The Week In Trans 6/21/21

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Recently a transphobe made the usual sort of attack on Danica Roem. She responded by taking a screen capture of the exchange, and posting it as a fundraising tool for her campaign. And it worked–she got donations as a result. LGBTQ Nation has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

As states enacted bans on transgender athletes, and in some cases on medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors, many wondered if the federal government would act. On Thursday, they did indeed act. The Justice Department entered into lawsuits against the ban on student athletes in West Virginia, and against the ban on medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors that was enacted in Arkansas. The Department of Justice argues that both are violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Hill has this story.

The two Statements of Interest from the Department of Justice come the day after the Department of Education announced that it would enforce Title IX in a way that includes discrimination against transgender or LGB students as discrimination on the basis of sex. This also applies to the case against transgender athletes. This story can be found in US News and World Report. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this and other stories.

In spite of this statement from the Department of Education, the Wisconsin Assembly approved a ban on transgender students participating in athletics. Governor Tony Evers has said that he will veto such a ban, which in an odd way encourages the Assembly to pass such legislation. The Associated Press has this story.

An article in The Conversation says that science is having a hard time measuring exactly what advantage, if any, transgender athletes have.

The matter of transgender medical treatment came up in the Utah legislature. Despite the fact that doctors were on one side and not on the other, the legislators said they weren’t sure which side to listen to. This story is found in The Salt Lake Tribune.

Bills restricting the rights of transgender youth have put a burden on families with transgender children and supportive parents. CNN has this story.

Bills attacking transgender rights are the result of political donations, many of which come from companies that just don’t care that the politicians they support are doing this sort of thing. Them has a list of companies bankrolling the sponsors of anti-transgender legislation.

Last week, we reported that a federal judge ordered a school district to reinstate a gym teacher who refused to stop misgendering a transgender student. This week, the school district announced its intention of filing an appeal. This story comes from them.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan signed an executive order which will ban state money being used to support conversion therapy. While this is not a ban on the practice, it is at the least a symbolic first step towards a ban. Them has this story.

A transgender man was found fatally shot outside a dollar store in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is profiled by PinkNews, which identifies him as Novaa Ru Watson, a name they say he used on Facebook. The same man is identified as E.J. Boykin by them, which also notes that he is the fifth transgender man to be killed this year in the U.S. Both articles note that the deceased was known by a variety of names.

CNN has the story of a mother who is trying to fight back against deadly attacks on Black transgender women.

In North Carolina, a man was charged in connection with the killing of two transgender women. This week, he was charged in connection with a third murder. The Charlotte Observer has this story.

An Ann Arbor man was charged with assaulting and humiliating a transgender woman. He is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct. This story appears on Click On Detroit.

Kansas state representative Stephanie Byers, who is identified as the first Indigenous transgender lawmaker in the U.S., is profiled by NBC News.

Insider has profiles of all eight transgender state legislators in the U.S.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland raised the Progress Pride flag over the department’s headquarters, the first time a Pride flag has been raised at the Department of the Interior. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

We reported recently that New York is about to make it easier for transgender and non-binary people to get I.D. that match their identities. A report from the Williams Institute says that 476,000 transgender adults in the U.S. do not have I.D. that matches their identitiy. This report is the basis for a story in them.

Military.com has a report on how much the military has spend treating transgender people in the armed forces. This only covers the costs for members of the armed forces; spouses and children may be receiving help through military medical insurance as well.

Jack Phillips, the baker who won a case in which he was charged with discrimination for not baking a cake for a same-sex marriage, was fined for not baking a birthday cake for a transgender woman. The Denver Channel has the story of the fine, while them looks at the transgender woman in the case.

TAP, the Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia, is a non-profit which works as a clothing exchange for transgender people. It caught the attention of The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Daniel DuGoff is a fashion designer, whose family owned and operated gas stations. His fashion label, HOMOCO (named for his grandparents’ gas stations: Homes Oil Company, which billed its stations as HOMOCO) has joined forces with gas station convenience store chain Kum & Go to offer new merchandise. Profits from the venture will go to the Transgender Law Center and other LGBTQ charities. The Des Moines Register has this story.

A transgender franchisee’s experience dealing with customers and the franchiser is the subject of a story in Franchise Times.

Well + Good reports that many transgender people are exhausted from having to educate others about transgender identities.

The University of Wisconsin School of Education announced a new study which will look at how e-therapy can improve the mental health of transgender, non-binary, and two-spirit people.

Transgender youth are struggling to access proper treatment, and the latest round of anti-transgender legislation only adds to that struggle. this is not the first time in history that transgender youth have struggled to access treatment, according to an article in The Conversation.

Transgender people can have a lot of trouble finding proper mental health care. The 19th explains why this is.

British mental health charity Mind recently demonstrated its support for transgender people, only to get some transphobic attacks in the comments section. They responded by reiterating their support for transgender people. This story comes from PinkNews.

