The Week In Trans 6/28/21

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Ashley T. Brundage, a transgender woman, went from a job at Boston Market to being a vice-president for diversity at a major bank. She has now written a book of advice about workplace diversity. Her big message is to make your differences work for you. You can find out about the book at The Tampa Bay Times.

The U.S. Army has joined the Navy and Air Force in announcing their new policy for allowing transgender people to serve. Task And Purpose has this story.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has announced that gender confirmation surgery will be available though the V.A. health care system. More on this story can be found at CNN.

As President Biden’s desire to allow transgender troops to serve becomes a reality, some military medical units need to provide transgender troops with the medical services they need. The 59th Medical Wing announced they are providing these services.

In addition to the lawsuits against West Virginia for its ban on transgender athletes and Arkansas for its ban on medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors, among others, the A.C.L.U. is also suing Georgia for excluding medical care for gender dysphoria from its Medicaid plan. This story comes from CBS 46.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed that state’s transgender athlete bill, as he said he would do. He called it “a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana.” And he’s right–the state’s athletic association requires athletes to play on the team that matches the sex listed on their birth certificates. The Hill has this story. Acadia Parish Today reports that there is already an effort to get the legislature to meet for a special session in an attempt to override the governor’s veto.

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan all still have have transgender athlete bills working their way through the legislatures. The governors of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin have already said they will veto these bills. This week, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio criticized his state’s transgender athlete bill. However, he did not comment on whether he would or would not veto the bill if the legislature passes it.

This week, the Department of Education sent a letter to schools across the country, informing them that the protection from discrimination “on account of sex” provisions of Title IX protect from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. This applies the Bostock decision to education. This story comes from them.

A school board meeting in Virginia saw a lot of passionate talk as the subject of transgender students came up. While the presiding officer tried to give everyone who wished a chance to speak, tempers rose, and order was hard to maintain. PinkNews highlights one teen who told of her transgender brother, while, WSET-TV points out that the federal Department of Education and the state give the local government less say in the matter than many realize. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this and other stories this week.

Some local school authorities are glad to see the new regulations from the federal government. M Live has this story from Michigan.

An editorial in The 74 says that the best way to get better policies for transgender and non-binary students is to have transgender and non-binary educators involved in creating education policy.

Becky Jackson is at the heart of the ACLU’s suit against West Virginia over the state’s new transgender athlete law. She and her family are profiled in them, as are some other transgender youth of West Virginia. They fear that worse is ahead, as West Virginia legislators consider a ban on the medical treatment of gender dysphoria in future sessions.

A transgender woman named Nina Grey was attacked on the subway in New York City this week. She was stabbed with a screwdriver during the attack, according to WABC-TV.

A transgender man was attacked and held at knifepoint in Bournemouth, England. He posted pictures of his scarred face to Instagram. PinkNews has this story.

The Taylor family of Oregon said goodbye to their transgender child, whom they referred to both as Molly (the name assigned at birth) and as Ollie or Oliver. This ends a story that included kidnapping, torture, and finally, the memorial service which was covered by The Salem Statesman Journal.

The Miami Marlins hosted Chad, a local transgender teen who was a victim of bullying by classmates. She even got to paint the team logo on the pitcher’s mound. Local 10 has this story.

President Biden designated the Pulse nightclub as a national monument. At a signing ceremony, he declared, “Pride is back at the White House.” This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

For the first time, there is a public display at the White House that is themed to the celebration of Pride month. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

President Biden appointed a Special Envoy for LGBTQ rights, a position which President Obama started and which languished under President Trump. The position is within the structure of the State Department, and will help spread the importance of LGBTQ rights international. Jessica Stern, the Executive Director of OutRight Action International, will be the Special Envoy. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

This week, Vice President Kamala Harris met with LGBTQ+ leaders to talk about equality. She said that such talks should not only happen during Pride month, but all year round. The Advocate has this story.

As Texas heads towards a special session of the state legislature, polling finds that Texans oppose permit-less gun carrying, but support a ban on transgender athletes. Again, Texas is a state where the athletic association requires athletes to compete on the team aligned with the sex listed on the birth certificate. This story comes from KSAT-TV.

Several Pride events have had protest messages this year. The many attempts at legislating away the rights of transgender people have made protests both popular and necessary this year, but will they continue? Them reports that some organizers want to keep protests at the heart of Pride.

A new survey asks whether current LGBTQ organizations are effective in getting messages across. Commentary in LGBTQ Nation wonders whether LGBTQ lobbying needs to be reformed.

Mastercard has released a new commercial message about their True Name feature. LGBTQ Nation likes the feature.

Pepper is a company specializing in bras for women with small busts. This month, they are trying to reach out to transgender women, and are donating some of their profits to transgender women. This caught the attention of Out.com.

