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Tag: Queer Voices

  • An Online Rant Against A Trans Counselor At The Space & Rocket Center Is All It Took To Unleash The Wolves

    An Online Rant Against A Trans Counselor At The Space & Rocket Center Is All It Took To Unleash The Wolves

    For LGBTQ+ employees at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, what used to be a haven now feels like a nightmare — and it only took one fearmongering rallying cry from a parent.

    In a Facebook post from March 9, Clay Yarbrough, the father of a child enrolled at Space Camp, urged parents to pull their children from the program and started a smear campaign against a camp counselor named Molly Bowman.

    Why? Because she’s trans.

    As a bisexual woman who has struggled with her identity for years, I’m pretty tired of rhetoric that not only makes queer people question our own worth, but frequently makes us, especially members of the trans community, feel unsafe. As I watched all of this play out in the news, I knew I had to get the story from those who hadn’t yet been included in the conversation.

    Though the post included no evidence or credible allegations of wrongdoing on Bowman’s part, the crux of Yarbrough’s argument hinged on the idea that Bowman could do something wrong — a possibility that, of course, isn’t exclusive to the LGBTQ+ community.

    Yarbrough misgendered and used slurs against Bowman online, his post amassing comments that made unfounded accusations that she and the rest of the LGBTQ+ counselors had behaved inappropriately. The group dissected Bowman’s personal social media pages, and even her Amazon wish list, in their attempts to pull something from nothing.

    Yarbrough’s post blew up with over 6,000 shares, garnering the attention of right-wing groups and politicians. Moms For Liberty Alabama tweeted Yarbrough’s Facebook post with the comment: “Do not send your children to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. The entire program has gone woke! Girls as young as 7 attend Space Camp and this is what they are exposed to! Protect your kids!!!!”

    Given that the age range for the camp begins at 9, the group was already off to a rocky start.

    Meanwhile, the right-wing account Libs of TikTok misgendered Bowman and repeated the baseless claim that Bowman “went into the girl’s showers while they were changing.”

    Bowman’s supporters began researching Yarbrough. Commenters on his Facebook post raised questions about Yarbrough’s own alleged criminal past, which he dismissed on March 11 as irrelevant. After the backlash, Yarbrough wrote on Facebook: “Oh and because I have a mug shot on the internet and have been arrested before then I am a axe murdered with 12 criminal records, in a place I haven’t been since I was 23, IM ALSO ARMED AND DANGEROUS.”

    He also posted a comment that read: “The crap is hitting the fan and I just spoiled the devils plans to hurt some kids!!! Major change is coming and the GOD I worship is still in charge and still more powerful than anything they can throw at me!!”

    The Facebook conversation caused so many ripples that local conservative officials quickly weighed in.

    “I call on the Center to immediately remove this individual and open a safety review to consider the potential harm and damages they have inadvertently caused children,” Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) wrote in a statement.

    Rep. Gary Palmer, another Alabama Republican, posted a similar sentiment on March 11, writing on social media: “The situation currently unfolding at @SpaceCampUSA is unacceptable. When parents send their kids to Space Camp in Alabama, they should be confident they are going to a safe, educational environment.”

    The Space & Rocket Center said in a statement that the organization conducts extensive background checks on prospective employees, so Bowman wouldn’t have landed the job to begin with if she had a criminal record. The space center said in the statement that she has not been reported for misconduct.

    On March 20, Alabama state Rep. Mark Gidley (R) attempted to amend House Bill 130, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would ban discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms through grade 12. (Under current law, discussion of those topics is only forbidden through fifth grade.) The amendment, which would have specified that Space Camp is subject to those same rules, died in committee, and HB 130 was likewise killed in mid-May.

    On March 15, Rocket Center CEO Kimberly Robinson sent an internal memo to staff, which an employee shared with me. The memo described how employees had been harassed and how “people on our staff have also received threats over email and phone.”

    Patricia Ammons, senior director of public and media relations at the Center, told me over email that Robinson “wanted to send a message expressing her care and concern for our employees’ safety and well-being.”

    Following an investigation, the Rocket Center said in a March 29 public statement that “there is no evidence of inappropriate behavior or malfeasance between any Space Camp staff and student campers.” The statement said the Rocket Center provides private areas for campers to change, shower and use the restroom, and no staffers had been in those areas.

    Four Rocket Center employees told me that the center fostered an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees, but that it has soured somewhat since the incidents of harassment.

    “It seemed like a very queer-positive place, especially for Alabama,” said one. “My department has a ton of LGBTQ+ people in it and most of us feel a bit hung out to dry by higher-ups.”

