Mississippi’s Republican governor has signed a discriminatory bill to ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender.
“I will sign our bill to protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities,” he tweeted last week.
“It’s crazy we have to address it, but the Biden EO [executive order] forced the issue. Adults? That’s on them. But the push for kids to adopt transgenderism is just wrong.”
Despite Reeves’ claims, legislators pushing the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities.
Legal advocates have previously noted that such bills aren’t actually being requested by constituents, but are driven by national far-right organisations “attempting to sow fear and hate” against the transgender community.
Chase Strangio, ACLU deputy director for transgender justice, said the Mississippi bill “is very vague and seemingly unenforceable” and isn’t really about sport at all.
“Unfortunately, there is already rampant discrimination against trans youth in Mississippi, which means people are already driven out of sport,” he told AP.
“Governor Reeves’ statement makes clear that this isn’t about sports at all, this is about attacking trans youth and stopping kids from being trans — a dangerous project with deadly consequences.”
Commenting on Twitter, Strangio went on to question the governor’s priorities in signing the bill as the state’s capital city enters its fourth week of a water crisis.
The bill is set to become law on 1 July, making Mississippi the first state to enact such a ban this year.
Hygiene in the American Wild West was probably about what you’d expect – unhygienic.
Many others are expected to follow in its footsteps thanks to a Republican-led “legislative boom” that has seen at least 25 states introduce over 60 bills targeting trans children.
In total, more anti-trans bills were introduced in the first three months of 2021 than any other year so far.
Tatiana Williams said she “adopted” her daughter Alexus Braxton about 25 years ago in Miami after the two met while doing sex work to survive.
“It was her and a group of friends, they would come hang out,” she said. “And I think they were looking for a sense of family.”
The two became each other’s chosen family, and Williams said “Lexus” — as she calls her — “would be my ear to the streets” and her source for gossip.
“She has a lot of people that feed her information, you know, and she was a good source when it came to information,” she said.
On Feb. 4, Braxton was found dead in her apartment. Miami-Dade Police are investigating her death as a homicide, and Detective Juan Segovia said in a Feb. 15 statement that she was killed in a “violent and vicious attack.”
Williams said she’s devastated. She’s familiar with cases like Braxton’s, both personally and as an advocate — she’s also the executive director of Transinclusive Group, a nonprofit in South Florida. In 1999, her friend Pilar was murdered in front of her. Now, more than 20 years later, she’s lost her adopted daughter.
“For once in my lifetime, all of the advocacy work that I do, in this case, I find myself being involved,” she said. “I’m more emotional, as opposed to my advocacy hat where I get to move to the other side.”
Braxton is one of at least 10 transgender people murdered so far in 2021 — a 233 percent increase from this point last year, when three trans people had been murdered. Half of the victims so far in 2021, including Braxton, are Black trans women.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, has called violence against transgender people “a national epidemic” and requested in a list of policy recommendations released in November that the Biden administration form an interagency working group to address anti-transgender violence.
Advocates say preventing anti-trans violence requires a comprehensive approach that spans many sectors, but it also requires governments and law enforcement to better understand the trans community.
‘The full scope of the problem’
It’s difficult to know with certainty how widespread violence against trans people is in part because the government doesn’t track it. That’s why the National Center for Transgender Equality would like the Department of Justice to do a comprehensive study of the violence, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, the organization’s deputy executive director, said.
“We are left with a patchwork of state and local information that doesn’t really add up to giving us the complete picture,” he said. The center tracks the murders of transgender people largely through social media, local reporting, and by confirming information with other LGBTQ organizations.
But that method likely leaves people out. For example, advocates say that “at least” 10 trans people have been murdered in 2021 because police departments and local media often deadname and misgender trans people when reporting on their deaths.
“We are having to piece things together as best we can, but we don’t have the resources or the ability to cross-reference everything nationally that the federal government has,” Heng-Lehtinen said.
Another piece of the puzzle is sexual orientation and gender identity mortality data, said Sam Brinton, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization. Brinton said law enforcement should be taught how to ask friends and family members about the deceased’s identity during death investigations.
For example, in 2019, Los Angeles County became the first jurisdiction in the nation to pass a motion to train medical examiners and coroners to investigate the violent deaths of LGBTQ people and to collect mortality data on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Asking affirming questions to family and friends and community members when you are doing a death investigation will give us actual whole and complete data,” Brinton said.
Knowing the extent of the problem would allow advocates and lawmakers to come up with better prevention efforts, Brinton said, comparing the lack of mortality data in violent crimes to Covid-19 data. “We do not know how many trans people have died from Covid because we do not ask the questions,” Brinton said. “When you don’t ask the death questions, the life of the person and the life of the next generation is really at risk.”
