A South Dakota community has rallied to help a transgender couple buy the town’s only bookstore now that the state’s anti-trans bathroom ban has forced its original owner to move east to protect his 10-year-old daughter.
As The Washington Post reports, the people of Vermillion, South Dakota have so far donated over $27,000 via a GoFundMe campaign for Nova and Elias Donstad to make a down payment on Outside of a Dog, a beloved family-owned bookstore. The shop’s owner, Mike Phelan, opened the store shortly after moving to Vermillion with his family five years ago and discovering that the town did not have a bookstore. He named it after comedian Groucho Marx’s quip, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.”
Now, though, the Phelans are moving to New England because of South Dakota’s recently passed law banning trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
Mike and his wife Jen’s trans daughter has identified as a girl from an early age. In 2021, the couple successfully lobbied the Vermillion School Board to adopt a policy allowing their daughter to use the girls’ restroom — making it the only district in all of South Dakota with such a policy.
The following year, Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch introduced a bill to ban transgender students from using the restroom that corresponds to their gender. Mike spoke out against the bill at the time, sharing his daughter’s story, and it ultimately failed to pass. But this year, a similar bill succeeded.
In recent years, however, the state has also passed laws banning trans girls from participating in school sports that align with their gender, and on gender-affirming care for minors. As the Post notes, the Phelans’ daughter is too young for medical intervention and is not interested in sports. The state’s bathroom ban, however, would force her to use the boys’ restroom at school or potentially go back to faking injuries so that she could use the school nurse’s bathroom. The Phelans, like many other families of trans kids, have opted to move to a state with explicit legal protections for their daughter.
As the Post notes, South Dakota’s anti-trans laws have ripple effects beyond trans people and their families. In the case of Vermillion, the town stood to lose not only beloved community members when the Phelans left, but its only bookstore as well.
That’s where the Donstads came in. Elias, a trans grad student, and Nova, a nonbinary nurse’s assistant, offered to buy Outside of a Dog from the Phelans. Unsure how they would manage the down payment, the Donstads started their GoFundMe campaign at the suggestion of another Vermillion local, and the town helped them raise the money they needed. With the sale finalized, Mike Phelan recently handed the bookshop over to its new owners.
Both on Mike’s last day at the store and at a farewell party that evening, Vermillion residents turned out in droves to express their sadness at losing the Phelans, their frustration with Republican attacks on their daughter’s rights, and their relief that the bookstore would live on.
One couple introduced themselves to the new owners. “We will support you,” they told Elias and Nova. “We want you here.”
The Air Force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
These longer-serving transgender service members will have the same choice as more junior ones: quit or be forced out, with corresponding lump-sum payments as they walk out the door, the August 4 memo says.
The move is the latest escalation by President Donald Trump’s administration as it seeks to bar transgender individuals from joining the U.S. military and remove all who are currently serving. The Pentagon says transgender individuals are medically unfit, something civil rights activists say is untrue and constitutes illegal discrimination.
“After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception to policy requests in Tabs 1 and 2 for members with 15-18 years of service,” the memo said.
It was signed by Brian Scarlett, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. The memo has not been previously reported.
Multiple service members had already been approved for early retirement, but those approvals were rescinded, advocates say. An Air Force spokesperson said a subset of applications were “prematurely approved.”
“It’s devastating,” said Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. “This is just betrayal of a direct commitment made to these service members.”
The Air Force’s decision follows a policy detailed in a May 23 memo, which stated that airmen with 15-18 years of service could request early retirement.
When asked by Reuters about the decision, the Air Force noted that it approved early retirement for more senior members who self-identified as transgender and had 18-20 years of service. Regular retirement happens after 20 years.
In an internal question-and-answer fact sheet seen by Reuters, the Air Force provided potential answers to the question: “How do I tell family we’re not getting retirement benefits?”
The answers were:
“Focus on the benefits you do retain (GI Bill, VA benefits, experience)
“Emphasize this doesn’t reflect on your service or character.”
“Military & Family Readiness can provide counseling resources.”
Minter said the financial impact on transgender service members would be severe, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes in denied benefits due to the Trump administration’s policy.
Despite ongoing legal challenges, a Supreme Court ruling in May cleared the way for the Pentagon to implement a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military.
There are 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates.