    Another employee said they’d feel better if the center made a “definitive statement” against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, instead of the “HR bullshit we always get at jobs.”

    When asked about its support for LGBTQ+ workers, a Rocket Center representative said: “Space Camp is and will remain an equal-opportunity employer adhering to all state and federal laws regulating hiring practices. We are an apolitical organization with no social agenda. Our singular mission is to inspire and educate.”

    The Rocket Center conducted an internal investigation and a review of on-campus footage, and concluded that Bowman had done nothing wrong. But she was still transferred to a new department — something that the first employee claims amounted to “punish[ing] a trans employee for online weirdos being mad she’s trans.”

    As these trolls have gotten more boisterous and bold, Bowman and her peers have grown concerned for their physical safety.

    “As LGBTQ+ folks, we are just trying to do a job that we are underpaid for,” an employee told me. “We’re not indoctrinating your kids or being inappropriate.”

    Recently, there have been “many comments from guests regarding our looks and religion,” another said. “It’s a mix of hate and love, but more hate lately.”

    “Many [employees] have left because they are scared for their lives, regardless if they are trans or not,” this employee said. “I would feel safer with metal detectors. It’s reasonable for a place that is part of the [NASA] arsenal and that has kids to have metal detectors.”

    When I asked what safety precautions the center has taken to protect employees and keep them in the loop about any developing safety issues, a representative told me: “We take the safety of our campers, visitors, and staff extremely seriously. As reported [in the center’s post-investigation statement], we worked with the Huntsville Police Department to increase patrols through our campus and engaged a private security firm in the days and weeks following the social media post with accusations against an employee.”

    The employees told me they hadn’t seen much change, beyond noticing police cars on patrol every so often.

    The most concerning safety risk, multiple employees told me, was when someone shot a BB gun at the windshield of an employee’s car toward the end of March. The queer employees said the incident spurred fear for themselves and the kids who visit the center — the very children whom all these agitated conservatives are ostensibly trying to protect.

    The Huntsville Police Department would neither confirm nor deny that a police report was filed, citing confidentiality restrictions. The Rocket Center said it couldn’t confirm that an employee’s car had been shot at. One of my sources speculated that the center’s leadership is worried about losing funding, and is therefore opting not to confirm any specific threats or violence.

    The employees I spoke to don’t feel like management is showing up for them when they feel particularly vulnerable. One employee told me that a recent policy change prohibits employees from wearing any pins other than those provided by NASA. Many of the non-NASA pins that employees wore were Pride- and pronoun-related.

    “Regarding pins staffers may wear, it has been a long-standing policy that pins and other embellishments focus on and don’t distract from our mission,” a Rocket Center representative said. According to the workers I talked to, their pins weren’t previously policed.

    All in all, I believe that the center missed an opportunity to really stand up for Bowman and queer employees as a whole. Staff there are limited in what they’re allowed to say, and the political pressure brought against them has been significant. Still, the higher-ups have a duty to protect all employees, especially given the widely held attitudes about queer people in the state of Alabama.

    “Shame on the transphobic politicians that want to kick out the LGBTQ+ [employees],” one employee I spoke to said. In my opinion, calling for someone’s termination without any facts to back up that action is irresponsible at best and blatant discrimination at worst.

    If the politicians who are so up in arms about a trans person working at the Space & Rocket Center want to protect children ― as they claim ― then they need to protect all children. Keep religion-based ideology out of the classroom and out of integral programs like Space Camp. Allow for safe spaces for queer kids to feel seen and worthy of education and love. The separation of church and state exists for a reason, and dismantling that freedom is inherently un-American. It’s about time that political leaders in this country stop weaponizing religion to justify agendas based on personal bigotry.

    If one person’s hateful comments hadn’t snowballed, and politicians and hate groups hadn’t bullied Bowman, maybe she wouldn’t now feel like she needs to pack up and leave her state — along with her job, friends and family — to feel safe. But that’s what she feels she has to do.

    “Due to recent events and media coverage I no longer feel safe living in Alabama,” she wrote in a note on a GoFundMe drive. “This move is not just a change of scenery; it’s a crucial step towards rebuilding my life and securing a stable future.”

    Queer people should be allowed to live, work and thrive in every single state. What will it take to get us there?

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  • Librarians Deal With Constant Attacks — But Here’s How They’re Fighting Back

    Librarians Deal With Constant Attacks — But Here’s How They’re Fighting Back


    Growing up as a queer kid in the U.K. in the ’90s, I found refuge in books, preferring their company to the harsh realities of the outside world. My imagination was immense, colorful and greedy, and I was always on the hunt for something to satisfy my voracious literary appetite.