Stigma leading to violence
Though a number of factors influence violence against transgender people, one of the most significant is stigma, according to Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
David said a number of Trump administration proposals contributed to stigma, such as proposals to allow homeless shelters to reject transgender people and allow health care providers to refuse to serve trans people. Those measures, as well as then-President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military, “trickle down to ordinary citizens who think that transgender people are not human,” he said.
Directors of TKO with Alabama state Rep. Laura Hall.TC Caldwell / Knights and Orchids Society
In addition, the more than 70 bills targeting transgender people being heard in state legislatures across the country “undermine trans identities,” he said.
Anti-trans stigma affects trans people from a young age. Quentin Bell, executive director of the Knights and Orchids Society, an Alabama-based trans-led nonprofit, said many of the organization’s clients don’t have a high school diploma because they dropped out of school due to stigma and violence.
“I literally have a 17-year-old who’s currently in our program, and she could not be happier when school ends in May,” Bell said. “She feels like her life can start when school finally ends, and that the pandemic has been a good thing because she hasn’t had to face the violence and the ridicule every day.”
On Feb. 24, a city work crew found the body of Jenna Franks, who friends and family have described as a transgender woman and genderfluid, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, according to WITN. On March 3, police said they were investigating her death as a homicide, making her the 10th known transgender person slain in 2021.
Dennis Biancuzzo, executive director for the Onslow County LGBTQ Center, said the center had helped Franks find housing after she completed treatment for substance misuse. But in January, she relapsed and became homeless again. Biancuzzo said he tried to contact her about 10 times since then, but he never heard from her.
Jenna Franks.Courtesy Jenna Franks
“She was a loving person,” he said. “She wanted to be able to do peer counseling and help people that have been through the situation she had been through.”
Biancuzzo said the community center started a program to support people experiencing homelessness, and through that program he helped Franks and others apply for health care. But, he said, someone at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services customer service center told him they would only be eligible for limited services.
“What each one of them was told, as an individual, they could receive North Carolina family planning health assistance, which consists of one physical a year, treatment for any sexually transmitted diseases and sterilization,” he said. “I blew a gasket with the woman I was speaking to from the state. When she said the word sterilization, my head exploded.”
When Franks completed her drug treatment program, Biancuzzo said she was put on the street. He said there’s no continuum of care, which would coordinate various services for people experiencing homelessness. “There’s no health care, there’s no food equity, there’s no housing, and those are things that have to be done if you take a person and put them in a treatment facility for 28 days. You cannot just put them out on the street when you’re done with them,” he said.
Bell said that many trans people who experience homelessness can’t go to shelters. He said he’s called every shelter in the Selma area, and even some in Montgomery, Alabama, to ask them if they provide services to trans people.
“They will tell you blatantly on the phone — they don’t care how discriminatory it is — they don’t house transgender people, or even worse, ‘We don’t have them, we don’t house those people,’” he said.
When trans people face job and housing discrimination, and then can’t even turn to shelters, they often engage in sex work to survive, Heng-Lehtinen said, which can put them in dangerous situations and lead to a criminal record.
The stigmitization surrounding sex work can also affect how the deaths of trans women — particularly Black trans women, who are more likely to engage in sex work — are investigated. For example, Williams said she was hesitant to share with Miami-Dade Police that Braxton was going to start an account on OnlyFans, a subscription platform that allows people to share adult content. “I was afraid if I gave too much information that he would get turned off from the case,” she said.
She said police departments need to have a better understanding of the trans community in order to adequately investigate murders of trans people. “I think that law enforcement doesn’t understand how often this is happening within the community, because they’re thinking like, ‘Oh, this is just a one-off,’” Williams said. “But if they were to do a little deeper research, they would see it’s not just a one-off, and what does that look like when you are working in regards to that community and solving these cases.”
She said she’d like to see policy reform at all levels of government that instills a “sense of urgency” in law enforcement when it comes to investigating and solving the murders of trans people.
In the meantime, though, she is trying to cope with Braxton’s death. She said she also jokes with people, saying “So where am I going to get all my gossip from?”
“She would call you 2 o’clock in the morning and have me laughing, and so she brought a lot of joy and laughter to people, just because of her being wise, you know, her knowing a lot of people,” Williams said. “She would bring me joy and laughter in the process.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation modernizing laws around HIV exposure.
Passed after two versions of the bill were reconciled, the legislationwould repeal the felony criminal ban on blood, tissue or organ donation by people with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; make HIV-testing for people convicted of certain crimes, including prostitution and drug charges, optional rather than mandatory; and strike down a statute making failure to disclose HIV-positive status before sex a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months jail time.
