The Week In Trans 4/11/22

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We recently posted a couple of pictorials of boys and young men who take part in what are known as womanless beauty contests. On the web we found an item on Quora attributed to a person who had participated in these pageants when he was in high school.

A story this week said that Palm Springs, California, was going to offer all transgender residents a guaranteed minimum income. Before you start packing, know that the city says this is a long-range possibility, not something that they will begin soon. The city only authorized a study to look into what effect it would have. NPR has the initial story, while Reason magazine has the correction. Meanwhile, Mayor Lisa Middleton says that she and members of the city council got abusive feedback on the proposal. The Palm Springs Desert Sun has that part of the story.

Penn State University is not your grandpa’s school anymore. PSU has set up “hangout spots” around the campus where LGTBQ+ students can go to study, meet friends and feel safe. The Daily Collegian lists LGBTQ+ hangs both on campus and off.

Kssha Webster, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman, was found dead in Jackson, Mississippi, last week. She is the ninth confirmed transgender person murdered in the United States this year. This story comes from The Advocate. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story, and links to other stories this week.

Police are looking for a missing transgender woman. Julia da Silva, 23, was last seen two weeks ago, according to police in south Florida. WPLG-TV has this story.

In Chicago, a rally to honor two Black transgender women who were murdered in the city was interrupted by an activist who wanted to turn the event into a larger demonstration for all the Black people murdered in Chicago recently. It is unclear why he did not simply create his own event, but instead tried to turn this one into what he wanted. This story comes from The Chicago Sun-Times.

Part-time state legislatures are wrapping up their sessions for this year (with the exception of Texas, which starts a month late and ends in May). Alabama’s state legislature passed an anti-trans bathroom bill on the last day of its session, and attached an amendment outlawing the medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. AL.com has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story

AL.com talked with several teens who are the targets of this new law.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defender, and the Human Rights Campaign will team up to sue the state of Alabama over this new law. Their clients are two doctors and multiple families. The Human Rights Campaign has this story.

Lawmakers in Georgia used the last day of their legislative session to pass a ban on transgender females on girls’ sports teams, as well as some other hot-button legislation. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

South Carolina’s legislature passed a bill banning transgender females on girls’ sports teams. The law came just as the legislature was finishing its session for the year. People magazine has this story.

Jennifer Finney Boylan who has been writing regular opinion pieces for The New York Times announced in her last column that she is retiring from a regular spot in the paper. She has been with the Times for fifteen years.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vetoed that state’s transgender athlete legislation, saying it was “most likely unconstitutional.” The legislature will reconvene on April 13, at which time they will consider overriding his veto. This story comes from PBS NewsHour. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to another version of this story.

The Human Rights Campaign has released a new public service message called Let Us Play: The Story of Transgender Youth Who Just Want to Play Sports. It was produced in cooperation with WarnerMedia.

The Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive was involved in a traffic accident. A SUV plowed into the Archive’s building and came to rest in the LLTA office. Fortunately no one was injured and the collection was not damaged. The SUV driver ran away. The Archive needs donations, which will be matched up to $3000, to cover their insurance deductible. Learn how to donate here.

Reuters has a list of the anti-transgender legislation that passed this year.

The debate over gender-affirming health care for transgender minors is the subject of an article in Regulatory Review.

Politicians are pointing out the difference between them and their opponents on transgender issues as a campaign tool, as a story in The Nevada Independent points out.

When a transgender girl tried to join the track team at a high school in Illinois, some parents quickly organized a protest at the school board meeting. Others at the meeting were much more understanding of the transgender student. WIFR-TV has this story.

A middle-school teacher in Kentucky resigned after parent sent him death threats. Tyler Morgan had just posted to Facebook a copy of a message of support to LGBTQ students, telling them, “You are free to be yourself with me. You matter.” The message was written on a whiteboard in his classroom, and was accompanied by rainbow pride flags. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Ohio Republicans pulled a sneaky trick. They introduced their state’s bill to prevent gender identity and sexual orientation from being discussed in class, and limiting library books. The legislation’s sponsors then refused to discuss the topic with the media. The Advocate has this story.

Many of these bills restricting the mention of gender identity or sexual orientation in schools talk of “grooming” young people to be LGBTQ+. Them looks into how this idea has come to be.

