Perspectives

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NCAA considers holding tournaments in states with trans athlete restrictions

The NCAA announced a preliminary list of 20 schools being considered to host the Division I Softball Championship, and three of them — Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee — are in states that have recently passed laws banning transgender girls and women from competing on women’s sports teams. The final list of 16 schools that will host games in the tournament’s regional round will be announced May 16, about a month after the NCAA released a statement backing trans athletes as more than 30 states have considered legislation to limit their participation. “When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can […]

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Weightlifter poised to become first transgender Olympian

Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is set to become the first transgender athlete to compete at an Olympics after qualifying for the rescheduled Tokyo Games due to a rule change, Inside the Games website reported on Wednesday. Hubbard was effectively guaranteed a spot in the women’s super heavyweight category, the report from the Olympics-focused trade publication said, after the International Olympic Committee approved an amendment to the rules as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many qualifying competitions. New Zealander Hubbard, 43, has not yet been named to the national women’s weightlifting team going to the Tokyo Olympic Games. Hubbard competed […]

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GOP West Virginia Gov Signs Anti-Trans Athletes Bill

ABC News reports: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill that prohibits transgender female athletes from playing on women’s sports teams in public middle schools, high schools and universities. The bill cleared the state House last month in an overwhelming 78-20 vote before passing the state Senate in a closer 18-15 vote on April 8 after its scope was expanded to cover colleges. West Virginia is one of a number of states that have enacted restrictions on transgender athletes, including Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi, according to The Associated Press. Read the full article. Perhaps obviously, […]

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Caitlyn Jenner’s gubernatorial run in California is a loser for trans people and the state

There is one positive thing I can say about conservatism: Its systemic fear of the other is quite easily weaponized by its targets. Enter Caitlyn Jenner, the newest candidate for governor in California. For those who don’t live here, let me catch you up: Our current governor, Gavin Newsom, was caught having a dinner party in Napaduring the pandemic, right after his administration recommended that Californians not gather for Thanksgiving. Between an alleged $11 billion worth of unemployment benefits the state granted to fraudulent applicants during the Covid-19 outbreak and a dozen other pandemic missteps, a Republican campaign to recall Newsom that actually began pre-Covid started to […]

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NCAA: No Championships For Anti-Transgender States

NBC News reports: The NCAA Board of Governors released a statement Monday that it will not host championships in places that discriminate against transgender athletes. “The NCAA Board of Governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports. This commitment is grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition,” the statement read in part. A spokesperson said the NCAA has not made decisions about specific championships at this point in time but is monitoring the situation.

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BMX pro Corey Walsh comes out as gay with defiant message of hope

Canadian BMX pro Corey Walsh has come out as gay, making him one of the only openly LGBT+ riders in the industry. Walsh, 26, is the 10th best BMX rider in the world, according to the Boardr BMX Global Ranking, and competed at the Vans BMX Pro Cup World Championships in 2019. On Monday (29 March), he opened up about his sexuality for the first time on Instagram. “If you were to tell me a year ago that today was going to be the day where I said f**k it and let the world in on my personal life I would have […]

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South Dakota governor signs chilling order banning trans girls from playing sports

Republican governor Kristi Noem has issued two executive orders to prohibit trans girls from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams in South Dakota. Noem partially vetoed HB 1217 – also known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports bill – which would ban trans women athletes from playing in sports teams that align with their gender identity. The move shocked her conservative supporters as Noem had been a staunch supporter of the bill. During an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Noem explained that she rejected the bill in its current form over fear that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) would seek punitive action […]

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Tennessee becomes third state this year to sign indefensible anti-trans sports ban

Tennessee became Friday (26 March) the third US state to cruelly pass a bill banning trans girls from playing in middle and high school sports as their correct gender. State governor Bill Lee announced on Twitter he had signed Senate Bill 228 to “preserve women’s athletics and ensure fair competition”. Under the ban, student-athletes in Tennessee will be required to prove what sex they were assigned at birth to participate in school sports. It follows Arkansas and Mississippi passing similar prohibitions which are part of a 25 state-strong wave of Republican legislatures bulldozing imperilling anti-trans laws. More than 20 statehouses have similar anti-trans sports bills in the docket. As Lee signed […]

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Finding Sexual Pleasure in a Modern Pandemic

Taking care of our sexual needs in conventional times has often been a challenge, but with the outbreak of COVID and the ensuing lockdowns, it has become difficult on an entirely different scale. We’ve got to navigate risk, determine our comfort zones and find other who share those same boundaries. The funny thing is, we know how to do this. This is not our first pandemic and gay men have already had to navigate disease, persecution, and violence when pursuing sex. In the face of all of these challenges, we remain resilient and that is perhaps our greatest superpower. The […]

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Gender-Policing ‘Jokes’ Are Costing LGBTQ+ Lives

Gender policing? Ever hear of it? Let’s talk about it. I recently got into a social media scuff with an acquaintance over a comedic video she starred in. The video short stars a woman on a date with a man, and the “funny” part of the video is that she is trying to determine if he is gay or straight based on his clothing and job. Her reactions in the video are those of shock and disgust, often scrunching her face into a grimace that would be appalling in real life as a reaction to a stranger’s clothing. Especially on […]

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