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  • ‘Demure’ content spotlights what viral trend can mean for creators

    ‘Demure’ content spotlights what viral trend can mean for creators

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    It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days.It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she’s wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful.Video above: Rossen Reports: TikTok made me buy it, but does it really work?In just weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy,” several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent student debt relief efforts.The skyrocketing fame of Lebron’s “very mindful, very demure” influence also holds significance for the TikToker herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a post last week that she’s now able to finance the rest of her transition.”One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break. And now, I’m flying across country to host events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.She’s not alone. Over recent years, a handful of online creators have found meaningful income after gaining social media fame — but it’s still incredibly rare and no easy feat.Here’s what some experts say.How can TikTok fame lead to meaningful sources of income?There is no one recipe.Finding resources to work as a creator full-time “is not as rare as it would have been years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, vice president of global partnerships at marketing collaboration company Partnerize. But you still have to make content that meets the moment — and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to monetize.On TikTok, most users who are making money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those granted admission into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace — the platform’s space for brand and creator collaborations — can “earn a kickback from views from TikTok expressly,” although that doesn’t typically pay very well.Other avenues for monetization include more direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain following threshold. A lot of it also boils down to work outside of the platform.And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms — particularly amid a potential ban of the ByteDance-owned app in the U.S., which is currently in a legal battle. Duffy notes that many are working on developing this wider online presence so they can “still have a financial lifeline” in case any revenue stream goes away.Is it difficult to sustain?Gaining traction in the macrocosm that is the internet is difficult as is — and while some have both tapped into trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that allow them to quit their nine-to-five, it still takes a lot of work to keep it going.”These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s kind of widely hyped as a dream job … But I see this as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”Duffy, who has been studying social media content creation for a decade, says that she’s heard from creators who have had months where they’re reaping tremendous sums of money from various sources of income — but then also months with nothing. “It’s akin to a gig economy job because of the lack of stability,” she explained.”The majority of creators aren’t full-time,” Eric Dahan, the CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy, added.Burnout is also very common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to pull content from your life, Duffy said, and the pressure of maintaining brand relationships or the potential of losing viewers if you take a break can be a lot. Ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment also persist.Is the landscape changing?Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving.Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are aiming not only to court users, but to bring aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.Companies are doubling down “to meet consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but — for now — it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, pointing to the platform’s persisting dominance in the market.And for aspiring creators hoping to strike it big, Dahan’s advice is just to start somewhere. As Lebron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.” AP technology writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.

    NEW YORK —

    It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days.

    It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she’s wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful.

    Video above: Rossen Reports: TikTok made me buy it, but does it really work?

    In just weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy,” several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent student debt relief efforts.

    The skyrocketing fame of Lebron’s “very mindful, very demure” influence also holds significance for the TikToker herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a post last week that she’s now able to finance the rest of her transition.

    “One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break. And now, I’m flying across country to host events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.

    She’s not alone. Over recent years, a handful of online creators have found meaningful income after gaining social media fame — but it’s still incredibly rare and no easy feat.

    Here’s what some experts say.

    How can TikTok fame lead to meaningful sources of income?

    There is no one recipe.

    Finding resources to work as a creator full-time “is not as rare as it would have been years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, vice president of global partnerships at marketing collaboration company Partnerize. But you still have to make content that meets the moment — and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to monetize.

    On TikTok, most users who are making money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those granted admission into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace — the platform’s space for brand and creator collaborations — can “earn a kickback from views from TikTok expressly,” although that doesn’t typically pay very well.

    Other avenues for monetization include more direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain following threshold. A lot of it also boils down to work outside of the platform.

    And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms — particularly amid a potential ban of the ByteDance-owned app in the U.S., which is currently in a legal battle. Duffy notes that many are working on developing this wider online presence so they can “still have a financial lifeline” in case any revenue stream goes away.

    Is it difficult to sustain?

    Gaining traction in the macrocosm that is the internet is difficult as is — and while some have both tapped into trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that allow them to quit their nine-to-five, it still takes a lot of work to keep it going.

    “These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s kind of widely hyped as a dream job … But I see this as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”

    Duffy, who has been studying social media content creation for a decade, says that she’s heard from creators who have had months where they’re reaping tremendous sums of money from various sources of income — but then also months with nothing. “It’s akin to a gig economy job because of the lack of stability,” she explained.

    “The majority of creators aren’t full-time,” Eric Dahan, the CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy, added.

    Burnout is also very common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to pull content from your life, Duffy said, and the pressure of maintaining brand relationships or the potential of losing viewers if you take a break can be a lot. Ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment also persist.

    Is the landscape changing?

    Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving.

    Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are aiming not only to court users, but to bring aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.

    Companies are doubling down “to meet consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but — for now — it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, pointing to the platform’s persisting dominance in the market.

    And for aspiring creators hoping to strike it big, Dahan’s advice is just to start somewhere. As Lebron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.”

    AP technology writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.

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  • Tim Walz was a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, long before it was common

    Tim Walz was a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, long before it was common

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    In a video intended to help introduce vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to a national audience ahead of his Democratic National Convention speech Wednesday night, a handful of students from his years as a high school teacher sang his praises.

    One called him “jovial,” another “engaging,” another a “big part” of the local community.

    For Jacob Reitan, Walz was the teacher who had his back against bullies during one of the most difficult chapters of his teenage life, when he came out as gay just before his senior year of high school a quarter-century ago, in 1999.

    “When I decided to come out as gay, we started the Gay Straight Alliance,” said Reitan, now a 42-year-old lawyer. “Tim Walz was the faculty advisor.”

    The decision by Democrats — and the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris — to include Reitan and other references to Walz’s staunch support for LGBTQ+ rights was in some ways an obvious one. Queer voters number in the millions, and a politician having a decades-long record of support would be seen by many of them — and many other liberals — as a positive thing.

    Still, the decision was a defiant one, too — a doubling-down on the Democratic ticket’s queer allyship at a time when Republicans are pushing an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, hammering Walz on his legislative record supporting queer rights, and suggesting he is too progressive for the average American voter.

    In one characteristic barb, former President Trump recently criticized Walz as being “very heavy into transgender.”

    In interviews with The Times, LGBTQ+ former students of Walz said his support embodies his simple commitment to fairness and kindness, and against bullying and injustice.

    When Walz took the DNC stage Wednesday night, he struck many similar notes.

    “That family down the road — they may not think like you do, they may not pray like you do, they may not love like you do, but they’re your neighbors, and you look out for them and they look out for you,” Walz said. “Everybody belongs.”

    Reitan said in an interview that Walz and his wife, Gwen — also a popular teacher at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minn. — had been flagged to him as LGBTQ+ allies when he was a younger student. He had Gwen Walz as an English teacher and recalled her telling him and his classmates on the first day of instruction that her classroom was a “safe space” for gay students.

    Later, Reitan was being bullied at school and decided to form the Gay Straight Alliance, not just for him but for future LGBTQ+ students at the school. The principal recommended Walz as the faculty advisor, and Reitan said he immediately recognized the significance of having the backing of the school’s football coach. Gwen Walz’s support also was invaluable.

    “The concept of Tim being the advisor was a product of both their support, but also the optics of it,” Reitan said.

    That the Walzes were willing to step up as they did — especially at “a different time for gay people that was not easy” — showed “the character that they have as individuals,” Reitan said.

    “They were a gift to the students at West High School. They’ve been a gift to the state of Minnesota,” he said. “And I’m thrilled that the nation is getting the chance to know them both.”

    Since picking Walz as her running mate, Harris has seemed happy to highlight his queer-friendly past, and his advising of the Gay Straight Alliance.

    “At a time when acceptance was difficult to find for LGBTQ students, Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved,” Harris said at one campaign rally, to raucous applause. “And as students have said, he made the school a safe place for everybody.”

    In her own video Wednesday night, Gwen Walz talked about her husband teaching for 15 years, helping lead the school’s football team to a state championship, and teaching students “that we’re all in this together.”

    She said that he agreed to be the Gay Straight Alliance advisor “because he knew how impactful it would be to have a football coach involved,” and that he “inspired his students” and “changed lives.”

    After Walz was elected to Congress in 2006, he continued his LGBTQ+ allyship — supporting the right to same-sex marriage, which wasn’t affirmed nationally until a Supreme Court ruling in 2015, and calling for the repeal of the federal “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which forced gay and lesbian service members to hide their sexuality or face removal from the U.S. military.

    Walz continued to support queer rights as governor. He signed an executive order protecting transgender people’s access to gender-affirming healthcare in Minnesota. He also signed two significant laws: One bans debunked conversion therapy practices aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity; the other protects transgender people and their families from out-of-state subpoenas, arrest warrants and extradition requests related to their receiving gender-affirming care in Minnesota.

    At a California delegation breakfast at the DNC on Wednesday, Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang praised Walz as “a person who has been there for LGBTQ youth since the ‘90s,” and said he and Harris deserve LGBTQ+ people’s votes.

    Seth Elliott Meyer, 38, who is queer, is another former student of Walz. By the time he got to Mankato West, his sister and brother had already had Walz as a teacher and coach, and he’d heard all about how great Walz was. But he wasn’t sold.

    “I’d heard his reputation as a hunter and a coach and a social studies teacher, and I thought, wow, that doesn’t sound like my kind of guy at all,” Meyer said in an interview, with a laugh. As “a combative, punk rock 14-year-old,” hunting and football just weren’t his things.

    It wasn’t until Meyer had Walz as his history teacher his junior year, in 2002 and 2003, that he realized what all the hype was about, he said — when Walz “won me over with his rampant niceness and fairness.”

    “He was one of those teachers who wanted to make everyone feel included and involved and valid,” Meyer said.

    Meyer tries to remember those lessons today, he said, including when he’s advising his own students at the Atlanta school where he now teaches — and serves as the Gay Straight Alliance advisor.

    Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

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    Kevin Rector

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  • Putting the G in LGBTQ: Meet The ‘Mayor Of Montrose’

    Putting the G in LGBTQ: Meet The ‘Mayor Of Montrose’

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    June is the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, often regarded as the tipping point in the modern gay rights movement and earning its recognition as Pride Month. Houston Press met with members of the LGBTQ community to learn more about their experiences belonging to this group. These are their stories.