Precious Brandy-Davis is running for office in Chicago. LGBTQ Nation says she would be the first transgender woman of color to hold office in Chicago, which is true, but more qualifiers than that are needed to describe how unique she would be. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

LGBTQ Nation has a list of ten LGBTQ women running this year, whose elections would be a first. Two of them are transgender woman. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

A court ruling holds that the U.S. military cannot reject a recruit simply because the applicant has HIV. This ruling shows how treatable HIV now is. HIV Plus has this story.

A new genetic editing technique might be able to eliminate HIV from the body. This story appears in HIV Plus.

Pride festivals are returning this year. AL.com reports that the festival in Mobile, Alabama, will put a new emphasis on transgender people, to highlight the legal issues we are facing.

The ACLU has a list of four things the TSA is doing to make things easier for transgender passengers. The biggest is new scanning technology, although training is important, too.

Dell is the latest major employer to be hit with allegations of discrimination against a transgender employee. A judge in New York this week rejected an attempt by Dell to dismiss the suit. The employee was fired shortly after she requested no air travel and no face-to-face meetings with clients while she underwent her transition. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Undark has a long article about the history of transgender medicine for minors.

The NBA announced that they will not move next year’s All-Star game out of Salt Lake City, despite Utah’s new law banning transgender females from girls’ sports teams. The NBA did move its All-Star game out of Charlotte when North Carolina passed an anti-trans bathroom bill. The Hill has this story.

Talisa Garcia, a transgender actress, has been cast in new series,  Willow, on Disney+. She is the first transgender performer in a starring role in a LucasFilms production, according to PinkNews.

Out.com has a list of the best LGBTQ films on HBO Max. One or two have transgender themes.

At least two films that were featured at Outfest Fusion 2022 are on the list at The Advocate.

The BBC announced a spin-off audio series from Doctor Who, titled Doctor Who: Redacted. While the network has not revealed many details about the series, we are told it will be “very gay, very trans.” Oh, and we know that Juno Dawson is writing, while Charlie Craggs stars, so there are trans people on both sides of the camera. PinkNews has this story.

Marvel just announced a casting call for a part in the series Ironheart. The character is described as a “smart, confident” trans woman. She will have “a mystical bent and unique sense of humor,” according to the ad. The actress to play the part will be a trans woman who is Black, Latina, or Afro-Latina. This story comes from PinkNews. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

The GLAAD Media Awards just happened. While there, Zeke Smith from Survivor proposed to his boyfriend, Nico Santos. PinkNews reports that the couple met at the GLAAD Media Awards.

Michaela Jae Rodriguez received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the GLAAD Media Awards. In her acceptance speech, she talked about the importance of accepting your transgender child. PinkNews has this story.

Alabama just passed an anti-trans bathroom bill with an anti-trans medical ban wrapped inside, but Alabama also has Lady E’s Chick’nCafe in Birmingham. It seems to be the first restaurant owned by a Black trans woman. You can read about it in Out Traveler.

For the first time in a decade, RuPaul’s Drag Race will increase the size of some of the prizes. Top prize is now $150,000. Second place is worth $50,000. Contestants also use the show to build up their own careers. Out.com has this story.

A new international edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been announced. The new show is Drag Race Sweden. The story comes from Out.com.

Out.com has a list of which Drag Race drag queen has the most Instagram followers.

A week after a leaked document showed the British government would be all right with a conversion therapy ban that excluded transgender people, Health Minister Sajid Javid said, “When it comes to trans, I do think that we need to be more careful.” He added that a “more sensitive approach” is needed on the matter. He seemed to back the exclusion of transgender people, while trying to make it sound like it was hard to separate conversion therapy from questioning the patient. Sky News has this report.

Equalities Minister Liz Truss says she still hopes to include transgender people in the ban on conversion therapy. She seems to be pushing for transgender inclusion while Prime Minister Boris Johnson and much of his cabinet still plan to leave us out of the ban, according to PinkNews.

MSNBC misgendered Kate Sosin during a segment on gender-based online harassment. LGBTQ Nation reports that, six days later, the report has not been corrected. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Several major LGBTQ organizations have encouraged the Safe To Be Me conference to relocate from London, due to transgender people being left out of a ban on conversion therapy. Corporate sponsors also are asking that the event find a new location. The Safe To Be Me conference will take place in June. This story comes from them.

Britain’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission is denying that it encouraged a “blanket ban” of transgender people by single-sex services in its new guidelines. The Trans Legal Project thinks otherwise. PinkNews has this story.