Intentional transmission of HIV, or “infected sexual battery,” would remain a felony in Virginia, rather than a misdemeanor, as proponents had hoped, but the new legislation would require proof of actual infection, rather than just exposure.
The bill now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, who has until March 31 to sign the measure into law. While Northam has not specifically said he would sign the bill, he has previously signed pro-LGBTQ bills, including one requiring schools to create policies related to the treatment of trans students and a ban on so-called conversion therapy.
Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, who introduced the bill with fellow Democrat and state Sen. Mamie Locke, said HIV criminalization laws are an ineffective public health tool that disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community and people of color.
“They target and stigmatize people who are HIV positive, even though being HIV positive is itself not a threat to public safety.” McClellan told NBC News. “It makes people less likely to disclose or get tested.”
There’s also the question of determining someone’s intention to expose a partner.
“It’s so hard to prove,” McClellan said. “There have been instances where you’ve had a bad breakup and someone will swear out a warrant, saying ‘You tried to infect me,’ or use it as a threat.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37 states have laws criminalizing intentional transmission of HIV. Many were enacted after Congress approved the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act in 1990. That landmark legislation provided millions of dollars in health care and support services for people with HIV. But to qualify, states had to enact laws allowing for the prosecution of anyone “who knowingly and intentionally exposes a nonconsenting individual to HIV.”
In the intervening decades, understanding and treatment of HIV have grown exponentially. But leading health organizations, including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the CDC itself, say the laws have not caught up with advances in science.
According to the CDC, many HIV laws criminalize behavior that cannot transmit the virus — including spitting or biting — and can be applied whether or not there is actual transmission. They also don’t account for advances in HIV medication, which can keep an individual’s viral load undetectable, presenting zero risk of transmission.
Before Saturday, only six states had modernized their criminalization laws since 2014: California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Washington, according to the advocacy group Equality Virginia. Just one, Texas, has repealed its laws.
While Virginia’s law has rarely been enforced, between 2019 and 2020 three people in the state were convicted of felony infected sexual battery and misdemeanor sexual battery, according to the Roanoke Times.
McClellan’s bill, which made infected sexual battery a misdemeanor, passed the Senate 21-17 earlier this month. But a version keeping the felony charge intact cleared the House of Delegates 56-44 Friday. In negotiations to reconcile the two bills, the House version prevailed.
Some lawmakers were concerned the language in McClellan’s bill would allow someone to intentionally transmit HIV without fear of prosecution.
“I find it stunning that we would want to eliminate the felony for what is potentially fatal, deadly conduct,” state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, a Republican, told The Washington Post.
McClellan argues there are other laws about intentionally infecting someone with a disease, including those prohibiting “malicious wounding.” “There’s no reason to specifically single out people with HIV,” she said.
Cedric Pulliam, co-founder of Ending Criminalization of HIV and Overincarceration in Virginia, or ECHO VA, said the group will continue to work with advocates and legislators to change the law, “whether it’s this year or the next.”
“When you’re a felon, it messes up your career, your housing, your education — your entire mental state,” said Pulliam, a public health expert at the CDC. “We want to focus on the rehabilitative things we can do rather than punish people.”Last session ECHO VA didn’t back a less comprehensive version of the bill, because it “didn’t push the needle far enough,” co-founder Deidre Johnson told NBC News. She wasn’t sure McClellan’s bill, which included repeals of the donation ban and mandatory testing, would succeed. “We knew we wouldn’t get everything but we were shocked we got what we did,” she said.
But it wasn’t a bloodless battle, Johnson said.
“It did give us some heartache to hear the draconian and outdated rhetoric around HIV” during the debate,” she said. “It was a real gut-check. We realize we have a lot more education to do. But now Virginians are talking about HIV and we’re glad it’s in a public forum.” Since gaining control of both houses in 2019, Virginia Democrats have moved swiftly to advance LGBTQ legislation: In 2020, lawmakers banned so-called conversion therapy on minorsand became the first Southern state to pass anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community.
Just last week, a bill banning the use of the so-called panic defense, used to mitigate violent crimes against LGBTQ people, passed with clear majorities in both houses.
“We’ve made generational change in less than two years,” McClellan said. “I think the public was there, I think there were even Republicans that were there. But the GOP leadership wouldn’t let [LGBTQ rights legislation] out of committee.”
The bill’s passage helps to cement Virginia as a leader on LGBTQ rights. On Tuesday, the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus reintroduced the REPEAL Act, which provides incentives to states that reform their HIV exposure laws.