Trump signed an executive order in January, after returning to the presidency, that reversed a policy implemented under his predecessor Joe Biden that had allowed transgender troops to serve openly.
A Gallup poll published in February found that 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals to serve in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has embraced conservative stances, including eliminating diversity initiatives at the Pentagon.
Addressing a conference in May, Hegseth said: “No more pronouns, no more climate-change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more dudes in dresses.”
Carmeisha and Cory Williams filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama against the Elba City Board of Education and two past principals of Elba High School, Wynn Grimes and Warren Weeks. The Williamses are represented by Artur Davis at HKM Employment Attorneys and Matthew Billips, Constance Cooper, and Ben Stark at Barrett and Farahany.
Their child, S.W., came out as gay and gender-neutral in seventh grade, according to the suit. They requested to be called Shane and use they/them pronouns. S.W. had been verbally harassed by white students since elementary school for being mixed-race, but “following S.W.’s disclosure of a transgenderidentity in seventh grade, harassment and ridicule from students only intensified,” the suit says. “Teachers refused to use S.W.’s preferred name or preferred pronouns, despite an absence of school policies precluding them from doing so.”
Both students and teachers mocked S.W. for their naming requests. The teen “was further bullied and mocked for assuming traditionally male appearance in terms of manner of clothing and hairstyle,” the suit says.
From April 4 to April 18, 2023, S.W. was hospitalized for mental health treatment related to suicidal ideation caused by bullying by classmates and teachers. Carmeisha Williams informed Grimes of S.W.’s mental health status and asked him to take action, but he “made a conscious decision not to remedy the harassment,” the suit says. Grimes failed to provide the family with bullying reporting forms, as required by Alabama law, or even tell them such forms are available, according to the suit.
When S.W. returned to school, “in a stunning display of cruelty, Students mocked S.W.’s mental health status, calling them ‘crazy’ and telling them they ‘should try better next time’ to kill themselves,” the suit says. “At one point, when S.W. became ill and vomited from anti-anxiety medication, other students viciously accused S.W. of being pregnant.”
In May 2023, the Williams family tried to transfer S.W. to Coffee County Schools, but the Elba district refused to allow the transfer.
Weeks became principal of Elba High School June 3, 2023. “Superintendent [Christopher] Moseley specifically recruited Weeks for this position despite being warned by guidance counselor Buffy Lusk that Weeks had a documented history of verbal and physical violence against students, teachers, and parents at Goshen High School,” the suit says. Lusk had been a source of support for S.W., but she decided to resign when Weeks was hired.
When S.W. returned to school August 7, 2023, they told Weeks “they were being bullied based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and mental health status,” according to the filing. But Weeks, like his predecessor, did not provide S.W. with a bullying complaint form, the suit says.
The next day, Weeks confronted S.W. in front of about 50 other students as the lunch period was beginning. Weeks forcibly removed S.W.’s hoodie, revealing that the teen was wearing only a small tank top underneath and exposing the outline of their breasts and their self-harm scars. S.W. had to continue classes in only the tank top all day.
“On August 9, 2023, S.W. died by suicide, leaving behind a note that referenced the persistent bullying and harassment they had endured at school, specifically mentioning the students their parents had complained about,” the suit says. S.W. was 14 years old.
The suit accuses the school district of violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, both laws that prohibit discrimination in federally funded programs, and two other federal laws, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. It accuses all defendants of violating the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. It also accuses Weeks of violating the constitutional guarantee of substantive due process as well as committing battery and “extreme and outrageous conduct.”
The suit seeks a jury trial, punitive and compensatory damages, and for the court to “issue permanent injunctive relief requiring comprehensive anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies, mandatory training for staff, and clear protocols for addressing harassment complaints.”
“Our Constitution and our laws are not silent about the obligations to children in public schools: they are to be nurtured and protected, not abandoned to cruelty,” Davis said in a press release. “This lawsuit seeks accountability for a school system’s failure to respect this child’s life.”
“How any responsible school system could put a bully in charge of stopping bullies is beyond me,” Billips added. “They might as well put inmates in charge of the prison. I’m grateful there’s a new administration and hopefully they will turn this shameful episode into something that approaches justice for S.W. and their parents.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.
Growing up, Kenzie remembers dragging her feet as her mom sent her to American Heritage Girls (AHG) programs.
