Features

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This Supreme Court case could change gender-affirming care in the U.S. forever

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The controversy over gender-affirming care for trans minors is coming to the U.S. Supreme Court in its new term, which begins Monday — the first Monday in October. A hearing date has not been set, but the case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, over a Tennessee ban on such care, will surely attract much attention when it comes to the court. The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups representing the Tennesseans who sued over the law, predicts the hearing will be scheduled for December. Here’s what you need to know about the case, which is the high court’s first opportunity to rule on the issue. What is the U.S. […]

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Pennsylvania middle school installs surveillance window in gender-inclusive bathroom

A Pennsylvania middle school installed a window in its gender-inclusive restroom, making its interior visible from the school hallway. The window was constructed at Emory H. Markle Middle School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, which is roughly 5 miles north of the Maryland border. Gender-inclusive bathrooms are commonly used by transgender and nonbinary people for privacy and safety reasons. Matthew Gelazela, the board president of the South Western School District, said the district decided to add the window as it “engages in renovating multiuser restroom facilities.” “It has an interest in opening a view into the non-private area of those facilities in […]

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LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of ‘adverse brain health:’ study

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LGBTQ+ people are at a noticeably higher risk of “adverse brain health outcomes” in comparison to their straight and cisgender peers — and discrimination could be having an impact.  LGBTQ+ adults are at a 15 percent higher risk of composite brain health outcomes, including dementia, strokes, and late-life depression, according to a new study published in Neurology. Transgender women in particular were found to have higher odds of having strokes. The study examined data from 393,041 participants with available information on sexual orientation and gender identity, of whom 39,632 (10 percent) identified as some form of LGBTQ+, with 38,528 (97 percent) belonging to a sexual minority […]

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GOP state officials are so mad that doctors support trans healthcare that they’re intimidating them

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Earlier this week, 20 Republican attorneys general banded together to send a letter to the leadership of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the national professional association for pediatricians, accusing them of breaking the law for supporting age-appropriate and life-saving gender-affirming care for trans youth.  The letter accuses the organization of violating consumer legal protections for allegedly deceiving the public on the reversibility of puberty blockers while also seeking detailed information on their internal evidence assessments and communications. The letter was sent by Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador.  According to journalist Erin Reed, this letter holds no legal weight, and as such, the […]

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Despite new protections, LGBTQ+ people face massive discrmination in the workplace

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LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience discrimination at work in spite of laws against it, according to reporting from The 19th. A study released by the Williams Institute last year shows that 17% of LGBTQ+ adults received harassment and discrimination on the job within the past year of reporting. 47% have experienced it at some point in their lives. “You would hope things have gotten better,” said Brad Sears, the founding executive director of the Williams Institute and a co-author of the report Many report having to stay in the closet at work out of fear of reprisal for their identities. Almost […]

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Homophobic “locker room” talk hurts straight boys more than gay boys

Team sports are generally regarded to have positive benefits for kids, from gaining a new skill to socialization. However, there are some negatives associated with sports teams, particularly boys’ sports teams, when a culture of toxic masculinity and anti-LGBTQ+ language is present.  A study by Fordham University has shown that when youth are exposed to anti-LGBTQ+ language, it greatly harms them, unsurprisingly. However, the data also showed that it was not young queer children who are the most impacted by anti-LGBTQ+ language in athletic environments. It was young, straight white boys. Locker room talk with homophobic undertones, phrases like “man up” or […]

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YouTube suspended a queer Nigerian film distributor’s channel. Now they’re fighting back.

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A Nigerian distributor of independent gay romance films is fighting to get its YouTube channel back. Earlier this month, Omeleme TV launched an online petition aimed at getting YouTube to reinstate its original account after the streaming platform removed its channel, claiming Omeleme TV had violated its policy “on spam, deceptive practices and scams.” But in its petition, Omeleme TV argued it has never violated YouTube’s policies and has “always complied with their rules and regulations accordingly.” An Omeleme TV spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Washington Blade that YouTube has not indicated “the main issue” that resulted in its deplatforming. In its […]

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Ron DeSantis bans Florida’s sex ed classes from mentioning anatomy & contraceptives

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The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) has ordered local school districts to submit their sex education plans to the state for approval. The FLDOE has also said the classes must promote abstinence and cannot include discussion of contraception or pictures of reproductive health organs. The sex-ed takeover removes local discretion when it comes to district sex education classes and materials. For some time, Florida law has mandated that sex-ed lessons emphasize the “benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy” for grades 6 through 12. But now the state has removed any local control […]

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Trump campaign launches ad attacking Kamala Harris for supporting trans people’s health care

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A new political ad from former President Donald Trump delves deep into transphobia, highlighting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ support of providing lifesaving care to transgender inmates (something required by federal law) and showing pictures of her next to a drag queen, a trans woman, and a nonbinary person. “Kamala is for they/them,” the 30-second ad says. “President Trump is for you.” The ad primarily accuses Harris of supporting “taxpayer-funded sex-changes for prisoners and illegal aliens” — a crude restatement of her 2019 ACLU questionnaire answer that all federal prisoners, including trans immigrants detained by border agents, deserve medically necessary […]

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Indiana judge blocks law denying gender-affirming care to prisoners, ruling it’s likely unconstitutional

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A federal judge inIndiana has granted a preliminary injunction requiring the Indiana Department of Correction to provide gender-affirming surgery fortransgender inmate Autumn Cordellioné.  The decision comes after Cordellioné, a trans woman currently incarcerated in a facility for men, challenged the constitutionality of Indiana’s 2023 law banning gender-affirming surgeries for prisoners. United States District Court Judge Richard L. Young ruled on Tuesday that the state’s ban on gender-affirming surgery likely violates the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the care is deemed necessary. The ruling mandates that the IDOC arrange for Cordellioné to receive […]

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