Sponsored by Reps Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Jenniffer González Colón, R-Puerto Rico, the bill also directs the Health and Human Services and Justice departments to review policies that criminalize people living with HIV.
“We cannot achieve our shared goal of an AIDS-free generation while these laws are on the books,” Lee said in a statement. “It is past time that we repeal these harmful and discriminatory laws and instead focus our efforts on promoting public health equity and public awareness.”
President Joe Biden has indicated he supports the REPEAL Act on his policy site, saying HIV exposure laws have no basis in science and “perpetuate discrimination and stigma towards people with HIV/AIDS.”
The Jewish Community Center Sonoma County is proud to present the 6th Annual Israeli Film Festival, producedVIRTUALLY in 2021. Five new and highly acclaimed Israeli films will be available online on a dedicated, user-friendly platform. The films will be available on-demand for three weeks, March 12 – April 2. Live filmmaker talks will allow the community to interact with the creative minds behind the works. All-Access Season Passes on sale February 26.
TICKETS, TRAILERS, and FILM GUIDE: WWW.JCCSOCO.ORG. Season Passes: $60 single, $80 “mishpacha” family; Single Tickets on sale March 5: $14, $24.
ASIA (DRAMA) – Starring Shira Haas (Unorthodox, Shtisel) and Alena Yiv, ASIA is the story of a thirty-five-year-old Russian immigrant and single mother (named Asia). Free-spirited and non-judgmental, she is put to the test when her teenage daughter Vika, who is disabled, announces that she’s ready to lose her virginity. New director Ruthy Pribar created an emotionally intense, heartbreaking film. Premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival winning Best Actress, Best Cinematography, and the Nora Ephron Prize; the film won nine Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir) including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. The Israeli entry for the American Academy Awards. (85 Minutes; Hebrew, Russian).
FORGIVENESS (COMEDY) – Set in the south of Israel near the Gaza border where beleaguered citizens live withincoming rocket fire, longtime pals Shaul and Nissan attempt to rob a postal bank. They think they’ve got a great aplan, but they mangle the job royally, and Shaul is collared and sent to prison. Years later, upon his release, Shaul is less than pleased to be greeted by the newly religious Nissan who seeks his forgiveness in the week leading up to Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. This exuberant goofball buddy-film highlights the exceptional rapport between the film’s creators, directors, and stars, Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir, best known for their hit television series Asfur. (104 Minutes; Hebrew).
HERE WE ARE (DRAMA) – Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road. Directed by Nir Bergman with powerful performances by Shai Avivi, Noam Imber, HERE WE ARE was an official selection of theCannes Film Festival and was nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards. (92 Minutes; Hebrew).
KISS ME KOSHER (COMEDY) – When their lesbian daughter becomes engaged to a German woman, and grandma has a secret lover, this subversive love story exposes the clashing opinions, secrets, lies, and hypocrisy of a traditional Jewish Israeli family. KISS ME KOSHER is a charming romantic misadventure crossing all societal borders. Directed by Shirel Peleg (101 Minutes; Hebrew, English, German).
MRS. G (DOCUMENTARY) – Mrs. Lea Gottlieb, was the legendary designer, founder, and owner of the Gottex swimwear empire. Gottlieb was a woman full of contradictions, and she knew how to recover from periods of crisis. She survived the Holocaust, established a small factory in Israel, and achieved phenomenal success abroad. The filmfollows Mrs. G’s incredible creativity, dominant personality, complex relationships, and passion, for which she paid a heavy price. (56 Minutes; Hebrew).
Part one will take place on March 17th from 9-11 am and part two will take place on March 18th from 9-11 am. Zoom links for both parts will be shared with all attendees.
LGBTQ Connection is pleased to offer their LGBTQ Best Practices Training via Zoom! Our trainers are bilingual and can answer questions in English or Spanish, but this training will be held in English.
LGBTQ Connection is offering the Napa & Sonoma County communities and local organizations a chance to learn from and participate in LGBTQ Connection’s highly reviewed LGBTQ Best Practices training. This workshop helps attendees to better reach and serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender youth, adults, & seniors.
Don’t miss the opportunity to:
Have a better understanding of LGBTQ identities.
Have more compassion for LGBTQ people & their experiences.
Be more aware of specific issues that affect the mental health of LGBTQ youth & LGBTQ seniors.
Be more confident in your ability to support LGBTQ people.
Gain knowledge of resource and referral information for LGBTQ people.
Be able to identify specific mental health resources accessible for LGBTQ people.
Spots are limited! If you have any questions or want more information please contact Isamar at fernando@lgbtqconnection.org or by calling 707-439-8928.
