Transgender youth in Florida will no longer be able to access gender-affirming treatment — even during clinical trials.
The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine adopted new rules on Friday banning hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for minors.
Also, at a joint meeting of the boards, the Board of Osteopathic Medicine unanimously voided an exception that made it possible for young people to receive medical treatment when enrolled in studies conducted by state universities. This exception resulted from a contentious meeting last year when the two boards voted to have separate standards for different providers when providing gender-affirming medical treatment to minors. As a result, the rules of the two boards are now aligned.
In a Tallahassee hotel where the meeting was held, attendees shouted expletives leading to tense moments that prompted law enforcement officials to position themselves at the front of the room.
“Shame on the Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy for continuing this assault on the health of young people and the rights of their parents to seek the best care possible for their children,” Nikole Parker, director of transgender quality at Equality Florida, said in a statement. “This rule puts transgender youth at higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidality and strips parents of the right to make decisions about care for their kids.”
Supporters and advocates pleaded with doctors on the Florida Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine to retain access to what many described as lifesaving care. One transgender man gave himself a hormone injection during his speaking period. Many spoke of feelings of suicidal ideation passing with access to gender-affirming care.
However, the board was unimpressed and voted in favor of the governor’s ban anyway.
“Those are the facts that have been purposely ignored by Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy stacked with DeSantis allies and campaign donors who have put their toxic politics over people’s health and wellbeing,” Parker said.
“Transgender Floridians exist. Transgender youth exist. Gender-affirming care is lifesaving care — and it is care that is supported by every major medical organization, an overwhelming majority of medical providers, and should be left to young people, their families, and their doctors; not politicians.”
A press conference was held beforehand to condemn the political moves of the Boards and the DeSantis Administration, which attracted more than 150 advocates for transgender and youth rights.
Transgender young people and families whose lives would be affected by the proposed rule spoke at the press event alongside legal experts, medical professionals, and community leaders.
Nearly 200 past and present contributors to The New York Times have signed on to a damning letter detailing what they say is the paper of record’s “editorial bias” in “reporting on transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people.” The letter follows months of what appears to be heightened criticism, born out of frustration over The Times’ reporting on transgender people.
Numerous, eye-opening examples of how the “Old Gray Lady,” as the paper is often called, positions and frames transgender people and the issues they and their families face are packed into the letter, which compares the paper’s coverage to “far-right hate groups.” Perhaps one of its most consequential call-outs is how The Times’ reporting is used by anti-LGBTQ state lawmakers and other officials to support anti-transgender legislation and policies.
“The natural destination of poor editorial judgment is the court of law. Last year, Arkansas’ attorney general filed an amicus brief in defense of Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which would make it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, for any medical provider to administer certain gender-affirming medical care to a minor (including puberty blockers) that diverges from their sex assigned at birth,” it reads. “The brief cited three different New York Times articles to justify its support of the law: [Emily] Bazelon’s ‘The Battle Over Gender Therapy,’ Azeen Ghorayshi’s ‘Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones,’ and Ross Douthat’s ‘How to Make Sense of the New L.G.B.T.Q. Culture War.’ As recently as February 8th, 2023, attorney David Begley’s invited testimony to the Nebraska state legislature in support of a similar bill approvingly cited the Times’ reporting and relied on its reputation as the ‘paper of record’ to justify criminalizing gender-affirming care.”
The letter also packs a punch, using The Times’ long history of anti-LGBTQ reporting, going back decades, to show a pattern and prove its point.
“In 1963, the New York Times published a front-page story with the title ‘Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern,’ which stated that homosexuals saw their own sexuality as ‘an inborn, incurable disease’—one that scientists, the Times announced, now thought could be ‘cured.’ The word ‘gay’ started making its way into the paper. Then, in 1975, the Times published an article by Clifford Jahr about a queer cruise (the kind on a boat) featuring a ‘sadomasochistic fashion show.’ On the urging of his shocked mother, Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger sent down the order: Stop covering these people.“
The letter closes with another unfortunate observation: “There is no rapt reporting on the thousands of parents who simply love and support their children, or on the hardworking professionals at the New York Times enduring a workplace made hostile by bias—a period of forbearance that ends today.”