    English was my favorite subject at school — so much so that I would write and illustrate stories for my English teacher on a weekly basis; tales of murderous werewolves were a fave. Reading about and crafting worlds that were so different from my own served as the escape I needed from reality. And the library was crucial to facilitating this escape.

    I loved reading about bloodthirsty supernatural creatures as an 8-year-old. But the older I got and the more confused I became about my queerness, the more I craved reading material that was a bit more, well, relatable. But books about and for young queer people didn’t really exist 30 years ago, in any part of the world.

    Fortunately, there are more now than ever before — and for free at your local library. Queer kids today have a wealth of options, like Meredith Russo’s joyful transgender romance “If I Was Your Girl” and Juno Dawson’s fun yet incredibly informative “This Book Is Gay.” If books like these were available when I was processing my queerness, it would have made me feel less alone and I’d need a lot less therapy now.

    Despite being all grown-up (kind of) and more comfortable with my identity, I still want to read books like these, books that discuss our authentic selves. Living in the U.K., I can access them easily. But unfortunately, this is not the case in other parts of the world deemed equally as “progressive.”

    The current bans on queer books in the U.S. are mostly orchestrated by parent-led groups and far-right activists who believe that conversations about queerness should not exist in schools. Incidentally, Russo’s and Dawson’s books have been banned in multiple school libraries in America.

    Fortunately, librarians all over the U.S. are fighting back, with many viewing their job as inherently political. They’re doing everything they can to protect and advocate for queer people, even if it costs them their jobs and mental health.

    “I had threatening emails and phone calls, one of which mentioned my wife by name,” Gavin Downing, a former librarian at Cedar Heights Middle School in Covington, Washington, tells me. After adding some queer books to his library’s shelves in early 2022, three were removed by the school’s principal when a student reportedly complained of one — “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” — containing “sexually explicit content.”

    What followed was a turbulent time for Downing. His efforts gained national attention, and the three books were subjected to review by the school board. After he made it clear that protocol hadn’t been followed in the removal of the books, the challenge was dropped and they were discreetly returned to shelves. The process was a long one, but Downing was steadfast in his belief that students should have access to books that discuss queerness. “I was prepared to defend it,” he says. “Even more than I was before.”

    Things had become too much at Cedar Heights, and Downing tells me that he felt there was no choice but to leave. “I had panic attacks about going to work,” he says. “I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.” With the help of his union, he was able to get out and was reassigned to another school. While Downing doesn’t identify as queer, many of his family members and friends do — including his wife. That’s been a factor in his quest to elevate the voices of people who have been historically marginalized and excluded.

    Despite Downing’s experience at Cedar Heights being a distressing one, it was illuminating. “It’s changed me so much. I went from quietly supporting my union and Washington Library Association to being an active participant in both,” he says, referring to a professional organization for librarians. Downing also ran for a position on his local school board — a role that would have afforded him greater powers in opposing the censorship of queer books. He didn’t win, but his determination to fight has only grown.

    Librarians who care about making queer kids feel seen are hyperaware of the opposition to valuable reading material. And they’re fighting the good fight online and offline.

    Storm Kopitsch and her colleague Annessa Dimkoff, who work at Michigan’s Fowlerville District Library, run its popular TikTok account. They lead fun initiatives such as “Gilmore Girls” themed reading challenges for their 122,000 followers — but behind the scenes, they’re doing more serious work to advocate for local queer people.

    “I’ve added ‘rainbow reads’ stickers to LGBTQ+ teen books,” Kopitsch tells me. “This came about because we had teens that were desperate for books and kept asking whether a book was queer or not.”

    Librarians who care about making queer kids feel seen are hyperaware of the opposition to valuable reading material.

    Fowlerville may be one of the luckier libraries, but it has still faced opposition because of its support for queer voices. “We do see people, usually parents, complaining about LGBTQ+ books as a whole,” Dimkoff tells me. “Around the time that our [funding] was being passed, it felt like every day someone had something to say about the ‘kind of books we carry’ or the ‘lifestyle we’re teaching being sinful.’”

    “In 2022, an anonymous community member made a stink about the TikTok videos I made because I wasn’t afraid to provide service to those asking for queer book recommendations,” Kopitsch adds. “I made more content and was called a ‘woke cheerleader,’ so I put that phrase on a button with the pride flag, which I now wear around the library.”

    These librarians’ acts of resistance are both admirable and treacherous to their careers. A librarian named Suzette Baker was fired from her position in Llano County, Texas, in 2022, and many others are being threatened with legal action. Stories like these should belong in a disturbing dystopian horror — akin to George Orwell’s “1984” or Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” (which have often faced bans, ironically) — but unfortunately they’re very much a reality.