A story on transgender athletes at the Olympics in Tokyo was heard on NPR.

A transgender student in Batavia, Illinois, joined the rowing team at school. He is now competing for a spot on a national junior team, which will compete internationally. Fox 32 Chicago has this story.

Abi Robins, who competed in the non-binary division at the Unbound Gravel bike race in Emporia, Kansas, talked about what a great thing it was to be “seen,” despite the fact that they were the only competitor in the non-binary/genderqueer category. This story comes from PinkNews.

Rosi Sexton once complained about transgender woman Fallon Fox competing in MMA. Now, she has read up on the subject, and believes that transgender people should be allowed to compete, if they meet reasonable standards based on evidence. She wrote about this for Outsports.

The 19th has a panel discussion about transgender athletes, with Mack Beggs and Sarah Rose Huckman joining the discussion.

Shakina Nayfack, L. Morgan Lee, and Ezra Menas are the headliners for A Place For Us: A Celebration of Trans and Nonbinary Artists in Musical Theatre. Them has this story.

A new documentary called Genderation catches up with the transgender people who were in the documentary Gendernauts more than two decades ago. Even filmmaker Monika Treut is back for the new film, which premieres at the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco. The San francisco Public Press has this story.

Joe Fryer conducted a panel discussion about transgender issues. It’s called TransAmerica, and is available on the Peacock streaming platform. You can read about it on The Advocate.

The Now List on them profiled Torrey Peters, the author of the novel Detransition, Baby.

In the list of 200 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of All Time on Out.com, number 8 is A Fantastic Woman, and number 7 is Dallas Buyers Club.

Transgender comic Julia Scotti is the subject of a new documentary. The Advocate has a look at it.

The video for Kat Cunning’s new song Boys features a cast of trans men and non-binary people, both in front of and behind the camera. This story come from The Advocate.

Laverne Cox is briefly profiled by WMTW-TV.

Angelica Ross decided not to keep her transgender identity from her ex-fiancee. Although the relationship did not last, she does not seem to regret her honesty. Page 6 has this story.

Elliot Page got praise from his Juno co-star, J.K. Simmons. This story comes from them.

Demi Lovato recently came out as non-binary. This week, they appeared with a new pixie haircut. You can see pictures of the haircut in Allure.

Jane Fonda was moved to tears by Demi Lovato’s coming-out story. The actress described the non-binary singer as “so brave,” while a guest on their podcast. Them has this story.

Bubly once had a commercial with Kim Petras and a group of drag queens. They have followed that with a new video featuring Aquaria, Gia Love, and others from the LGBTQ+ community of New York City. This story comes from Out.com.

Laganja Estranja is a drag queen who has appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and now, she has come out as a transgender woman. EW has this interview. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

In an interview with Tomi Lahren, Caitlyn Jenner said, “You know what? It was easier to come out as trans than it is to come out as a Republican. Especially in California.” Of course, that’s her perception. Plenty of people in Hollywood have had no trouble declaring themselves to be Republicans. This story can be found on Fox News.

Jimmy Kimmel called Caitlyn Jenner “Trump in a wig” in a joke on his late-night show. Ms. Jenner took great offense, claiming he joke misgenders her. Several people on social media pointed out that the joke was not about her gender identity, but about her politics. The Advocate has this story.

When the PantiBar in Dublin was hit with graffiti that accused the patrons of pedophilia, the community helped to clean up the wall. Out.com has this story.

Ireland issued special stamps for Pride month. You can read about it at LGBTQ Nation.

Hungary passed a new law forbidding LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” The law also forbids the depiction of transgender people in media aimed at children, or even at teenagers. Them reports a large protest in the streets of Budapest.

Two transgender women were elected to Mexico’s Congress. They are the first transgender people in that legislature. This story comes from The Advocate.

Guatemala is just recovering from the murder of a famous transgender activist, and another was assassinated. PinkNews has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for the link.

Last week, we reported that a Greek transgender woman was found murdered, after she had been missing for weeks from a mental hospital. In a follow-up this week, we can report that police have arrested a suspect based on fingerprint evidence. This story comes from The Greek Reporter.

An article in The Malay Mail quote advocacy groups as saying that Islam should extend blessings to all, including transgender people. This comes as an Islamist party rejected a call to study the possibility of a third gender under the law.

The Bidens recorded a video message for Pride month. In the message, they acknowledge the violence against transgender women and people of color as a sign that more work needs to be done. Out.com has this story.