Many voiced their criticism of The Times on social media platforms like Twitter, where GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis noted, “our youth, and our community broadly, can no longer wait for the Times to do the right thing. We need to see action now: stop printing anti-trans stories, meet with trans leaders, and hire trans journalists.”
“Misinformation about transgender people and issues isn’t just bad journalistic ethics, it is also dangerous and has real-world consequences,” she tweeted, adding, “irresponsible Times coverage contributes to the current anti-trans climate and gives cover to extremist politicians out to exploit and destroy trans lives.”
GLAAD has joined with over 100 organizations and leaders in publishing their own, similar letter to the paper, calling it “appalling that the Times would dedicate so many resources and pages to platforming the voices of extremist anti-LGBTQ activists who have built their careers on denigrating and dehumanizing LGBTQ people, especially transgender people.”
GLAAD, whose purpose is to work “through entertainment, news, and digital media to share stories from the LGBTQ community that accelerate acceptance,” detailed some of its efforts with The New York Times.
“Article after article, page after page, day after day, we have tried to educate you and your colleagues. We have sent emails, made calls, tried to help reporters source stories, and in one case, after more than four months of trying, some of us were even able to sit down and talk with you,” GLAAD says. “It is clear that our behind-the-scenes outreach has had zero impact. What has had impact, however, is your irresponsible coverage.”
“The Science Desk decided to spend more than a year undermining support for transgender youth by writing ‘just asking questions’ stories about medically approved best practices for gender-affirming healthcare,” GLAAD continues. “The Opinion editors gave noted cisgender heterosexual Pamela Paul space for her unfounded thoughts about how LGBTQ people should describe themselves, as if the Times could not find anyone with lived experience in the LGBTQ community to write about our issues. Then the Times boasted about hiring David French, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group that actively spreads misinformation about LGBTQ people and pushes baseless legislation and lawsuits to legalize discrimination.”
Pauli Murray, nonbinary Black activist, lawyer, priest, and poet, will be featured on a quarter in the next round of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program, making Murray the first Black queer person to appear on U.S. currency.
Murray’s quarter will be issued in 2024. Others in the 2024 group are Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War–era surgeon, women’s rights advocate, and abolitionist; Zitkala-Ša, a writer, composer, educator, and activist for Native Americans’ rights; and Celia Cruz, the Cuban-American singer known as the Queen of Salsa.
“All of the women being honored have lived remarkable and multi-faceted lives, and have made a significant impact on our Nation in their own unique way,” Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson said in a press release. “The women pioneered change during their lifetimes, not yielding to the status quo imparted during their lives. By honoring these pioneering women, the Mint continues to connect America through coins which are like small works of art in your pocket.”
Murray, born in 1910 in Baltimore, was assigned female at birth but questioned their gender and is now understood as nonbinary. They grew up in Durham, N.C., and became a lawyer and activist against sexism and racism. They graduated at the top of their class from Howard University School of Law.
Murray’s book States’ Laws on Race and Color, published in 1951, was described by civil rights lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as the Bible for civil rights litigators. In the 1950s, Murray joined the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton, and Garrison, where they met their longtime partner, Irene Barlow, who was office manager there.
In the 1960s, Murray served on the Committee on Civil and Political Rights as part of President John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and continued to be active in the Black civil rights movement but objected to the fact that movement organizations were largely led by men while women did much of the work. In 1966, they helped found the National Organization for Women, “but later moved away from a leading role because s/he did not believe that NOW appropriately addressed the issues of Black and working-class women,” according to the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice.
Murray taught an American studies program at Brandeis University from 1968 to 1973. In 1973, following Barlow’s death, Murray entered General Theological Seminary, and in 1977 they were the first Black person perceived as a woman to become an Episcopal priest in the U.S.
Murray wrote several other books, including a poetry collection, an autobiography, and a volume on the government of Ghana. Their best-known book, Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family, chronicles the difficulties faced by her grandparents in Durham due to racism. It has remained in print since its initial publication in 1956.
Murray died of cancer in 1985. Their life and significance were chronicled in the documentary film My Name Is Pauli Murray, released in 2021.
David J. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, issued a statementpraising the Mint’s honoring of Murray.