    At 78 years young, openly gay Houstonian Dennis Beedon has been there, seen that and lived to tell the tale. The septuagenarian has been one of the key behind-the-scenes players with some of the most influential movers and shakers in Houston in an effort to benefit the LGBTQ community as well as Houstonians writ large.

    While he may not have been born in Texas, Beedon got here as soon as he could (after growing up in Chicago, serving a stint in the U.S. Army, and living in Puerto Rico and Florida), and he picked up the moniker as the “Mayor of Montrose” amongst his inner circle because of his status in the neighborhood – or “gayborhood,” as he might call it.

    How he earned that title is really where the story begins, and living his truth, especially when it comes to his sexuality, has been a tenet that he has never shied away from.

    “I was out to everybody, including my family and friends, since I was relatively young, give or take my military career,” he said. “I knew that I was gay during the military because I had a boyfriend when I was in the army, but I never never had any issues with anything LGBTQ during my time. My mind and openness really set in place when I moved to Houston, though, and that is because I lived in Montrose. I was exposed to everything and everybody during that period of time, both positive and negative in the sense of how Montrose was back in 1979 to 1981. I mean, it was pretty decadent.”

    Montrose — known nowadays for its eclectic cafes, coffee shops, bars, nightlife, restaurants and the rest — holds a rich history of being a safe haven for Houston’s LGBTQ community when the times were more or less as less pleasant for the queer community. It was also a place where the queer community felt free to live their life proudly, no matter how demure or flashy it might have appeared to outside eyes.

    The small in stature but mighty in voice Beedon followed suite. He did not let the fickle finger of popular opinion about the queer community sway him during his new beginnings in Houston. In fact, it’s where he found his passion for community involvement.

    That was also shortly before the outbreak of what is now known as HIV/AIDS, which galvanized Beedon’s determination to make a difference. He left his job in the insurance industry and answered the calling to community service.

    “I went to work for what was then still being put together, The Assistance Fund, [which consisted of] five gentlemen who were donating $500 a month each into a general fund,” Beedon said. “Because HIV was becoming so widely known as well as the issues created from it, those that were stricken with that illness were being fired from work. These five gentlemen were making $500 donations each month in into a general fund, and then they were paying for the COBRA insurance for those that were fired from their positions because of HIV just to keep their medical insurance covered.”

    Part of his passion for battling the spread and stigma of HIV/AIDS stemmed from his own personal experience. Beedon had witnessed the public shock of Rock Hudson’s death as well as the uproar over the game of musical chairs played by various funeral homes regarding Liberace’s body — both of whom passed away due to complications from the virus.

    However, over the course of his years, Beedon has seen healthcare progress to the point that an HIV diagnosis is no longer the death knell it formerly was. Instead, people are now living full and healthy lives thanks to breakthroughs in medication partnered with a healthy lifestyle.

    “It’s progressively gotten much, much, much better, in fact, to the point I was [in a relationship] with somebody for my first 21 years of living in Houston who was stricken with HIV.”

    Because of his involvement through various initiatives to promote awareness of and testing for HIV, which largely took place in the Montrose neighborhood, Beedon earned his now unforgettable nickname as the “Mayor of Montrose.”

    “In the clubs, I would run into people who would visit me at The Assistance Fund. Automatically, the connection was quite obvious of why they were at The Assistance Fund … it’s because they were looking for testing and for dollars to get medication. So they would approach me at the clubs and pull me to the side, and they would say, ‘I have a friend. Would you please talk to him or her, because they won’t go to a clinic to get tested.’” he said. “So, I would approach whomever they were talking about, counsel them and bring them into The Assistance Fund.”

    Because of his motherly nature, he earned the additional nickname “Mother of Montrose.” To examine the initials, it fittingly spells “mom.” But it’s also because he was well connected to local dignitaries.

    “They called me the Mayor of Montrose, or mom, because I was getting things done for them. I actually could go downtown and see the mayor of Houston, whoever that was at the time, and get some things done rather quickly,” he said.

    Since then, the name has stuck, as has his involvement in LGBTQ causes. One of his most recent endeavors is volunteering with the New Faces of Pride. The organization’s mission is to foster unity, inclusivity and empowerment within the diverse LGBTQ+ community of Houston through year-round events and fundraising initiatives.

    It’s signature event will be the New Faces of Pride Festival and Parade, with the festival running from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday followed by a parade at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 901 Bagby. Planet Pink!, the official after party, takes place at POST Houston, 401 Franklin until 2 a.m.

    The New Faces of Pride’s inaugural parade is the first of two pride-related parades this month, which has been a topic of conversation in the LGBTQ community, but Beedon says it is all good.

    “The New Faces of Pride has been very well received,” he said. “It’s a community thing, and that’s the focus.”

    As he slowly approaches 80, Beedon has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

    “I’ve been able to do a few good things in people’s lives, and that makes me want to get up every day and keep going. I really am not going to retire, no matter what,” he said.

    The New Faces of Pride Festival runs from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday followed by a parade at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 901 Bagby. Planet Pink!, the official after party, takes place 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. at POST Houston, 401 Franklin. For information, visit newfacesofpride.org. The festival is free to $250 to attend. The parade is free. Planet Pink! is $25 – $60.

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    Sam Byrd

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  • Judge temporarily blocks expanded Title IX LGBTQ student protections in 4 states

    Judge temporarily blocks expanded Title IX LGBTQ student protections in 4 states

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    The Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students has been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge in Louisiana found that it overstepped the Education Department’s authority.

    In a preliminary injunction granted Thursday, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty called the new rule an “abuse of power” and a “threat to democracy.” His order blocks the rule in Louisiana, which filed a challenge to the rule in April, and in Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, which joined the suit.

    The Education Department did not immediately respond to the order.

    The Louisiana case is among at least seven backed by more than 20 Republican-led states fighting Biden’s rule. The rule, set to take hold in August, expands Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students, expands the definition of sexual harassment at schools and colleges, and adds safeguards for victims.

    Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, is the first judge to block the rule. It deals a major blow to the new protections, which were praised by civil rights advocates but drew backlash from opponents who say they undermine the spirit of Title IX, a 1972 law barring sex discrimination in education.

    Louisiana is among several Republican states with laws requiring people to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their sex assigned at birth, restricting transgender students from using facilities that align with their gender identity. President Biden’s rule clashes with those laws and claimed to supersede them.

    The Louisiana lawsuit argued that the new rule would force schools across the four states to pay millions of dollars to update their facilities. In his decision, the judge called it an “invasion of state sovereignty” and concluded that the states were likely to succeed on the merits of the case.

    His order says the rule likely violates free speech laws by requiring schools to use pronouns requested by students. It also questions whether the Biden administration has legal authority to expand Title IX to LGBTQ+ students.

    “The Court finds that the term ‘sex discrimination’ only included discrimination against biological males and females at the time of enactment,” Doughty wrote in his order.

    The judge expressed concern that the rule could require schools to allow transgender women and girls to compete on female sports teams. Several Republican states have laws forbidding transgender girls from competing on girls teams.

    The Biden administration has proposed a separate rule that would forbid such blanket bans, but it said the newly finalized rule does not apply to athletics. Still, Doughty said it could be interpreted to apply to sports.

    “The Final Rule applies to sex discrimination in any educational ‘program’ or ‘activity’ receiving Federal financial assistance,” he wrote. “The terms ‘program’ or ‘activity’ are not defined but could feasibly include sports teams for recipient schools.”

    Judges in at least six other cases are weighing whether to put a similar hold on Biden’s rule. The Defense of Freedom Institute, a right-leaning nonprofit that backed the Louisiana lawsuit, applauded Doughty’s order.

    “We are confident that other courts and states will soon follow,” said Bob Eitel, president of the nonprofit and a Trump administration education official.

    Biden issued the new rule after dismantling another one created by Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos. That rule narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and added protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.

    On social media Thursday, DeVos called the Louisiana decision a victory, saying Biden’s “anti-woman radical rewrite of Title IX is not just crazy but it’s also illegal.”

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  • School Officials Are Reviving An Old Weapon In The War Against LGBTQ Kids — And It’s Working

    School Officials Are Reviving An Old Weapon In The War Against LGBTQ Kids — And It’s Working

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    Schools across the country have denied students entry to prom, graduation ceremonies and other school activities because of dress code policies that advocates say disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ students and girls.

    In May, 16-year-old Florida junior Sophie Savidge told NBC News that she wasn’t allowed to go to prom because she wore a suit. In a statement at the time, the school pointed to its online guide to attire, which stipulates that “ladies” are required to wear dresses and “one piece attire only” to formal events.

    A transgender student in Alabama reportedly wasn’t allowed to go to her senior prom in April because she wore a dress. The school’s student handbook said that it was up to administrators to “deem appropriate clothing or appearance,” according to AL.com.

    And the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi filed a federal complaint with the Department of Education against Harrison County School District for barring a transgender girl from wearing a dress to her regional band concert this spring. The complaint detailed a two-year pattern of the district punishing girls — transgender and cisgender alike — for violating dress codes requiring students to dress in clothes that are “consistent with their biological sex.”

    The school district added the provision of “biological sex” to its dress code after LGBTQ+ students complained that they couldn’t wear clothes that expressed their gender identity, said Liz Davis, a fellow at the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project.

    School administrators have long used dress codes to enforce a rigid gender binary and uphold different standards based on assigned sex. This year, there has been a renewed effort in school districts across GOP-led states to enforce policies that are more explicitly restrictive to queer, trans and gender nonconforming students, as a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country.

    “Requiring students to dress according to their biological sex —even if it seems to be neutral as a rule, and it’s not calling out any particular student — has a disproportionate impact on gender nonconforming, nonbinary and transgender students because it is tying gender expression to their sex assigned at birth, essentially,” Davis said.

    Students who are targeted over dress code infractions can lose out on class time or face punishments like suspension, and may face emotional distress from being pulled from class and told to change, she said.

    Sex-based dress codes often force boys to wear pants and girls to wear skirts or dresses of a certain length. Advocates say these rules push rigid gender stereotypes and outdated, misogynistic ideas of how girls should dress in the presence of boys. And they leave no room for less traditional gender expression.