    "This is one of the most exciting jobs I’ve ever had, and that’s because of how much good we’re able to do," says Samuel Sims.
    “This is one of the most exciting jobs I’ve ever had, and that’s because of how much good we’re able to do,” says Samuel Sims.

    Since 2022, I’ve been the manager of a library in the U.K. Before taking on this role, I thought librarians stamped books all day and told people to shut the hell up when necessary, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

    This is one of the most exciting jobs I’ve ever had, and that’s because of how much good we’re able to do. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though, as there’s anti-queerness and other types of discrimination everywhere. That’s why I’ve paid attention to how queer librarians are holding strong in the U.S., taking notes on how to best advocate for queer voices.

    I’ve had a customer express disgust at the LGBTQ+ book display in my library. I’ve been told that “this thing with gender has gone too far.” And before I started, colleagues told me they had to help protect a drag queen after their story time at a library in my city that was met by vile protesters. But this just pushes me to do more to support queer kids exploring their identity, which is like a giant “F you” to the haters.

    Soon after starting, I, alongside a colleague, started a book club and we’ve been very intentional about curation for these two years. More than anything, it’s about forging a safe space and allowing people to speak their truths without being censored. During and after October’s Banned Books Week last year, we read several titles that had made the list in the U.S., including Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer.” When somebody expresses displeasure about my community, as they have done, I calmly explain to them why they’re wrong. Activism can be quiet and discreet but still hold power. Of course, I can be loud when I need to be too.

    Yes, queer people are luckier now than when I was growing up because there’s more information out there, but many still exist in a permanent state of fear. Some libraries are stuck in the past and ill-equipped to fight oppression, but these institutions have the potential to be so much more than a space for dusty old books. They help bring marginalized communities together and, by doing so, make us stronger. They’re full of passionate people who, whether they intended to or not, have become activists against the forces that have waged war on queer people.

    Should I be worried as a librarian in the U.K.? We exist in a significantly different political climate than the U.S., and our far-right groups aren’t as large or visible. But fear, ignorance and anti-queerness exist, of course. This 2023 article in The Guardian cited research finding that a third of U.K. librarians had been asked by members of the public to censor or remove books.

    Librarians are an extremely valuable part of the fight against LGBTQ+ oppression, and if these attacks continue, then we’re all screwed. As research like that reported in The Guardian shows, this is everybody’s battle to wage. So please, go to your local library, request queer books, tell your friends and families about them. Speak up if they’re being attacked, sign petitions. The fight is far from over, but silence and apathy won’t help win it — rainbow swords will.





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  • Queering the Map Reveals Poignant Glimpses Of Survival In Gaza

    Queering the Map Reveals Poignant Glimpses Of Survival In Gaza

    As the hellish war between Israel and Hamas unfolds, there are very strong emotions being expressed about who is to blame. But regardless of what your stance is, I hope we can all agree that dehumanizing people is never the answer.

    Unfortunately, some people online are justifying the brutality against Palestinians in Gaza by weaponizing Hamas’ homophobia, using that as a valid reason to wage war on an entire group of people. Homosexuality is a crime in Palestine. In 2022, a gay Palestinian man who went to Israel for asylum was found brutally murdered in the West Bank. Because of Hamas’ cruelty toward gay people, a very uninformed and insensitive opinion is currently floating around: that Israel’s actions against anyone in Hamas-controlled territory are justified. One U.S.-based queer publication went as far as to claim that “if you’re an LGBTQ+ parent, you should worry about Hamas gunning down your kids.”

    Let me be absolutely clear. Homophobia exists in every country at varying degrees. And no entire community deserves the wrath of war because their government outlaws queer expression.

    If you live in a country with a government that has institutionalized homophobia or transphobia — which, let’s face it, is most countries — then you know that this is an inherently tragic justification for mass violence. Governments are seldom an accurate representation of all the people they govern, and bombs don’t selectively choose who they’re going to kill.

    There are innocent queer people trying to survive in Palestine. And their poignant calls for justice have been resounding globally over the past week through Queering the Map — which is likely the one of the only means for expressing themselves in this way.

    Queering the Map is a community-based platform where queer users all over the world map moments they’ve had with other queer people — romantic, platonic and otherwise. Anyone can post to the site, though creator Lucas LaRochelle told The New York Times they and other volunteers review and approve the messages before they are posted to filter out trolls or hateful posts.

    Several accounts coming from Gaza have gone viral in recent days. Though they are unable to be verified, they are completely devastating to read. At the time of this post, the site has been down for about 48 hours and I have reached out to the creator to find out if this is, in any way, related to the posts from Gaza.