In this environment, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “I don’t think biological males should be competing in female sporting events. Maybe that’s a controversial thing to say, but it just seems to me to be sensible.” This story comes from Reuters.

Reaction to that statement was swift, as PinkNews reports.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry was asked in a recent interview if it a woman can have a penis. Her response was that she doesn’t care if some women have penises, so long as they are looked after by the government. “Yes some of them will have penises. I’m not looking up their skirts, I don’t care,” she said. PinkNews has this story.

Jaclyn Cox, a 61-year-old electrician, has started a support group. Sometimes, you need to be the change you want to see in the world. The Springfield News-Leader has this story.

The Mexican government recently announced it would allow transgender people to change the sex listed on their birth certificate. Three transgender activists who live in San Diego were the first to get their birth certificates and passports that match their gender identities. This story comes from KPBS-TV.

Human Rights Watch has a long story about transgender people in the Middle East and North Africa. They cite many problems in the area.

Them reports that Google’s automatic completion often suggests outing transgender celebrities and makes other transphobic errors.

As a response to Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law, 17-year-old Will Larkins taught a U.S. history class about the Stonewall riots. A brief video of a portion of the class was shared online. The event took place at Winter Park, Florida. Them has this story

A teacher in Michigan wrote a satirical piece, pretending to be a teacher in Florida showing parents how to really avoid talking about sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

A story on them features nine people doing sex-ed videos on TikTok, many of which are gender-related.

An editorial in Voices Of OC used personal experience to relate how transgender children need a place to pee.

There’s something special about saying “non-binary” with a southern accent. It just has a different feel to it, according to them.

R/B Mertz wrote a memoir about being a butch transgender person at a Catholic college. The author sat for an interview with them.

LGBTQ Nation has a long story about how some families are accepting their children who come out as LGBTQ. The story includes some trans children and adolescents.

Lindsay Morris has been photographing transgender children for over a decade, often at Camp I Am. She shared some of her photos, and some observations about what she has seen, with LGBTQ Nation.

Disney, still trying to make up for being late to oppose the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has a new public service announcement, featuring Max Briggle and his mother, Amber. Benzinga has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to another version of this story.

An editorial in The Washington Post notes that not only is Governor Greg Abbott’s treatment of transgender children cruel, it seems to go against basic legal principles.

Media Matters For America notes that Fox News has aired 170 segments on transgender people in the last three weeks, including segment on Lea Thomas and various anti-transgender legislation. You can imagine the amount of misinformation being spread in these segments. It seems to show the issues that matter to conservatives.

An editorial in Scientific American bears the headline, “Laws Vilifying Transgender Children and Their Families Are Abusive.”

TWITs

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been using a story about how one school district failed to notify a mother about her child’s social transition at school. The superintendent of that school district has released emails which show that the mother was indeed aware of her child’s social transition. While the mother is suing the district for providing support without her permission, the mother’s responses show she had talked to the district about the matter. For lying about the matter, deliberately or by negligence or not asking all parties involved, and for using that lie to sell a very harmful product, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gets a TWIT Award. The Advocate has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines went onto Tucker Carlson Tonight to complain about how she was denied the trophy she really deserved because she competed against Lia Thomas. The thing is, she finished sixth in the 200-yard freestyle event, where Lia Thomas finished fifth. Although their times were listed as the same, she got to pose with the sixth-place trophy, and Lia got to pose with the fifth-place trophy. She knows, or should know, that the electronic equipment used to determine times is accurate enough to determine which swimmer touched first, even if the difference is less than the one-hundredth of a second that is the smallest measurement in the official time. For making an issue of something she should understand better, and for complaining that her participation trophy was not good enough, Riley Gaines gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from WDRB-TV.

We mentioned above Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada, who distinguished himself from his political opponents by talking about his support for transgender students. It’s a very different thing when a candidate uses support for anti-transgender legislation to gain support. Such a candidate is Stan Pulliam, a Republican running for governor of Oregon. Oregon Live quotes him saying, “Schools have no business telling kindergarteners they can pick the gender and the bathroom of their choosing. It’s absurd and it’s not their job. Parents know best, not school district administrators.” That’s not how any of this works. To borrow Jen Psaki’s response, “Can you show any examples of where this is happening?” For spinning what actually happens so hard that his image no longer resembles reality, and for not caring how much he lies or who gets hurt as a result, Stan Pulliam gets a TWIT Award.