“I describe it as Girl Scouts but indoctrination,” says Kenzie, a 20-year-old dance major from Oklahoma.
“Ever since I was little, I always knew I was queer; different from the people around me. … [In the eyes of AHG staff] it felt wrong to be feminine, but also wrong to be masculine.”
AHG and Trail Life USA—a similar organization for boys—havetroops in all 50 states and more than 110,000 members. They teach kids that homosexuality is sinful and that anything outside the gender binary is wrong. The messaging is often provided by anti-LGBTQ hate groups, like Focus on the Family, which still promotes so-called conversion therapy.
“AHG and Trail Life’s fixation on ‘sexual immorality’ reinforces a theology that punishes non-heterosexual, non-monogamous, non-cis lives,” says Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, an assistant professor at Tufts University who specializes in child study and human development.
“LGBTQ-exclusive policies don’t just harm the kids they shut out—they send a loud, damaging message to the kids inside, too,” they say. “It’s awful. But more than that, it’s strategic. These policies are not accidents—they are deliberate projects to maintain a binary, heteronormative, Christian nationalist order.”
These changes were too much for Patti Garibay, a devout conservative Christian who, in 1995, founded AHG as a Christian alternative.
Almost 20 years later, in 2013, AHG leadership helped launch Trail Life USA, the conservative Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts which was created after the organization announced that they would allow openly gay members.
John Stemberger, who was chairman of the board at Trail Life when it was founded, said in a 2024 interview of the Boy Scouts’ decision to allow gay members that “they’re going to allow an openly gay boy to decide who he’s gonna unilaterally sleep with. … This absolutely creates a radical increase of boy-on-boy contact.”
John Stemberger discusses the Boy Scouts’ inclusion of gay youth.
Salinas-Quiroz thinks the Christian hypersexualization of kids is concerning. “Suggesting that a gay boy choosing a tentmate is a threat isn’t just homophobic: It sexualizes queer presence, equates intimacy with danger, and teaches all kids to see desire, affection, and identity through a lens of fear.”
Exclusionary Membership Policies
This fear is baked into all of AHG’s and Trail Life’s policies. AHG’s membership policy says, “All biological girls of any color, race, national origin and socioeconomic status … are invited to be members of [AHG].” The term “biological girls” is a transphobic dog whistle which implies a person’s “real” sex can only be either male or female—denying the reality of transgender and intersex people.
“They’re ignoring both the scientific evidence and the lived experiences of so many of us,” says Salinas-Quiroz.
American Heritage Girls logo.
Trail Life’s handbook states, “[A]ny sexual activity outside the context of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful. … We grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind.”
Homophobia and Transphobia in the Form of Strict Gender Roles
Kenzie remembers AHG “prepping us to be good mothers one day, like learning how to sew. … Activities that would make us good and pure Christian girls.” She says they didn’t do much outdoors. “You don’t need to be playing a ton outside, that’s what boys do,” they would tell her.
“I remember from a young age hearing, ‘This will make you a good housewife, a good mom.’ Who’s to say I want to get married? Who’s to say I want to have children?” says Kenzie, who only felt comfortable using her first name because she isn’t out to her family. “It felt like [AHG was] putting us in a very gendered box.”
Being forced to conform to the gender binary is also true over at Trail Life. “No matter what our culture says, boys and girls are different,” reads one blog post by Trail Life entitled “Letting Boys be Boys in a ‘Toxic’ Culture.”
“Discussions about ‘toxic masculinity,’ a blurring of gender lines, fewer and fewer fathers in the home, and the watering down or extinction of programs that train and equip boys to become men have left too many boys frustrated, fearful, and floundering in their struggle to understand what it means to be a man.”
At Trail Life, even though women are allowed to assist a troop, only men can become leaders “so that they can show the boys what it is like to be a man,” according to another blog post. “You need men to instill masculinity into boys, helping show them how to become a man.”
What Do They Teach?
Both AHG and Trail Life provide resources for parents and carers of young people that serve to bolster their anti-LGBTQ teachings.
In 2020, Trail Life—which operates as a ministry—partnered with two Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate groups: the Alliance Defending Freedom and Focus on the Family. The groups presented a webinar for troop leaders and connected officials that explored “religious freedom, child safety and gender confusion.”
