The Week In Trans 5/10/21

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Bunnie Benton Cruse announced that she is running for the New Mexico state House of Representatives. She is running for a seat which opened up when the state Representative decided to run for Congress, to replace Deb Haaland, who is now the Secretary of the Interior. New Mexico Political report has the story.

An exclusive report in The Daily Beast says that the Biden administration is preparing to fight the wave of anti-transgender legislation at the state level with enforcement of federal civil rights law, possibly by lawsuits from the Department of Justice. Unfortunately, the Trump administration appointed a lot of judges who won’t want to go along with this, and as we saw with the lawsuits opposing President Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military, lawsuits move slowly through the system. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this and other stories.

Idaho passed its law on transgender athletes last year. This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals heard virtual arguments on that law. The District Court has issued a stay on enactment of the law. Since then, one of the litigants has dropped out of college, and might no longer have standing, as NBC News notes.

In Kansas, the state Senate did not have enough votes to override Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of that state’s transgender athlete bill. WIBW-TV has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

In Iowa, the state legislature has so far failed to take up the ban on transgender athletes that the governor has asked for. Meanwhile, a group called the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa called on the governor to reconsider her request. KCCI-TV has this story.

Last week, Ohio announced plans for a method by which transgender people could change the gender marker on their birth certificates. This week, the Utah Supreme Court ordered judges to grant changes to gender markers to transgender people who meet certain requirements. Fox 13 Salt Lake City has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this and other stories.

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For all the latest news on anti-transgender laws being proposed and enacted at the state level click here.

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The American Medical Association has announced its opposition to bills which would punish doctors who use medicine or surgery to treat gender dysphoria in minors. “Decisions about medical care belong within the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship,” says AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, M.D.

Dr. Colton Wasserman writes in The Advocate that affirming medical care for transgender people does help to save lives.

Trans man attorney Carl Charles writes in them that he will be fighting in court against bans on transgender medical care.

In the state of Washington, health insurers are being told they must cover transgender health care. KXLY-TV has this story.

An article in Slate predicts that anti-transgender state laws will backfire.

The Conversation holds that the real purpose of these bills is just to rally the Republican base.

Transgender children have a difficult path in life, and the new laws in states like Arkansas do nothing to make it easier. Medical experts feel that these laws will increase anxiety and depression. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette has a long story about this.

Transgender women continue to meet violent deaths. Iris Santos was gunned down outside a fast-food restaurant in Houston. KHOU-TV has this story.

Jahaira DeAlto, who worked at the Elizabeth Freeman Center to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, was stabbed to death in Boston, along with a house guest, by the husband of the guest. Ms. DeAlto was also active in the ballroom community, as People magazine points out. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Zashy Zuley del Cid was shot to death in San Miguel, El Salvador. She was working with a volunteer group among transgender sex workers at the time of her death. The Los Angeles Blade has this story.

Keri Washington of Clearwater, Florida, was found dead in back of an apartment building. Press reports misgendered her, according to The Advocate.

Danny Henson was remembered at a memorial in Baltimore. She was a transgender woman who was transitioning, according to family members. WMAR-TV has this story.

A ban on gay and trans-panic defenses passed the Vermont state legislature with only one vote against it. It was signed into law by Governor Phil Scott, as them reports.

Caitlyn Jenner released her first political commercial. The Advocate compares the ad to a Ronald Reagan ad from 1980, which depicted the United States as being in a bad economic funk.

Ms. Jenner also did her first political interview with Sean Hannity. She did the interview from her private airplane hangar, to remind everyone how in touch with common people she is. She seems to have chosen the hangar in order to tell the story of the guy who had the hangar across from hers; he moved to Arizona because he couldn’t stand to see the homeless people in California. As if that somehow helps solve the problem of homelessness. She talked about how she agrees with President Trump on so many policy issues, and disagrees with President Biden–even though California did not vote for President Trump but did vote for President Biden. LGBTQ Nation has more, and LGBTQ Nation also has a round-up of responses from Twitter.

Skittles usually come in a rainbow of colors, but for June, they will come out with a special Skittles Pride Pack, with gray candy inside a gray wrapper. They will donate profits to GLAAD. Out has this story.