“The announcement by the U.S. Mint that it will include civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, the first Black queer person to be featured on U.S. currency, deserves celebration,” he said. “This moment is a reminder that wherever there is history there is Black history and that Black history has always included the contributions of Black queer, trans, and nonbinary/nonconforming members of our beautifully diverse community.
“Commemorating the life and legacy of Murray, who was a groundbreaking leader of racial and gender equality and progenitor of effective civil rights tactics, and was also one of the first women, first gender nonbinary person, and the first Black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, is an important step toward recognizing the contributions that Black LGBTQ+/same-gender loving people have made to American history. Especially at a time when the evangelical right is using religion to separate, segregate, and inspire hate.
“We commend the U.S. Mint for honoring Pauli Murray, amongst a number of influential and groundbreaking women. The lives, contributions, and stories of Black trans, queer, and nonbinary/nonconforming people are fundamental to Black history and should continue to be told and celebrated.”
Spain has passed sweeping reforms of its gender recognition laws to allow self-ID for trans people from the age of 16 without the need for a psychological or medical evaluation.
Lawmakers in Madrid passed the reforms on Thursday (16 February) by a vote of 191 to 60, with 91 abstaining.
The reforms mean that trans Spaniards will no longer be required to file medical documents in order to change their gender markers on official documents such as birth certificates.
Additionally, no diagnosis of gender dysphoria or proof of two-year hormonal treatment will be necessary.
Trans young people under 16 will also be allowed to apply for changed gender markers with the consent of parents or guardians, while those aged 12 or 13 will need a judge’s permission.
Trans people over 16 in Spain will now be able to change gender markers without medical intervention. (Getty)
“Today we have taken a giant step forward,” equality minister Irene Montero said.
“This law recognises the right of trans people to self-determine their gender identity, it depathologises trans people. Trans people are not sick people, they are just people.”
Spain joins countries such as Denmark and Switzerland in its decision to pass the self-ID laws.
“We’re celebrating the fact this law has passed after eight years of tireless work to obtain rights for the trans community,” LGBTQ+ advocacy group FELGBTI+ head Uge Sangil told AFP outside parliament.
“We’re winning human rights with the free determination of gender.
“From today, our lives will change, because we are not ill,” Sangil continued.
It passed through the lower house of Spain’s parliament in late December following a vote of 188 to 150, despite the growing divide between Spain’s coalition government on the subject.
Maria Jesus Moro of the right-wing Popular Party, who opposes the law, claimed it was “too hasty” and had somehow “caused a lot of suffering”.
Spain is miles ahead of UK on trans rights
The vote comes following the divisive decision by the UK government to block a gender recognition reform passed by Scotland’s parliament.
The law would have made it easier for Scottish trans people to change gender markers on their ID and legal documents by minimising the wait time and minimum age.
The announcement by the government that it would invoke Section 35 to block gender reforms was met with overwhelming backlash, as well as renewed calls for Scottish independence.
Scotland’s outgoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon called the decision a “full frontal attack on democracy” following the announcement on 16 January.
“The Scottish government will defend the legislation and stand up for Scotland’s parliament,” she added.
“If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be the first of many.”
Following the controversy, Westminster said it would block similar reforms proposed by Wales if they were to go forward.
An LGBTQ+ action plan by the Welsh government outlined a set of improvements that would help trans people obtain gender-recognition certificates.
But the concept was shut down before it had a chance to move forward, with a spokesperson of the UK government’s equalities office telling PinkNews that it would not budge on preventing further changes to the Gender Recognition Act.
“We share the concerns that others have set out with proposed reforms to the GRC application process, particularly around safety issues for women and children,” a spokesperson said.
“As a result of this, there are no plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act in England or Wales.”
A Christian campaign planning to air two Super Bowl ads to promote Jesus as a loving and accepting figure is reportedly affiliated with anti-LGBTQ+ causes.
The “He Gets Us” campaign, which is not affiliated with a specific church or denomination, has already been airing ads during NFL playoffs. One of the ads says “Jesus disagreed with loved ones. But didn’t disown them.”
Trying to connect him to the modern age, one ad also says Jesus was “an influencer who became insanely popular” but was then “canceled” because he “stood up for something he believed in.