    “Idk how long I will live so I just want this to be my memory here before I die,” wrote one user. “My biggest regret is not kissing this one guy. He died two days back.”

    “I’ve always imagined you and me sitting out in the sun, hand in hand, free at last,” wrote another. “We spoke of all the places we would go if we could. Yet you are gone now.”

    As someone whose family comes from countries that are not seen as beacons of LGBTQIA+ progress, I know that there are beautiful queer and trans communities in all of the places that are easily dismissed as monolithically homophobic.

    The queer people in countries that sanction being queer and trans live lives that are often subversive, complex and absolutely worth living. There are also those who don’t function as openly queer people, but hope to be able to some day. LGBTQ+ progress means keeping queer people alive, especially in places where they have even more obstacles to overcome.

    Whenever I read new posts on Queering the Map, it becomes more and more clear that this was a war started by governments, and like all wars, the worst of the suffering is going to be absorbed by everyday people — including queer and trans Palestinians.

    It doesn’t seem like this conflict can have any real winners, and we can’t let our political stance get in the way of seeing the reality of others’ humanity. We can acknowledge the political issues of any country, but whenever we let go of our ability to see people as worthy of life, we are losing on a much deeper level.

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  • This Queer Chemistry Professor’s Teaching Technique Gets 10s Across The Board

    This Queer Chemistry Professor’s Teaching Technique Gets 10s Across The Board

    If you’ve ever stumbled upon a TikTok video of a chemist in a rainbow-hued lab coat voguing down a school hallway, please know that you’re witnessing the multiple talents of Andre Isaacs (better known as @drdre4000).

    In one of my favorite recent TikToks, he and two of his colleagues do a hand performance, duck walk and dip in lab coats to Azealia Banks’ “I Rule the World.”

    Isaacs, an associate professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, has been cuntifying all of our timelines — turning the sterile, whitewashed academic halls of his institution into a rainbow runway. The scholar, who came to the States for college after growing up in Jamaica, gets his colleagues and students involved too, and he has become a powerful advocate for the LGBTQ+ community on his campus.

    While queer joy for the masses is always worthy of celebration, Isaacs’ online persona is particularly noteworthy when we consider respectability politics. So many of us are expected to tone down our queerness at work and in other professional settings.

    “For many marginalized people in STEM, it can be a really toxic environment,” Isaacs says, using the abbreviation for science, technology, engineering and math. “And the heteronormative culture is so dominant and alienating for a lot of queer folks.”

    But most of us recognize by now that “professionalism” is a word very closely tied to cishet whiteness, and whenever we express ourselves fully, it can be seen as unseemly or even abrasive to others. For that reason, many of us learn to code-switch in certain academic and corporate settings that don’t allow us to cultivate the most authentic versions of ourselves.

    From his online presence, you can tell Isaacs is ready to disrupt all of that by balancing his scholarly performance and devotion to his students with active, visible queer joy every day.

    “There’s a part of me that always feels nervous posting, even now,” he says, acknowledging his large and supportive fan base. “I do have my own fears of being ostracized. But I always remember that I’m doing this for students who email me from high schools and colleges, and tell me that this is important to them.”

    Hiding parts of our identity can be damaging to our mental health — and probably decreases the quality of our work, too. One of the major reasons so many people get burned out is because they feel unsupported in the workplace. In fact, a recent study found that queer people, especially transgender people, who didn’t feel supported at work struggled with their mental health and were more likely to use drugs to cope.

    This discrepancy is even starker in STEM. One survey published in the journal Science Advances found that LGBTQ professionals in STEM were 27% more likely than their non-LGBTQ counterparts to have experienced minor health issues in the preceding year, and 41% more likely to have experienced insomnia. The study also found that queer people in STEM were more likely to feel socially excluded from their peers and devalued in their expertise.

    “I would love for young students to see STEM as a place where they can bring their unique talents and skills, and not be worried about how their identity will impact how they’re seen or prevent them from getting opportunities to pursue science,” Isaacs says. “And actually, showing up as who you are is critical to the advancement of STEM.”

    Isaacs is right. Scientific advancement is how we’re able to live longer, healthier lives. Twerking along the way makes that life worth living.

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  • We Need More Trans Sanctuary States Now

    We Need More Trans Sanctuary States Now

    Minnesota is about to follow in California’s quest to better protect transgender youth, which is a triumph against hundreds of anti-trans bills actively being considered across the country.

    A new bill, which will turn Minnesota into a sanctuary state for young trans people, passed the state House on Friday. and because the state is predominantly Democratic, full passage is likely. Here’s what that means and why it matters so much right now.