A new study shows that LGBTQ+ college students are six times more likely than other college students to be hospitalized with COVID-19. This story comes from them.

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is likely to become the first transgender person to compete in the Olympics. (At least two Olympic competitors transitioned after appearing in the games. Andreas Kreiger was a shot-putter for the East German women’s team.) Sports Illustrated has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

Out reports that Disclosure is among the nominees for a Peabody Award.

Pose revealed the way Hollywood works, according to them.

If you are looking for the true stories from Pose’s House of Khan, they are in Out.

Clive Barker revealed on a podcast that in 1989 he wanted to make a version of The Mummy in which the resurrected mummy was a transgender woman from Egypt. Comic Book Reporter has this story.

Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union sat for an interview with People magazine. The interview is largely about their relationship with their daughter Zaya, and how much they learned from her. They seem to be getting combative, almost challenging transphobes to come after them.

DC Comics released a preview of DC Pride, as well as a list of its stories, including the first story for Dreamer and a story for a non-binary Flash. Out has more.

Good Housekeeping has a list of 20 transgender actors and actresses.

One of the performers on that list is Hunter Schafer, who has a new haircut, according to them.

The Featherston Booktown Kaukatea Festival in New Zealand decided not to hold a Harry Potter trivia quiz, which had been scheduled for the event, due to J.K. Rowling’s anti-transgender statements. Such a quiz was part of the festival in years past, but will be skipped this year, according to The Advocate.

In Britain, a judge threw out the request for a judicial review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance on the Equality Act. The request came from the LGB Alliance, which is known for its anti-transgender views. They wanted to change how the guidance allows transgender people into single-sex spaces, especially those for women. PinkNews has this story.

Over 130,000 people have signed on to a digital petition calling on the British government to recognize non-binary identities as a legal gender. This caught the attention of them.

Although the cost of changing one’s gender marker in the U.K. has been reduced significantly, the process itself remains almost unchanged. PinkNews describes the process as “intrusive and undignified,”

The University of Edinburgh released a new guidance regarding transphobic microaggressions that they ask staff to avoid. PinkNews has a look at them.

Astrid Lingren Children’s Hospital in Stockholm has discontinued prescribing puberty blockers for those under age 16. They cite the Keira Bell ruling as the reason for this change, along with “the precautionary principle, which should always be applied.” This story can be found in PinkNews.

Transgender men in Israel who give birth will have the option to be listed as “parent” on the child’s birth certificate, but not “father.” The Jerusalem Post has more on this case.

A transgender male couple from Israel were refused entry to Egypt, when a border guard said they “don’t look female” as their passports, which had not been update, said. That put an end to plans for a five-day stay at a resort in the Sinai peninsula, according to The Times of Israel.

Them has a list of ways to help LGBTQ people in India who are being affected by COVID-19. This includes some charities especially helping out the transgender community.

A transgender woman in Benin was beaten and forced to strip. Video of the incident has gone viral, and caught the attention of France 24.

Out Traveler ranked 150 nations, from best to worst for LGBTQ travelers. The list includes looking at whether transgender identities are legally accepted. Canada is at the top of the list, with the U.S. coming in at number 20. The U.S. has the caveat that rights vary from state to state.

In answer to a question at the White House daily press briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said to “stay tuned” regarding the possibility of lesbian or transgender ambassadors. She admitted that in the naming of ambassadors, the idea of naming a first lesbian or transgender person is not a priority, but it is something that they would be willing to do. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

PinkNews has the story of a transgender man who waited ten years to get to seen at a NHS clinic about his gender dysphoria, only to be refused testosterone due to “unacceptable risk.”

Julie Kliegman, the main copy editor for Sports Illustrated, came out as non-binary this week. She talked about it on the podcast The Sports Kiki. Outsports has this story.

A reader asked advice columnist Carolyn Hax to help her navigate a rift between her transgender sister and her parents, who think that transgender people are mentally ill.

Jay, one of the transgender teens featured in the documentary Transhood, appeared on Ellen, telling the host about troubles getting his mother to accept his transgender feelings. He also talked about difficulties in school, where one of his teachers felt that being transgender might be contagious, and secluded him. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Amazon has decided not to stop sales of Irreversible Damage, despite several experts saying that its central claim is inaccurate and it casts doubt on all transgender people. This story comes from NBC News.