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The ads are designed in such a way that viewers don’t know they are religious until the end.
“We simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible — the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love,” states the website of the campaign.
And yet, He Gets Us is a subsidiary of the Servant Foundation, which, according toLever, has donated over $50 million to the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.
Alliance Defending Freedom identifies itself as a “legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God’s design for marriage and family.” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes it as a hate group. ADF has joined with like-minded organizations in Europe in support of forced sterilization of transgender individuals and has represented numerous anti-LGBTQ+ plaintiffs in pivotal legal battles for LGBTQ+ rights. The organization has also been a large force behind the anti-abortion movement.
According toChristianity Today, the Super Bowl ads are part of a three-year, one billion-dollar campaign, with $20 million of that going toward its two-game day ads.
And according to Jason Vanderground, President of the branding firm Haven that is working on the campaign, “That is just the first phase.”
Among the donors to the campaign is billionaire David Green, co-founder of Hobby Lobby.
In addition to being called out for its affiliation with the Alliance Defending Freedom, the ads have been criticized by some Christians as well, who say that encouraging people to identify with Jesus is not as important as promoting his divinity.
Missouri has launched a multi-agency investigation into a pediatric transgender center after a former case worker alleged children were being routinely prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy without “appropriate or accurate” mental health assessments, the state’s attorney general announced Thursday.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to reporters after taking the oath of office in Jefferson City on Jan. 3.David A. Lieb / AP
“We have received disturbing allegations that individuals at the Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital have been harming hundreds of children each year, including by using experimental drugs on them,” state Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement. “We take this evidence seriously and are thoroughly investigating to make sure children are not harmed by individuals who may be more concerned with a radical social agenda than the health of children.” The investigation was launched two weeks ago after Jamie Reed, who worked as a case manager at the Transgender Center from 2018 to November 2022, alleged the center caused permanent harm to many of the patients being treated for gender dysphoria. The attorney general’s office, which said it had previously received a sworn affidavit and supporting documentation from Reed, confirmed the existence of the investigation Thursday after Reed went public that same day with her allegations in an op-ed published in The Free Press, a news website started by Bari Weiss, a former op-ed writer and editor at The New York Times. Reed concluded her op-ed by calling for a “moratorium on the hormonal and surgical treatment of young people with gender dysphoria.”
In a 23-page affidavit shared on the attorney general’s website, Reed alleged the staff repeatedly violated the center’s own treatment guidelines. She said the center required minors to meet four criteria — a minimum age, a therapist referral, parental consent and a clinical visit with an endocrinologist or an adolescent medicine specialist — before they could receive puberty blockers, which temporarily pause puberty, or hormone therapy, such as estrogen or testosterone. But she alleged the center’s staff would provide the medication “without complete informed parental consent and without an appropriate or accurate assessment of the needs of the child.”
Reed alleged in the affidavit that providers at the center prescribed hormone therapy to patients as young as 13, even though the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a nonprofit professional association, recommended at the time that minors be at least 16 years old for such treatment. She also alleged providers at the center only used therapists they “knew would say yes” to a patient’s medical transition and that parents were “routinely pressured” into consenting to have their child receive transition-related care.
In her affidavit, Reed also alleged that doctors at the Transgender Center did not share information with patients and their parents about the possibility of sterility following hormone therapy, though, in her op-ed, she said patients were “told about some side effects, including sterility,” but that she “came to believe that teenagers are simply not capable of fully grasping what it means to make the decision to become infertile while still a minor.” She also said she witnessed minors experience “shocking injuries” from the medication, including one patient who experienced “severe atrophy of vaginal tissue” after receiving testosterone and had to have subsequent vaginal lacerations treated surgically.
Reed alleged she raised concerns to doctors at the center and university administrators for years and was discouraged from tracking adverse outcomes of patients, she stated in the affidavit. She wrote in her op-ed that her experience at the Transgender Center has led her to support a nationwide moratorium on gender-affirming care for young people due to “the secrecy and lack of rigorous standards that characterize youth gender transition across the country.”
Washington University in St. Louis, the parent institution of the Children’s Hospital,said in a statement shared on its websiteThursday that it is “alarmed by the allegations reported in the article published by The Free Press describing practices and behaviors the author says she witnessed while employed at the university’s Transgender Center.”
