on Good Morning Britain, and appeared to be in boy mode. This caused some people to say some negative things, often about how she isn’t really transgender. Others quickly rushed to her defense. PinkNews has this story.

Felin is a Swedish singer who is is gender fluid. Her latest music video, Dear Boys, features nonbinary men. She talked about the video, and about how Sweden is with transgender people, in Out Traveler.

The singer Halsey recently added the pronouns “she/they” to their Instagram account. This week, she elaborated, saying that the addition of “they” alongside “she” “feels most authentic to me.” Them has reaction to this announcement.

Drag queens Latrice Royale and Willam will make their stage debuts in Death Drop in the west End of London. PinkNews has this story.

Last year, the High Court of the U.K. ruled in the Keira Bell case that those under 16 lacked the maturity to properly weigh the risks of starting hormone blockers. This week, while the court prepares to hear an appeal of that ruling, the High Court ruled that “loving parents” can give consent for their teenage child to receive hormone blockers. PinkNews has this story.

The rapper known as Ms. Boogie suddenly got famous in 2016, then disappeared for a while. She came back into the public view, and is the first person interviewed in In Bloom, a series of interviews by them featuring Black transgender artists.

A new campaign calls on pubs, clubs, and bars in Britain to make their restrooms accessible to transgender people. You can read about it in them.

Tayce was a finalist in Drag Race U.K., and although she did not win, she has an ad deal with Coca Cola. Out.com has this story.

Another Drag Race U.K. contestant, Ginny Lemon, accused the contest of making a big deal of her use of “they/them” pronouns, in order to get a non-binary storyline. They since deleted the social media posts, but not before them got hold of it.

A worker at a Wetherspoon pub in Britain misgendered a colleague, then compounded the error by saying, “he, her, thing, whatever it is.” While this was likely an attempt at a joke, it came across as uncaring. The employee as sacked, according to The Mirror.

Hungary has been a very bad place for transgender and non-binary people lately. A new film entitled Colors of Tobi chronicles for the world what life is like for one non-binary teenager in rural Hungary. This story comes from PinkNews.

Andy Meddick is a Member of the Australian Parliament and the father of two transgender children. When he heard a couple of his fellow legislators making jokes about other people’s labels, he gave them a piece of his mind. PinkNews has this story.

A man in Australia received no prison time after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a transgender woman, Mhelody Polan Bruno. Although the crime to which he pled guilty was less than the crime that he should have been charged with, he nonetheless received a reduced sentence for the guilty plea. This story comes from PinkNews.

A transgender woman failed to make eye contact with a police officer in Liverpool, Australia. The officer accused her of having an outstanding arrest warrant, which was not true. The officer asked for her ID, which she did not have with her. Police officers pepper sprayed her, and assaulted her, while arresting her. The officer is now accused of falsifying the record of the incident. This incident, described in LGBTQ Nation, sounds worthy of a TWIT, but the charges against officer Mark Follington may be exaggerated.

Two transgender women were arrested in Cameroon and charged with “attempted homosexuality”. Their case has been delayed, which only causes them to be more depressed, according to PinkNews.

In Pakistan, there is a madrasa specifically for transgender students. There, they learn about the Koran from a teacher trained in the faith. Reuters has this story.

Mara Keisling will step down from the role of Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. She will be succeeded by Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, who has been an assistant to her. This story comes from Metro Weekly.

The Alabama Reporter introduces us to David Fuller and his transgender daughter Jessica. Mr. Fuller testified to the Alabama legislature about what having a transgender child is like.

Imagining the woman you would come out to is a thing on Twitter, and while it likely won’t last long, it is interesting. LGBTQ Nation has some tweets from the thread.

Ivy Hill, the Executive Director of Gender Benders and Community Health Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, wrote an open letter to transgender youth. It is published in LGBTQ Nation.

Nicole Maines was one of the three panelists for a group discussion called “See Yourself, Be Yourself.” The Advocate has a preview.

Vanity Deterville tells WTVD-TV that, since transgender women are women, there should be transgender women in Women’s History Month.

Transgender Day of Visibility is this Wednesday, March 31. It seems that this year, visibility is more important than ever. There is a handy guide to TDOV at PinkNews.

TWITs

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed the passage of a bill which would establish a three-digit phone number for suicide prevention. They claimed that the group which would run the phone-line is pro-LGBT. For showing us that “pro-life” has some limitations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gets a TWIT Award. Them has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

South Carolina state Representative Cezar McKnight appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, which ought to be a bad sign for a Democrat. He was there to talk about a bill he sponsors, which would forbid doctors from medically treating gender dysphoria in minors. For willingly allowing himself to be used by people who disagree with him on so many things, and for imposing his will on others, State representative Cezar McKnight gets a TWIT Award. The COlumbia Post and Courier has this story.

Adam Newbold owns C4 Coffee in Lisbon, Ohio. He recently said, “If you voted for Joe Biden. . .if you feel that America is on the right track and there’s nothing wrong with gender neutral, don’t know which bathroom to use, use whichever bathroom you feel like during the day, don’t buy our coffee ’cause it’s not for you.” For not bothering to learn anything about an issue before complaining publicly, and for a holier-than-thou attitude, Adam Newbold gets a TWIT. You can read about him in The Hill.

British MP John Nicholson is gay, and has been pretty open about it. Nonetheless, the LGB Alliance has encouraged people to “troll” him because he praised the courage of a transgender constituent of his who appeared in a BBC documentary last year. Let’s get this straight–the LGB Alliance encouraged the public to smear a gay MP. For taking transphobia into the realm of irony, and for encouraging abuse of others by the public, the LGB Alliance gets a TWIT Award, which they share with the people who actually abused a lawmaker. PinkNews has this story.

A professor at the University of Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes, wrote an article comparing “the trans-sex fantasy, the belief that a person can change his or her sex” to QAnon. The University is trying to do some damage control, while at the same time it tries to look like it defends free speech. For denying the research that the American Medical Association and mental health societies say shows that affirming one’s gender identity is good for one’s mental health, Professor Donna Hughes gets a TWIT. This story comes from The Providence Journal.

Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, claims that Joe Biden’s policies are “literally from the pit of hell.” Specifically, the policy he thinks is so bad is the support for the Equality Act, an act which says that gays, lesbians, and transgender people are deserving of the same treatment as holier-than-thou Christians. For thinking that God loves him more than others–a thought which Jesus debunks in the Gospels, where self-righteous religious types are the one group he vocally opposes–Tony Perkins gets a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation has this tory.

Since Joe Biden took the oath of office as President, Fox News has aired 86 segments on trans rights. Almost all of those segments were quite negative about transgender people, and expressed the thought that transgender people were not deserving of equal treatment. For thinking that equal treatment of others is a bad idea, and for not doing sufficient homework, Fox News gets a TWIT. This research comes from Media Matters for America.

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