Features

/ /

First Trans Man Elected to a State Legislature in U.S. History

Tuesday, LGBTQ Victory Fund candidate James Roesener won the election for New Hampshire’s 22nd state House District, Ward 8. With this historic victory, he is now the first out trans man elected to any state legislature in U.S. history. A record number of trans candidatesran for office in the 2022 midterm elections. Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, issued the following statement: “Tonight is a resounding win for New Hampshire and for trans people across the country, with James shattering a lavender ceiling and proving that America is ready for trans men leaders in our state legislatures. From safeguarding reproductive […]

/ /

Democratic governor signs law punishing HIV transmission with up to 10 years in prison

,

Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Wolf (D) just signed a new law that makes it a felony to pass on a communicable disease when they “should have known” that they had it, the HIV Justice Network reported. Opponents of the law worry it will be used to punish people with HIV or other STDs who unknowingly transmit it to sexual partners. Such HIV criminalization laws have disproportionately been used to target Black men and other men of color. While the offense, a third-degree felony, has to be “intentional,” one could see an arrestee being charged with it if they accidentally spit onto an […]

/ /

Darling of the “detransition” movement comes out again as transgender

,

Like the ex-gay movement that rose to prominence in the early 2000s and then came crashing down as leaders recanted their “conversions,” the detransition movement is showing similar signs of a crack-up. Ky Schevers is just one of the prominent voices of the detransition movement to reconsider her choice to reject her gender evolution and publicly denounce transition. She began her transition in college but ended it after coming to the belief that gender dysphoria was a false idea caused by misogyny and trauma, a theory she shared widely in interviews and online. Now Schevers – who is transmasculine and uses she/her […]

/ /

Anti-Trans Bills Also Harm Intersex Children

The spate of anti-transgender legislative proposals across the United States in recent years also threatens to undermine the fundamental rights of intersex children, Human Rights Watch, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, and the SOGIESC Human Rights Initiative of the University of North Carolina Human Rights Law Program said today. MAPPING THE INTERSEX EXCEPTIONS Anti-Trans Legislation Across the United States Permits Rights Violations Against Intersex ChildrenSEE IT HERE  On Intersex Awareness Day, observed annually on October 26th, the groups introduced an interactive map that highlights how lawmakers across the US have included clauses in their bills that allow or encourage human rights violations against children born with intersex variations. […]

/ /

Far-right figures appear to be testing Twitter’s boundaries for anti-LGBTQ speech

In the fews days since Elon Musk closed his deal to buy Twitter, far-right users have started to celebrate what they hope will be the ability to freely use homophobic and transphobic rhetoric and make threats on the social media platform.  On Saturday, former UFC fighter Jake Shields, who has over 340,000 Twitter followers, appeared to be testing the boundaries of the company’s moderation apparatus by posting a photo of a drag queen smiling at a young drag performer with the caption, “This is a groomer.” Shields added, “I was suspended for this exact tweet a month ago so we […]

/ /

Transgender voters risk losing their voice in 2022 midterms

,

Less than two weeks before the midterm elections, the window for transgender voters to verify their identities for voting is closing fast. Roadblocks for trans people to acquire accurate identification abound, while ID requirements to vote are getting stricter in a growing number of states. The predictable result will be fewer trans people voting in 2022, just as their rights are coming under attack from anti-LGBTQ candidates. According to the latest research from UCLA’s Williams Institute, over 200,000 trans voters could be disenfranchised this November. It could be worse. A 2015 study from the National Center for Transgender Equality reveals voter participation from […]

/ /

Florida medical board votes to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors

After five hours of tense testimony and protests, the Florida Board of Medicine voted Friday to start drafting a rule that would bar all minors in the state from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries as treatment for gender dysphoria. Florida’s medical board is the first in the country to pursue such a rule, but Florida is among a wave of states where officials have attempted to restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. By the end of Friday’s five-hour meeting, protesters began yelling “Shame!” at the board members, and some of them staged a “die-in” in the lobby […]

/ /

Take the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey

Just in case you missed it, the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey is now LIVE! If you haven’t taken the survey already, now is a great time. For the first time in 7 years, you have a chance to be part of the largest survey of trans people in the United States. We hope you’ll take about 60 minutes to share your story and be a part of history. If you are trans and plan to take the survey, here’s what you need to know: The survey is open to people of all trans identities (binary and nonbinary), ages 16 and older, living in the United […]

/ /

Meet the Grandmother of the Trans Legal Rights Movement

Phyllis Frye’s status as the “grandmother of the transgender legal rights movement” was always partly the handiwork of her stalwart support system, second wife, Patricia “Trish” Dooley Frye, whom she was wed to for 47 years. Frye is now navigating life without Trish, who died in 2020. “We had such a good love that I want love again,” Frye told Outsmart last year. “Not everybody [gets that kind of love].” Frye is working to move on, taking heart that her legacy as a queer rights leader is being cemented as of late. A new book from historians Michael G. Long and Shea Tuttle, Phyllis Frye […]

/ /

Transgender businesswoman buys Miss Universe pageant for $20M

A Thai businesswoman and transgender advocate bought the Miss Universe Organization for $20 million, making her the first woman to own the global beauty pageant in its 71-year history, her company announced Wednesday.  Anne Jakkapong Jakrajutatip, the CEO of the Thailand-based media company JKN Global Group, is a reality TV star in her home country, where she has appeared on local versions of “Project Runway” and “Shark Tank.” She also helped establish Life Inspired for Transsexual Foundation, a nonprofit transgender rights group. Jakrajutatip said her company’s acquisition of the Miss Universe brand is a “strong, strategic addition to our portfolio.”  […]

«‹ 124 125 126 127›»