“We are taking this matter very seriously and have already begun the process of looking into the situation to ascertain the facts,” the statement said. “As always, our highest priority is the health and well-being of our patients. We are committed to providing compassionate, family-centered care to all of our patients and we hold our medical practitioners to the highest professional and ethical standards.”
The state’s Division of Professional Registration, one of the agencies assisting in the investigation, is looking into whether any licensed professionals at the Transgender Center are in violation of their respective licensing board’s policies, while the Department of Social Services will be investigating concerns surrounding fraud, waste or abuse in the state’s Medicaid program, according to the attorney general’s news release.
Missouri is one of at least 24 states that have introduced measures this year to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors. Five states — Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona and Utah — have already placed restrictions on such care, though federal courts have blocked Alabama’s and Arkansas’ laws from taking effect pending the outcome of the litigation.
Transition-related care for minors is supported by major medical organizations — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association. These associations oppose governmental restrictions on care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, which they say are safe and have been used for decades to treat other conditions in minors.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s most recent Standards of Care guidance, which is used widely by clinicians who provide transition-related care, recommends that this type of care be provided to minors using a multidisciplinary team of medical experts in a variety of fields, including psychology and endocrinology. The group doesn’t recommend any medical intervention for children prior to puberty. Rather, it recommends that children socially transition, for example, by using a different name and pronouns or wearing a different hairstyle or clothing. Adolescents who begin the early stages of puberty — usually between 8 and 14 — may be eligible for puberty blockers, but the group recommends they meet a list of criteria, including receiving a comprehensive psychosocial assessment.
The group also recommends that older youths meet a list of criteria before beginning hormone therapy. For example, the standards say adolescents have to demonstrate the emotional and cognitive maturity required to provide informed consent for treatment, the adolescent’s other mental health concerns should be addressed, and the adolescent and the parents or guardian should be informed of the potential reproductive effects of the treatment.
Minors rarely receive surgery, but when they do, the group recommends they receive hormone therapy for at least 12 months prior, receive ongoing mental health support and assessments and be informed of the potential health effects of surgery, including infertility.
More than half a dozen studies published in major medical journals over the last few years have found that access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy improves mental health outcomes, including significantly reducing suicidality, for trans youths.
LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed Rue Landau for Philadelphia City Council, At-Large. Victory Fund named her a 2023 LGBTQ ‘Spotlight’ candidate, a designation given to candidates with exceptional potential to be national leaders of the LGBTQ equality movement.
If elected, Landau would be the first out LGBTQ person ever elected to the Philadelphia City Council. Philadelphia is the only major U.S. city to have never elected an out LGBTQ person to city council.
“For far too long, Philadelphia’s vibrant LGBTQ community has lacked equitable representation on city council – with the wounds to show for it. As an attorney with a long track record of increasing pathways to affordable housing, strengthening protections for women in the workplace and enacting civil rights protections for marginalized populations – including the LGBTQ community – Rue has spent her entire career on the front lines of forging a more equitable Philadelphia. We are confident that her bright vision for the city and ability to bring diverse coalitions of people together will not just make her an exceptional council member, but a vital voice for equality throughout Pennsylvania and the country,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund.
“I am honored to have earned the endorsement of LGBTQ Victory Fund for my race for Philadelphia City Council. Representation matters – our city is ready to elect our first openly LGBTQ member of Council, and this year, we will make history,” said Landau.
_________________
LGBTQ Victory Fund
LGBTQ Victory Fund works to achieve and sustain equality by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government while ensuring they reflect the diversity of those they serve. Since 1991, Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state and federal elections.
While the state of California has experienced its first in loss in population since its entry into the union in 1831, one of the states that has been the direct beneficiary of those fleeing the Golden State is now feeling the negative pushback from its anti-LGBTQ legislation from the one demographic it is known for the most — families.
That same survey found that nearly 20 percent are even actively in the process of moving out of Florida.
While only 113 LGBTQ parents were surveyed, the heightened tension across the state is obvious, in both forms of legislation, education policies and social debate. The survey focused on the comfort level of LGBTQ parents as Florida citizens before and after passed and proposed legislation.