La primera parte se llevará a cabo el 17 de marzo de 9 a 11 a.m. Y la segunda parte se llevará a cabo el 18 de marzo de 9 a 11 a.m. Los enlaces de zoom para ambas partes se compartirán con todos los .
LGBTQ Connection está contenta de ofrecer su Capacitación de Mejores Prácticas LGBTQ en Zoom. Nuestros entrenadores son bilingües y pueden contestar sus preguntas en inglés o en español, pero esta capacitación se llevará a cabo en inglés.
LGBTQ Connection ofrece la oportunidad, a la comunidad de Napa y Sonoma y a las organizaciones locales, de participar en su capacitación de Mejores Prácticas LGBTQ. Este taller está diseñado a mejorar el conocimiento, el acceso y la inclusión de jóvenes, adultos y personas mayores que son lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transgéneros.
Participantes saldrán con:
Una mejor comprensión de las identidades LGBTQ.
Más compasión por las personas LGBTQ y sus experiencias.
Concientización de los problemas específicos que afectan la salud mental de las/los jóvenes
LGBTQ y personas mayores LGBTQ.
Más confianza en su capacidad para apoyar a las personas LGBTQ.
Conocimiento de recursos e información de referencia para personas LGBTQ.
Capacidad de identificar recursos específicos de salud mental accesibles para personas LGBTQ.
¡Hay cupo limitado! Si tiene alguna pregunta o desee más información, póngase en contacto con Isamar: fernando@lgbtqconnection.org o llame al 707-439-8928.
Today, Frameline—the world’s longest-running and largest showcase of queer cinema—announced the recipients of the 2020 Frameline Completion Fund, which provides much-needed grants to emerging and established filmmakers to complete projects that represent and reflect LGBTQ+ life in all its complexity and richness. The awardees are: Fanny: The Right To Rock, directed by Bobbi Jo Hart;Hummingbirds,directed by TELOXÍCO Collective;No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, directed by Vivian Kleiman; North By Current, directed by A. Madsen Minax; and Untitled Feature Documentary,directed by Rita Baghdadi.
The five projects—each receiving $5,000—were chosen out of 131 submissions that included feature films and shorts in documentary, narrative, experimental, and episodic forms. The 2020 Frameline Completion Jury was comprised of filmmakers, all of whom are Frameline Festival alums, including Elegance Bratton (Pier Kids, Buck, and a 2019 Completion Fund grantee), Vicky Du (Gaysians), and Sam Feder(Disclosure and two-time Completion Fund grantee). Since 1990, Frameline has awarded $595,000 to 168 projects to help ensure LGBTQ+ film/video projects are completed and viewed by wider audiences.
“On behalf of Frameline, I am honored to present these five filmmakers with a Completion Fund grant,” said Frameline Director of Programming Allegra Madsen. “Now more than ever, it is critical to support filmmakers whose work explores diverse and complex LGBTQ+ stories. We look forward to premiering a number of these works at this year’s festival.”
FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK Directed by Bobbi Jo Hart | Documentary Feature | Canada FANNY: The Right to Rock reveals the untold story of a Filipina American founded garage band from Sacramento that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, the first band of women to release an album with a major record label (Warner/Reprise/1970).
HUMMINGBIRDS Directed by TELOXÍCO Collective | Documentary Feature | USA In this uniquely collaborative coming-of-age film, inseparable best friends Silvia and Beba emerge at night to escape the cruel summer heat of their Texas border town, wandering empty streets in search of inspiration, adventure, and a sense of belonging. When forces beyond their control threaten their shared dreams and they are faced with an uncertain future, they take a stand and hold onto what they can—the moment and each other.
NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS Directed by Vivian Kleiman | Documentary Feature | USA Five scrappy and pioneering queer cartoonists journey from isolation and DIY work, to mainstream acceptance, and depicted everything from workplace discrimination and gender, to themes of love, sex, and a bad haircut day. Their work and personal stories are sure to make you laugh – but also make you think about the challenges and triumphs encountered and overcome along the way.
NORTH BY CURRENT Directed by A. Madsen Minax | Documentary Feature | USA North By Current is a visual rumination on the understated relationships between mothers and children, truths and myths, losses and gains. After the inconclusive death of his young niece, filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown prepared to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to excavate the depths of generational addiction, Christian fervor, and trans embodiment. Like the relentless Michigan seasons, the meaning of family shifts, as Madsen, his sister, and his parents strive tirelessly to accept each other.
