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Gender dysphoria diagnoses are steadily increasing. Here’s what that means

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Gender dysphoria diagnoses in the United States increased in all but one state in recent years, suggesting that a growing number of transgender people are seeking health care. Gender dysphoria “refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity,” according to the American Psychiatric Association.  Not all transgender people experience dysphoria. Treatment can include social shifts, such as wearing different clothing or going by a different name, or medical affirmation, which can involve puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and surgery. Medical treatment — gender-affirming care — typically requires a diagnosis from a health care professional […]

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Family sues school district over law that bans trans volleyball player from girls’ sports

The family of a transgender volleyball player has added a South Florida school district as a defendant in a federal lawsuit that challenges a 2021 state law banning transgender girls from playing on female sports teams, claiming school officials have placed the family in danger. Attorneys for the family filed an amended complaint Thursday that adds the Broward School Board, the school district’s superintendent and the Florida High School Athletic Association. The school officials had been named as defendants when the lawsuit was initially filed in 2021 but were dropped the next year, leaving just the Florida Department of Education […]

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Brazil: Mixed Rights Record for Lula’s First Year

The administration led by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made important progress in the protection of the Amazon, women’s rights, and other rights during 2023, but has failed to tackle the chronic problem of police abuse or defend human rights consistently abroad, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2024. “President Lula ends his first year in office with a mixed record on human rights,” said César Myñoz, acting Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “He reversed some anti-rights policies of his predecessor, but significant challenges remain, including the use of excessive force by police, which disproportionately affects […]

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President Joe Biden on his way to appointing a record number of LGBTQ+ judges

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With two recent judicial nominations by President Joe Biden, his administration could be on track to appointing a record number of LGBTQ+ federal judges.  On Wednesday, Biden nominated Judge Melissa Dubose for the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first LGBTQ+ judge and the first person of color to serve on that court.  Also awaiting confirmation is Nicole Berner, whom Biden has nominated for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Berner will also blaze a trail if confirmed, becoming the first out LGBTQ+ judge in the Fourth Circuit. The confirmation of both Berner and Dubose […]

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Maryland to cover unprecedented number of gender-affirming procedures in “groundbreaking” win

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A new law in Maryland requires Medicaid to cover “medically necessary” gender-affirming care for residents — including care well beyond hormones or surgery. The law went into effect on January 1. It requires coverage for “gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner.” Voice therapy and lessons, scar and hair removal, hormone therapy, puberty blockers, fertility preservation, and “alterations” to the abdomen, genitals, chest, buttocks, neck, and face are all included. Patients cannot be denied unless a healthcare professional decides the treatment would be detrimental to their health. “In the state of Maryland, nobody should have to justify their own humanity,” Gov. Wed Moore […]

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Alabama can enforce ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors, appeals court rules

Alabama can begin immediately enforcing a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender people under 19, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, granting the state’s request to stay a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of the 2022 law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that the injunction should be vacated, but the decision had been effectively on hold while families with transgender children asked the full appellate court to reconsider the decision. The Thursday order will allow the ban to take effect while the full court decides whether it will revisit the […]

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Campus Pride board chair on what’s next for the group after CEO ousted for mishandling finances

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An LGBTQ+ advocacy group that focuses on higher education is dealing with a scandal that involves allegations of financial impropriety and the departure of the organization’s CEO.  In a conversation with The Advocate on Tuesday, Candis Cox, the board chairperson for North Carolina-based Campus Pride, opened up about the organization’s response to a financial misappropriation scandal involving its former CEO, Shane Windmeyer. The interview follows developments first reported byQnotesCarolinas, revealing Windmeyer’s alleged misuse of funds and subsequent termination. Campus Pride, a national nonprofit organization based in Charlotte, has a mission to assist and uplift LGBTQ+ and allied student leaders and campus groups by offering leadership development and advocating for […]

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Russian singer jailed under LGBTQ+ propaganda laws after nude performance

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A Russian singer has been jailed under the country’s LGBTQ+ propaganda laws after performing a show wearing nothing but a sock on his genitals.  On Monday night (8 January), Maxim Tesli, front man of Shchenki (The Puppies), was detained at a St Petersburg airport.  It has been reported by Russian media that he was planning to leave Russia amid growing calls for his arrests, following a video of his performance going viral.  At court the following day, Tesli was jailed for 10 days on charges of petty hooliganism. In November, Russia’s supreme court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism by branding the “international public LGBT […]

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Gay bagel shop owner gunned down while vacationing with husband in New Orleans

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The local community has rallied around the grieving co-owner of a popular bagel shop in Washington whose husband was shot and killed while vacationing in New Orleans early Friday morning. Jacob A. Carter, 32, and his husband, Daniel Blagovich, cofounded the popular Howdy Bagel café in Tacoma after both had lost their jobs during the global economic shutdown. The pair were in the city for the New Year’s celebrations and a break from work, according to NOLA.com. Carter, who was from Texas, previously worked as a social worker and had worked with refugees before the pandemic hit, according to The News Tribune. He’d also worked as […]

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Malcolm Kenyatta on breaking barriers and making Pennsylvania Black queer history

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Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, the recently endorsed Democraticcandidate for auditor general in the state, is set in his vision and goals for the office. As the first openly gay Black man endorsed by a political party for a statewide office in Pennsylvania, Kenyatta’s candidacy has made state history. During the interview, Kenyatta emphasized the role of the auditor general. “The auditor general’s office, I think, can best be explained as really being the public advocate for the state,” he said. According to the state’s website, the auditor general leads an office that “is responsible for using audits to ensure that all state […]

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