Conservative writer and out gay man Andrew Sullivan has been very vocal in his support of anti-transgender legislation. He has praised several other conservative writers for their “gender-critical” support. However, he now seems to be shocked that these same writers support Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, and similar bills in other states–including the parts that are aimed at sexual orientation, rather than gender identity. For not being careful of the company he praises, Andrew Sullivan gets a TWIT. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

Fox News has been trying to vilify The Disney Corporation, since the company came out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. Media Matters for America has noticed this trend, while LGBTQ Nation sees what seems to be an accusation that Disney is contributing to turning children LGBTQ. For hyperbole and for turning against anyone who does not give your causes full and entire support, Fox News gets a TWIT Award.

A recent article in The Federalist sings the praises of taking your family to Dollywood instead of Disneyland or Walt Disney World. While some of the praise is accurate (shorter lines and less corporate branding are true), the author also complains about Disney’s support for LGBTQ civil rights. For overreacting to Disney’s support of LGBTQ rights, and for failing to notice Dolly Parton’s stance on the same issue, Federalist executive editor Joy Pullman gets a TWIT.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick accused transgender people of “Playing God.” The same criticism was also aired at those who support a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy. For denying the science which says that a y chromosome comes from the child’s father rather than a supernatural being, and for supporting the right of some to discriminate against others for not sharing the same religious beliefs, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick gets a TWIT. Dallas News has this story.

Franklin Graham has called transgender rights “a lie from hell” which “followers of Jesus Christ must stand against”. It should be noted that conservative Christian preachers were also supporters of slavery, and later, of segregation and other Jim Crow laws. Some of those conservative preachers were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and more endorsed the Klan’s views without actually joining. For failing to notice the poor track record his predecessors had on civil rights, and for falling into the same “holier than them” attitude which Jesus so often condemned in religious leaders around him, Franklin Graham gets a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called Democrats “The party of pedophiles,” and called the three Republican senators who supported Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, “pro-pedophile.” This is apparently in response to some allegedly light sentences Judge Jackson gave to people charged with child pornography. For hyperbole to the point of lessening the sting of the term “pedophile,” and for hypocrisy (from someone who co-hosts events with Matt Gaetz and who is known for her support of Donald Trump, despite clear evidence that both have engaged in sexual relations with underage females), Representative Marjorie Taylor Green gets another TWIT. This story can be found in The Advocate.

Several Republicans who criticized Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for failing to define “woman.” These people never bothered to offer their own definition, which likely would involve chromosomes, which would open up new questions about political policies based on chromosomes. This didn’t stop Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from offering her own definition. She said that women “came from Adam’s rib. God created us with his hands. We are—we may be the weaker sex. . .we are the weaker sex. But we are our partner’s, our husband’s wife.” That last part denies the womanhood of nuns and other women who are single by choice, as they are not their husband’s wife. Moreover, the slippage from the plural pronoun “our” to the singular “husband’s wife” suggest that polygamy would be acceptable, even though it violates the “one man, one woman” principle which she (and many other Republicans) have attached to marriage. For a naive belief in the creation myth of Adam and Eve (a belief which shows serious reason to doubt her claims of science for her anti-transgender views), and for proving the difficulty of providing a definition of “woman” that gives a logical reason for denying transgender women, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene gets yet another TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Representative Lauren Boebert has suggested a law that forbids people coming out as LGBTQ before the age of 21. While this is a logical extension of the laws against gender-affirming health care for minors, it is silly. Her “logical” reason for this is that we have laws against minors getting tobacco or alcohol or firearms, but as one Twitter user noted, that did not prevent her from posing for a picture with her sons and their firearms. Other replies on Twitter asked if she waited until she was 21 before she decided she was heterosexual. For failing to see the ramifications of this, for failing to see how it treats different people in an unfairly different way, and for general silliness, Representative Lauren Boebert gets a TWIT. This story comes from The Advocate. Alyssa Washington sent us a link to this story.

On the day he signed two anti-transgender bills into law, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was asked twice if he believes that transgender people exist. Both times, he dodged the question, and changed the subject. For being unwilling to say that he believes transgender people exist, and for signing legislation limiting the rights of a group he will not even acknowledge exists, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey gets a TWIT Award. This story come from NBC News.

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