The Week In Trans 6/3/19

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Selena T. West

The Delaware County (Ohio) District Library decided to cancel an event aimed at teens interested in drag. The library was set to host Drag 101, a class taught by former Miss Gay Ohio America and local drag queen Selena T. West. After the class was announced the library began to receive threats against anyone who signed up. The class was moved to another venue. Thanks to Jamie Roberts for the story tip. Learn more from the NBC 4 website.

Last week, we reported that the Trump administration had announced that its new regulation regarding health care and “religious freedom.” This week has brought some new developments.

• • Several states, counties, and cities have filed a federal lawsuit, saying in part that the rule is an attempt to “coerce” health care providers into limiting access to abortion, transgender medical care, and assisted suicide. Several health care providers have filed a separate lawsuit.
  • CNN ran an editorial from Rev. Jennifer Butler, who says that denying others healthcare is “the opposite of Christian love.”
  • Katelyn Burns, who was the first openly transgender person to cover Capitol Hill, writes in The Washington Post that the new health care regulation is “the cruelest thing the Trump administration has done to trans people yet.” She says that it feels like it’s 2008 again for transgender people.
  • Former TGForum contributor Jennifer Finney Boylan writing for The New York Times asks if denying the humanity of transgender people is why you voted for Donald Trump.
  • The New Republic points out that, while the Trump administration is particularly terrible on the matter of transgender rights, many Democrats–including many of the presidential candidates–could stand to improve their own records on transgender rights.
  • U.S. Representative Pramily Jayapal said, on the floor of the House of Representatives and in a letter to the president, that since he is “the most transparent president” and does not “do cover-ups,” she would like to know when she can come to the White House to review the documents related to his administration’s policy reversals regarding transgender students. LGBTQ Nation points out that as the mother of a gender non-conforming child, the Department of Education guidance is particularly significant to her.

Trans vet Laila Ireland.

On Memorial Day, The Los Angeles Times ran a fairly lengthy story profiling a transgender soldier, while CNN ran short profiles of several transgender members of the military.

As the Supreme Court nears the end of its term, it issues a series of decisions. Sometimes, the decision is not to take up a case. One case which the Supreme Court decided not to take up is Doe v. Boyertown School District. In 2016, three transgender students won (at the District Court level and again in the Circuit Court of Appeals) the right to use the restroom and changing room associated with the gender with which they identify. After losing that case, the Alliance Defending Freedom found some cisgender female students in that district and sued on their behalf, claiming that sharing a restroom or changing room with a transgender student would be a violation of their privacy. The courts again ruled that transgender students should be allowed to share the restroom and locker room, for the same reasons as before. The Alliance Defending Freedom asked the Supreme Court to take up the case, and this week, they announced that they would not. Bloomberg News has this story. Jamie Roberts found the story in The Washington Post.

A transgender woman of color was shot to death in Detroit. This makes four transgender women of color killed in a period of twelve days, including Muhlaysia Booker in Dallas, Michelle Washington in Philadelphia, and Claire Legato in Cleveland. You can read about this story in The Detroit Free Press.

Chucha

Jesusa Fidel Ventura Rayes, known as Chucha, was decapitated, and her head was found in a cooler in the town square of Fortin de las Flores, in the Mexican state of Veracurz. Gay Star News has this story.

Muhlaysia Booker was laid to rest in Dallas this week. More than 400 people came to pay their respects, including the mayor of Dallas, Mike Rawlings, and other city officials. You can read about it in LGBTQ Nation. They also report that Texas Representative Marc Veasey remembered Ms. Booker in a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Buzzfeed News reports on black transgender women in Dallas, who feel that they could be next after the death of Muhlaysia Booker.

Although the Tennessee legislature has tabled its “slate of hate” bills, The Guardian has talked to some mothers about how they and their LGBT children are dealing with the situation.

In a campaign appearance on Saturday former vice president Joe Biden said that the fastest way to end violence against trans women was to “…end the Trump administration.” Get the details from the News 4 website.

A week after Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson announced that, contrary to what he had said to Congress the previous day, his department was putting into place new guidelines which would allow homeless shelters to turn away transgender people, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has proposed increasing his city’s budget for housing transgender and gender non-conforming people by $2,000,000. You can read about this in The San Francisco Examiner.

San Francisco also has the first cultural district for transgender people in the U.S. CNN has a video.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety has agreed to move transgender prisoner Kanautica Zayre-Brown to a prison for women by this summer. The Raleigh News and Observer has this story.

Three trans women convicted felons who have served their time in prison are prevented from getting legal name changes in Pennsylvania. Their convictions make it illegal for them to change their names. Learn more from the Queerty website.

Rivera in 2010.

New York City has announced that there will soon be a permanent memorial to Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. It will be in Ruth Wittenberg Triangle, down the street from the Stonewall Inn, according to The New York Times.