    School dress codes that rely so heavily on “biological sex” are reminiscent of anti-LGBTQ bills and policies across the country.

    “The district’s discriminatory dress code policies and enforcement are part of a wider sex-based hostile environment, which has impacted our clients and other students,” Davis said, referring to the complaint in Mississippi.

    Policies that purport to bring “clarity” to sex discrimination laws by codifying definitions of “male” and “female” in order to exclude trans people from those categories often use exceedingly specific language that also fails to account for intersex people. The language embedded in these policies, often called “Women’s Bill of Rights” bills, was first proposed by Independent Women’s Voice, a conservative organization that has argued it’s necessary to protect women-only spaces and activities from trans people’s inclusion.

    So far this year, at least 10 states have introduced or passed similarly worded legislation to narrowly define “biological sex” based on a person’s reproductive capacity or chromosomes. Oklahoma’s governor just signed the state’s own version of a Women’s Bill of Rights into law on Monday. Last year Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko (R) introduced a Women’s Bill of Rights resolution to Congress, though it’s made no progress since.

    Some state-level legislation now includes definitions of sex that explicitly bar trans people from updating their drivers licenses or state IDs, which makes it harder to vote, travel, and exist in public life.

    Advocates say that an emphasis on “biological sex” has negative ramifications for all people, including cisgender women, because it encourages people to police one another’s gender — including kids. People have harassed child athletes who they suspect are transgender, and one state official in Utah came under fire for falsely suggesting that a student was transgender because of how she looked.

    Sex and gender researchers previously told HuffPost that binary definitions of sex do not reflect how scientists currently understand human sex, which is determined by a variety of biological phenomena including hormones, genitals and otter secondary sex characteristics.

    As more and more anti-LGBTQ legislation specifies how LGBTQ+ students can — and cannot — express themselves and participate in school activities, Davis said she would not be surprised if we see more schools across the country adopt policies that have explicit “biological sex provisions.”

    Those kinds of provisions are likely to violate Title IX, a 1972 federal law which protects against discrimination on the basis of sex in public schools and colleges, Davis said.

    The Biden administration released long-awaited final guidance for Title IX this spring, expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Since then, more than a dozen red states have sued the Department of Education and vowed to not comply with this updated interpretation.

    Many protections for LGBTQ students now hang in the balance. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has vowed to overturn Title IX and restrict Title VII, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, on day one.

    “The country has to decide. Do we want to live in a place that looks like some of the most regressive politics in the states where right wing elected officials have control over everything: the way you dress, how you identify, the name and pronoun you use, what bathroom you’re able to access?” Brandon Wolf, the press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, told HuffPost earlier this spring. “Or do we want to live in a country … where we have the freedom to be ourselves, we have the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies?”

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  • Conroe ISD Trustees Table Discussions About A Potentially Copycat Gender Identity Policy

    Conroe ISD Trustees Table Discussions About A Potentially Copycat Gender Identity Policy

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    At Tuesday’s board meeting, Conroe ISD trustees declined to consider drafting a policy that would resemble a controversial gender identity measure in Katy ISD that is undergoing federal investigation.

    Trustee Misty Odenweller proposed that the board write its version of this policy to dictate what bathroom facilities students could use. Notably, not allowing LGBTQ+ students to use restrooms that align with their gender identity.

    Taking a page out of Katy ISD’s playbook, Odenweller added that she wanted the measure to implement the requirement that parents be notified if their children ask to go by new or different pronouns and determine whether teachers could opt not to use a student’s requested pronouns.

    After several minutes of discussion, board president Skeeter Hubert questioned why the board could not hold off on the matter until the pending federal investigation into Katy ISD’s policy reached a resolution.

    “This particular item is under investigation. I think that our district does a fantastic job with addressing this on a case-by-case scenario,” Hubert said. “I don’t know that we need to entertain a policy or procedure that’s going to, as [Trustee] Datren Williams was saying, alienate a group of people.”

    Sumya Paruchuri, a junior at The Woodlands High School who identifies as gender-nonconforming, joined the roughly dozen public speakers voicing their opposition to the policy on Tuesday evening.

    “The policy that the board would like to pass under the guise of student welfare puts an end to any sense of a safe environment for many students like myself,” Paruchuri said. “[It] would be subjecting an already at-risk population to potential abuse, abandonment and detrimental mental health effects.”

    “You can – don’t – care about a word that I said, but you should care about what the government has to say,” Paruchuri added. “This policy violates multiple federal laws under several branches of the government. Students’ lives, our lives — my life — are not policies played in a political chess game.”

    click to enlarge

    Sumya Paruchuri said they couldn’t imagine how students who’d be outed against their will would feel.

    Photo by Faith Bugenhagen

    Paruchuri noted that within the past year, 46 percent of trans and nonbinary youth reported seriously considering or attempting suicide — more than double the 22 percent reported by all youth.

    Ben Miftode, a fellow CISD student, broke down in tears before the board when reflecting on their coming out experience, “I’m not standing here, asking you to move mountains or stand up and fight for something you may not understand.”

    “I’m simply asking, are you an adult I can trust?” Miftode said.

    In a separate conversation with the Houston Press, Paruchuri said several of their friends wanted to speak on the possible policy. When they learned the meeting would be livestreamed online, they chose not to because they feared their parents would view their public comments.

    “I don’t think people who are advocating for the policy really understand its effects,” Paruchuri added. “Passing policies like this sets a standard of what’s okay and what’s not okay.”

    A handful of attendees — mostly wearing red — were in favor of the board drafting a policy saying it would prevent children from using different pronouns secretly and protect them from what they referred to as the indoctrination of transgender ideology.

    “Y’all are at a junction, a Pandora’s Box, okay? This doesn’t stop with a few kids deciding to be transgender. It will go into sports,” Kendrick said. “My niece had a girl in her high school who wanted to be a cat. Well, they had to put a litter box in the female bathroom. This is at the door. Remain strong CISD board.”

    The crowd of those against the policy erupted after Kendrick’s comments. Several muttered, “That did not happen,” and shook their heads or rolled their eyes in response to Kendrick’s claim.

    click to enlarge

    Alex Harris, one of the registered public speakers, carried a sign in support of such a policy.

    Photo by Faith Bugenhagen

    While discussing what prompted Odenweller to request that a policy be drafted, Trustee Stacey Chase requested specific examples of issues or incidents the district faced that such a measure would manage.

    Trustee Melissa Dungan said an instructor at one elementary school handed out a third type of bathroom pass labeled “other,” and one teacher had high school students fill out a questionnaire that allowed them to select which pronouns they identified with.

    Dungan also pointed out that a handful of instructors had signature blocks with pronouns other than he or she listed. Chase said that if an administrator handled the situation in every instance and it was resolved — as Dungan indicated — she didn’t see the problem.

    “We don’t just make a point to make a point. It’s not worth anyone’s time to create things just to create things,” Chase said. “We don’t have to have a crystal ball to see where this leads. We can look right across the street to Katy ISD and see where it led them.”

    Williams echoed Chase’s sentiment, describing the type of policy Odenweller wanted drafted as taking a “bully-like approach.”

    “First of all, we need to stop beating around the bush. We keep picking on the same group of folks, right?” Williams said. “Our expectation here is not to help students. It’s to hurt them. That’s not — I’m actually flabbergasted we’re having this discussion right now.”

    Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a student advocacy group, filed the initial complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against Katy ISD’s policy, stating that implementing the measure discriminates against students and goes against Title IX protections.

    According to reports, staff have outed over 19 Katy ISD students since the district enacted the policy. The office opened an investigation into the matter last week.

    Before Tuesday’s meeting, the student advocacy organization and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sent a letter to Conroe ISD’s board and superintendent, Dr. Curtis Null.

    The letter warned the district that passing the copycat policy would violate federal law and open the district up to face legal complaints or federal investigation. It urged trustees to reject the measure and indicated that a school board’s policies cannot reject or supersede federal law.

    The organizations pointed out that Title IX’s nondiscrimination mandate protects LGBTQ+ students and called the district out for the harm that restricting bathroom usage that corresponds with a student’s gender identity, rejecting the usage of a student’s requested pronouns and cutting out LGBTQ+ content from books and instruction would cause.

    In a conversation with the Houston Press, Chloe Kempf, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said the organization was heartened by the board’s tabling of discussion about a potential policy. 

    “The policy itself would’ve been really disastrous for LGBTQ+ students in the district,” Kempf said. “Not only would a policy like that be unlawful, but it would cause a lot of harm and open up the doors to a lot of bullying and harassment against Conroe ISD students.”

    “Even discussing having that policy on the table can be harmful,” she added. “It sends a message to students that the most powerful people in their school district — or at least some of them — believe that they should not be welcomed in the district or that there’s something shameful about their identity.”

    According to Kempf, similar policies popping up in other districts are part of a broader campaign by Texas politicians at every level, from school boards up to the statehouse, to try to exclude transgender and nonbinary people from public life.

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    Faith Bugenhagen

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  • Gov. Greg Abbott Says Texas Education Agency Will Ignore Title IX Revisions

    Gov. Greg Abbott Says Texas Education Agency Will Ignore Title IX Revisions

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    Dear HuffPost Reader

    Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

    The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

    Dear HuffPost Reader

    Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

    The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

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  • A Short Film About a Texas Trans Family Debuts in Denton

    A Short Film About a Texas Trans Family Debuts in Denton

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    One scene in Love to the Max perfectly captures the bizarre double existence of families with transgender children in Texas. While visiting a bookstore event showcasing children’s books with LGBT themes, the Briggle family of Denton is smiling, engaged, quiet, happy…

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    Jef Rouner

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  • Arizona Republicans respond to Hobbs veto by attacking trans people

    Arizona Republicans respond to Hobbs veto by attacking trans people

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    A slew of Republican bills, including those that allowed discrimination against transgender people and gave public school teachers a green light to post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms, were vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday. Hobbs, who has made it clear that she’ll use her veto power on any bills that don’t have bipartisan support — and especially ones that discriminate against tLGBTQ+ people — vetoed 13 bills, bringing her count for this year to 42…

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    Caitlin Sievers | Arizona Mirror

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  • Some families left in limbo after Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors allowed to take effect

    Some families left in limbo after Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors allowed to take effect

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    Forced to hide her true self, Joe Horras’ transgender daughter struggled with depression and anxiety until three years ago, when she began to take medication to block the onset of puberty. The gender-affirming treatment helped the now-16-year-old find happiness again, her father said.