    If you’re unaware of the magnitude of the war on young trans people, Trans Legislation Tracker has reported over 487 bills seeking to police every aspect of a trans person’s existence, from the ability to change their pronouns in public schools to parents’ agency to support their children in accessing gender-affirming care.

    Minnesota’s trans refuge legislation, also known as HF 146, acknowledges that trans young people are under attack and deserve protection. The law will help make gender-affirming care safe and accessible to young people and their families who travel to the state. The legislation would also give state officials the power to reject conservative states’ extradition requests or other harmful punitive measures to thwart gender-affirming care provided in Minnesota.

    In addition to working to pass the bill, earlier this month, Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed an order to protect the health care access of Minnesotans who identify as LGBTQIA+.

    “Protecting and supporting access to gender-affirming health care is essential to being a welcoming and supportive state,” Walz said while signing the executive order. The state has a long history of championing queer rights dating back to the late ’60s.

    While Minnesota and California are the only states with trans sanctuary status right now, there’s a dire need for other states to create safe spaces for trans youth instead of passively watching conservatives fight to keep the nation’s future as white and cis-male-dominated as possible.

    To say we’re at a crossroads is an understatement. Although Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) ultimately vetoed it, a recent bill was introduced that would have effectively allowed students in that state to misgender transgender peers at school. In Nebraska, state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (D) effectively halted the legislature to keep an anti-trans bill — this time, a proposal to outlaw gender-affirming medical care for minors — from advancing. These bills won’t be the last attempts from conservatives who can’t seem to just let trans kids exist.

    And outside of attacks on trans youth, there are several other factors that leave them vulnerable. Last fall, Reuters released one of the first studies on young people receiving gender-affirming care, which found gender dysphoria diagnoses have nearly tripled since 2017. Gender dysphoria, defined as a sense of unease due to the mismatch in an individual’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth, can manifest as severe anxiety, depression and even suicide.

    Studies have also shown that nearly 60% of America’s youth are not receiving sufficient mental health care. The need for gender-affirming care of every kind is undeniable, and ensuring it on a state level is essential to improving the mental health of existing and future generations.

    A failure to protect young queer people is a failure to protect our future. And the establishment of trans sanctuary spaces means clarity on where we stand when it comes to protecting them. Here’s hoping that more states follow suit, soon.

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  • I Am Chinese And Transgender. Stop Trying To Push American Gender Norms On Me.

    I Am Chinese And Transgender. Stop Trying To Push American Gender Norms On Me.

    As a Chinese American woman who used to be the eldest son of a Chinese family, I was taught from a young age that sons carry the responsibility of continuing the family lineage. This patriarchal idea of family preservation is directly tied to the philosophy of Confucianism, one of the most influential Chinese schools of thought. Thankfully, my parents never put that type of pressure on me because they didn’t subscribe to gender roles as strongly as some of their peers.

    Sure, my mother took a while to start referring to me as her daughter. But three years later, in 2022, calling me her daughter in Chinese and using she/her pronouns in English comes naturally to her. Even today, though, I don’t care how she genders me as long as it implies that I’m her child. But white Americans and many second-generation Americans of color have given me a lot of unsolicited advise about how I should interact with my family and interpret my Chinese sensibilities when it comes to transgender discourse.

    Four years ago, I wrote an article about my coming-out experience with my mother. I discussed how I navigated my transgender and Chinese identity when talking with her. During the drafting process, the editor I was working with suggested that I gave my mother too much “leniency” when it came to my family acknowledging my new gender identity. I went along with it, but looking back, I realize that the article had one too many influences from American notions of transgender discourse than I would have liked.

    Today, when I share the article with white or assimilated transgender friends and acquaintances, I’m met with hostility — many are shocked and upset that I didn’t consider my mother to be transphobic, ignoring the fact that my mother now proudly calls me her daughter. People’s sentiments usually include comments such as “if they don’t immediately accept you, it’s transphobic.” I have tried explaining that for many Chinese families, being born a son carries weights predetermined upon birth, and these beliefs are intrinsic to the Chinese cultural experience. It’s deep-rooted, multifaceted and definitely not as black-and-white as “my mother is transphobic,” “my mother is an ally” or “Chinese culture is intrinsically transphobic.”

    That being said, I’m not defending patriarchal practices. I simply understand that cultural context affects the way people process a new gender identity. And while my mother has never said she misses her son or felt like she lost a son, I’m sure, deep down, a tiny sliver of that exists, and that’s OK with me. The relationship she has with my gender has never tempted me to discard the relationship or threaten to do so, as I feel the larger non-Chinese community would hope or suggest. There is no perfect mother-daughter relationship, and it’s not someone else’s place to tell me how I should feel about my mother.

