The Week In Trans 4/12/21

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.

---

Lewis Freese is a gender-fluid model. People magazine reports he was a finalist for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition this year, and he aims to be in that issue of the magazine.

Axios reports that Caitlyn Jenner is considering a run for governor of California. It is still in the early stages, according to this report.

GLAAD released their GLAAD Awards in a virtual ceremony. Among the winners are Disclosure, The Craft: Legacy, and Supergirl. Trans news stories were also awarded, in both print and television categories. The Advocate has a list of all the winners.

Detransition Baby is up for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Since the award comes from Britain, a good number of that country’s TERFs have expressed their opposition to the nomination, in terms that express their transphobia. The committee has made it clear that their prize is indeed open to transgender women. This story comes from them.

George is a novel by a transgender author about a transgender character. It is aimed at middle school children, and the American Library Association named it the most challenged book in America. The Advocate has this story.

Laverne Cox won a GLAAD Award for Disclosure. In her acceptance speech, she called transgender children “divine,” “anointed,” and said they “deserve to be here.” She added, “You must survive to fulfill that divine purpose.” PinkNews has this story.

The Advocate has been creating an issue dedicated to women for over 30 years. Over that time, the idea of what needs to be in such an issue has evolved. The need to highlight transgender and non-binary people has received greater importance, as Tracy Gilchrist explains in The Advocate.

President Biden addressed the transgender community, saying, “I want every trans person, especially every trans young person out there, to know I see you, I hear you, and I’ll continue fighting for an America that transgender people, like everyone else, can live in and thrive in and succeed.” This message was part of an address to the Trans Equity Now Awards, for the National Center for Transgender Equality. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this and other stories.

That message of support came just after the Arkansas state legislature became the first to pass a bill forbidding doctors from medically treating gender dysphoria in minors, even if the parents consent to such treatment. This week saw a brief day of hope, as Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed that law. However, the next day, the Arkansas state legislature overrode the veto, by large margins in both chambers. This story was covered by The BBC. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Governor Hutchinson explained his veto in an interview with NPR. He said, “this is too extreme, it was too broad and did not grandfather in those young people who are currently under hormone treatment.” He added, “This puts a very vulnerable population in a more difficult position.”

Dr. Joshua Safer talked to NPR about puberty blockers and other transgender medical issues.

Scientific American agrees with Dr. Safer, saying that puberty blockers are safe, and the bills restricting their use are a greater danger than the medications themselves.

Despite the lack of medical evidence to suggest the need for such bans, 15 other states are considering joining Arkansas in forbidding doctors prescribing gender-confirming medicine for transgender minors–in some cases, up to the age of 21. USA Today has this story.

Renee Gagnon, a transgender woman and entrepreneur, is now a major player in the recreational marijuana market of British Columbia. The Advocate has this story.

The ACLU has started the process of filing a lawsuit to challenge the new law in Arkansas prohibiting doctors from prescribing medicine for treatment of gender dysphoria in minors. This story comes from The Cut.

An editorial in The New York Times states that transgender children are not a trend, but have been found throughout history. A similar story from another historian occurs in The Guardian.

Since overturning the governor’s veto of the bill banning doctors from medically treating gender dysphoria in minors, the Arkansas state legislature is considering other anti-transgender legislation, including a new bathroom bill. The Arkansas Times has this report.

An editorial in Slate tells us that, just as North Carolina’s law about transgender people in restrooms wasn’t about problems in restrooms, laws about transgender youth in sports aren’t about transgender youth in sports.

Another bill in Arkansas would allow teachers to deliberately misgender or knowingly deadname any transgender students they may have. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

An editorial for MSNBC talks of how the new law in Arkansas is about bias, rather than about transgender people. It also urges cisgender people to not be afraid to speak up for transgender rights.

Business Insider reports that there is a “trans exodus” about to happen in Arkansas, although there are not that many people involved, and those who do say they intend to leave do not know where they will go or how they will get a job.

A bill in North Carolina not only would ban doctors from medically treating transgender youth under the age of 21, it would also make teachers and others report to their parents if a child “exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor’s sex.” This story comes from The Advocate.

Governor Kristi Noem has called the South Dakota state legislature back for a special session, but the matter of a ban on transgender females in sports is not on the schedule. The legislators could bring the topic up on their own, but more likely, it won’t come up. The York News Times has the AP’s story.

In North Dakota, tourism officials are worried about the possibility of a boycott because of a ban on transgender female athletes. One of their letters appears in Inforum.

It took a while, but the NCAA has finally come out in opposition to the many bills attempting to prevent transgender females from playing sports as females. Them reports that the president of the NCAA has sent a letter to the Human Rights Campaign.