    A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court late Monday allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on such care for minors could jeopardize her wellbeing once again. Horras is scrambling to figure out next steps and is considering leaving Idaho, where he’s lived his whole life, to move to another state.

    “It would be devastating for her,” Horras, who lives in Boise, told The Associated Press. “If she doesn’t have access to that, it will damage her mental health.”

    Horras is among the Idaho parents desperate to find solutions after their trans children lost access to the gender-affirming care they were receiving. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allows the state to put in place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. A federal judge in Idaho had previously blocked the law in its entirety.

    What was in the Supreme Court’s decision   

    The ruling will hold while lawsuits against the law proceed through the lower courts, although the two transgender teens who sued to challenge the law will still be able to obtain care.

    At least 24 states have adopted bans on gender-affirming care for minors in recent years, and most of them face legal challenges. Twenty other states are currently enforcing the bans.

    Monday’s ruling was the first time the U.S. Supreme Court waded into the issue. The court’s 6-3 ruling steered clear of whether the ban itself is constitutional. Instead, the justices went deep into whether it’s appropriate to put enforcement of a law on hold for everyone, or just those who sue over it, while it works its way through the courts.

    In his concurring opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch said “lower courts would be wise to take heed” and limit use of “universal injunctions” blocking all enforcement of laws that face legal challenges. In a dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court should not decide the fate of those actions without reading legal briefs and hearing arguments on the issue.

    What the ruling could mean for transgender youth in Idaho

    Rights groups in Idaho are supporting families to make sure they’re aware the measure has taken effect. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho said it plans to hold a virtual event over Zoom with licensed counselors and legal experts to help people process the shock and answer any questions they may have about the law.

    “Yesterday was really just an outpouring of fear, questions, people trying to figure out how this is going to affect them personally,” said Jenna Damron, the group’s advocacy fellow. “Getting information out quickly that is accurate is kind of our first priority.”

    Paul Southwick, legal director for ACLU of Idaho, said the group wants families to know what their options are.

    “Gender-affirming medical care is now immediately illegal for minors in the state of Idaho. However, care remains legal for adults, and it’s also legal for minors to seek gender-affirming medical care out of state,” he said.

    In Boise, Horras’ 16-year-old daughter wears an estrogen patch and receives estrogen injections every six months. Her last shot was in December and Horras now has two months to find a new out-of-state provider who can continue administering the medication. The situation has left him feeling scared, he said, and angry toward the state politicians who passed the law last year.

    “It’s cruel,” he said.

    Advocates, meanwhile, worry that lower-income families won’t be able to afford to travel across state lines for care. Arya Shae Walker, a transgender man and activist in the small city of Twin Falls in rural southern Idaho, said he was concerned that people would alter the doses of their current prescriptions in order to make them last longer. His advocacy group has already taken down information on its website on gender-affirming care providers for young people in the area out of concern of potential legal consequences.

    The broader issue of bans on gender-affirming care for minors could eventually be before the U.S. Supreme Court again. Last year, a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in Arkansas was shot down by a federal judge, while those in Kentucky and Tennessee were allowed to be enforced by an appeals court after being put on hold by lower-court judges. Montana’s law is not being enforced because of a ruling from a state judge.

    Laws barring transgender youth from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity are also being challenged across the country. An appeals court on Tuesday ruled that West Virginia’s transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools. Hours later, an Ohio law that bars transgender girls from girls scholastic sports competitions was put on hold by a judge. Set to take effect next week, the law also bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

    Those who support the bans say they want to protect children and have concerns about the treatments themselves.

    Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. However, England is limiting the ability of people younger than 16 to begin a medical gender transition.

    The National Health Service England recently cemented a policy first issued on an interim basis almost a year ago that sets a minimum age at which puberty blockers can be started, along with other requirements. NHS England says there is not enough evidence about their long-term effects, including “sexual, cognitive or broader developmental outcomes.”

    Medical professionals define gender dysphoria as psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity. Experts say gender-affirming therapy can lead to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among transgender people.

    Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, executive director of Idaho-based advocacy group Add The Words, said she’s anticipating “a pretty horrendous ripple effect.” But seeing her community uniting in support has given her a glimmer of hope.

    “There are people coming together, and it’s so important, for especially our youth, to feel seen and affirmed as they are,” she said.

    Southwick, the legal director of ACLU of Idaho, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hold a hearing this summer on its lawsuit challenging the law.

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  • Bomb threats reported at Planet Fitness locations in Northern Va. amid transgender controversy – WTOP News

    Bomb threats reported at Planet Fitness locations in Northern Va. amid transgender controversy – WTOP News

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    These threats come amid criticism of the gym brand for its enforcement of a gender identity non-discrimination policy after a woman complained about the business in March. 

    Virginia officials spent a portion of Saturday evening evacuating Planet Fitness locations in the City of Alexandria and Prince William County as the business continues to navigate responses to transgender-inclusive restroom policies.

    Alexandria police said they were investigating a bomb threat and had evacuated a Planet Fitness location in the 4000 block of Kenmore Avenue before 7:30 p.m.

    “Officers have cleared the area as necessary during the search of the area,” the department said. So far, no injuries, damage or devices have been reported.

    Officials in Prince William County responded to bomb threats at two locations — one located at Richmond Highway and another along Galveston Court — after 6 p.m. Saturday, according to a statement to WTOP.

    A spokesperson said that the locations were searched and that no suspicious items were found. So far, police investigating both incidents have not shared details of the reported bomb threat with the public.

    An investigation into the incidents is ongoing.

    Controversy for ‘Judgement Free’ gym

    These threats come amid criticism of the gym brand for its enforcement of a gender identity non-discrimination policy after a woman complained about the business in March.

    Challenges for the brand sparked when a woman identified as Patricia Silva shared photos of a person who she believed to be transgender using the women’s locker room.

    “I’m not comfortable with him shaving in my bathroom,” Silva said in a video posted to Facebook after the incident.

    Despite this claim, the person has not been publicly identified as a transgender woman or spoken out on the matter.

    Nevertheless, this video was shared across social media, gaining traction on popular conservative accounts, including “Libs of TikTok” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

    Planet Fitness responded to the photograph and complaint by revoking the woman’s membership in accordance with its policy, which says: “[A]ll members and team members may use Planet Fitness locker room facilities and programs based on their self-reported gender identity; these facilities include bathrooms, showers, and all other facilities separated by sex.”

    This isn’t the first time Planet Fitness has responded to gender-based complaints by removing a member’s access to their gyms. In a 2015 incident, the “Judgment Free” brand officially revoked a woman’s membership after a reported complaint of transgender women utilizing the rest areas that aligned with their gender identity.

    Some analysts have highlighted the incident and Silva’s efforts to spread awareness of the policy, encouraging people to cancel their memberships and boycott the brand. Occasionally, these calls have harkened back to protests against Bud Light after the brand sent promotional materials to transgender content creator Dylan Mulvaney.

    In the days after this controversy began, Planet Fitness stocks reportedly tumbled by some $400 million.

    Others, including the nonprofit Media Matters, have highlighted the protest as a cause of increasing bomb threats for the gym chain amid a rise in violence against trans-identifying people across the United States.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Ivy Lyons

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  • GOP lawmaker denounces LGBTQ+ people during sermon in Arizona House

    GOP lawmaker denounces LGBTQ+ people during sermon in Arizona House

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    A state legislator on Monday used his time delivering a sermon that said a holiday to celebrate trans people was “dark,” proof of America being “unrighteous,” and then denounced non-Christians. The sermon was given as the Arizona House opened its daily floor session, during which lawmakers convene to vote on bills passed through committees…

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    Joseph Darius Jaafari | LOOKOUT

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  • Gun-free zones, more money for higher education and renter protections this week in the Colorado legislature

    Gun-free zones, more money for higher education and renter protections this week in the Colorado legislature

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    Transgender and nonbinary people would be better protected from harassment in Colorado under new bill

    Transgender and nonbinary people would receive more explicit protections in Colorado’s anti-bias and harassment law if a newly introduced bill becomes law.

    Advocates characterize the bill as a simple legislative fix to ensure gender identity and expression are protected across state law, while also sending a message about Colorado’s values.

    “(The bill) ensures nonbinary and trans people are seen and represented in every part of Colorado law, which is especially important now with the wave of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation across the country,” said Garrett Royer, political director for LGBTQ advocacy organization One Colorado. “It helps the state remain a leader on LGBTQ rights with a very simple legislative fix.”
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    Colorado legislators set aside $7.2 million to fund longer psychiatric hospital stays

    Low-income Coloradans with mental illnesses are poised to receive longer hospital stays after state legislators set aside money to expand a decades-old Medicaid rule.

    Federal law requires that Medicaid patients hospitalized in psychiatric facilities be discharged after 15 hospital days in a month or the facility doesn’t get paid. The rule was intended to prevent hospitals from warehousing patients, but advocates and psychiatrists say that it instead pushes hundreds of vulnerable Coloradans out of the facilities prematurely and into a cycle of homelessness, incarceration and emergency room visits.
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    Parks, bars, protests stripped from bill that would create gun-free zones in Colorado

    A proposal to limit where people can carry firearms in Colorado, openly or with concealed carry permits, was narrowed substantially Wednesday as sponsors fought to win a key committee vote in the state Senate.

    The bill as introduced would have banned firearms from being carried at a slew of places, including stadiums, protests at public locations, bars, places of worship, public parks, libraries and more. It was amended to only ban firearms at schools, from preschool to college, as well as polling places, the state legislature and local government buildings, though local governments could opt out. It would allow exceptions for security and law enforcement.
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    Colorado lawmakers’ $40.6 billion budget caps tuition hikes, includes money for auto theft prevention

    Colorado lawmakers unveiled a state budget proposal Tuesday that would provide more money for higher education, address long waitlists of jail inmates with competency issues and boost pay for home health care workers.