“We need to know there is not an LGBT community. … So don’t think that any of us have to be respectful of the LGBT community,” Glenn Stanton, director of Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family, said during the webinar.
Stanton also used the discussion to promote conversion therapy resources from Focus on the Family’s partner organizations for those who “struggle with unwanted same-sex attractions.”
“Same-sex feelings and all that is rooted in just pure political ideology, [and] those things have to be resisted,” he told pastors and ministry leaders on the webinar.
Screenshot from Focus on the Family’s presentation at the Trail Life Protect Your Ministry Summit.
In 2022, AHG self-published an e-book called “A Raising Godly Girls Guide to Gender and Identity,” aimed at supporting parents whose children are questioning their gender or experiencing gender dysphoria. The book—written by an unnamed author—undermines and denies the reality of transgender and gender-diverse identities.
The cover of AHG’s book, A Raising Godly Girls Guide to Gender & Identity.
In the founder’s note, Garibay writes, “For centuries, the beauty of God-given femininity has been under attack, its definition debated, [and] its behavior contested. … Today, it has gone one step further to claim an embrace of non-binary sexual identity.”
The anonymous authors define so-called “Biblical femininity” as “the core essence of every woman … relational, nurturing, and vulnerable beings.” They suggest that readers who know someone “struggling with confusion” should encourage them to go through conversion therapy by “[seeking] the professional clinical and spiritual care of a Christian counselor and … find[ing] healing.”
“This narrative may be cloaked in spiritual language, but its function is deeply political: It teaches girls that their value lies in submission, emotional labor and supporting others—particularly men—rather than in discovering who they are on their own terms,” says Salinas-Quiroz. “These [gender] roles aren’t natural—they’re socially constructed and often steeped in colonial, white-supremacist and Christian nationalist ideals.”
Rgg Gender And Identity E Book For Media4.19MB ∙ PDF file
Trail Life’s counterpart book, Raising Godly Boys, teaches a patriarchal view of masculinity—one that requires men to view care as feminine and positions women as less capable. “Women, for the most part, may not be the strong, action-oriented, stoic risk-takers men are. There is beauty and intention in these differences.”
“What [Trail Life] really means is that boys must perform a very specific kind of masculinity—one tied to dominance, emotional suppression and patriarchal authority. … These messages don’t just harm [queer] youth,” says Salinas-Quiroz. “They also limit cis children, especially those who don’t see themselves reflected in these rigid templates.”
It’s unlikely AHG’s or Trail Life’s LGBTQ-exclusive membership policies will face a legal challenge anytime soon. Both groups have some protection because of a 2000 Supreme Court ruling which upheld the Boy Scouts’ First Amendment right to exclude an assistant scoutmaster after learning he was “an avowed homosexual and gay rights activist.”
There is, however, a new, more inclusive option that’s gaining momentum. Founded in 2014 after Michael Brown and Eric Garner were killed by police officers, the Radical Monarchs is an alternative scouting organization for girls and gender-expansive youth, rooted in social justice and aimed specifically at girls of color to provide kids with a place where difference is celebrated, not disciplined.
Radical Monarchs badge.
“Rather than asking how to raise boys into men and girls into women, we should be asking how to raise young people into whole compassionate human beings. This requires spaces rooted in trust, exploration and self-determination—not segregation and control,” says Salinas-Quiroz.
“Children know who they are. Our job is to listen, affirm and make space for that knowing to grow.”
Kenzie says she’s done “a lot of unpacking” after her years at AHG and her Christian upbringing and says she’s now at peace. “If I could just be a straight cis woman and the ideal Christian girl it would make my life a hell of a lot easier, but I can’t push that into myself.”
The American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA did not respond to Uncloseted Media’s request for comment.
Ace’s Place, which opened in Queens this week, will offer 150 beds, services like counseling and a work-study program.Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images
New York City opened the country’s first city-funded shelter for transgender and gender-nonconforming people experiencing homelessness.
Ace’s Place, which opened this week in Queens and will offer 150 beds, is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Social Services and Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ nonprofit in the Bronx.
Ace’s Place will provide transitional housing as well as other services including individual and group counseling, planning and assistance for permanent housing, referrals to medical and mental health services, support groups, life skills and financial literacy workshops and employment assistance. Destination Tomorrow is also developing a work-study program for the culinary arts for residents interested in working in hospitality and food service, according to a press release from the nonprofit.
