The Week In Trans 3/7/22

Links in TWIT will open in this window. To return to this page use the Back button on your browser. If the link opens in a new tab, close the tab to return to this page.

---

Zooey Zephyr is running for the Montana House of Representatives. She would bring a new viewpoint to the state legislature, but may not be able to persuade many other legislators. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Common Application, a tool for students to apply to colleges, added preferred first name, adding pronouns, and clarifying that the application wants to know “legal sex.” This year, is has additional changes, including legal sex of “X” or “another legal sex” and the title “Mx.” This story comes from Inside Higher Ed.

San Francisco has a new place specifically to house homeless transgender people. San Francisco Public Press has this story.

Caroline Farberger is the CEO of Sweden’s ICA Insurance, and a transgender woman. She talks about the importance of inclusion, not just diversity, in an interview with Inc.

LGBTQ Nation asks, “Why should we be adding our pronouns to our email signatures?”

WBAL News Radio has the story of a trans woman who came out at the age of 30 and lost her friends and family. Today, ten years later, Jessica Parker has a “chosen family” that gives her support.

The persistent legislative and other legal attacks on transgender children and adolescents is taking a toll on the mental health of transgender youth and their families, according to Kaiser Family Health.

Yet another medical study says that gender-affirming care is life-saving for transgender people. Gender-affirming care prevents anxiety and depression, and lessens suicidal thoughts. You can read about it in them.

LGBTQ Nation has q list of five Instagram accounts that promote LGBTQ mental health.

Travis County, Texas, Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued a temporary order forbidding the state from investigating a family for so-called child abuse because the parents support their 16-year-old transgender daughter. She set a date of this Friday, March 11, for the start of arguments on the matter. It should be noted that the temporary injunction only covers the investigation into this family, although a further injunction could be issued to cover all families in Texas. NPR has the AP’s story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to another version of this story, as well as other stories.

Without even waiting to see if Judge Amy Clark Meachum will expand her injunction to protect all Texas families with transgender children, the state of Texas has filed an immediate appeal of the injunction. Reuters has this story.

Some Texas families are already planning to move out of the state. The Fort Worth Star Telegram has a story of one Texas family who have already left Texas for Hawaii. CNN has the story of another family planning to move out. Mother Jones has the story of another family that is looking at leaving the state over this matter. Another mother who has considered moving out of the state was interviewed on Science Friday.

Some families are staying in Texas. One has filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the state from charging parents of transgender children with “child abuse.” This story comes from them.

Geri Judd, who was shot to death last September, is remembered by The Human Rights Campaign. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Lambda Legal and the ACLU are assisting in the lawsuit against Governor Abbott and the Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Jaime Masters. Currey Cook, the lead Lambda Legal attorney in the case, gave an interview to them. Cook points out that Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton failed to get a bill through the legislature last year which would have outlawed gender-affirming medical care for minors, so now, they are putting it into law as an executive order.

In his State Of The Union address this week, President Biden said, “The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong.” He continued, “As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your president, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.” The New York Post has this story.

The following day, The White House released an official statement on Governor Abbott’s guidance to state agencies regarding transgender children. The statement outlines steps that the Department of Health and Human Services will take to oppose this action by Governor Abbott.

The Advocate has a list of five steps the Biden administration is taking to oppose Abbott’s guidance which equates gender-affirming care of minors with “child abuse.”

An 8-year-old transgender girl from Texas, Sunny Bryant, attended the State of the Union address as the guest of her Congresswoman, Sylvia Garcia. This story comes from KPRC-TV in Houston.

The federal government is not alone in opposing Governor Abbott’s guidance. PinkNews likes what Andy Cohen said on the matter, while The Advocate tells us that Chuck Tingle, an author of gay erotica, has taken to taunting Governor Abbott

A transgender woman named Paloma Vazquez was shot to death in Houston. The 29-year-old woman had come to Texas just six months ago, fleeing persecution in Latin America, according to KTRK-TV. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to another version of this story.

The Catholic Church’s attitude toward transgender people varies from diocese to diocese. Some congregations treat trans people as sinners while others welcome them. The story is available in Republican American.

Devinity Jones, a transgender woman who runs the Transgender Wellness Program in Cleveland, says that she has been attacked, raped, and pistol-whipped, all because of her gender identity. WOIO-TV has this story.

A story on WJBK-TV in Detroit tells us that there are places where transgender people can turn for help in keeping safe from domestic violence.

State legislatures continue to take up anti-transgender bills. Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa signed her state’s new bill on transgender athletes into law. KCCI-TV has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Several larger school districts in Iowa spoke out against the new law, according to KCRG-TV.