    In recent months, I’ve begun reexamining the broader conversations I’ve had with my non-Chinese transgender friends about how my culture affects how I move through the world as a trans person. And I’ve grown increasingly exhausted with the implication that if I don’t adopt a white or “American” trans identity, I’m somehow living wrong.

    Whether we want to recognize it or not, in the American transgender community, whiteness is the default. But this doesn’t mean that white transness is the only way to be trans.

    In my world, Chinese acquaintances who occasionally misgender me by accident are not transphobic. Spoken Mandarin Chinese doesn’t have pronouns; “he” and “she” are both pronounced “tá,” but in written Chinese, “he” is written as 他 while “she” is written as 她, with the particle determining whether the character is meant for male or female individuals. For non-native English speakers, memorizing gendered pronouns (which exist in multiple Western languages, including French, English, and Spanish) can be challenging.

    While my mother has never said she misses her son or felt like she lost a son, I’m sure, deep down, a tiny sliver of that exists, and that’s OK with me.

    Yet another example is when I talk to white trans people about the concept of “passing” and how I feel more comfortable passing than being visibly transgender, they’re quick to label me as self-hating. What these individuals refuse to acknowledge, though, is that it’s hard enough being Asian in white professional and social spaces already; I don’t need my marginalized gender identity to be another obstacle to my moving through life as easily as possible.

    Ultimately, I have often felt pressured to disassociate myself from my Chinese community to be accepted by white trans people and trans people of color who want their trans identity to align with Western sensibilities. This isn’t in the true queer spirit of “being who you are” — it’s judgmental and ignorant.

    We need more nuanced conversations around intersectionality. One of my favorite examples to bring up is intersectional feminism in America. In a country that has women of all cultures, races and identities, how can we even remotely say that all our experiences of being femme are the same? How can a white woman say that she understands a Black woman’s day-to-day experiences, or how can an Asian woman say she understands an Indigenous woman’s full life experience?

    But just because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all method to practice feminism doesn’t mean we should force all women to adhere to one type of feminism out of convenience. And the same goes for transgender discourse. And until I see changes happen, white trans America is not for me.

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  • Forget The ‘Red Wave’ — This Wave Of Candidates Dominated The Midterms

    Forget The ‘Red Wave’ — This Wave Of Candidates Dominated The Midterms

    During the midterm elections, Democrats girded themselves against a potential “red wave” of Trump-supporting Republican candidates seeking elected office. Instead, a “rainbow wave” of mostly Democratic LGBTQ+ candidates lapped upon the shores of every level of government.

    Although previous rainbow waves brought milestone wins for LGBTQ+ candidates, this particular one marked the first time queer candidates were on the ballot in all 50 states, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee that works to increase the number of LGBTQ+ public officials in office. In addition, more than 350 LGBTQ+ people won their respective elections in midterm elections across state and federal legislatures as well as on school boards and city councils.

    The election was also a win for visibility and a staunch rebuke against campaigns supporting homophobic and transphobic legislation like the “Don’t Say Gay” state law in Florida. Once these newly elected leaders take the oath of office, they’ll be more likely to further in-depth discussions and support powerful legislation on the crucial issues that matter most to our communities. Here are a few that feel most pressing, and how having a queer person in office could shift the tide.

    Marriage Equality

    LGBTQ+ officials clearly need to stay at the forefront of the ongoing fight for marriage equality. Although same-sex marriage became legal across all 50 states in 2015, justices on today’s conservative-led Supreme Court have explicitly suggested they could and possibly should revisit same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry. To prevent this, LGBTQ+ officials need to push for the codification of marriage equality into federal law. In fact, a bipartisan group of senators have already reached an agreement on a revised bill that would protect marriage equality at the federal level. Today’s crop of local and state-level officials have the potential to hold political leaders accountable until the legislation has become law.

    “Our elected officials are what we need to make progress,” said Annise Parker, current president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, former mayor of Houston, Texas, and former fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. “We’re always going to depend on allies to achieve equality, but it matters that we’re in the room too and we can talk about our own lives and our own lived experience.”

    Abortion Rights

    Our newly elected officials will influence abortion rights at a critical moment. While most of these leaders are pro-choice, their motivation goes beyond a right to choose: It’s also about a right to privacy. Many LGBTQ+ people have supported bodily autonomy in relation to their sexual orientation and gender identity – and the fight to be themselves, in general.