    Those are among the highlights as legislators look to spend about $40.6 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The bipartisan Joint Budget Committee will now usher the bill — one of the few must-pass measures considered by the General Assembly each year — through the legislature and to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk in coming weeks.
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    “For-cause” eviction protections for renters overcome moderate Democrats’ challenge in Colorado Senate

    Democrats in the Colorado Senate fought off a challenge from within their own party Monday and advanced a bill that would increase displacement protections for tenants — clearing that hurdle nearly a year after the legislative death of a similar proposal.

    The bill generally would give renters of apartments and other housing a right of first refusal to renew an expiring lease. Landlords would need to have a good reason for not allowing them to renew, such as failure to pay rent or plans for substantial renovations.
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    How Wyatts Towing allegedly circumvented Colorado’s new towing law — and why legislators are pushing for further reform

    HB24-1051, introduced this legislative session, would outlaw property owners from using automated emails to authorize tows. The bill also would mandate that the authorizing party must be a property owner or someone from a rent-collecting third party — banning parking management companies from doing this on the tower’s behalf.

    The bill, as introduced, sought to tackle what lawmakers and consumer advocates said was an economic incentive for towers to haul away as many cars as possible. They wanted to shift the entire landscape of residential towing by making property owners pay for tows rather than vehicle owners.
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    Colorado poised to ban cities’ limits on how many people can live together

    Colorado lawmakers are poised to ban occupancy limits in cities and towns across the state, clearing the way for more roommates to live together as part of Democrats’ push to reform local zoning regulations and address the state’s housing crisis.

    Roughly two dozen cities and towns in Colorado have the type of occupancy limits that would be prohibited under HB24-1007, which cleared the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure would prohibit local governments from limiting how many unrelated people can live in one home or housing unit, except for health and safety reasons.
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    Why Colorado’s push for more high-density housing near transit irks cities — even some that allow it

    Colorado cities are ready for a legal fight if necessary to stop a state push to overhaul local housing density rules and allow more tightly packed development along train and bus routes.

    While many local governments support the goal of concentrating people in apartments around transit hubs so they drive less, mayors have objected to what they see as state leaders intruding on local power. It’s the same local control problem that led to the defeat of a similar state push last year in the Colorado legislature.

    Lawmakers revived the transit-focused housing density bill last month and are moving it through the state House.
    Read more

    Next year’s state budget, gun restrictions and Front Range trains under debate in Colorado legislature this week

    The Colorado legislature this week will take on one of its only mandated actions — and by far its costliest: The state’s budget.

    The budget package, known as the long bill, lays out how the state will spend some $18 billion in general fund dollars in the next year. It also reveals some of the state’s priorities — such as the end of the so-called budget stabilization factor that has shortchanged state education funding — as the proposal works its way through both chambers.
    Read more

    Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.

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  • William Way Center to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with a fashion show

    William Way Center to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with a fashion show

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    Trans models will show off designs by trans fashion designers on the runway on Friday, March 29.

    William Way LGBT Community Center, located in Philly’s Gayborhood, is hosting its first fashion show marking Trans Day of Visibility.

    The event, themed “Transitioning: Day to Night,” also includes a market featuring local vendors and trans artists. The market, held in the downstairs lobby, begins at 4 p.m. The fashion show follows at 6 p.m. upstairs.

    The fashion show is being conducted in the style of “Project Runway.” Each model and designer pairing was given $200 to spend at Philly AIDS Thrift and 30 minutes to shop. The stylists must choose a daytime look and a nighttime look for the models. Outfits can be tailored and the pairs can add their own accessories.

    “It’s a thrill and honor for Philly AIDS Thrift to sponsor and support this event,” said Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, co-founder and executive director of the store. “I love how fashion can be an act of resistance, challenging dominant cultural norms through what we choose to wear.”

    The top three pairs will receive cash prizes. The top prize is $600. The event is free to attend. It is not ticketed. 

    “We welcome anyone interested in supporting and celebrating with the community,” said Jase Thurman, a communications specialist at William Way.

    The City’s Office of LGBT Affairs, is officially supporting the event, and TransWork, a program of the Independence Business Alliance, assisted with logistics and promotion.

    “We won’t be participating in the show on the stage or runway, as I’m not a designer or model myself,” said Sydni Perry-Anderson, the administrator of TransWork. “But we have helped to spread awareness about the event and recruit those participants who will be highlighted more visibly.”

    Earlier this month, federal funding for William Way was removed from an appropriations bill after criticisms from far-right and anti-LGBTQ groups. The Office of LGBT Affairs also announced that its annual flag-raising ceremony for Trans Day of Visibility, which falls on March 31, will not occur this year, though the transgender flag will still fly at City Hall later this month.

    Even without the flag-raising ceremony, William Way’s fashion show aims to allow Philly to observe Trans Day of Visibility in spectacular style.

    Trans Day of Visibility Fashion Show

    Friday, March 29

    4-8 p.m. | Free

    William Way LGBT Community Center

    1315 Spruce St.

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    Chris Compendio

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  • City cancels Trans Day of Visibility event but will still raise transgender pride flag

    City cancels Trans Day of Visibility event but will still raise transgender pride flag

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    The city of Philadelphia will raise the transgender pride flag to mark Trans Day of Visibility later this month, but unlike previous years, there will be no ceremony for the flag raising, said the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs.

    Executive director Celena Morrison-McLean wrote the announcement Friday on the city’s official website. “While we regret to inform you that we will not be hosting the event this year, we want to assure you of our continued commitment to the importance of Trans Day of Visibility and the elevation of transgender voices,” Morrison-McLean wrote.

    Still, the trans flag will fly at City Hall from Thursday, March 28 to Sunday, March 31, the latter being International Transgender Day of Visibility. 

    “Raising the Trans Flag at City Hall holds profound significance,” Morrison-McLean wrote. “It is a public declaration of our dedication to creating a more inclusive city that embraces diversity in all its forms.”

    Morrison-McLean did not clarify why the annual ceremony would not take place this year in her post. Last weekend, a video she took of a state trooper aggressively arresting her husband Darius McLean on the side of I-76 went viral.

    The trooper, who is currently on restricted duty, then arrested Morrison-McLean as well. The incident led to concern from city officials and outroar from the city’s queer community.

    On Thursday, Morrison-McLean and her husband, who is the chief operating officer at William Way Community Center, announced their intention to sue the Pennsylvania State Police over the incident.

    The couple gave their side of the story, with their lawyers saying that the couple were in separate cars; Morrison-McLean was driving a family member’s car to a mechanic while her husband followed her in a rental car.

    After Morrison-McLean changed lanes to avoid tailgating a state trooper’s car, the state trooper drove his car between the couple’s two vehicles. Morrison-McLean and the trooper pulled over, while McLean pulled over behind the trooper, expecting his wife to receive a ticket.

    Instead, lawyers say, the trooper charged at McLean’s vehicle and forced him out of the car, leading to the incident as filmed. While state police attempted to charge the couple with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, among other charges, the District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges.

    While Morrison-McLean’s announcement about the trans flag ceremony did not reference her current legal situation, she encouraged readers to support “local organizations and initiatives that continue to work tirelessly towards creating a more just and inclusive society.”

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    Chris Compendio

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  • GOP bill seeks to ‘erase’ trans, nonbinary people from Arizona law

    GOP bill seeks to ‘erase’ trans, nonbinary people from Arizona law

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    When Lisa Bivens’ daughter was born, doctors had a difficult time deciding which letter to input on the sex description field of her birth certificate. At first, the baby was incorrectly pronounced a boy. But an endocrine issue meant her body overproduced testosterone, and she needed several tests, some of them time-consuming, to figure out her actual sex.

    Bivens shared her story on Wednesday to warn Arizona lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee that a proposal seeking to enshrine a narrow definition of biological sex into state law could harm children like her daughter. 

    Senate Bill 1628 would eliminate every mention of gender in state law and replace it with “sex,” a definition restricted to male or female and based on a person’s reproductive characteristics. The Senate passed the measure Feb. 22 in a 16-3-1 vote.

    Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, questioned whether Bivens’ daughter had a “male body part” and grilled her on who it was that “decided” her daughter is a girl. 

    An emotional Bivens explained that the endocrine issue also affected her daughter’s ability to thrive as a newborn. And, with limited information and the opinion of a New York endocrinologist over a month away, doctors asked Bivens to make a determination to finalize the birth certificate. 

    In cases like hers, Bivens said, the process isn’t straightforward and parents, in conjunction with medical professionals, make the decision they think is best. The bill’s mandates would undermine that and worsen an already fraught situation. 

    “This bill gets into medical decision-making between parents and doctors, and diminishes parents’ rights,” she said. “It also diminishes the doctor’s ability, and the hospital’s ability, for what they can offer a parent in those circumstances where you don’t fall into these categories, and all you’re trying to do is figure out: How do I get my daughter home safe?” 

    But lawmakers on the panel were unconvinced, with some outright dismissing the existence of intersex people. 

    Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, consulted Committee Chair Selina Bliss, R-Prescott, on whether humans can be born with anything other than XX or XY sex chromosomes. Bliss, a former nurse, confirmed that those are the only two sets of chromosomes. 

    In fact, while rare, people can be born with extra or missing sex chromosomes. 

    “There are only two sets of chromosomes,” Gillette said, in his concluding comments before voting to advance the proposal. “An XX will never need a prostate exam. An XY will never need a pap smear.”

    click to enlarge

    Conservative activist Shelli Boggs said the legislation would keep schools out of an “ideological culture war.”

    Bill keeps schools from discriminating ‘against our girls’

    Supporters of the bill have sold it as a way to protect cisgender women by strictly separating private spaces and athletic activities based on biological sex. 

    Shelli Boggs, a member of Moms for America, a conservative Christian group that opposes radical feminism and has been labeled an anti-LGBTQ hate group, said the legislation is a way to fight against leftist ideologies in schools. 

    Inclusive school policies have come under fire from Republicans, who have repeatedly advanced several discriminatory measures to restrict the behavior of trans students. The majority of those measures have been unsuccessful, having been vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, but a law passed in 2022 bars trans girls in Arizona from joining school sports teams that best match their gender identity. That law is currently being challenged by a trio of trans girls who argue it violates multiple federal protections. 