While President Biden recorded a greeting for Pride month, Vice President Kamala Harris attended the Capital Pride Walk. It is the first time that a sitting Vice President of the U.S. joined a Pride event. This story comes from The Advocate.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the leaders of the G7 that they should rebuild their nations “in a more gender-neutral and feminine way.” No, that is not self-contradictory; one can build up both the feminine and the gender-neutral simultaneously, while decreasing the masculine (and especially decreasing the toxic masculinity). What is striking is that someone whose government failed to deliver on reform of the GRA (other than driving down the cost) is telling others they need to do gender reforms. PinkNews has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Brooklyn Liberation held a rally for the support of transgender youth, who seem to be attacked by so many legislative actions these days. This story comes from them.

LGBTQ Nation has some pictures of Marsha P. Johnson at Pride that have never been made public before.

For some, Pride is personal. Fox 17 West Michigan has the story of a transgender man, who has learned to take pride in himself.

The #TransMenAreMen was a trending topic on Twitter this week. LGBTQ Nation has some of the tweets.

The CBC reports on how Black transgender women are using social media to connect with one another.

The new version of the Progress Pride Flag designed to include intersex people is just the latest in a growing number of Pride flags, according to a story in LGBTQ Nation.

Zackery Torres of Dance Moms recently came out as transgender, and of course, that is a topic of discussion in interviews. She says that being a celebrity made her transition easier, in an interview with PinkNews.

The Today Show had a segment on the past, present, and future of transgender rights.

In Chicago, the second Drag March for Change also had the theme of improving Black trans lives. The Advocate has a photo gallery.

TWITS

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a motion to dismiss the ACLU’s lawsuit against Arkansas’s ban on medical treatment for gender dysphoria in minors. According to The Arkansas Times, the lawsuit relies heavily on the Keira Bell Ruling by the High Court of Britain. That ruling is currently under review in Britain, not the least because it seems to have questionable medical evidence to support it. The High Court has already amended the ruling, allowing minors to receive medical treatment for gender dysphoria as long as the parents consent–something which the Arkansas law does not permit. Moreover, though, it is a ruling from a foreign court. Conservatives have heavily criticized the use of foreign rulings in U.S. cases, yet here, a foreign ruling is the crux of their argument to dismiss the case. For tremendous inconsistency in logic, we give Leslie Rutledge a TWIT Award.

In Windsor, Ontario, Britt Leroux asked a baker to bake a cake with the picture of the celebrant’s favorite contestant from Canada’s Drag Race. Not only did the baker refuse, but the customer got an earful. She recorded the call, getting the part where the store manager compared drag queens to pedophiles. She decided to put her evidence online, which got her additional abuse in the comments section. In light of the recording, the bakery has issued an apology for “anything we have said that may have been offensive or miscommunicated,” and says that they will refuse all photos from now on. All those who equate drag queens with pedophilia, and who are willing to say so to a customer or in the comments, get a TWIT Award. The Windsor Star has this story.

A library in Irving, Texas, included Ryan T. Anderson’s book When Harry Became Sally among its books of Pride. After social media called attention to the fact that the book has a view of transgender people which is far from positive, the library issued an apology, but not a particularly strong one, saying only that they posted an old picture. For not saying why the book was inappropriate for Pride after accidentally including it, the Irving Library gets a TWIT Award. This story comes from PinkNews.

Above we mentioned the interview that Tomi Lahren did with Caitlyn Jenner. Ms. Lahren promoted the interview with a tweet that use the pronoun “her” to refer to Ms. Jenner. As you might imagine, that went over less than well with some members of the crowd it was intended to reach. All those who deliberately misgendered Caitlyn Jenner, and feel smug about themselves for it, share a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Although the U.S. Department of Justice has started to show its intention to fight hard against anti-transgender legislation, some zealots have pre-filed anti-transgender legislation for next year. For attempting to promote their own political career at the expense of others, and for not fulfilling their oath to the Constitution, these politicians get a TWIT Award. This story comes from them.

Pennsylvania state Representative Aaron Bernstine complained that Noodles & Company had a gender-neutral restroom. It is, of course, designed for one person at a time, but still, the very idea that they would put up a sign calling attention to the fact that it is gender-neutral, instead of just calling it a restroom, was too much for him to handle. For reaching darn low to express your transphobia, and for feeling you need to reach that low to make yourself feel superior, state representative Aaron Bernstine gets a TWIT. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Wichita’s first non-discrimination ordinance was overturned by the voters. Wichita’s second non-discrimination law was repealed in 1999. There is a proposal for a third non-discrimination ordinance, but it lacks any mechanism to enforce it. For creating a non-discrimination ordinance which fails to punish discrimination, the authors of Wichita’s proposed non-discrimination law get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Someone stole a Colorado town’s Pride flag display and replaced it with a Confederate flag. For not realizing that a flag which is a symbol of racism is a bad symbol for your movement, the people behind this substitution get a TWIT Award. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

In Turkey, a doctor refused to perform minor surgery on a transgender person, instead giving the transgender woman an earful of transphobia. For failing to live up to the Hippocratic Oath, and for doing a lot of harm to the patient, this doctor gets a TWIT Award. PinkNews has this story.

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