“Ace’s Place is a community-driven answer to systemic neglect, and it’s only the beginning,” Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, said in a statement.Destination Tomorrow
“We couldn’t be prouder to make this historic announcement that strongly affirms our values and commitment to strengthening the safety net for transgender New Yorkers at a time when their rights are roundly under attack,” Molly Wasow Park, Department of Social Services commissioner, said in a statement. “Ace’s Place will offer Transgender New Yorkers a safe place to heal and stabilize in trauma-informed settings with the support of staff who are deeply invested in their growth and wellbeing.”
Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, said Ace’s Place is a “hard-fought declaration that our Transgender and gender nonconforming siblings will no longer be pushed to the margins.”
“Ace’s Place is a community-driven answer to systemic neglect, and it’s only the beginning,” Coleman said in a statement.
Trans people disproportionately experience homelessness, in part due to facing more employment discrimination. The 2022 U.S. Trans Survey, the largest nationwide survey of trans people, with more than 90,000 respondents, found that 30% of respondents reported experiencing homelessness in their lifetimes. Eleven percent of those who had ever held a job said they had been fired, forced to resign, lost the job or been laid off because of their gender identity or expression. More than one-third (34%) of respondents were experiencing poverty.
Ace’s Place is one of only two organizations in New York City that will provide housing for adults in the LGBTQ community. Nearly all of the city’s LGBTQ shelters are for people under 25.
In the wake of recent federal policy changes, many transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and intersex (TGNCNBI) people are asking: What practical steps can I take to protect myself, minimize risks, and prepare for what’s ahead?
This guide offers practical strategies for travel, documentation, and safety planning in 2025. Whether you’re renewing a passport, preparing for a trip, or deciding how and when to update your documents, this resource is here to support your decisions—with tools to help you stay informed, prepared, and empowered.
Note: This document is for informational purposes only and not legal advice. Consult an attorney licensed in your state for guidance tailored to your circumstances.
[This page was last updated July 2025]
Navigating Travel and Documentation in 2025
Current Recommendations
Valid passports are still usable: Even those with X markers or corrected gender markers remain valid through expiration.
Carry certified copies of supporting documents: For name changes, bring proof when traveling.
Use state-issued IDs for domestic travel: REAL ID-compliant licenses may be more accurate and safer.
Travel Safety and Preparation Tips
TGNCNBI travelers have long faced disproportionate scrutiny. These conditions may worsen under the current policy. To minimize risk:
Check entry rules for your destination: Some countries may have stricter rules or refuse to accept X passports.
Match your ticket to your ID: Book using the exact name and sex listed on the ID you’ll present.
Use your REAL ID for domestic flights: If you haven’t been able to update your passport, consider using a more updated ID for domestic travel.
Bring backup ID: Carry a second form of ID and certified name change/order documents.
Ensure your photo is current: TSA may question IDs that no longer resemble your appearance.
Expect screening variability: You can request a same-gender pat-down or private screening with a witness of the traveler’s choosing.
Prepare for document delays: Passports and supporting documents may be mailed separately.
Additional Considerations
Global Entry and TSA PreCheck: Enrollment with mismatched documents may prevent program participation and create other issues.
Enhanced Driver’s Licenses: Available in select states, these allow land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Passport Cards: A lower-cost alternative for land/sea crossings and domestic ID use.
Changing gender markers on birth certificates: Remains governed by state law. The Gender Order does not affect these rules.
Final Thoughts
Navigating identity documentation and travel as a transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, or intersex person in 2025 can feel overwhelming—but you are not alone. This guide is meant to offer tools, not obligations—use what is helpful and relevant to your personal situation—it is not a one size fits all.
Stay informed, take the precautions that feel right for your circumstances, and lean on your support networks when you need to. Legal challenges are underway, and we’ll continue updating our resources as the landscape changes.
Your identity is valid. Your safety matters. You matter.
LinkedIn, the popular professional networking platform, has quietly stripped explicit protections for transgender and nonwhite users from its English-language hate speech rules, repeating a playbook now familiar to LGBTQ+ advocates tracking the rollback of content safeguards across major social mediaplatforms.