UNTITLED FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Directed by Rita Baghdadi | Documentary Feature | USA LOGLINE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME
Other projects finished with assistance from the Frameline Completion Fund include: Vision Portraits, Call Her Ganda, Chavela, Pariah, Appropriate Behavior, Call Me Kuchu, To Be Takei, Last Call at Maud’s, The New Black, Brother to Brother, Kumu Hina, The Cockettes, Vito, Freeheld, We Were Here, Ahead of the Curve, and Gun Hill Road. For a complete list of previous recipients, click here.
The Frameline Completion Fund is supported by The Williams & Hart Rainbow Fund of Horizons Foundation.
Dr Igi Moon is a chartered psychologist whose work focuses on psychotherapy, gender, sexuality and emotion. They are also chair of the Coalition for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Against Conversion Therapy, which includes 17 major therapy organisations, such as BPS and UKCP, GPs, NHS England and NHS Scotland, and is pushing for a ban on conversion therapy in the UK.
Moon told PinkNews why a ban on conversion therapy in the UK is vital, and why all healthcare providers “must come together again and fight to stop any of our community being told they need to be ‘cured’”.
Are you a white cis gay man in your mid-60s living in London? Then you may have been given conversion therapy. Against your wishes. Simply because you needed to be ‘cured’.
Are you a Black British transgender woman aged 18 to 24 years old living in London? Or an Asian British cis gay man aged around 16 to 17 years old living in Northern Ireland? Then you are likely to be offered conversion therapy. Right now. In the UK.
As a way of dealing with this you may want to talk it through in therapy with a counsellor or psychotherapist. It is imperative you know you will be safe. But will you?
Later this year all LGBT+ people will hopefully be supporting the government calls for a complete ban against conversion therapy.
Conversion therapies are techniques used to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity and can range from corrective rape to spiritual counselling to ‘cure’ them of being LGBT+.
In 2018, the government said it would bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy after its own LGBT Action Plan in 2018 (the largest LGBT+ survey of its kind in the world with 108,000 responses) told us that five per cent of respondents had been offered ‘conversion’ or ‘reparative’ therapy, and a further two per cent had actually undergone conversion therapy. If you take time to look at the data, it is shocking.
We already know from the survey that a whole population of people aged in their mid-60s who identify as gay men and lesbians have been harmed by conversion therapy and we hope the government will recognise the damage these people from our community have gone through and address these issues.
But the survey also tells us our LGBT+ youth are being offered ‘the cure’ of conversion therapy. This is a live issue affecting our young LGBT+ people and it needs to be stopped. NOW.
We know that religious leaders of all faiths must come together and address this issue regardless of how painful and sensitive.
Because faith organisations are by far the most likely to offer (53 per cent) or conduct (51 per cent) conversion therapy, according to respondents in the survey.
Even if you consider yourself to be in good health, it’s important to keep up with…
We also know that parents and family members are likely to conduct conversion therapy (16 per cent), so we need to help our young LGBT+ siblings to be aware of this when they are at school. And we need to work with organisations such as Childline to help our young LGBT+ youth know where to turn in a crisis.
However, one shocking finding indicates that healthcare providers or medical professionals also conducted conversion therapy (19 per cent), while a far higher number of trans people reported being given conversion therapy by healthcare providers or medical professionals (29 per cent).
This means that when you see a GP or psychologist or psychiatrist you may be exposed to people who believe you need to be ‘cured’.
This could be by denying treatments such as hormones as part of your gender transition or by a psychotherapist or psychologist believing that being heterosexual or cisgender is preferable to being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or asexual.
As chair of the Coalition for the Memorandum of Understanding against Conversion Therapy we are united in speaking out against conversion therapy as unethical and potentially harmful.
As sexual orientations and gender identities are not mental health disorders, it would be totally unethical to offer any treatment to ‘cure’ them.
So, we are pleased to represent at least 250,000 medical and healthcare professionals including psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors who are affiliated to officially recognised organisations such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), British Psychological Society (BPS) United Kingdom UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Northern Ireland Humanists (NIH) and LGBT led organisations such as cliniQ and Gendered Intelligence. Alongside, we have the full support and attendance of NHS England, NHS Scotland and Stonewall.
We are working tirelessly with the government and MPs such as Alicia Kearns– who is doing an excellent job to outline how legislation will look – to bring in a ban and stop conversion therapy before it does more harm.
We have spent the last six years making sure that anyone who has to meet with a counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst or psychotherapist will know that the organisation their mental health professional is affiliated with has signed up to the MoU and is against conversion therapy.
This document can be read here and I would ask you to check it out. We have asked that all organisations dedicate time to training and curriculum development.
Why? Because, believe it or not, very few therapists, analysts, psychiatrists or GPs are trained in LGBT+ healthcare issues.