On March 28, 2022, the Florida Legislature passed HB 1557, the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, also dubbed the Don’t Say Gay bill. This bill prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity before the 4th grade and requires such instruction to be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” thereafter. Many are concerned that the bill will not only result in restricted or nonexistent education about the existence of diverse sexual and gender identities, but it will result in a chilly or hostile school climate for LGBTQ educators, students, and families because it suggests that something is wrong with LGBTQ identities. Based on surveys of 113 LGBTQ+ parents, this study represents a first look at how HB 1557 is negatively affecting LGBTQ+ parent families in the state. Almost 9 out of 10 (88%) LGBTQ+ parents are very or somewhat concerned about the impact that HB 1557 will have on them and their children, with one in four reporting they have experienced anti-LGBTQ harassment since the law was passed and one in five reporting becoming less out in their communities since the law was passed. Parents have considered a variety of coping strategies in response to the bill, including moving out of the state (56%) and moving their children to a different school (11%). Over 16% of LGBTQ parents have already taken steps to move their families to another state.
Key Findings
Concerns
When asked, “How worried are you about the effects of the Don’t Say Gay bill/law on your children and family?”, 88% of LGBTQ+ parents said they were very or somewhat worried about the effects of the bill on their children and families.
LGBTQ+ parents’ initial reactions to the bill ranged from fear to anger to disbelief. Over time, even those who were initially relatively unconcerned (e.g., because they believed the bill would not be signed into law or was unenforceable) became increasingly worried. Some considered moving their children to private schools.
LGBTQ+ parents voiced a variety of concerns about how Don’t Say Gay would affect their children, including restricting them from speaking freely about their families, negatively impacting their sense of legitimacy, and encouraging a hostile school climate that would negatively impact their children.
LGBTQ+ parents with LGBTQ+ children voiced intense concerns as they worried about their children’s ability to talk freely about their own and their parents’/family’s identities. Indeed, 13% said that their children had expressed fears about the future related to living in Florida as LGBTQ+ youth.
LGBTQ+ parents also worried about their own ability to be involved in/volunteer at their children’s schools.
LGBTQ+ parents who were less concerned typically said that their children were younger (e.g., they were not yet in school) or their children were in private schools. By extension, parents who expressed the greatest concern typically had school-aged children in public schools.
Experiences
LGBTQ+ parents reported that their children had already experienced a variety of impacts of the bill. This included harassment and bullying at school because they had LGBTQ+ parents, not being able to talk about their parents or their own LGBTQ+ identities at school or outside of school, and fears about continuing to live in Florida.
LGBTQ+ parents reported on their experiences over the 3–6 months prior to the survey in a variety of areas: Almost one-quarter feared harassment by neighbors because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Twenty-one percent of LGBTQ+ parents had been less out in their neighborhood, workplace, or community.
Coping Strategies
LGBTQ+ parents coped in a variety of ways, including by becoming more engaged in activism, avoiding the news, getting support from friends and family, and planning for the future (e.g., moving).
Notably, 56% of parents considered moving out of Florida and 16.5% have taken steps to move out of Florida. Indeed, participants said that they were saving money, looking for jobs, and exploring the housing markets outside of Florida. Many felt conflicted, however, noting that they loved their families, friends, and communities; others said that moving was currently impossible for them, as they were caring for older family members or other dependents or had jobs that they could not find elsewhere.
Other actions, beyond moving, for protecting and defending their families were also endorsed. For example, 11% had considered moving their children to a school that is not bound by the Don’t Say Gay law (such as a private school).
Some participants talked about Don’t Say Gay with their (usually school-aged) children, with the goal of clarifying what the legislation says, what it doesn’t say, and why people are concerned. Those with young children typically did not speak with them about the legislation, and/or kept the messaging simple and reassuring.
The World Surf League has announced it is to adopt a new policy on transgender athletes.
The governing body announced it would adopt a policy recommended by the International Surfing Association (ISA) in a Friday (3 February) statement.
Under new guidelines, trans female athletes are required to maintain a testosterone level of less than 5 nmol/L (nanomoles per litre) for at least 12 months in order to compete in the women’s division.
“The WSL is working hard to balance equity and fairness and it’s important for a policy to be in place,” WSL chief of sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said. “We recognise that the policy may need to evolve over time as we get feedback and see new research in the field.”