The Kentucky State Police had a cover photo on their Facebook page which proclaimed, “Our color is grey. Our gender is trooper.” While the slogan may be interpreted by some as saying, “we all get along well here,” it does not read as well to those suffering from racial discrimination or from gender discrimination, and it certainly is seen as mocking transgender people. The Louisville Courier Journal reports that it was taken down.

A billboard in Colorado Springs proclaims, “Someone you know is transgender.” The message comes from PFLAG of Colorado Springs, and will be on display for a limited time, but it is generating a lot of buzz. The Colorado Springs Gazette has this story.

The Star Wars animated show The Bad Batch is about a group of combat clones. Their official designation is Clone Force 99. The show is a sequel and spin off of The Clone Wars. One of the clones, all cloned off of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, is a girl named Omega. Since all the clones are of a male, Omega being female could mean she is transgender. Alyssa Washington found the story in PinkNews.

We have given out TWIT Awards to several socially conservative organizations which proclaim themselves to be Christian, and which operate news sites with a far-right-wing slant. One of these is LifeSiteNews, which just got removed from Facebook because of its continuing misinformation concerning COVID-19. This story comes from The National Catholic Reporter.

TWITs

During an interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia claimed that transgender athletes were “not a priority” to him, even though he signed a bill on the matter. He insisted that there are “only 12 kids maybe” in West Virginia who are “transgender-type kids.” There are 282,000 students in West Virginia public schools. Transgender people are estimated to be one-half of one percent of the population. One-half percent of that total would be 1,400 transgender students. That puts the governor off by a factor of 100 in his estimate of the number of transgender students in his state. For lack of understanding of an issue, and lack of interest in learning about it Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia gets a TWIT Award. PinkNews has this story.

Media Matters For America counted 126 segments on Fox News concerning transgender athletes. In those 126 segments, they only found nine transgender athletes to talk about. For making a huge issue out of something so rare, and for being so repetitive, Fox News gets a TWIT.

Tracey Lambrechs is a former Olympic weightlifter from new Zealand. According to news reports she claims that women are being told to “be quiet” and stop complaining about the inclusion of transgender athletes. The actual message to women is that sports authorities have discussed the matter with experts, and have assessed how to allow transgender athletes to compete with concerns for safety and fairness for all participants. For failing to listen, and for projecting her own unwillingness to cooperate onto someone else, Tracey Lambrechs gets a TWIT Award. Reuters has this story.

A grade school in Washington chose to have students read I Am Jazz, as a lesson in accepting others. It appears to be a lesson that many parents do not wish the school to teach. For treating transgender people as inherently undeserving of respect, these parents get a TWIT Award. The story can be found in Fox News.

When Black transgender woman Carvelle Estriplet, a business owner in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, criticized Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis for voting against a resolution condemning anti-transgender legislation in the state, the Vice Mayor challenged her to arm wrestling. For failing to support her vote with logic (or alternatively, to just sit there and let her opponent talk until she runs out of steam), Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis gets a TWIT. The Advocate has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to the story.

Rick Wiles, the Evangelical pundit and leader of a tele-church, deliberately deadnamed and misgendered Jennifer Pritzker, in an attempt to discredit the transgender woman who dared to speak out against Tennessee’s anti-transgender bills. He reportedly accused her of being “another rich Jew,” thereby revealing an additional line of discrimination. The segment also accused Ms. Pritzker of being “responsible for the gender reassignment human experiment.” For prejudice in the name of religion, Rick Wiles gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

A new rumor appeared online this week, claiming that Bill and Melinda Gates are getting a divorce because Melinda is secretly a man. The couple were married for a quarter of a century, and have three children, but apparently, he only became bothered about it now. For sheer fabrication, with no evidence or facts, those who spread this theory get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

It has been reported that in the same week the LGB Alliance had its argument on single-sex spaces thrown out, they took out a full-page ad in The Herald to say that transgender women cannot be lesbians. For wasting their charity money on prejudice with a non-issue, the LGB Alliance get a TWIT Award. This story comes from PinkNews.

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