The changes, first flagged by the nonprofit Open Terms Archive and independently confirmed by The Advocate, involve edits to LinkedIn’s Professional Community Policies, specifically the “Hateful and Derogatory Content” and “Harassment and Abusive Content” sections. In both, references to protections for transgender people and people of color were either weakened or removed entirely.
Before Monday, the site’s “Hateful and Derogatory Content” page included a line explicitly prohibiting the “misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals” as an example of hate speech. That language has now been deleted. The same page still states that LinkedIn prohibits content that “attacks, denigrates, intimidates, dehumanizes, incites or threatens hatred” against individuals based on characteristics including gender identity and race. But misgendering and deadnaming, terms that refer to deliberately using the wrong name or pronouns for a transgender person, are no longer explicitly prohibited.
The company also edited its “Harassment and Abusive Content” section. In the previous version, LinkedIn made clear that “content that negatively targets others on the basis of inherent traits, like race or gender identity,” would be enforced under its hate speech rules. That language has now been changed to exclude those specific attributes, referencing only “inherent traits” without further definition. The page still prohibits behaviors such as doxxing, trolling, and comparing people to hate groups, and includes a new reference to “perceived gender” in the context of disparaging appearance, but makes no mention of transgender identity or expression.
Archived versions show the deleted language was still live on the site as recently as Monday, and had been in place since at least April 2023. No announcement accompanied the edits, which are not reflected in LinkedIn’s Trust and Safety blog or other transparency channels.
After an inquiry from The Advocate, a LinkedIn spokesperson initially defended the platform’s stance against identity-based abuse, asserting that “We regularly update our policies. Personal attacks, intimidation or hate speech toward anyone based on their identity, including misgendering, violates our harassment policy and is not allowed on our platform.”
Less than an hour later, the company asked to revise that statement, removing the phrase “hate speech” and instead mirroring the new policy language: “Personal attacks or intimidation toward anyone based on their identity, including misgendering, violates our harassment policy and is not allowed on our platform.”
When asked to clarify whether LinkedIn’s new wording allows certain forms of dehumanizing or hateful language to go unaddressed, a second company spokesperson said “neither” and pointed to LinkedIn’s “Hateful and Derogatory Content” page.
LinkedIn’s changes come at a time when the Trump administration continues its full-scale rollback of LGBTQ+ rights. Within hours of his second inauguration in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing all federal agencies to define sex and gender based on birth assignment. Since then, federal departments have removed protections for trans people across health care, education, the military, and immigration services.
The LGBTQ+ media nonprofit GLAAD condemned the move as “an overt anti-LGBTQ+ shift” that mirrors troubling developments at Meta and YouTube under the influence of regulatory and political pressure of the second Trump administration. The revision removes key clarity at a time when targeted abuse against transgender people is surging.
“It’s the latest in a disturbing trend,” a GLAAD spokesperson told The Advocate. “Following Meta and YouTube earlier this year, yet another social media company is choosing to adopt cowardly business practices to try to appease anti-LGBTQ political ideologues at the expense of user safety.”
According to GLAAD’s 2025 Social Media Safety Index, released in May, major tech platforms are failing LGBTQ+ users, and in some cases, actively endangering them. The report, which didn’t include LinkedIn, shows protections for LGBTQ+ people online have eroded dramatically over the past year, especially on platforms owned by Meta and Google. Every company surveyed received a failing grade, with TikTok scoring highest at just 56 out of 100 and X (formerly Twitter) lowest at 30.
“Targeted misgendering and deadnaming are among the most frequent and insidious forms of anti-trans hate online,” the GLAAD spokesperson said.
The policy rollback at LinkedIn closely echoes the arc of changes at Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. In January, The Advocatereported that Meta had rewritten its “Hateful Conduct” policies to allow posts that previously would have been banned, so long as they are framed as “political or religious” discourse. The company’s new rules explicitly permit content excluding trans and gay people from restrooms, sports, and employment, and even allow for content portraying LGBTQ+ identities as “abnormal” or mentally ill.
In April, The Advocatereported that YouTube removed “gender identity and expression” from its hate speech policy. The company called the deletion a “copy edit” but never restored the language or explained the rationale.