Coca-Cola has released a tool which allows a customer to make a personalized can. Their tool automatically rejects certain messages, such as “Gay Pride,” “Lesbian,” or “Transgender.” (This is interesting, since the cans in question have a rainbow on them.) This appears to be the result of a lack of imagination in anticipation. The tool needs some work, since it did not initially reject several anti-transgender slurs, among other things. Coca-Cola is listening to complaints, and is updating the tool to expand the excluded messages. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

them reports that the Stonewall Inn is refusing to stock products from Anheuser-Busch, because of their donations to politicians who support anti-transgender legislation. It’s more symbolic than a practical move, but it’s about time something like this happened.

A driver for UberEats in Topeka was unable to update his gender and pronouns on the service’s app, until the ACLU stepped in. KSNT-TV has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

The Conversation has summaries of and links to three stories they have recently run about medical care for transgender people.

Talia Vaughn of Brooklyn, New York, has a mission–to help homeless transgender women get health insurance. News12 The Bronx has a video profile of her.

Mikha’el Portillo explained to Click Orlando how surgery made him feel “safer” as a man.

It’s a shame that the NHS no longer offers bottom surgery for transgender men. The one clinic which offered the surgery dropped it in April. PinkNews has this story.

In Britain, there was a new hearing into the practices of the NHS since the Keira Bell decision. On the first day, the NHS said that the prescription of puberty blockers was “extensively, powerfully” regulated. PinkNews has this story. Then, on the second day, they were accused of “illegally” obtaining consent from transgender children who wanted to be on hormone blockers. PinkNews also has this story.

A psychologist who used to practice at the Tavistock and Portman Trust has accused the NHS of practicing conversion therapy. The NHS categorically denies the claim. This story comes from PinkNews.

Them has a list of eleven ways to deal with gender dysphoria while having sex.

A new study by the Williams Institute finds that over one million people are non-binary. That is likely an undercount. Them has this story.

CeCe Telfer will not make the U.S. Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles. She did not meet the hormone qualification. This story comes from The Hill.

Laurel Hubbard received support from her prime minister and from a rival athlete. PinkNews has this story.

Laurel Hubbard’s upcoming appearance at the Olympics was a subject for discussion at The Onion.

In a story from the files of the obvious, a professor of political science says that having transgender athletes at the olympics could polarize opinion. This story comes from The Associated Press.

The Hill reports that opportunity in athletics is not equal to begin with.

Patricio Manuel, the transgender boxer, is the subject of a long story at ESPN.

Kumi Yokoyama, a Japanese athlete who plays for the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League in the U.S., announced that they are transgender. They lamented how gender identity differences are not widely accepted in their native Japan. NPR has this story.

Veiga Gretarsdottir is a transgender woman who is attempting to be the first person to circumnavigate solo against the current all the way around Iceland in a kayak. There are very few people who have made that journey. This story comes from Out Traveler.

Less than a month from now, Indya Moore’s new movie, Escape Room will premier. A new trailer was released this week, and them has it.

Billy Tipton, the transgender male jazz pianist, is the subject of an upcoming documentary. No Ordinary Man comes to theaters (and probably streaming) on July 16. Out.com has this story.

The Emmy Awards this week announced a gender neutral “performers” category, in place of Actor or Actress. It appears that this will be in addition to the categories of “actor” and “actress,” according to Out.com.

The Now List on them recognized Mariah Moore of the House of Tulip.

The Now List on them also added Lola Rodriguez.

LGBTQ Nation has a list of 8 Black trans women you should follow.

Bimini Bon Boulash explains why London Trans+ Pride is so important in an interview with PinkNews.

Five queer nightlife figures talked to them about the future of going out on the town.

Some critics complained about a drag show at an Air Force base. The service members assigned to the base enjoyed the show, and it was seen as a way to promote diversity, according to LGBTQ Nation.

British Vogue retweeted something from RuPaul, then deleted it, because it uses a term (differently spelled) which has long been considered transphobic. Let’s just say that the term is far less used in clinical settings than in porn titles. The Advocate has this story.

St. Paul’s Girls’ School, a private school for girls in London, has replaced the title “Head Girl” with the title “Head of School”. They admit that “binary connotations” were a part of the reason for the change. This story can be found in PinkNews.

Hungary is on the verge of being taken to court by the European Union over its new anti-LGBTQ law. At least one EU commissioner feels that the law violates the human rights provision of the E.U. Them has this story.

Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law has inspired inspired protests at soccer games. The Union of European Football Associations rejected a plan to light the stadium in Munich in the colors of the rainbow flag at the time of a match with Hungary. That rejection only caused fans to do their own thing, in an attempt to show support for LGBTQ people in Hungary. This story comes from LGBTQ Nation.

An activist based in the country of Georgia is working long hours to call attention to the plight of transgender people in that country. Open Democracy has this story.

A transgender woman in Venezuela went out to have some drinks with her friends. That was a mistake. Her friends got upset and beat her up because she is transgender. This sad story comes from PinkNews.

The Indian Express has an article about a beauty salon for transgender people.

A vaccine drive in Mumbai is specifically reaching out to transgender people, who often are not included in other vaccination efforts. PinkNews has this story.

Malaysia is a heavily Muslim nation. Many in the country, including its politicians, want to treat transgender people under Sharia Law, which is far from accepting of transgender identities. Human Rights Watch encourages civil rights groups to keep fueling resistance to those efforts.