The Indiana state legislature has passed a ban on transgender athletes, and has sent it to the governor to sign. The Advocate has the story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for sending us the link.

Utah is still considering a ban on transgender athletes. However, they have scrapped a plan which would have made transgender student athletes report certain “body measurements” to the board which still has to approve each transgender individual who wants to play sports. KUER public radio reports that no one is happy with the current state of the bill.

Lia Thomas gave a long interview to Sports Illustrated.

The Maryland state House of Representatives defeated a ban on transgender athletes, while the bill was still in committee. The Hill has the story.

St. Louis County voted to add gender expression to the list of protected classes, at least for purposes of county employees and contractors. This story comes from St. Louis Public Radio.

The Lincoln, Nebraska, city council has proposed a package to update its civil rights code. Several groups have opposed the inclusion of gender identity or expression as a protected class, and are organizing an effort to put that portion before the voters. Proponents of civil rights for transgender people say that their opponents are using unfair tactics, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

The Transgender Day of Visibility is coming on March 31. The University of Victoria Chair in Transgender Studies will post stories of Trans+ visibility on March 31st on social media. You can participate to the extent you are willing to share by signing in to Google and filling out a short form. (You must have a gmail account.)

The Miami Marathon will allow transgender runners to participate in the gender they identify as, and The Miami Hurricane thinks the decision was well-timed.

Vico Ortiz is a non-binary actor, but their latest role seems very binary. Ortiz plays a pirate on Our Flag Means Death. Well, as an actor, they should be able to portray a character who is nothing like them. Vico tells them that the character does do some gender-bending.

Out.com has a story about how the new West Side Story added depth to the character of Anybodys, making the character a transgender male.

Survivor is about to begin a new season, and this year, they have a transgender contestant who is out at the start of the season. Zeke Smith was the first transgender contestant, but he only came out during the season. This story comes from them.

A day before the Biden administration announced its various ways of showing support for transgender people (especially youth), Angelica Ross complained that the Administration was doing “the bare minimum” to support transgender people. PinkNews has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link.

Katherine Waterston plays Tina Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts series of movies. Although her character was notable in the first two movies in the series, she does not appear in either the poster or the trailer for the upcoming third film in the series. Katherine Waterston has also been the most vocal member of the cast in supporting transgender people. The Advocate reports that some fans think that this is not a coincidence.

Transgender author and professor Grace Lavery reports that she has been harassed by “gender-critics” on Twitter. The TERFs have also attacked her friends and her mother. PinKNews has this story. Alyssa Washington sent the link to this story.

Them has the story of Jackie Shane, a transgender singer who had a successful career in the 1960s.

Hari Nef is excited to be back on the runway. The clothing she is modeling for JW Anderson focus on fashion as a means for transformation. British Vogue has this story.

It seems like just last week one of the queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 came out as transgender–because it was. This week, it was Willow Pill’s turn to reveal that she, too, is transgender. She is the third contestant to come out as transgender since the season started. Two others had been out as transgender before the season started. This story comes from Out.com.

Mo Heart, another of the contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race this season, talked about her time in conversion therapy. It was quite painful. The Advocate has the story.

Drag Race France just announced that Nicky Doll, a contestant on Season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will host the show. Out.com has this story.

RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage compiled a list of her favorite lip syncs. You can find it at Out.com.

The majority of teachers in England have a transgender pupil in their class, according to charity Just Like Us. They found that 78% of teachers wanted more resources about how to help transgender students. These numbers come despite the amazing rash of transphobia in Britain lately. PinkNews has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link.

Britain’s Schools Minister, Will Quince, said that he “wouldn’t be overly happy” if one of his daughters had a transgender classmate at boarding school. This example of the rampant TERF influenced attitudes on display in Britain came in a discussion in Parliament of what to do about the increasing number of transgender students in schools. This story comes from PinkNews.

A new report shows that the NHS is not only failing transgender patients in gender-affirming health care, they are failing transgender patients in other areas of healthcare as well. Part of the problem is that there is no marker in the health records to show that a particular patient is transgender. PinkNews has this story.

A Russian soldier in Ukraine was captured when he didn’t realize that the basement in which he was seeking shelter from blasts was the local LGBTQ group’s headquarters. Members of the group turned him in as a prisoner of war. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

Zi Faamelu is a transgender woman living in Ukraine. She says that the anti-transgender sentiment in Ukraine has made her an outcast among those still in the country. And yet, she knows that as bad as her life is right now, it will be worse when the Russians take over. CBS News has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us the link to this story.