We ask our organisations to address this shortfall, and if you look at their websites you can see how they are making sure practitioners uphold the highest degree of training.
We aim to make sure you are well informed about the risks of conversion therapy, that healthcare professionals are aware of ethical issues relating to conversion therapy, that all new and existing therapists are trained appropriately, that evidence into conversion therapy is regularly reviewed and that all of us on the MoU work together to achieve these goals.
As a person who was part of that 80s London scene depicted by It’s a Sin, I trained as a counselling psychologist in the 90s to help the mental health of my community as we faced social prejudice, political hatred and the devastation of HIV/AIDs.
We really must come together again and fight to stop any of our community being told they need to be ‘cured’.
We want to live in safety because to live in safety is our freedom and to have our freedom is the greatest form of equality we can share.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday that she’s “excited” to sign a bill banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports teams that correspond to their gender identity. Her remarks came just moments after South Dakota became the second U.S. state this year, after Mississippi, to pass legislation targeting transgender sports athletes.
HB 1217 is just one among an overwhelming number of similar bills that specifically restrict the rights of transgender and nonbinary youth, and that are currently advancing out of state legislatures. Last week, the GOP governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, announced that he’d sign Senate Bill 2536 into law, after the legislation passed through both legislative chambers.
Join us on Saturday, March 13 from 2-4pm for the first of three virtual North Bay LGBTQI Families 2021 Symposium workshops! These spring workshops will align with our Symposium theme of Build, Protect, Advocate, and our first workshop (“Build”) will cover family building topics for LGBTQIA+ people, such as fertility and conception for queer and trans people, the foster to adopt process, and talking to kids about donor conception. Panelists and speakers will include:*Alice Ruby, Executive Director of The Sperm Bank of California*Nico Opper, maker of the documentary film “The F Word: A Foster-to-Adopt Story”*Rebecca Elowen, owner of Hearthstone Midwifery, Lactation & Craniosacral Services*Kayla Flores Tindall, family medicine physician and founding member of North Bay LGBTQI FamiliesAnd more!Register for this free virtual event at the link below to receive the Zoom information the day before the event (note that the event link will not be shared publicly).https://docs.google.com/…/1hqEhnHqVsiRQqYq4oUNOTLF…/edit
Email us at northbaylgbtqifamilies@gmail.com with any questions, and we look forward to seeing you then!
I don’t know about you but I’ve seen a lot of lists of ‘best lesbian films’ or ‘films about bi women that you must see’ which are (almost) entirely comprised of films about white women. Don’t get me wrong- those films are great- but if we don’t also talk about the films that focus on lesbians and bi women of color, we are missing out on some major talent.
Fiona: As an artist, not working in either a corporate environment or an environment where I have to work with other people makes it easier for me to be who I am. I don’t have to say, “oh I have to balance being a woman, with being black, with being queer, with being an immigrant. I’m just all those things all the time.”
This incredible feature length documentary shares the lives and views from various black lesbians on their sexuality, media representation, patriarchy, homophobia, and activism; inspiring honest and progressive conversations and highlighting how black lesbians are viewed, ignored, and affected by society.
Director Tiona McClodden had conversations with almost 50 out, black, lesbians including Filmmaker/Activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Hip-Hop Duo KIN, and Author Fiona Zedde.
New Line Cinema
Cleo: That’s what we need to do, rob a bank.
Stoney: That’s stupid; ain’t nobody over here gonna be robbing no bank.
Cleo: We’re gonna end up dead anyway.
This film centers around Cleopatra ‘Cleo’ Sims (Queen Latifah), and her friends Stoney (Jada Pinkett Smith), Frankie (Vivica A. Fox) and T.T (Kimberly Elise) as they plot to go on a bank-robbing spree for four very different reasons. What starts off as a crazy ‘what if’, quickly escalates into murder.
Will they get caught? Whose life is in danger? Will any of them escape?
I Can’t Think Straight
Layla: Have you ever done this before?
Tala: Slept with a woman while my fiancé makes wedding preparations?
This beautiful film features a Palestinian woman, Tala (Lisa Ray), who is currently on her fourth engagement to a man (for some reason the first three just didn’t stick) when she meets her best friend’s girlfriend and emerging writer Layla (Sheetal Sheth).
The two begin an affair and Tala begins to question her sexuality (you see what I mean about those past engagements not working out) but Layla ends the relationship after Tala messes up. Will they end up together or will convention force them apart?
Frida (Amazon Prime)
Tina: Whoever takes the biggest swig [of Tequila] can dance with me.
Frida: *swigs* Shall we?