“As transgender and nonbinary people face escalating attacks and extreme dehumanizing rhetoric from the right, including from political leaders and government agencies, social media platforms have a clear responsibility to uphold basic protections,” the GLAAD spokesperson said. “Instead, LinkedIn is aligning with the far-right Project 2025, which calls for targeting ‘woke culture warriors … start[ing] with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity…’”
Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, prominently touts its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in annual reports and public campaigns. Its 2024 Global Diversity & Inclusion Report declares, “Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” The company’s Chief Diversity Officer emphasizes the importance of creating a “thriving organization” rooted in “differing perspectives” and inclusive behavior.
When The Advocate initially asked Microsoft to comment on LinkedIn’s removal of the transgender protections, the company did not answer questions. A spokesperson confirmed that they were “looking into this.” Later, the spokesperson pointed to LinkedIn’s response and said, “Microsoft doesn’t have anything further to share.”
“Hate speech policies are a reflection of a company’s values,” the GLAAD spokesperson told The Advocate. “If LinkedIn believes that transgender and nonbinary people should be protected from hate and harassment, they should clearly state this without resorting to confusing doublespeak.”
A major study of the health of transgender and gender-nonconforming young people in the United Kingdom will begin later this year.
The study will include up to 3,000 children and teens whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth and have turned to the country’s National Health Service for treatment, The New York Times reports. Researchers will look at participants’ physical, mental, and social health.
It will be funded by the NHS and the U.K. government’s clinical research agency and will be conducted by King’s College London as part of a larger King’s College project to determine how the NHS can best serve this population.
“Participation in the study will be voluntary and it will be observational in nature, meaning researchers will not alter any treatments the children are receiving,” the Times notes. “The researchers will survey the individuals and their parents or caretakers over several years without providing additional interventions.”
The study comes at a time when gender-affirming care is under attack in the U.K. The nation last year banned the provision of puberty blockers for people under 18 except for participants in clinical trials after a review by pediatrician Hilary Cass, called for more research into gender-affirming care for trans youth. However, her review has been widely criticized.
For instance, medical groups from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland came together to release guidelines supporting this care. They contended the Cass Review is full of methodological flaws and misrepresentations. Trans rights groups added that it set a higher bar for evidence of the effectiveness of gender-affirming care than for other treatments.
After the review came out, the NHS closed the U.K.’s only clinic providing gender care for youth and opened several regional ones aimed at taking a holistic approach to gender dysphoria, with much emphasis on mental health. The study will look at the care provided by these centers.
Emily Simonoff, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at King’s College who will be the chief investigator of the study, told the Times it will help resolve questions about gender-affirming care. “What we hear from young people and their parents and caregivers is that they’re worried about the lack of robust evidence to guide what treatment is going to be most helpful for them,” she said, also noting that “a lack of evidence base allows toxic views to be more rampant.”
“What is clear from the current evidence as highlighted is there’s no single story or experience that defines these young people,” said Michael Absoud, who will be a lead investigator as well. “This study is about listening to them — understanding their stories and their journeys and building a robust evidence base that reflects that diversity,” he added.
However, there is much evidence for the effectiveness of gender-affirming care, and in the U.S., it is endorsed by every major medical association.
Some supporters of this care welcomed the study. “Investments in research and clinical trials should be lauded,” Scott Leibowitz, a U.S. child and adolescent psychiatrist who is on the board of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, told the Times. But he worried about the effects of the puberty blocker ban on youth in the U.K.
King’s College is also planning a study of puberty blockers, in which participants would be able to receive the treatment despite the ban, but it is still awaiting approval by regulators.
Earlier this month, a set of payment processors, including Visa and Mastercard, forced video game marketplaces to remove thousands of adult video games from their storefronts.
The financial companies forced gaming marketplaces Steam and Itch.io to remove their library of Not Safe For Work (NSFW) video games, or else customers would be prevented from using their credit cards to make purchases on the platforms.
Itch.io was forced to “deindex” its entire NSFW library, saying it was vital to “ensure we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers.”
Visa and Mastercard forced Steam and Itch.io to ban adult content from their platforms. (Screenshot/Cyberpunk 2077)
“This is a time critical moment for itch.io. The situation developed rapidly, and we had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure,” a spokesperson for the gaming platform said. “Unfortunately, this meant it was not realistic to provide creators with advance notice before making this change. We know this is not ideal, and we apologise for the abruptness of this change.”