    Boggs, who is seeking a nomination for Maricopa County School Superintendent, said the bill, which has been dubbed “The Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights,” is a necessary safeguard for schools. 

    “Without clear and concise language, provided by SB1628, to define biological sex, schools are put in the middle of an ideological culture war that doesn’t put the rights and needs of our children’s best interests first,” she said. “It ties their hands and forces them to discriminate against our girls.” 

    Christina Narsi, chair of the Arizona chapter of the anti-LGBTQ group Independent Women’s Network, denied that the legislation eliminates anyone’s rights, saying that it instead seeks to clarify the meaning of state laws. 

    “SB1628 is really a simple housekeeping measure intended to ensure that laws passed by the legislature are applied as this body intended,” she told lawmakers. “It is a tool for fighting judicial activism and returns power to you, the legislature, to decide how and in which context it is appropriate to separate citizens by sex.”

    click to enlarge Arizona State Rep. Teresa Martinez

    State Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, questioned a mother about whether her daughter had a “male body party” during a legislative hearing on Wednesday.

    Gage Skidmore

    ‘It is inspired with the goal of erasing LGBTQ+ people’

    But LGBTQ advocacy organizations have denounced the act as a poorly veiled attempt to legislate away the existence of trans and nonbinary people. The act allows for gender-nonconforming Arizonans to be pushed out of locker rooms, bathrooms, domestic violence shelters and even sexual assault crisis centers that don’t align with their biological sex. And state-issued documentation would have no regard for a person’s gender identity. 

    For Gaelle Esposito, a trans woman and lobbyist for the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the act, eliminating access to identity documents like driver’s licenses that accurately reflect who she is would be a major concern. 

    “Every time I travel or go out to a restaurant or bar, I would be outed against my will,” she said. “If I die, even my burial records wouldn’t be allowed to acknowledge me for who I am.”

    And the ability of transgender people to obtain identity documents that are congruent with their gender identity significantly impacts their risk of experiencing violence, harassment, or denial of services. 

    Bivens, who is also a lawyer with experience in prosecuting and defending sex discrimination cases, added that state laws already sufficiently protect women against discrimination and harassment. 

    Martinez grilled Bivens on that claim, asking who would have the upper hand if a cisgender woman was offended or harassed by a transgender woman in a public restroom. 

    Adults have several legal avenues to seek redress, Bivens said, including criminal cases, civil lawsuits and orders of protection. In each case, a judge determines if there is sufficient grounds for the plaintiff to allege their rights have been violated. 

    “You can take your case to the courtroom and say, I have this case and let it figure out if, under the law, you were harassed in a way the law recognizes,” Bivens said.

    But that didn’t satisfy Republicans, for whom a transgender woman’s presence should be enough of an offense. 

    “If we have a female locker room for female students, and there is a biological male who identifies as a woman and wants to use those facilities, do you think that the young women in that school need to be made to shower and change in front of a biological male?” Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa, asked Bivens. “Is there something in your mind that’s unnatural about a teenage girl not wanting to undress in front of a teenage biological male?”

    In schools, Bivens responded, such complaints would be taken to the Title IX office, which handles sex-based discrimination claims.  

    In her final comments, Martinez compared being transgender to playing dress-up before voting to greenlight the bill. And while she allowed that medical anomalies exist, she said the bill is still necessary to combat what she called misinformation. 

    “If anybody wants to feel that they’re prettier with makeup, that they enhance their beauty with jewelry or with outfits, I think that’s a great thing. You do you,” she said. “What I do have a problem with is that people are saying that this is not a fact. We have two sexes, not three; they’re not subject for opinion. There are facts. 

    “There is male and there is female. That’s it.” 

    Democrats on the panel denounced the proposal as discriminatory, and criticized Republican characterizations of gender as a choice. 

    “SB1628 is what we have been referring to as the LGBTQ+ Erasure Act, because it is inspired with the goal of erasing LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender and nonbinary people, from public life,” said Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, reading aloud from a written statement, before being cut off by Bliss after an uproar from Republican lawmakers. 

    The bill passed the committee on Wednesday by a vote of 6-3, with only Republicans in favor. It next goes before the full House for consideration, where Republicans hold a one-vote majority. But while it’s likely to get that final approval, it’s destined to be vetoed by Hobbs, who has vowed to reject every anti-LGBTQ proposal that crosses her desk.

    This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

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  • Dylan Mulvaney Attempts Standup Comedy Career – Immediately Gets Shut Down

    Dylan Mulvaney Attempts Standup Comedy Career – Immediately Gets Shut Down

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    Opinion

    Source: The Quartering YouTube

    The transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is trying to launch a standup comedy career. Unfortunately for the influencer, however, it is not going well, as social media users are blasting Mulvaney’s jokes as being “cringe.”

    Mulvaney’s Standup Comedy Act

    Daily Mail reported that after costing Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch $1.4 billion in sales last year, Mulvaney decided that standup comedy was the way to go. It didn’t take long for social media users to shut this notion down, however.

    After Mulvaney took the stage at a Utah comedy club, viewers said that the set was “cringe” and that the audience was “clapping not because it’s funny, but because they want to be supportive.”

    “Look at me doing stand up,” Mulvaney said in a clip posted to social media after appearing at Wiseguys Salt Lake City back in January while wearing a knitted pink crop top and white skirt.

    Mulvaney went on to touch on the Bud Light boycott that was launched by conservatives last year after the brand teamed up with the transgender influencer.

    “The conservative men are just p****d that I can beat them in beer pong,” Mulvaney said. “And the conservative women are p****d that their kids are calling me ‘mother’ in all of my Instagram comments.”

    Related: Bud Light Boycott Reportedly Cost Anheuser-Busch InBev $1.4 Billion After Dylan Mulvaney Debacle

    Social Media Users Fire Back

    Though Mulvaney claimed to be “so happy” that the show “went so well,” social media users made it clear that this was not the case at all.

    “Dylan Mulvaney is arguably one of the most attention-seeking individuals in recent history,” one user commented, with another simply adding, “Soooo cringe.”

    “Confirmed, not even men pretending to be women are good at comedy,” a third user commented. A fourth person wrote, “I feel like the clapping is not because it’s funny, but because they want to be supportive, Which is sweet, but not comedy.”

    After Mulvaney teamed up with Bud Light for a partnership last year, conservatives launched a highly effective boycott of the brand that resulted in its parent company Anheuser-Busch losing $1.4 billion in 2023, “primarily due to the volume declined of Bud Light,” according to CNN, citing the brewer’s fourth-quarter earnings report.

    “In the U.S., performance remains very underwhelming with revenue down at double-digit rates as the group lost market share,” said Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst at online investing platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

    Related: Dylan Mulvaney Rejoices After Scoring New Female Gender Marker On Passport

    Mulvaney Abandons Bud Light

    Mulvaney abandoned Bud Light almost immediately after the boycott began.

    “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all,” Mulvaney said in a video posted to social media in June of last year, according to Billboard. “It gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.”

    “And the hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community,” Mulvaney added. “And we’re customers too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer.”

    Mulvaney went on to claim to be “scared” to leave the house, and to be experiencing “a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

    “To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is OK — it just isn’t an option right now,” Mulvaney concluded. “And you might say, ‘But Dylan, I don’t want to get political.’ Babe, supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political. There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.”

    There is quite literally nothing funny about Mulvaney, so we can’t imagine why the transgender influencer thought standup comedy was a good idea. Only time will tell if Mulvaney decides to grab the microphone and subject the world to an unfunny standup comedy set again.

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    An Ivy leaguer, proud conservative millennial, history lover, writer, and lifelong New Englander, James specializes in the intersection of… More about James Conrad

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  • Ken Bennett runs out of anti-trans venom, kills Arizona ballot measure

    Ken Bennett runs out of anti-trans venom, kills Arizona ballot measure

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    A lone Republican lawmaker blocked the passage of a ballot referral that would have given Arizona voters the chance to kill trans-inclusive school policies across the state.

    If it had been approved by voters in November, the mandates in Senate Concurrent Resolution 1013 would have eliminated a wide range of inclusive practices used by teachers and school officials to help trans and gender nonconforming students feel more welcome. 

    Teachers would have been prevented from using a student’s preferred pronouns or name without first obtaining written parental permission, which critics warned might endanger youth with hostile families. And schools would have been forced to strictly monitor bathrooms, locker rooms, multi-occupancy showers and sleeping quarters on school trips to bar trans students from entering spaces inconsistent with their biological sex, or else face lawsuits from offended cisgender students seeking monetary damages for “psychological, emotional and physical harm.”

    The initiative’s author, Sen. John Kavanagh, sought to combine two bills vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs last year. By sending them to Arizona voters, the Fountain Hills Republican hoped to avoid any rejection from the Democratic governor, who has said she will veto any and all anti-LGBTQ+ measures. Legislatively referred initiatives don’t require the governor’s approval before being placed on the November ballot. 

    But early on, the proposal’s fate was unclear. Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, shared during the initiative’s hearing in the Senate Education Committee that he had family members who would have been affected by its provisions if they were still in school. And despite voting for it in committee, he warned that his support on the Senate floor was not guaranteed. 

    Republicans control the upper chamber with a slim one vote majority, and any holdouts have the power to kill legislation. 

    On Monday, Bennett delivered on his warning, voting against the measure. While he agreed with the intent of the underlying legislation, he said, wrapping it up in a ballot initiative was the wrong move. 

    “If something goes awry, if there are unintended consequences, we can’t do anything about it here,” Bennett said. “We have to go back to the people to fix something and I am very concerned about that.”

    That’s because Arizona voters in 1988 approved the Voter Protection Act, which amended the state constitution to forbid lawmakers from modifying voter approved initiatives without going back to the ballot for permission, unless those changes advance the purpose of the original initiative.

    The initiative failed by a vote of 15-14, one vote shy of the 16 needed for passage, with Bennett joining Democrats to vote it down. Every other Republican in the chamber voted to approve the measure.

    click to enlarge

    Sen. John Kavanagh said he’s likely to introduce a ballot measure targeting transgender students again during the 2024 legislative session.

    Elias Weiss

    Ken Bennett not first GOP lawmaker to buck his own party

    Bennett told the Arizona Mirror that the resolution, which combines two bills that he voted in favor of last year, was simply too “extensive” to support, and threatened to result in problems that would be difficult for lawmakers to resolve.