This biopic of bisexual Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) explores Frida’s life and loves against the political and cultural backdrop of the early 20th Century. Although much of the movie does focus on her dysfunctional relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), we do get glimpses of her affairs with lady loves, like Tina (Ashley Judd).
Circumstance (Netflix Canada)
Atefeh: I can’t do this anymore.
Shirin: Nothing has changed. I love you.
This heartbreaking drama tells the story of how hard it is to be LGBT under the Iranian Regime. It’s the story of Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri), a rich teen, and her girlfriend Shireen (Sarah Kazemy), an orphan, who love partying and experimenting with drink and drugs (despite the fact that Atafeh’s brother Mehran’s (Reza Sixo Safai) is an ex-addict).
As the girls grow closer, Atafeh’s family tries to tear them apart and Mehran becomes increasingly religious and becomes obsessed with Shireen.
This movie is actually based on the experiences of director/writer Maryam Keshavarz who grew up in Iran. Because the film dealt with a lesbian storyline, fake scripts sent to the Lebanese authorities and the actors had to accept that they may not be able to see their families after the release. That’s pretty heartbreaking in itself.
Stud Life (Amazon Prime)
JJ: You don’t like Elle, do you? You can’t stand to see me with somebody.
Seb: She’s not right for you.
This British indie film focuses on stud lesbian, JJ (T’Nia Miller), and her gay best friend, Seb (Kyle Treslove), whose friendship is tested when she falls for the beautiful diva, Elle (Robyn Kerr). Will JJ be forced to choose between an old friend and a new love? Or can this be worked out?
The Watermelon Women
Cheryl: I’ve [watched] all these films from the 30s and 40s with black actresses in them, like Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers and in some of these films, the black actresses aren’t even listed in the credits and I was just totally shocked by that.
I will admit that I find the title of this movie troubling but stay with me here.
This movie follows Cheryl (Cheryl Dunye) a young black filmmaker who works at a video store (if you’re under 18, video stores are like a brick and mortar Netflix) with her friend Tamara (Valarie Walker).
Cheryl watches several films from the 1930s and 1940s and notices that the black actresses in them were not credited (which is typical of the time period). After seeing one particular film in which a Mammy-style character is billed in the credits only as The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl sets out to find out more about the actress and create a documentary about her life.
While working on the documentary, Cheryl meets and falls for Diana (Guinevere Turner), who Tamara dislikes. Then Tamara accuses Cheryl of wanting to be white and Diana, who is white, of having a fetish for black people.
Will Cheryl track down the actress? Will Tamara split Cheryl and Diana up?
Pariah (Netflix)
Focus Features
Alike: I am not broken, I am free.
This is the story of 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye), a butch lesbian who is exploring her sexuality, deciding to dress androgynously, and falling in love for the first time, with femme Bina (Aasha Davis).
Upon coming out, Alike faces violence from her mother, Audrey (Kim Wayans), who cannot accept her daughter and wants her to act ‘feminine’ and be straight. Alike has a choice to make; should she attempt to gain her mother’s approval or leave early for college?
Bessie
Bessie: I ain’t playing second to nobody!
This HBO biopic about bisexual blues singer Bessie Smith (the second entry for Queen Latifah on this list) is truly one for the ages.
It certainly doesn’t shy away from depicting the racism that Bessie was subjected to throughout her life, from vaudeville producers who refused to feature dark-skinned black women in their shows to the attitudes of rich white guests but it is interspersed with tender moments featuring her lover Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and uplifting scenes Ma Rainey (Mo’Nique) taking Bessie under her wings.
In what might be the most epic moment of the movie, Bessie chases off the KKK who attempt to attack her during a show.
The Women of Brewster Place (Netflix)
Theresa: Lorraine, you are a lesbian. A dyke, a lesbo, a butch, all those names that boy was calling you. Yes, I saw it! And you can run in all the basements in the world, and it’s not gonna change anything. Why can’t you just accept it?
Lorraine: I have accepted it! I’ve accepted it all my life! I lost my family because of that, but it doesn’t make me different than anybody else in this world!
This 1989 made-for-TV movie, based on the novel of the same name by Gloria Naylor, tells the story of several black women who live in a rundown housing project.
Lorraine (Lonette McKee) and Theresa (Paula Kelly) are a lesbian couple who fled suburbia due to their sexuality but find that homophobia is just as much of a problem in the city. Although they are not the main characters, their role was ground-breaking at the time.
Bonus: This movie was produced by and stars Oprah Winfrey.
This is absolutely not a complete list and I would love to see your suggestions in the comments for other films about lesbians or bi women of color that you’ve particularly enjoyed so that we can all increase our catalogue of fantastic films.
