#we fight for trans kids who are being targeted by their politicians

[not-that-taliesin]

sometimes it’s hard to get up and do the things i need to do, even out of love. sometimes my fuel is spite. whatever helps you to survive to the next day is what you need to do. i’ll be damned if they force my hand against myself. the bastards are gonna have to kill me first!!!

[spacelazarwolf]

I truly think the people who downplay antisemitism and act like fighting it isn’t as important as fighting other injustices do not understand that zionists can easily point to words like theirs and say: “That. That right there is why Israel needs to exist and continue what it’s doing.”

Because if Jewish life means so little to them to make them care, maybe them hearing that they’re dumbasses sabotaging the causes they believe in will.

EXACTLY!! WHICH IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING!!!!!!!!

and i know gentiles hate it bc then they have to give a shit abt jews, but sometimes in order to achieve liberation you have to do something you don't like. it fucking boggles my mind how non palestinian gentiles can justify last weekend's massacre as "necessary for liberation" but they can't stomach simply sitting down with jewish organizations and saying "hey what can we do to get you on board with our movement? what can we do to ensure that you don't need israel?"

like i'm sorry but if you're going to be an activist, sometimes you have to do things that seem unfair, or that are extremely unpleasant. trust me, i have not enjoyed my conversations with political zionists. but i have left them with that person asking questions they weren't asking before, asking why we should have to be the ones constantly being tossed around the globe instead of the people in the countries we live in confronting their own bigotry and hatred of us.

another thing that bothers me is the people that frame this as just "jews r white supremacists that just want to colonize and kill palestinians for fun or bc they want their land!!!!!!" if you are going to be an effective tool for palestinian liberation, or liberation of any kind, it is imperative that you understand the motivation behind your "opposition." most parents of trans kids who don't want their kids to be trans or get treatment aren't doing it bc they fucking hate their kid and would rather they die. most of the time, they genuinely care about their kid and don't want them to be hurt by this perceived evil. are they right? fuck no. but screaming at them is going to make them firmer in their beliefs. what actually helps, and i say this as someone who has actively been a part of this work, is meeting them where they're at. you can't drag them over a fence, but if you can convince them to unlock their side of the gate, you have a much better chance of getting them to come through to the other side.

obviously this doesn't work with people like the transphobic politicians who are making these laws, and it won't work for bibi and his party. but if your target is diaspora jews who support zionism, it absolutely will work, because i have seen it work. if you approach them with patience and understanding and a willingness to address the concerns you have, you are a billion times more likely to be successful in getting them to join the fight. anything less than compassion is allowing yourself to become a tool of the israeli government and the institutions that support it.

[rivertalesien]

This is an honest question: if theres no one to vote for what do we do? revolt? that doest sound good

Get in your community. That's the answer. Find the groups in your area that are working to push progressive agendas and push Dems toward them. I say this all the time: if you're not in your community somewhere, however you can be, if you're not getting involved, then *things* are just going to happen that you might not want.

We have to be involved in our communities. We abdicated so much responsibility to "leaders" and politicians, business people, lawyers and that was a massive mistake, but it was calculated: once a group has power, they don't want anyone else having any. Police/military fight oversight commissions, media creates false narratives and obstructs understanding, the super wealthy hoard all the wealth.

So you have to find your people. You have to be there and know who is there and who is representing what. And don't get me wrong: that's hard when you're working, trying to survive, if you're disabled, if you're rightly scared of being out or live in a place where transport isn't easy or available. Simplest route: libraries and school boards. You can find a lot of like minds and organizers around these places.

I'm gonna soap box on this for a minute though, because this ask along with so many freaking posts out there pitting liberals and leftists and all that crap that is messing with people's heads? It's pretty conveniently happening over one of the most openly horrifying events of modern times. It shouldn't be an either/or/and proposition.

Criticism and anger toward Biden and the Democrats is wholly justified. Not wanting to vote for them is wholly justified. In a better world, we wouldn't have the most important election boil down to two white men who won't be around to see the worst of how their policies play out, who are too insulated and protected from real consequences. We'd have a crowded room with multiple parties (or none) and no heavily-rigged electoral system that favors one class over another.

Last night, Biden invoked racist Israeli propaganda over October 7th and ducked for cover by pointing out Palestinians have been killed, too. In greater numbers. But it wasn't with any sort of empathy or reverence, as he spoke of those killed on October 7th. He played a little empathy game with his audience. He made Palestinians statistics who died in crossfire with Hamas: this is a blatant obfuscation of the truth. Palestinians have been targeted for destruction, regardless of the existence of groups like Hamas. This has been going on for over 70 years. And we, our tax dollars, have played a massive role in this. And the President went and validated the Israel position of apartheid and ethnic cleansing before the whole nation, in a room that included a Congresswoman who was wrongly censured for standing up to the injustice of all of this.

He didn't mention how his support of KOSA was stabbing trans/queer kids in the back, even as he once announced he had ours. Right. His policy on immigration --last night he referred to immigrants as "illegals" -- is deeply racist and indistinguishable from Trump's. He's played carrot/stick with student loans, Covid and the environment. It was no surprise he'd do it to Palestinians.

We've been watching months of footage from out of Gaza showing us the reality and seen as IOF soldiers mock with outrageous cruelty, the people they are hunting, almost for sport.

We pay for that. Money out of your working day pays for that.

Good people who really give a shit have been working their asses off for months now to send the message to Washington: no more. This is wrong. This is genocide. And for months we have received silence.