    “I’m always very cautious of putting complicated legislation in a referral to the voters because, if something goes awry, we can’t fix it,” he said. “We would have to wait two years, and I don’t want to fix things every two years.”

    Bennett couldn’t share any specific issues he foresaw occurring, saying only that the legislation seeks to govern complicated areas of student life. 

    “You’re talking about very delicate situations, about kids wanting to be called by nicknames or pronouns or whatever,” he said. 

    Kavanagh said he was disappointed in the proposal’s failure to move forward, but told the Mirror it’s not entirely dead yet. While it’s unlikely that it will be resurrected this year, as Kavanagh is unwilling to make any more amendments to the proposal, he noted that he anticipates introducing it again next year if he can secure the votes.

    This is the second time a GOP lawmaker has bucked their party’s support to defeat culture war inspired legislation since the party adopted a vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ stance two years ago. 

    In 2022, Sen. Tyler Pace, a Mesa Republican, cast the deciding vote to kill a proposal that would have outlawed puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors, saying he was unwilling to support a bill that over a dozen speakers testified would increase suicidality among trans youth. A week later, the proposal was revived as a ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors which Pace voted to approve and then Gov. Doug Ducey later signed into law. 

    But the damage was done; the move contributed to Pace being labeled a RINO, and conservative spending campaigns donated to primary opponents, leading to his loss in that year’s primary election. 

    Bennett said supporters have already reached out to him expressing concerns about a similar fate, but said he stands by his decision and doesn’t vote based on his reelection bids. The multi-term legislator has served at the state Capitol in two different stints as a lawmaker since 1999, and represents a staunchly Republican district based in Yavapai County.

    click to enlarge Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association

    Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, called on Republican lawmakers to protect LGBTQ+ students.

    Sheenae Shannon

    ‘The stakes here can be literally life or death’

    LGBTQ+ and education advocacy groups celebrated the initiative’s defeat. Bridget Sharpe, director for the state chapter of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ lobbying organization, called it a win for students across Arizona.

    “After courageous advocacy from LGBTQ+ advocates and bipartisan rejection in the state Senate, this dangerous anti-equality ballot measure is now dead,” she said in an emailed statement. “All students deserve to feel safe and secure in school as their authentic selves, and (Monday’s) vote sends a powerful message that discrimination has no place in our state.”

    Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, denounced anti-LGBTQ_ legislation, calling on GOP lawmakers to protect students, not continually enact measures that jeopardize their ability to focus on school. 

    “LGBTQ students who experience discrimination at school are 3 times more likely to be absent, and they have lower GPAs, are less likely to graduate and experience more anxiety and depression,” she wrote, in an emailed statement. “As the tragic death of Nex Benedict in Oklahoma earlier this month reminds us, the stakes here can be literally life or death.”  

    Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Oklahoma, was beaten unconscious in the school bathroom by three girls, and died the next day. Their death ignited student protests and criticism against Oklahoma lawmakers, who have introduced more than 50 anti-LGBTQ+ proposals this year.

    The defeated ballot initiative isn’t the only anti-LGBTQ+ proposal being pushed through the Arizona legislature this year, but it was the likeliest to succeed. Hobbs has repeatedly vowed to veto any anti-LGBTQ+ bills that end up on her desk. Still, Arizona Republicans continue advancing the bills, largely as a signal to their conservative constituents. 

    On Monday, the GOP majority in the Senate did greenlight Senate Bill 1166, which would require teachers to notify parents of their child’s preferred pronoun or name use within five days. They also approved Senate Bill 1182, which would keep trans students out of school shower facilities consistent with their gender identity. 

    Kavanagh introduced the bills as revised versions of the pronoun and bathroom ban he sponsored last year that were vetoed by Hobbs, and has framed them as more tailored proposals that seek to address the concerns previously raised by opponents, including the governor.   

    But for trans Arizonans like Kanix Gallo, a 16-year-old Chandler High School student, the bills are a terrifying and disheartening example that lawmakers still don’t see him for who he is. 

    As a freshman student, Gallo experienced the misgendering and deadnaming that GOP proposals would effectively lead to for students without understanding parents. Some of Gallo’s teachers in his first year of high school repeatedly used the wrong pronouns and name, which left him feeling disillusioned in his education and unwilling to go to their classes. His intense discomfort resulted in a streak of absences. Gallo described being referred to by the wrong name as a “physical pain” and said it hurt to repeatedly correct one teacher in particular who refused to use the right pronouns and often dismissed his objections. 

    By contrast, his senior year has been improved with teachers who do respect his identity, drastically raising his commitment to school. 

    “It makes me want to be in their class,” he said. “It makes me want to learn what they’re teaching me and it makes me feel respected and not just a student to them, but a person.” 

    But while Gallo now feels more accepted in class, the rhetoric at the state Capitol conflicts with that welcoming policy, spreading onto the school grounds and changing how his peers view him. Gallo said he’s seen kids who previously weren’t interested in LGBTQ+ issues voicing vitriol after hearing about discriminatory legislation. 

    And the teen, who has at times spoken at school board meetings to request more support for LGBTQ+ students amid the hostility at the state house, has even been met with verbal attacks from a classmate who told him he didn’t “deserve to live”. 

    “It’s terrifying, walking around school knowing that there are people who would physically harm you because of your gender,” Gallo said.

    This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

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  • None of Us Should Have to Be as Brave as Nex Benedict, the Nonbinary Teen Who Died – POPSUGAR Australia

    None of Us Should Have to Be as Brave as Nex Benedict, the Nonbinary Teen Who Died – POPSUGAR Australia

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    I wish I could say I was surprised. Shocked, hurt, appalled, disgusted. I wish I could feel furious, seething, incandescent with rage, irate. All of those would be appropriate responses – or maybe not. Maybe there is no appropriate response to the death of a child. Maybe I just want to be able to communicate the true depth of the grief that is felt by the trans community at the loss of Nex Benedict, who died on Feb. 8, a day after a fight at their Oklahoma school.

    Maybe I want to be able to explain just how much it hurts to hear news of a child being beaten senseless simply for standing up for themselves, what the shape and texture of that feeling really is, how it sticks between the ribs of every trans person, how it cannot be metabolized, how it sits and rots within us for a lifetime. How to name the weight of the acceptance that violence remains an immutable part of the trans experience. I wish I had the luxury of horror.

    “Nex’s death illustrates the kind of bullying and hatred these laws make space for.”

    As Benedict’s guardian and grandmother, Sue Benedict, told The Independent, 16-year-old Nex had been bullied at school for at least a year, ever since the Oklahoma bathroom law that requires public-school students to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate had been signed into law. Sue said she had urged them to “be strong and look the other way,” although she admits that she “didn’t know how bad it had gotten.” In text messages to a family member obtained by FOX23, Nex described getting “jumped” at school by three girls who had been bullying him and his friends: “I got tired of it so I poured some water on them and all 3 came after me,” they wrote. Nex was suspended for their role in the fight, according to their grandmother. They were also the only participant who had to go to the hospital for the injuries they sustained, and the only participant who dropped dead the next day.

    The rise of anti-trans legislation in the past four years has been record-breaking, and the majority of the laws target trans children specifically. Sports participation and bathroom bills seem innocuous – who cares if some trans kid in Nebraska can’t play girls soccer? What does it matter where that same kid goes to the bathroom? But the reality is much more sinister. Nex’s death illustrates the kind of bullying and hatred these laws make space for. Nicole McAfee, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, told The New York Times that bathroom bills like the one passed in Oklahoma can encourage students themselves to police bathrooms. Kids who don’t present as their natal gender are questioned, and “there is a sense of, ‘Do you belong in here?’”

    For what it’s worth, Nex identified as nonbinary and was complying with the law by using the women’s bathroom. They belonged “in there,” but that didn’t count for very much in the end.

    In 2024, there have already been 468 anti-trans bills introduced across the country, according to the Trans Legislations Tracker. These cover everything from gender-affirming care to bathroom usage to sports teams to the use of pronouns in the workplace. Oklahoma is the most active state in the country in this category, with 59 bills introduced this year alone. With numbers like this, I shudder to think how many more Nex Benedicts there could be. In his push to pass the bathroom bill back in 2022, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said “it puts our girls in jeopardy.” The idea that teenage girls need to be protected from trans people isn’t new – that all trans people are de facto pedophiles is one of the oldest pillars of transphobia — though that assertion used to be reserved for adults. Clearly, the safety of children like Nex is not a concern for Walters or others like him.

    Every trans adult has been a trans child whether they were out or not – I was Nex once. Kicked out of the girls’ locker room by other girls because I was too butch, asked to leave health class because my queer presence made other kids uncomfortable, told again and again and again to turn the other cheek when I was spat on, insulted, abused. This was 20 years ago, before anyone had really heard of Chaz Bono or Caitlyn Jenner, when the idea of asking for pronouns would have been absurd. I’m not asking for sympathy here; I had it relatively easy. I am saying that the experience of being bullied for your identity is nearly ubiquitous in the trans community. I am saying that it should not be that way.

    Related: It’s a Dangerous Time For the LGBTQ+ Community; Here’s How We Can All Help

    As a trans adult, my truest ambition has been to make the world a little safer for other trans people. I’m not the only person in my community with this ambition. So many of us feel like ambassadors, hoping that if we answer enough questions, explain clearly, demonstrate our humanity, cis people will understand that no trans adult or child is a threat to anyone based solely on their transness. All of us hope to make a gentler world – not just for our teenage selves, but for kids like Nex. All of us hope that for every cis person we explain ourselves to, we save a trans person violence and hatred. But it doesn’t work, and Nex’s death shows us clearly that it never will.

    I said earlier that I was Nex Benedict once, but that isn’t entirely true. I didn’t come out until adulthood. The truth is, I wasn’t as brave as Nex Benedict.

    Few of us are.

    None of us should have to be.

    Rest in power, Nex.

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    William horn

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  • 3 bills targeting transgender students approved by Arizona Senate panel

    3 bills targeting transgender students approved by Arizona Senate panel

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    Faced with the certainty of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto, GOP lawmakers are hoping to circumvent her entirely by sending a proposal to voters in November that would restrict how teachers respect the identities of their trans students, and bar those same students from using school facilities that best fit who they are.