A report in them finds that 92% of NCAA Division 1 colleges do not have full protections for transgender athletes.

The Department of Justice has told various federal agencies that Title IX protections “on the basis of sex” extend to gay and transgender students. The Hill has this story.

Some teachers are worried about how the new bills and laws about transgender students will not only affect transgender students, but their cisgender friends as well. This story comes from NBC News.

Meanwhile, The Guardian spoke to transgender children about these bills and laws.

Chase Strangio talks about the many transgender bills and laws in The ACLU podcast.

Rapper Kid Cudi garnered attention by performing one of his songs on Saturday Night Live this past weekend while wearing a dress. The spaghetti strap ankle length frock was white with a floral print. It wasn’t clear if Cudi was expressing his feminine side or wanted to get the attention he got. The Huffington Post has another reason for the dress and it involves Kurt Cobain.

Bloomberg Equality reports that some corporations are making their opposition to anti-LGBTQ legislation known. However, The Advocate asks, “When Will Corporate America Stand Up To Anti-Trans Tyranny?”

Equality California did their best to explain these new legislative initiatives to viewers of Fox 40.

In Tempe, Arizona, a man is accused of sexually assaulting a transgender woman at a hotel. Fox 10 Phoenix has this story.

In Mesa, Arizona, a petition drive is underway to repeal the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity as protected by civil rights ordinances. They seem to have enough signatures on their petitions, assuming that not more than 2,500 are ruled invalid, according to The Advocate.

In some positive election news, Alana Banks is the first Black transgender person elected to a school board in the United States. She will serve on the board of the Decatur School District in Illinois. The Herald and Review has this story.

According to the Daily Herald, Kristal Larson was elected to become clerk of Avon Township in suburban Chicago.

Vaginas grown in a laboratory have been implanted in four cisgender females, according to Live Science. Each vagina was grown from the patient’s own cells, so that it would be less likely to be rejected by the body. If science can create vaginas for cisgender females, perhaps this technology can be brought to making vaginas for transgender females.

A study finds that, while HIV is not increasing in general in the U.S., it is increasing in the transgender population. Healthline has more.

Depression continues to be a significant problem in the transgender community. Out.com reports that half of Black and Latinx trans youth experience depression.

The Honolulu Civil Beat reports on an effort to provide better health insurance coverage for transgender people in Hawaii.

Pose released a trailer for its third and final season this week. Them has a look at the trailer. Out.com takes a look at some of the storylines for this last season of Pose, while pictures of the cast appearing to walk on water are featured at them.

Abigail Thorn, a transgender YouTube star, said that she would be dead if she had not transitioned gender. PinkNews has this story.

Bella Misandria Wardle Fitzpatrick is known on TikTok as Nosebleedfitz. She created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her upcoming procedures, and has been overwhelmed by the support she has received. This story comes from PinkNews.

Boogie Revlon Makaveli was a legend in the ballroom community. His death in a vehicle crash made news this week. Out has this story.

Scarlett Johansson made a surprise appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race to give the queens some tips on acting, for a new challenge. Details can be found in The Advocate.

Drag Race Down Under has been getting a lot of press, and now, it has announced its debut date, which is May 1. Out.com has this story.

PinkNews reports that Baga Chipz has been receiving criticism for having sent her condolences to the Royal Family, following the death of Prince Phillip. After the criticism turned abusive, some have expressed a different view of her actions.

Beauty Parade salon in West Asheville, North Carolina, put up a mural of Dolly Parton in 2018. This year, there was some excitement, as muralist Gus Cutty was asked to add another portrait to the mural. It turns out that the new portrait is of RuPaul. Out.com has this story.

It seems that the U.K. Government is committed to reducing the cost of getting a Gender Recognition Certificate. Some government sources tell The BBC that the new cost of a Gender Recognition Certificate will be less than £10. They decided against greater reforms, but they will reduce the cost.

The British spy agency, MI6, flew the Transgender Pride flag on Transgender Day of Visibility. While some social conservatives and some TERFs questioned the agency’s motives in flying the flag, the Chief of MI6, Richard Moore, tweeted, “Delighted to fly the Trans Flag at VX on #TransDayofVisibility. We’re proud of our trans & non-binary colleagues & committed to providing an inclusive and supportive workplace where you can be your true self. Diversity makes us more effective; inclusion makes us stronger.” PinkNews has this story.

The Manchester Pride Conference in Britain will be held virtually this year. It will have appearances by stars from Drag Race U.K. as well as Queer Eye and It’s A Sin. Out Traveler has more about this virtual event, which will be held on April 20.

Amnesty International has “serious concerns” about Britain’s reputation for civil rights, given the country’s “transphobic fear-mongering.” Highlights (or, perhaps, lowlights) from this new report can be found in PinkNews.

