The Week In Trans April 27, 2020

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Jennifer Finney Boylan

Jennifer Finney Boylan, who wrote for TGForum once upon a time, released a new book this week, entitled Good Boy: My Life In Seven Dogs. Although the subject seems to be dogs, it is autobiographical. The author did a lot of interviews, including one with The Advocate.

On Thursday, several advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on behalf of transgender women in their custody. The lawsuit argues that the current pandemic is an additional reason why these women should be released from custody. The Washington Blade has this story. Following the letter, at least one transgender immigrant, Lexis Hernandez Avilez, was released after more than a year in detention, according to KPIX-TV.

Student body leaders from the four public universities in Idaho signed a letter to Governor Brad Little. The letter indicates that they strongly disagree with his decision to sign the ban on transgender student athletes in women’s sports into law. You can read about this in The Post-Register.

Chris Mosier

Chris Moiser talked to the BBC LGBT Sport podcast about participating in sports, first in women’s sports and then as a male. Pink News has highlights.

A burnt car found in the city of Humacoa, Puerto Rico, contained the bodies of two transgender women, Layla Peláez and Serena Angelique Velázquez. No arrests have been made, and police are still investigating whether it is a hate crime. Two transgender people were murdered in separate incidents earlier this year. The New York Daily News has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Sy Rogers, a leader of Exodus International who described himself as “ex-gay” and “ex-transgender,” has died. Exodus International was a leader in conversion therapy; it has gone out of business, but some “therapists” have joined a new, smaller group. This story comes from The Advocate.

Every so often, you come into contact with people who are unfamiliar with transgender people, or not entirely clear about something. Pink News has not just one but two articles with basic information about transgender people.

A new study by the Williams Institute pointed out that 320,000 transgender people are at heightened risk for COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions. The study also pointed out that many may be at risk for depression or suicide due to unemployment or prolonged exposure to unaccepting family members. You can find highlights of the report at The American Independent.

New Times San Luis Obispo talked with a doctor and a therapist about how getting in touch with patients or clients is different during this health crisis.

Roddy Alvez

Roddy Alves, the former Living Ken Doll, gave an interview to The Daily Mail. She updated people on her transition.

In the midst of the COVID-19 health scare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled internally its final draft of the rule which will replace Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. That is the section which stipulates that health care providers and insurance companies will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Politico says that once the new regulation is publicly released, it can be implemented. Advocates are concerned the new rule will allow hospitals and health workers to more easily discriminate against patients based on their gender or sexual orientation.Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

Even with laws protecting transgender patients from discrimination by medical practitioners, such discrimination does happen. When an administration chooses to ignore the anti-discrimination rules or appoints judges who will not enforce them, the statute becomes meaningless. Evan Urquhart argues in Slate that transgender people should have a right to not have their electronic medical records reveal they are transgender.

The Marshall Parthenon wondered how things were for transgender people in West Virginia. The answer is, not that good.

Nikkie De Jager

Nikkie De Jager has been diagnosed with PTSD because of the way she was outed as transgender. Even though she made the big reveal herself, it was something she has been unable to get over. Insider has this story.

Asia Kate Dillon from the show Billions sat for an interview with Newsweek.

Lip syncs on Ru Paul’s Drag Race come when the drag queens are facing elimination; they call it Lip Sync for Your Life. Although the contestants are usually under enormous pressure, sometimes the performances are memorable. You can find some of the best at Out.com.

Trinity the Tuck showed off her versatility by recreating the look of various winners from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Out.com has many pictures.

Bars are closed right now, but one bar in Minnesota, The Black Hart, is offering drinks to go, with curbside car service featuring drag performers. You can read about this bar at Bring Me The News.

Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics is the father of a transgender son. His teenage child is still at an all-girl school, but now wants male pronouns. Father tells Pink News that it’s an ongoing process.

A new YouTube video looks at the impact that The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert had on Australia. You can read about it at LGBTQ Nation.

Shangela

Shangela is one of the most popular drag queens to come out of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Also an actor and producer named D.J. Pierce, Shangela has a new show, We’re Here, on HBO. Out.com got an interview with the star.

United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called out nations that use COVID-19 as a cover or excuse in the implementation of laws that target LGBTQ people. Hungary was used as an example, but there are other nations doing this as well. Learn more from LGBTQ Nation.

Liz Truss, the Equities Minister for the United Kingdom, dropped a bombshell about the policy on transgender youth. The nation’s laws allow gender-related surgery for those under 18, as long as their parents have given permission and certain other legal requirements are met. Few meet the requirements, so those under 18 almost never get surgery. The minister told a parliamentary committee, “I believe strongly that adults should have the freedom to lead their lives as they see fit, but I think it’s very important that while people are still developing their decision-making capabilities that we protect them from making those irreversible decisions.” The actual proposal on the reform of the Gender Recognition Act will be made in the summer, according to a story in Sky News. (Sky News forgot to mention that reform of health care for minors is not a part of reforming the Gender Recognition Act.)

Reaction to Liz Truss’s statement was swift. Pink News reports that a petition at change.org got more than 2,000 signatures in the first day after the comments appeared in the press.