Ned Price is a gay man who works for the U.S. Department of State. He talked with The Advocate about this administration’s commitment to promoting LGBTQ rights as human rights internationally.

More than 100 people marched in a protest designed to call attention to transgender immigrants to the U.S. who are currently being held by ICE. The Washington Blade has this story.

The Advocate has photos of some contemporary drag performers in New York’s Christopher Street Park, where you could find Marsha P. Johnson back in the day.

Pride events are happening. LGBTQ Nation reports on four women who are trying to get a Pride event started in the tiny town of Winnemucca, Nevada.

NBC 26 Green Bay profiled a non-profit which is dedicated to helping transgender and non-binary people get name changes.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader has a profile of several transgender people. The article shows them to be regular people living in South Dakota.

18-year-old Kaysen Ford, who is transgender and non-binary, says that for them, queerness is associated with happiness. NPR has this story.

A family in Israel tells Haaretz how accepting their transgender son has taught them lessons about their Jewish faith.

Sarah Jones, a priest in the Church of England, promotes the lesson that God is “beautifully non-binary.” PinkNews has this story.

Marlo Mack, the woman behind the How To Be A Girl podcast, writes in The New York Times that transgender children are found everywhere.

TWITs

The New York Post made a big deal of an old comment from Chelsea Wolfe, who, in a moment of anger, said that she wanted to win an Olympic medal, so that she could burn an American flag on the podium. First off, the Post pretends this is a goal, when in fact, it was a one-time comment. Secondly, Olympic organizers would not allow anything like this to happen. On top of that, she is an alternate–someone who will only get to participate as an athlete if someone else is unable to participate. While the article calms down after this start, it still gets a TWIT Award for sensationalism and non-reality.

We mentioned above the disruption of a school board meeting in Virginia. After the meeting, the Ku Klux Klan were distributing fliers, denouncing the school board’s policies. The fliers identified the responsible group as “Loyal White Knights,” which is hardly hiding their identity. Anyone who still opposes transgender students, after finding that position endorsed by the KKK, gets a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

Although the states of Arkansas and Tennessee are seeing huge bills in defending their new anti-transgender laws, and Alabama will have to defend its ban on transgender athletes in court, some lawmakers in Alabama have pre-filed a bill to ban medical treatment of gender dysphoria in minors–a bill which failed in the last two legislative sessions. For not taking the hint, and for trying to promote their own political careers by denying others rights, as well as for trying to install the government between doctors and patients, the lawmakers who pre-filed this bill get a TWIT Award. This story comes from AL.com.

A non-binary person tried to join a local community group, in this case Civitans, only to find their application turned down because they would not identify as either male or female on the application. Any organization that sticks that closely to the binary gets a TWIT Award. The Las Cruces Sun-News has this story.

Laurence Fox is being sued for calling a star of Drag Race a [sic] “paedophile.” Rather than show evidence that the charge is warranted, the defendant claims the remark is “free speech” and not defamatory. He also claims that his career as an actor is “probably over” because of the reaction to this and other remarks he made. For not taking responsibility for his own actions, and for never showing any factual basis for his statement, Laurence Fox gets a TWIT. This story comes from PinKNews.

Fox News cites Brett Favre as an authority on the side of opposition to transgender athletes. Mr. Farve has done no research on the topic, and only claims to use “common sense” in a blanket opposition. He seems unaware of requirements for getting testosterone levels under some maximum in order to compete. For promoting ignorance over research, Fox News gets a TWIT Award.

Will Cain Fox News Primetime criticized the Biden Justice Department for its support of transgender youth. He claims that puberty blockers and HRT are “child abuse.” Doctors find that they save lives that would have been lost to suicide. So, apparently, encouraging transgender children to not commit suicide is child abuse. For bombast and hyperbole, and for not caring that he is building his career out of lies and misery for others, Will Cain gets a TWIT Award. And for promoting him and his views, Fox News shares this TWIT.

India Willoughby left GB News, a new news channel in Britain with a political leaning. Although she identifies as “patriotic” and “right-of-centre,” she found that she was nowhere near the views of this news channel, and worse, the channel had expressed solidarity with the LGB Alliance and Maya Forstater, which leaves no place for transgender people. For siding with those expressing extreme prejudice, and for treating an employee in such an unwelcoming way, GB News gets a TWIT Award. PinkNews has this story.

We mentioned above that Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio has expressed his lack of support for a transgender athlete bill. At this time, it is not a bill–it is an amendment to the bill that would allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. So, the compromise is that transgender people can amend their birth certificates, but cannot participate in sports. For turning a long-delayed gesture of acceptance into a vicious slap in the face, Ohio legislators who voted for this amendment get a TWIT Award. This story comes from WBNS-TV.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said that transgender women should be banned from rape crisis centers. She did not bemoan the need for rape crisis centers–she did not complain about the amount of rape that goes on in the U.S. Apparently, she is fine with the fact that we need to have these places but just don’t have transgender people there. For complaining about the wrong problem, Marjorie Taylor Greene gets a TWIT. Raw Story has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to 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