Features

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Republicans resurface anti-trans attacks in the closing stretch of the Virginia governor’s race

As Virginia’s race for governor enters its final stretch, Republicans are turning to a familiar page in their playbook: anti-transgender attacks.  On the airwaves and social media, GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and her allies have increasingly zeroed in on attacking Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s stances on transgender people’s participation in youth sports and use of school locker rooms and public bathrooms.  It marks the resurfacing of a culture war issue that emerged as major flashpoint in the 2024 campaign, most notably when Donald Trump used it as part of his closing message against Kamala Harris.  Now, facing a polling and fundraising […]

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‘I Look Like an Expert’: The Sexologist Testifying Against Trans Youth Care

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James Cantor is a Canadian psychologist and sexologist who has been hiredby Alliance Defending Freedom—a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group—and by Republican states to serve as an expert witness in defense of laws that ban or restrict gender-affirming health care. Last year, Uncloseted Media interviewed Cantor for a larger investigation into expert medical witnesses paid to defend restrictions on trans kids’ access to health care. Since then, attacks on gender-affirming care have escalated—121 anti-trans bills have been passed in state legislatures this year and a recent Supreme Court decision upheld the constitutionality of bans on gender-affirming health care for minors nationwide. Cantor, who has never […]

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University of Wyoming sorority has the right to admit transgender women, federal judge rules

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For almost three years, a University of Wyoming sorority has been the unlikely epicenter of a national battle over belonging. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed, for the second and likely final time, a lawsuit by several Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters seeking to block Artemis Langford, a transgender woman, from their chapter. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson’s 35-page ruling not only rejected the plaintiffs’ claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract, but also declared that Kappa, as a private nonprofit, has the right to define “woman” on its own terms. “In short, we are required to leave Kappa alone,” Johnson wrote. A case […]

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Out Attorney General issues stark warning to “cowardly” hospital eliminating trans health care

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Gay Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) has issued a warning to the University of Michigan after the school’s medical center announced Monday it will no longer provide gender-affirming care to patients under 19 due to threats from the federal government. “The announcement from the University of Michigan that they will no longer provide their transgender patients with all of the healthcare options available is shameful, dangerous, and potentially illegal,” Nessel said in a statement. “This cowardly acquiescence to political pressure from this president and his administration is not what patients have come to expect from an institution that has labeled itself, ‘the leaders […]

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Google Sends Parents of LGBTQ Kids to Conversion Therapy Websites

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Google is the most powerful search engine in the world, commanding nearly 90% of the global search engine market and generating over $348 billion in revenue last year. Over half of Americans say they trust Google more than their formal education. But how does Google’s algorithm decide which results show up? And how do these results influence LGBTQ kids, their parents and Americans at large who are searching for help? Uncloseted Media asked five Americans from around the country to Google five common queries related to LGBTQ identity, religion and parenting. The results were alarming and raised an urgent question: With nearly 40% of LGBTQ youth […]

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Crumbl Cookies founder Sawyer Hemsley comes out as gay

Sawyer Hemsley, founder of Crumbl Cookies who serves as the company’s Chief Branding Officer, came out as gay late Monday night after various videos and social media threads publicly discussed his sexuality based on the entrepreneur’s online presence. Hemsley wrote in an Instagram post shared on Monday, August 25: “Over the past little while, there have been people online trying to define me, twist things, and share conversations in ways that feel harmful. Instead of letting others write my story, I want to share it in my own words. The truth is, over the past few years I’ve come to […]

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Alaska’s medical board moves to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors

An Alaskan podiatrist is leading the State Medical Board’s efforts to take away life-saving health care from transgender youth. The Board unanimously approved a proposal last week spearheaded by Dr. Matt Heilala, of Anchorage, to move towards eradicating gender-affirming health care for trans minors by reclassifying such treatments—such as puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries—as “unprofessional conduct.” If finalized, this would also give the board broad discretion over the enforcement and “sanctions” doled out, such as fines or loss of licensure. No such restrictions are proposed for the care of cisgender people. The rule must still undergo a legal review followed by a 30-day […]

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South Carolina rushes emergency petition to U.S. Supreme Court over trans student’s bathroom use

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South Carolina is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately reinstate a policy that bars transgender students from using bathrooms that match their gender identity, escalating a fight that could set national precedent for the rights of LGBTQ+ youth. In an emergency petition filed Thursday, state officials urged Chief Justice John Roberts to overturn a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals injunction that blocked the measure just as the school year began. The provision, enacted as part of the state budget in July 2024, requires school districts to restrict multi-user restrooms by “biological sex” or forfeit 25 percent of their state funding. The dispute began last November, when the […]

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Pope Leo meets LGBTQ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Francis’ welcoming legacy

Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, just days before a planned Holy Year pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to the Vatican.  The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy. “I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people,” Martin told The Associated Press after the audience. […]

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Education Department says Denver school’s all-gender bathrooms violate Title IX

The U.S. Education Department said Thursday that Denver Public Schools violated Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination in education by creating all-gender bathrooms and allowing students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. The finding followed an unprecedented probe of Denver’s East High School that marked a sharp departure from the department’s investigations under former Democratic President Joe Biden. It’s part of a push by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration against local and state policies that make allowances for transgender students. The investigation in Denver began after the school district converted a girl’s restroom into an all-gender restroom while […]

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