Steam, meanwhile, reportedly removed hundreds of titles from its storefront and has since enacted policy changes
Visa and Mastercard’s ultimatum against Steam and Itch.io was met with heavy backlash from those arguing that the move is a slippery slope towards payment processors “controlling what we watch, read, or play.”
Why are Visa and Mastercard forcing NSFW game bans?
Both Visa and Mastercard made the demand towards Steam and Itch.io after facing pressure from the anti-pornography group Collective Shout.
The right-wing Australian lobby group issued an open letter on 11 July demanding that the payment processors take action against the gaming platforms after highlighting a video game featuring themes of rape and sexual assault. It called for all NSFW games to be banned as a result.
A spokesperson for the organisation wrote that it believed adult content on both platforms to be too “distressing” to be left open for the public, demanding the credit card companies take action immediately.
“We request that you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games,” they continued.
In response, both organisations demanded that the marketplaces remove their NSFW library or they would rescind the right for customers to buy products using their credit cards.
In a statement on the situation, Itch.io creator, Leaf Corcoran, wrote that its hand had been forced while apologising for the “sudden and disruptive change.
He added that a “comprehensive audit” would take place and that all NSFW-labelled titles would be deindexed – made unavailable to locate on the website’s storefront – until the review was complete.
Visa and Mastercard face overwhelming backlash
The decision prompted major worldwide backlash from the site’s users, as well as other groups arguing that the decision amounts to “moral policing.”
One petition, which has nearly 200,000 signatures at the time of reporting, argues that the move amounts not just to “overreach,” but “blatant hypocrisy.”
“Adults are capable of choosing what they want to watch, read, or play,” the petition continues. “If someone doesn’t like a certain type of entertainment, the solution is simple: walk away.
“Nobody is forced to engage with content they find offensive, but they have no right to dictate what others are allowed to enjoy, especially when it’s within the bounds of the law.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) similarly blasted the move by Visa and Mastercard, writing in a petition with over 155,000 signatures that the policy “only applies to websites that host adult content – when all available evidence indicates that these problems proliferate across all kinds of sites.”
The petition continues: “In reality, all Mastercard’s policy actually does is make it harder for platforms to host adult content – destabilizing the websites that sex workers use to make a living … Sex workers’ livelihoods shouldn’t depend on the whims of corporations.”
In the wake of the controversy, both payment companies are reportedly receiving an overwhelming number of complaints via email and phone calls, according to Polygon.
One user in a now-deleted post on Reddit reportedly said they called customer service teams for both payment processors and was told they were already aware of the problem.
A famed “Transgender House” in Kansas suffered massive damage during a police standoff with a murder suspect. Images captured by local news show the landmark with shattered windows and broken entryways.
The Topeka Police Department said the building, called the Mott House, was damaged after Carlos Slaughter, a homicide suspect, barricaded himself inside the house. The 51-year-old was wanted in connection to his wife’s death. Slaughter’s wife died after a house fire in Oklahoma City. Authorities found Kellie Slaughter with critical “injuries consistent with homicide,” and she was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Topeka Police were informed Carlos Slaughter was suspected of being in the community, and approached him on the same block as the Mott House. A news release said Slaughter then barricaded himself inside the home.
Police began a standoff at the home around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and forcibly entered the home at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, where they found Slaughter dead of an apparent suicide, according to a Topeka Fox affiliate WDAF.
It remains unclear who extensively damaged the home, which was established as a symbol of diversity for almost a decade. Planting Peace, which is headquartered in the “Equality House” next door, painted the home in the colors of the transgender flag in 2016. It was renamed in 2019 for late transgender activist Stephanie Mott, former chair of Equality Kansas and founder of the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project.
Both the rainbow-colored Equality House and the pink, white, and blue Mott House are neighbors to the headquarters of the Westboro Baptist Church, a notorious anti-LGBTQ+ religious group founded by Fred Phelps.
Local leaders lamented the damage to the landmark.
“We recognize that the recent incident involving the Mott House has had an emotional impact on many. Together with the Equality House, this space has long served as a visible symbol of love and inclusion in Topeka,” said Sean Dixon, president of Visit Topeka.
“Each year, thousands of visitors stop to leave messages of support on the Equality House wall. Our thoughts are with those affected, and we remain committed to supporting the people and places that foster understanding and unity in our community.”