Germany just banned cosmetic surgeries on intersex infants, and yet, some activists are complaining, because the ban only covers those children who were officially diagnosed as intersex. Them has this story.

Krystyna Pawlowicz, a judge of the top court in Poland, deleted a tweet about a transgender child, leading people to believe that the tweet may have placed the child in danger. The judge admits to having revealed the name of the child in the deleted tweet, along with the city in which the child lives. This story comes from The AP.

Russia issued a ban on transgender people adopting children, and added a ban on same-sex marriages to its constitution. Them has this story.

A new law in Uzbekistan could outlaw nearly all forms of LGBTQ advocacy in that country, according to them.

Venezuela has been a nasty place for LGBTQ people, with a growing number of hate crimes. Out.com has a long story about this.

A Venezuelan lawyer and activist, Tamara Adrian, urges her people to do better at respecting LGBTQ rights, in an editorial for Out.com.

In Brazil, a transgender girl named Pietra Velentira, was stabbed to death in front of a school. PinkNews has this story.

Trolls responded to a video on TikTok by asking if a transgender woman’s boyfriend “knows.” Those trolls who were bold enough to “inform” him found that he knew more about his girlfriend than the trolls did. This story comes from PinkNews.

Owen Jones notes that transphobia is, in too many cases, devolving into homophobia. That seems to be what is behind the backlash to his own expressed desire to be a parent.

TWITs

A man, who identified himself as “Alexander Simon. Male.” made his presence felt at a meeting of the Fargo city commission, where he insisted that “no doctor should ever perform” gender confirmation surgery. For expressing an opinion based on nothing but prejudice, and for going out of his way to make that uninformed opinion even worse, Alexander Simon. Male. gets a TWIT Award. Inforum has this story.

We told you about the TERFs opposing the inclusion of Torey Peters, a transgender woman, as a nominee for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. A group called the Wild Woman Writing Club wrote a very nasty and bigoted letter on the matter, and in addition to the names of the few people who belong to the group, they added the names of a few dead writers, such as Emily Dickinson, Daphne DuMaurier, and Willa Cather. For signing the names of people to your hate, without getting their approval, the members of the Wild Women Writing Club get a TWIT Award. This story comes from PinkNews.

Prager University is not a real university, but rather a business run by right-wing talk show host Dennis Prager. The misnamed entity released a video on YouTube in which they urge parents to reject transgender children, with the usual statistics from bad research and the usual claims that transgender children are a “trend” and are “influenced” by social media. They use Abigail Shrier as their “expert,” even though her book on transgender children has been shown to be full of lies and misinformation. Worse, though, they are using this video to raise funds–and YouTube is allowing them to do so. For spreading lies and misinformation, and for using those lies to raise money, Prager University get a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Angela Stanton-King is a Black woman who ran for Congress as a big-time supporter of Donald Trump. She failed to win her election in Georgia. This week, she appeared on Dr. Phil’s show, and unleashed a tirade against her transgender daughter. She continued the tirade on Instagram after the show, unleashing on Dr. Phil for support of the transgender daughter. For thinking of no one but herself, for failing to even try to have any understanding of what anyone else is going through, Angela Stanton-King gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from PinkNews.

Mike Huckabee tweeted, “I’ve decided to ‘identify’ as Chinese. Coke will like me, Delta will agree with my ‘values and I’ll probably get shoes from Nike and tickets to Major League Baseball games. Ain’t America great?” Of course, what he really decided to do is to ridicule transgender people, while also showing a unChristian lack of charity for those whose right to vote has been chipped away, and to top it off by denouncing those who actually do show the compassion that he can’t find within himself. For failing as a human being, Mike Huckabee gets a TWIT. PinkNews has this story.

Donald Trump released a message from “the office of the 45th president, saying;

“Asa Hutchinson, the lightweight RINO Governor of Arkansas, just vetoed a Bill [sic] that banned the CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF CHILDREN. “Bye-bye Asa,” that’s the end of him! Fortunately for the Great State of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will do a fantastic job as your next Governor!”

For a lack of knowledge and an equal lack of thought on the topic, and for an amazing bitterness toward people who actually express even a little bit of concern for others, Donald Trump gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

Media Matters for America reports that Tucker Carlson actually called transgender people “a challenge to the perpetuation of the species.” (We are no more of a challenge to the perpetuation of the species than are other non-breeders, such as celibate priests, nuns, and monks.) Media Matters also reports that Tucker Carlson spread misinformation about the new law in Arkansas, and in another segment he and Abigail Shrier exchanged misinformation about transgender youth. For spreading misinformation, and for making up a false challenge to humanity, Tucker Carlson get a TWIT.

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