WMFE public radio in Orlando has the story of a trans man and their non-binary partner who do cosplay and costume repair for other cosplayers.

Lapsed Catholic trans people in the Turnersville, New Jersey area may wish to attend a Mass of Accompaniment & Inclusion for the LGBT Catholic community, families and friends. It’s happening June 23 at 6 p.m. with a reception to follow. For more information email [email protected].

When Aiden Became A Brother is a children’s book which tells the story of a transgender boy awaiting the birth of his new sibling. It deals with issues of race as well as gender. Jacob’s Room To Choose takes on the issue of restroom use by gender non-conforming children. You can read about these children’s books at Pride Source.

The new documentary Jack & Yaya tells the story of two transgender children growing up next door to each other. They support each other, and even exchange Christmas presents that the other would prefer. It had its premiere at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, and is highlighted in The Advocate.

Asia Kate Dillon

Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon proposed playing The Adjudicator in John Wick Chapter 3 as non-binary, and the director, Chad Stahelski, agreed. The New York Times had an interview with the actor.

A parent tells Essential Kids that his daughter seemed to gravitate towards girly things, until suddenly, she announced that she was a boy. Parent and child both received help from a gender counselor.

Dominic Raab gave an interview to The Independent as he steps up his campaign to be the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. While Brexit and other topics got a lot of attention, his views on transgender children were mentioned, and they are not as accepting as those of Theresa May.

TransCon, a two-day conference on issues faced by transgender and gender non-conforming people, was held this week at the University of Edinburgh. Pink News has a preview of the event.

Jack Thompson just became the first transgender person of color to win the title of International Mr. Leather. Out magazine has this story.

Cece Telfer

Cece Telfer, who has competed in track as a male, won the NCAA Division II women’s 400-meter hurdles, and did so in a rather convincing manner. She also competed in the 100-meter hurdles, where she came in fifth. This story comes from TribLive.

Gianmarco Negri was elected mayor of Tromello, a small town south of Milan in Italy. He is the first transgender person elected mayor in Italy, according to NBC News.

The World Health Organization officially approved a change to the new International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, which will come out in 2022. ICD-11 will not list being transgender as a mental disorder by itself. The chapter formerly called “Gender Identity Disorders” will now be entitled “Gender Incongruence.” The Independent says this change was announced the last year, and now, details have been approved.

Snapchat’s gender filters are still a topic of discussion. Mashable and Refinery29 say that the features define our opinions about how men and women should look, and that reactions of users show a latent transphobia. If you want to try out the filters for yourself, Cnet can help you.

Harper Jean Tobin

Harper Jean Tobin, director of policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality, was a key figure in getting the state department to change gender marker policy on passports back in 2010. Now she is focused on helping sex workers and fighting Trump. Learn more from the Advocate.

CNN took notice of the Clackamas United Church of Christ in Milwaukie, Oregon. Their church signs are more inclusive than you might expect. LGBTQ Nation reports that their congregation has doubled in size because of those signs.

TWITs

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts, addressed a conference of healthcare professionals. He said that changing someone’s gender was akin to amputating a hand to install a pirate hook. For hyperbole (or an incredible inability to grasp what he is talking about), as well as a surprising lack of sympathy, Bishop McManus gets a TWIT Award. New Ways Ministry has this story, and a follow-up, in which the nun in charge of the college which hosted the conference called the bishop’s remarks, “deeply hurtful and offensive.”

LifeSiteNews feature The Van Maren Show is trying to push the “ex-gays exist” line as they promote the Second Annual Freedom March, a gathering of “ex-gay” and “ex-trans” people in Washington, D.C. As Yvette Cantu Schneider points out in LGBTQ Nation, people don’t actually change their orientation, and the people who call themselves “ex-gay” are trying to just keep from being discovered as they continue their same-sex pursuits. For promoting a lie, the people behind the Second Annual Freedom March and behind promoting it get a TWIT.

At the funeral of Milo Mazurkiewicz in Warsaw, friends unfurled a rainbow flag from the bridge where the deceased transgender person jumped. Drone footage showed a group of protestors grab the flag and rip it, just before they punched mourners. For showing no respect for the dead, these thugs get a TWIT Award. LGBTQ Nation has this story.

In Townhall, Leah Barkoukis complains about the “toxic transgender message” within the new Gillette ad, the one where a father teaches his transgender son to shave. Of course she sees nothing toxic about the cisgender-centric message that she sends. For lack of reflection, Leah Barkoukis gets a TWIT Award.

Gold Finger, a “fantasy club event” for women in Tokyo, denied entry to a trans woman who was there to support a friend who is a DJ. Even though her ID said she is female, Elin McCready was denied entry. For this, Gold Finger gets a TWIT. Pink News 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