Transgender and non-binary people are also suffering in Afghanistan. The Advocate has the story of a non-binary Afghan who was stabbed eighteen times by the Taliban.

LGBTQ Nation has an article about Xenogender, a topic many people have not heard of yet. These are new gender identities.

A guest editorial in AL.com says that transgender youth need protection from anti-transgender laws, not protection from gender-affirming medical care.

An editorial in The New York Times says that doctors should listen to transgender people, not politicians, when deciding who gets to transition medically.

A guest editorial on MSNBC describes Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order equating gender-affirming care as “child abuse” as “a death wish for transgender children.”

Barbara Satin is a transgender elder. She practices what she calls her “ministry of presence,” by which she means that being herself and living openly is a sign to others that they, too, can live their gender truth. She is profiled in The Advocate.

An article in Healthline says that being transgender is a gift, and encourages transgender people to be seen on Transgender Day of Visibility.

TWITs

In a bizarre move, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused President Bidden of “child abuse,” for his support of transgender children. For projection, for not having the good sense to recognize that his behavior is projection, and for not caring that a multitude of studies show that his behavior leads to suicide among transgender children (the opposite of what a genuine “pro-life” person would want) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gets a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

For putting one of their own employees on administrative leave while investigating her for her support of her transgender daughter, leadership of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

The Conversation and The Associated Press both have articles about how Republicans are using transgender people as a “wedge issue” to try to get votes. For using prejudice and bad science as a way to get votes for themselves, and for not caring about some of the most vulnerable people they should serve, these politicians get a TWIT Award.

One politician trying to run on an anti-transgender platform is Mitchell Swan, a retired colonel. He wants to reinstate the ban on transgender people in the military. He says that being transgender is a medical issue like bedwetting or sleepwalking, both of which disqualify people from military service. For a false comparison, and for misuse of medicine that he does not understand as an excuse for his prejudice, Mitchell Swan gets a TWIT. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

City Journal claims that media coverage of transgender stories makes four “conceptual mistakes.” The first of these mistakes seems to be not showing both sides of the issue, although in reality, the article itself only shows the anti-transition side. The article takes issue with calling teenagers who seek gender-affirming care “transgender teenagers,” rather than “gender-distressed minors” or the such. They also cite again the idea that 80% to 90% will “grow out” of their gender feelings, not realizing that the category included a lot of patients who never had gender issues in the first place. This article comes a week after City Journal published another article declaring mastectomies of transgender minors as a moral issue. In reality, it is incredibly infrequent. For misinformation and for spreading prejudice, City Journal gets a TWIT Award.

New Hampshire law forbids teachers from telling the parents when their child’s “transgender status” is revealed at school. One mother, who has shielded her actual identity, is suing because she insists that the policy is exactly the opposite of what it should be. She feels that teachers should be forced to tell parents of their child’s “transgender status.” In most cases, parents are well aware of their child’s “transgender status.” The cases where parents are unaware are cases where the child is certain that the parents would not accept the news well. Which is precisely the case here, since a lawsuit like this needs to be filed by someone who is directly harmed by the policy. For displaying exactly the sort of TERF-style behavior that the law is designed to protect children from, and for not caring how much damage her behavior does to her child, this unidentified mother gets a TWIT Award. The New Hampshire Union Leader has this story..

The New York Post let Abigail Schrier tell the allegedly heartbreaking story of how a father lost custody of his children because he is unwilling to accept the gender identity of one of them. The problem here is that this is written by Abigail Schrier, the same writer who wrote the book Irreversible Damage–a book which many booksellers will not handle because it is so factually inaccurate. Some who will handle it classify it as “politics,” rather than science. For giving Abigail Schrier a chance to spread her shameful and harmful lies, The New York Post gets a TWIT Award.

Jeff Younger is a father who lost custody of his children because he refused to accept the gender identity of his transgender daughter. He bullied his daughter into pretending to be a boy when he had joint custody. He also is a liar, lying to his ex-wife about his salary, his educational background, his military experience, and more. He is now attempting to cash in on his anti-transgender fame by running for office. He was the featured speaker at an event at the University of North Texas. Students protested his presence, chanting so loudly that he could not be heard. At first, Mr. Younger just laughed and had a good time, but eventually, police had to ask the protestors to leave. Campus police had to escort Mr. Younger from the event. While we tip our hat to the student protestors, we feel a need to look at the other side, too. For promoting bigotry, and for choosing a liar as a speaker, the Young Conservatives of Texas get a TWIT Award. This story comes from them.

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.

Tags: featured, news, Transgender, TWIT

Category: Transgender Community News