In contrast to the U.K. and parts of the U.S., Australia’s Minister of Health Greg Hunt told The Sunday Age that he has heard the call to restrict healthcare for transgender children but he rejects the idea. You can read about this at Pink News. The Royal Australian College of Physicians has warned that a national consultation on reforming healthcare for transgender children “would not increase the scientific evidence available regarding gender dysphoria but would further harm vulnerable patients and their families through increased media and public attention.”

Friday marked the annual Day Of Silence, a day on which LGBT+ students and their allies remain silent, to protest the fact that many cannot talk about their sexual orientation or gender identity. In light of the current conditions, the observance had to go online, as Pink News reports.

Veena S.

Veena S, from Bangaluru in India, has been going out of her way to feed the poor people in her city. She has been making thousands of free meals to give away to the people who live nearby, according to The Better India.

Paloma Salas Jiménez was a transgender woman who was murdered in Barranqueilla, Colombia. She was stabbed more than 20 times, and mutilated. LGBTQ Nation has this horrible story.

We have mentioned that several Latin American countries have implemented gender-based quarantines, allowing males to leave home on certain days of the week, and females on other days. This week, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the President of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohan, asking him to make sure that transgender people are not discriminated against during the quarantine.

In Israel, a new television series entitled Transkids looks at the lives of transgender youths as they approach the age for service in the Israeli Defense Force. The Times of Israel has a story on this five-part miniseries.

A trans man named Arthur Webber received a request on Grindr asking for a picture of his genitals. He explained that he did not have the genitalia requested, because he is transgender. The reply was, “Make one.” So he did, using a common toy that can be molded into various shapes. This story comes from Pink News.

TWITs

Sofia Taloni is a transgender woman from Morocco whose Instagram account was deleted recently. She used that account to ask people from Morocco to post fake ads on gay dating sites, and to out the men who responded. Some of those men disappeared, whether they went into hiding, relocated, or killed themselves. Engaging in man-on-man sex is a criminal act in Morocco. For endangering others, Sofia Taloni gets a TWIT Award. Out.com has this story. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for a link to this story.

As can be expected when there is a big announcement regarding gender, such as the one in the U.K. this week, certain elements of the conservative press will come out strongly on the anti-transgender side. This time, the Christian Post and the Times of London are among those. Both papers not only praised the idea, but both used a future declarative tense, as though nothing can stop this from becoming law. For endorsing bad medicine, for failing to see what the evidence shows, and for ignoring the fact that previous proposals have been announced and then withdrawn, the Times of London, the Christian Post, and others with similar articles get a TWIT Award.

An article on Essential Kids has the headline, “My 15-year-old transgender son is going through menopause — and I’m so proud of him.” In the article, Carolyn Tate praises the courage her son displayed in declaring his gender and in putting up with the medical treatments for it. Unfortunately, some people who have no connection to this transgender teenager feel the need to butt in and criticize. Mercatornet asks in its headline, “Can a teenager realize that she is trashing her future?” The question presumes what the future holds, and also shows tremendous disrespect in deliberately misgendering the person in question. Madeline Kearns of The National Review also wrote a negative article, with the title “Another Transgender Tragedy.” No, Ms. Kearns, a 15-year-old changing genders is not a tragedy; a 15-year-old committing suicide because of an inability to change genders is a tragedy. For pomposity and for ignoring medical evidence that shows denying transitioning is bad for mental health, Madeleine Kearns of National Review and Michael Cook of Mercatornet get a TWIT.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams of Little Britain took part in the BBC’s Big Night In, a three-hour charity marathon by Children in Need and Comic Relief to raise money for the Coronavirus pandemic. They have gotten criticism for what they chose to perform. Just as the U.K. announced an intention to ignore medical advice on the treatment of transgender children, Lucas and Walliams revived their “I’m A Lady” sketch. The sketch has been roundly criticized as being obviously anti-transgender. It also tends not to be funny, at least to people sensitive to gender issues. For being tone-deaf to the cries of transgender people, Lucas and Walliams get a TWIT Award. Pink News has the story.

Mattel has released a new line called Creatable World Dolls, which the toy company says are gender-free. Although the package may say “gender-free,” there is nothing stopping children or their parents from assigning the dolls a gender, if that’s what they want to do. Still, One Million Moms asks, “Why can’t the toy manufacturer let kids be who God created them to be instead of glamorizing a sinful lifestyle?” We respond with the question, “Why can’t One Million Moms let children be who God created them to be instead of glamorizing a sinful ‘Christian’ lifestyle?” For forcing their interpretation into scripture, and then beating others over the head with it, One Million Moms get a TWIT Award. BTW, the doll is a big hit with Trixie Mattel, according to LGBTQ Nation.

The Pennsylvania Secretary of Health is Dr. Rachel Levine, who is a transgender woman. Recently a business owner whose store is not open due to the Coronavirus lockdown decided to have fun by putting on a wig and parodying Dr. Levine’s press briefings in live streams on Facebook. Robert Portogallo, the owner of Portogallo’s Peppers N’at in Braddock, Pa. danced around his closed store in in a wig and earrings in what he thought was a humorous manner. He drew condemnation all the way from the Lieutenant Governor (former mayor of Braddock) to local residents for his unfunny live streams. He issued a non-apology apology and removed the offensive material from his page. While his stunt lost him a few customers he is receiving his very own TWIT Award. Read about the whole thing on the Pittsburgh Current website. 

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