The ISA first recommended the policy in October 2022 following pressure from various groups due to the ongoing controversy surrounding trans athletic participation.
The international organisation said it based the policy on guidance from its medical commission and vowed to reevaluate recommendations annually.
“The ISA is committed to the fundamental principles of fairness and equality of opportunity, and therefore this policy will be reevaluated annually as more research, information, and feedback becomes available.”
Miley-Dyer explained to The Inertiathat the decision was made unanimously among WSL leadership following a review.
She added that there had been “a lot of conversations with a lot of different stakeholders groups” during deliberation on the matter, adding that WSL officials recognised the ISA “took a very deliberate approach.”
Tests to check for eligibility will not be done by World Surf League, but will be arranged by applicants looking to compete.
Those tests will then be sent to WSL medical officers, who will have a “confidential conversation” to discuss medical requirements.
Several experts and athletes have explained that creating a comprehensive trans policy is often incredibly tricky because there isn’t enough research to suggest whether there are advantages.
Trans male athletic swimmer Schuyler Bailar explained to PinkNews in 2022 that the often hostile debate on trans athletes participating in sports makes it difficult for progress to be made.
“There’s a really big problem with putting out rules right now on trans athletes because we don’t actually have robust research,” he said.
A trans passenger has accused the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of severe mistreatment and is calling on TSA to provide better training to staff.
“One of the worst things about traveling as trans is going through TSA,” said photographer and activist NV Gay in a video posted to Instagram describing their experience.
Gay said they were going through security at the Orlando International Airport when they were flagged by the body scanner.
“Of course, if you’ve got boobs and a bottom part, well it’s gonna flag you, and ya know I’m ready for that, I’m expecting that…The problem is that the TSA continually does not train their employees on how to respectfully pat down and talk to trans people.”
Gay said the person patting them down “continually decided to rub ‘down there’ multiple times all over me and then very loudly put it out there to everyone in the crowd that I was trans with a penis and with boobs and that she had no idea and she didn’t know if she could clear me and that she’d have to get her supervisor to clear me.”
“It’s ridiculous at this point,” Gay lamented. “It’s so easy to just be respectful. Be like ‘hey, you’ve got flagged, I need to check’…Be better TSA.”
In the caption, Gay added that “the most disgusting part was that the TSA officer constantly said that my bottom part was poking her, which was not true at all.”
“Having to go through that was horrible,” they added. “No person should ever be treated this way.”
Gay told LGBTQ Nation that this is far from the only negative experience they have had with TSA and that since posting the video, other trans people have messaged them to share their own “truly horrific experiences.”
“The TSA needs to implement trainings on how to treat all passengers as humans and understand that different people look different and have various body parts,” Gay said.
“They should also have multiple agents present for screenings and make sure that the passenger has given consent. Passengers should also be able to record situations in order to make sure that they are not taken advantage of. This goes for everyone, not just transgender individuals.”
The official account of Orlando International Airport replied to Gay’s Instagram post with an apology for what they experienced and asked them to provide more detailed information about where and when the incident took place so the airport could reach out to the local management team.
This led to a Direct Message conversation between Gay and the airport on Instagram (which Gay shared with LGBTQ Nation), in which the airport representative apologized repeatedly and told Gay to reach back out if they don’t hear back from TSA soon.
On Twitter, TSA replied to Gay’s video that they “appreciate” the “feedback” and “continue to push for technological improvement that will provide effective security w/ out gender identification.”
Gay, who has also filed an official complaint with TSA, then replied that updating technology is a step but that it is far more important to train employees in respectful treatment. “The scan was not the problem. The way the agent treated me was the issue!” Gay emphasized.
In a statement to LGBTQ Nation, TSA stated that it “recognizes the concerns of transgender/non-binary/gender nonconforming passengers with the security screening process, and the agency continues to implement the new algorithm on the Advanced Imaging Technology units to significantly reduce false alarms and improve efficiency for all passengers.”
It continued, “At TSA, we are committed to ensuring every traveler is treated with respect and courtesy. When passengers have complaints about their specific screening experience, we encourage them to contact the TSA Contact Center.”