    “This bypasses the governor and goes right to the ballot, where — if all the polling I’ve seen is correct —  it’ll probably pass with 60, 65 percent of voters who don’t really believe that this type of stuff should be going on in our schools,” said Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, the proposal’s sponsor, during a Senate Education Committee hearing on Feb. 7. 

    Senate Concurrent Resolution 1013 combines two bills rejected by Hobbs last year that targeted preferred pronoun use and inclusive policies in schools. The proposal would ask voters to require that teachers obtain written parental permission before using a student’s preferred pronouns or name and mandate that schools separate their restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping accommodations by biological sex and provide a single-occupancy alternative for trans students. 

    Schools that allow trans students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity would open themselves up to lawsuits from cisgender students, who could win monetary damages for their “psychological, emotional and physical harm.” And school employees with a “religious or moral conviction” against using preferred pronouns or names would be protected from being forced to comply with a student’s request — even if that student’s parents gave their express written permission. 

    Samual Kahrs, a trans teen, implored lawmakers on the panel to kill the measure, saying that schools are often the only supportive places for young people navigating their identities. Kahrs first came out at school at 11, and the acceptance of his teachers helped persuade his mother. 

    Making it more difficult for teachers to create an affirming environment in school is a mistake, he warned, and jeopardizes the mental health of trans youth across the state. 

    “I remember the first day my teachers called me Samual, and it was the best day of my life,” Kahrs said. “I’m begging you to vote no on this. I’m begging you to just leave trans kids alone.”

    click to enlarge

    Transgender teen Samual Kahrs spoke out against anti-trans bills during a legislative hearing on Feb. 7.

    ACTV

    Measure will ‘harm god knows how many kids’

    The committee, which is made up of four Republicans and three Democrats, voted 4-3 along party lines to approve the measure and send it to the full Senate for consideration.

    Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, denounced the GOP’s push to move its legislative hostility directly to voters. She said she fears what the effects will be on trans youth if they’re forced to contend with an anti-trans ballot campaign. 

    While Arizona Republicans have increasingly focused on anti-trans laws and rhetoric in recent years — succeeding in passing a trans athletic ban and a prohibition on gender-affirming surgeries for minors under former Republican governor Doug Ducey — LGBTQ+ advocates hoped the election of Hobbs, a Democrat, would help prevent any more discriminatory laws. And that has largely been the case, with Hobbs vetoing a bevy of anti-LGBTQ proposals last year, including several that sought to criminalize drag performers and another that would have allowed domestic violence shelters to discriminate against trans women. 

    But, if GOP lawmakers send Kavanagh’s proposal to the November ballot, it’s likely that a wide-reaching messaging effort from anti-LGBTQ+ groups to convince voters to support it would emerge. 

    “This will become a debate on a statewide level, harming god knows how many kids, forcing them into further isolation and harassment,” Marsh said. “I think that the effect of that will be incalculable.” 

    Also considered and approved by the Republican-majority Senate Education Committee on Feb. 7 were two revised iterations of Kavanagh’s pronoun and bathroom ban from last year. Kavanagh reworked the bills on the off-chance that, in their pared down forms, Democrats and Hobbs might be more amenable to supporting them. 

    Senate Bill 1166 requires a public school to notify a parent within five days of the first time their child requests the use of preferred pronouns or a name that doesn’t match the biological sex or given name the child was enrolled under. The caveat shielding school employees who refuse to honor the student’s request was still included in the new version. 

    Kavanagh said he hopes the revisions will result in less opposition from Hobbs, noting that this year’s iteration simply requires a parental notification and doesn’t prevent teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns or name until parental permission is obtained, like last year’s version. 

    Parents need to be kept in the loop, he added, pointing to gender dysphoria as the reasoning for the notification requirement. Gender dysphoria is a medical condition in which a person feels extreme discomfort when their biological sex isn’t aligned with their gender identity.

    “Students that identify with a different gender than their biological sex at birth have a recognized psychiatric disorder called gender dysphoria, which sometimes manifests itself with depression and even suicidal thoughts,” Kavanagh said. “So, if the school knows that a student has this, I think it’s really incumbent (on them) and their responsibility to at least let the parents know what’s going on.” 

    But LGBTQ+ Arizonans, who crowded the hearing room to speak out against the proposals, disputed that justification. Erica Keppler, a trans woman, said that suicidality among trans youth isn’t caused by gender dysphoria, but rather by the lack of social acceptance and sometimes outright hostility they deal with.

    “No one commits suicide because they are gender dysphoric. They do it because family and society won’t accept them or allow them to live as their true selves,” she said. “The biggest threat to the lives and futures of gender dysphoric youth are unaccepting parents.”

    Removing the ability of schools to be welcoming, Keppler added, would only exacerbate the distress trans youth feel. A 2022 national survey from the Trevor Project found that only 32% of transgender respondents thought of their homes as supportive, compared to 51% who found their schools to be affirming.

    And while suicidality among transgender youth is disproportionately high, research shows that simply respecting their preferred pronouns and names can decrease that risk by as much as 65%.

    click to enlarge Sen. Ken Bennett

    Sen. Ken Bennett, chair of the Senate Education Committee, voiced concerns about the bills targeting transgender students. But he voted for them anyway on Feb. 7.

    ACTV

    Senator concerned about bills, OKs them anyway

    The testimony from several speakers echoed the criticism made against last year’s bills. Both measures were denounced for threatening to expose the identities of questioning students to their parents without their consent, and both were accused of greenlighting the disrespect of LGBTQ+ students by protecting school employees who disagree with preferred pronoun use.

    Skylar Morrison, a trans teenager, urged lawmakers not to make high school more difficult for her and her gender nonconforming classmates. She warned that the bill forces trans youth to come out to their parents, and not all families are welcoming. 

    “Requiring a parent or guardian to be notified puts vulnerable students at risk — particularly those with unsupportive families — jeopardizing their mental health and, unfortunately, in a lot of cases their physical well-being,” she said. 

    Kavanagh disputed that claim, however, arguing that the vast majority of parents are supportive. And he defended the provision that protects dissenting school employees by saying that many laws include religious carve-outs to acknowledge the rights of Arizonans with different beliefs. 

    The bill received lukewarm approval from Sen. Ken Bennett, Senate Education Committee chair, who said he objected to the religious and moral shield because it was too broad. The Republican from Prescott similarly criticized last year’s version, but repeatedly voted for it anyway. 

    With his voice shaking from emotion, Bennett told lawmakers on the committee that he found it difficult to consider the bill, despite being an advocate for parental rights, both because of his Mormon faith and because he has close relatives who would have been affected by the bill if it had become law when they were still attending school. 

    “The author of the faith that I believe said, at least in my opinion, about the worst thing you can do in this thing we call life, is offend a child,” he said. “So, I find myself nearing that point where it’s very difficult to advance this legislation in the way that it’s written.”

    Ultimately, Bennett joined the other Republicans on the panel to move the measure out of the committee on a 4-3 vote, with the addendum that significant changes would need to be made to earn his support on the Senate floor.

    click to enlarge Sen. Justine Wadsack

    Sen. Justine Wadsack, who targeted LGBTQ+ people in the 2023 legislative session, was among Republicans who voted for three anti-transgender bills on Feb. 7.

    ACTV

    Bills criticized for targeting trans youth

    Senate Bill 1182, focuses on mandating that schools separate shower facilities by biological sex, and prohibit transgender students from accessing shower areas consistent with their gender identity. Schools would be required to provide a separate showering space for transgender students who refuse to use the areas designated for them on the basis of their biological sex, or else face lawsuits from uncomfortable cisgender students.

    Kavanagh noted that he would have preferred that the proposal retain its original form, which required the same rules for bathrooms, locker rooms and sleeping areas, whether on school grounds or during school trips, but said he felt it was necessary to focus on the most “egregious” issue. 

    “This bill simply says a 15-year-old biological female should not have to stand next to, terrified or certainly very uncomfortable, a 20-year-old biological male who identifies as a different gender,” he said. 

    Kavanagh has frequently invoked alarming imagery to defend his school facilities bills — of which this is the third iteration — but has been unable to provide any examples of the hypothetical situation occurring in an Arizona public school. When pressed for evidence by Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday, he was still unable to offer any.

    Lisa Bivens, an attorney who has represented teachers in court, warned lawmakers that the bill is too vague and would burden schools with lawsuits until the legal parameters can be clarified by the courts. 

    The proposal prohibits transgender students from using showers consistent with their gender identity if people of the opposite biological sex “are or could be” present. That language, Bivens said, depends on a theoretical possibility that would be hard for judges to determine. And a provision stating that the bill doesn’t seek to prevent schools from accommodating young children in need of physical assistance during showers only adds further questions, she said. 

    “How are my clients supposed to know when the child is young enough or the need is great enough?” she asked. “I am worried our educators will be put into positions where they hesitate to help students because they are unsure what is permitted.” 

    Dawn Shim, a Chandler High School student who is nonbinary and founded a student-led organization to call for protections for LGBTQ+ Arizonans and speak out against hostile legislation, pushed back on Kavanagh’s claims. There is no problem for the proposal to resolve, she said, because shower facilities in schools already have single-occupancy, separated stalls.  

    “Every single year, we hear bills that needlessly target trans youth and demonstrate ignorance towards the basic functions of public schools,” they said. “This anti-trans shower bill is a needless measure that only serves one purpose: to exclude transgender youth.”

    Gaelle Esposito, a trans woman and a lobbyist for the Arizona branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill likely violates federal nondiscrimination protections. Title IX prohibits schools that receive federal funds from engaging in sex-based discrimination, including on the basis of gender identity. Ultimately, Esposito said, the proposal would only serve to hurt trans youth still navigating their identities and the reactions of those around them. 

    “It is stigmatizing and it is discriminatory to expel trans young people from common spaces. No one should be told that they are so shameful that they shouldn’t be allowed in the proximity of their peers,” she said. 

    The committee voted to approve the bill 4-3, with only Democrats in opposition. Bennett once more warned that his vote on the Senate Floor is not guaranteed.

    This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

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