    “[LGBTQ+ people] see it in a broader contract than a woman’s right to make this decision,” Parker said, citing a 2003 case where the Supreme Court ruled that criminal punishment for consensual sexual acts was unconstitutional. “The right to privacy is bigger than that. The Supreme Court knocked down sodomy statutes, next we should look at Griswold [v. Connecticut]. That’s why a vast majority of LGBT folks believe a right to privacy is crucial.”

    Climate Change

    Making a difference when it comes to climate change may depend more on officials at the city level. Given her experience as mayor of Texas, Parker sees LGBTQ+ officials at these levels of government as the key to making strides in climate protection. Since the Senate and House are often so gridlocked on climate change that there’s no legislation or fruitful discussions on the matter, it’s up to local branches of government — and the LGBTQ+ officials there — to do the heavy lifting that will have a cumulative, growing impact city by city.

    “Cities are actually at the vanguard on climate issues,” she said. “Legislatures pass bills on the energy mix in your state, but cities can take direct action.”

    What Will The Rainbow Wave Actually Get Done?

    A lot, hopefully. But LGBTQ+ elected officials will also need to contend with differences in their own political parties. In fact, George Santos is a gay Republican who ran and won his race in New York’s Third District against another gay candidate, Robert Zimmerman, becoming the first openly gay Republican elected to a first congressional term. Through all of the obstacles of the political landscape, the rainbow wave of LGBTQ+ officials will need to stay the course.

    “There are very few places where people can flip a seat and make a difference,” Parker said. “This is about being in a chamber and working long term to build the kind of trust where you can have professional conversations with people you disagree on serious issues.”

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  • Virgin Atlantic’s New Gender-Affirming Uniform Policy Could Change The Game

    Virgin Atlantic’s New Gender-Affirming Uniform Policy Could Change The Game

    Traveling can be complicated for anyone who doesn’t fall into society’s rigid norms. LGBTQ+ and trans people face discrimination right from the security gate, and don’t even get me started on what disabled folx go through to catch a flight. It appears that Virgin Atlantic is one of the airlines trying to address these issues.

    Last week, Virgin announced that it was changing its uniform and name badge policies for employees. Now other airlines are considering making their own changes. Call me an optimist, but I think these seemingly small shifts could revolutionize the way we get to experience travel.

    Back in April, Virgin gave us a sneak peek into how it was evolving when it released a commercial featuring disabled travelers, gender-nonconforming passengers, and, well, folx who just presented as gay. Many applauded Virgin for its inclusion then, and now the airline has taken it a step further with a new gender-flexible uniform policy unveiled in an announcement featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race star Michelle Visage.

    The airline’s new policy will permit employees to choose the uniform — designed by Vivienne Westwood, no less — that they feel best represents their gender. The company will also offer non-obligatory pronoun badges to airline staff and passengers, let employees show their tattoos, and make makeup optional for all genders. This is a massive upgrade to the archaic and discriminatory uniform policies of many airlines.

    “People feel empowered when they are wearing what best represents them, and this gender identity policy allows people to embrace who they are and bring their full selves to work,” Visage said in a statement about the uniform change.

    But it’s not just Virgin employees who will benefit. The employees of other, less progressive airlines who are hoping for change will see these chic getups, too. Hell, if the media explosion surrounding the uniforms continues, everyone who reads the news is going to see this red-hot Westwood situation. This level of representation really matters, particularly when schools and companies around the globe are grappling with how to create more gender-affirming dress code policies.

    A simple they/them pin may seem like no big deal to the cis-het crowd, but as a trans nonbinary person who regularly faces a sea of “ma’am” when I travel, I’m here to tell you that it’s huge. It is every kind of exhausting to deal with pronoun-challenged people when I’m just trying to make my gate. And the idea of seeing more people like me at the airport — people who aren’t trying to prove their bizarre allegiance to the gender binary — actually makes me want to go to the airport. Let’s be honest, who wants to go to an airport?

    Virgin’s announcement has not come without controversy. Of course, there are haters calling for boycotts of the company — that’s to be expected. But some former Virgin Atlantic employees aren’t thrilled, either. Jaianni Russo, a nonbinary person in Nottingham, U.K., alleged on Facebook that they were erased from the uniform campaign that they say was originally their idea. Neither Russo nor Virgin Atlantic have publicly commented, but honestly, it looks more like an unfortunate HR situation than a corporate conspiracy to dehumanize Russo to me.

    I, for one, am ready to be optimistic about the potential these kinds of changes have for the future. “I’m proud to be involved in this new announcement from Virgin Atlantic,” Visage wrote on Instagram. “Let’s change the world — one pressed, fabulous uniform at a time! The world is our runway!”

    Well, at least the airport is.

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