Only now, that his presidency is in question, does Biden say or offer anything and what is it? It isn't stopping the shipments of arms or money. He's going to build a pier. A dock. To, supposedly, help deliver aid to Gaza. Something that actually isn't hard in the general order of things: when it isn't being blocked and bombed. It's just more smoke.

This he announces after we got to watch all those parcels dangled over the heads of starving people not reach them. And it wasn't nearly enough in any case. Cruelty.

I look at people in this country who have openly compromised any morality they might have had, knowing there is so much dead, kids with amputated limbs, starvation and still say, well Trump is worse. Vote for Biden! One genocide somewhere else is ok. Just don't let it happen here. Cruelty doesn't cover it.

Right now the Republicans have aligned themselves as the new American Nazi party. There's no hiding it anymore. They've got a fan club of massively stupid, cowardly and unimaginative racist jackasses waving guns and flags, awaiting orders to fuck shit up if things don't go their way.

People are right to be worried about that. We saw half the country vote for Trump and saw families and communities fracture. We saw the damage his "administration" did to everything from housing to schools, to immigration, right into Covid, where he was suggesting people should inject bleach. It was an evil clown shit show.

One that Dems did nothing about. Why?

My theory? Because the numbers weren't there. It wasn't tens of thousands or a million people showing up on the Capitol steps Jan 6th; Nazi parades around this or that town are in the dozens, at best. CPAC, filled with Nazis, wasn't well-attended this year. When Biden said last night "I trust the American people" he's playing another little game: that there are more people who do not want what the Rs are shoveling and will show up for him. That's a tight gamble. One that would have been better mitigated if he'd done a little work the last four years.

Biden had the opportunity to pack the Supreme Court. Dems could have led the call for Thomas's resignation or impeachment. They didn't. It could have been loud and passionate. The same kind of "fire" Dems wanted from Biden last night and seemingly got. Where was it before? That *alone* would have turned around so much of the conversation: but Dems didn't touch it. For all the judges Biden has put on benches, he didn't lead the Dems in squelching the massive corruption on the SCOTUS. No pressure campaigns, nothing. Wasted opportunities that should make people question whether Dems/Biden really have our backs or are just looking out for theirs.

The people in these parties are friends. They're peers. They work together even when they don't. Biden going off last night, at what is, essentially, the last minute? Instead of using his office to build democratic networks to put pressure where it is needed? To combat media disinfo? But oh, he'll do it next time. Just give him a trifecta with the senate and the house. He'll get RvW codified: even though they had a trifecta under Obama and still didn't do it.

I don't know folks, something has to give here.

Everything is stripped bare and we should be looking at it. Hard.

Get into community and help build better networks because there is no guarantee that an election is going to save us from what is painfully obvious to folks inside and out: the right wing is strongly positioned for a coup. It might not be as dramatic as January 6th. It might involve courts and recounts and who owns the court? Who are the massive armies of police in this country favoring? Who does the media play with?

Right now I'm thinking of Aaron Bushnell, who, by all accounts, made community a priority. He helped others. He tried to make a difference. He made an enormous sacrifice. It's not one, I'm sure, he expected others to follow. He was a service man who saw it as his duty and he was clear about it.

There's an example there, if you want to look. It isn't going to be people having screaming matches online, it's going to be people recognizing our choices are limited and we need to be the ones to build the system that does better: Biden might be your stop-gap measure from the Nazis, but he's not the answer to anything. He and those like him hold us back from real progress.

Recognize that and definitely get out there and vote. You don't have any choice but to vote for him. There's no one else. A third party candidate will just siphon votes from him. Get that ballot and tick off all the dem/progressive boxes. Maybe it'll work. Maybe it'll hold off the nazis another four years. Maybe a coup won't happen because they really don't have the numbers. We're gambling.

But don't let anyone tell you to be silent. Scream if you have to. Pressure on Biden to change course is essential. Pressure on Dems to change course is essential. Can't keep rewarding them for nothing. Decadent, isolated power structures have a way of eating themselves alive. We deserve better from them.

Either we recognize how failed our state/system is and start working together for something better, or we just keep spinning in this rut and never get out of it. This is absolutely is an existential crisis, here and all over the world. Its heart is racism. The blood that keeps it going is greed. If you just want convenience, let it ride. If you're ready for us to make the next leap, find community. Organize. Lead if you can. Like Winifred Burton said:

[revlyncox]

The Gender Multiverse

Attacks on Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-Conforming people are attacks on the very essence of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Our core ethics and morals call us to honor the many ways that people understand themselves, and to rise up for dignity and worth in legislation, community design, and our personal relationships. This Platform was delivered to the Washington Ethical Society on April 3, 2022, by Rev. Lyn Cox.

As we heard earlier, Thursday was Trans Day of Visibility. This day was envisioned in 2009 by Rachel Crandal. Trans Day of Visibility celebrates the contributions and achievements of Transgender people. That can include a variety of people under the larger Trans umbrella, such as gender nonconforming people, agender people, nonbinary people, and more. (Additional resources on TDOV are available from the Human Rights Campaign and GLSEN.) As Mother Jones said, pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living. In the wake of Trans Day of Visibility, I’m asking us to gather up our collective strength and courage and to fight like hell.

The urgent need and the joyful calling of celebrating and defending Trans lives is a large topic, and we’re going to have a lot of different entry points to this discussion among us. There are several tasks for us to share.

We need to comfort, encourage, and celebrate the Transgender, nonbinary, gender-fabulous, gender-nonconforming, and otherwise gender diverse among us, all of whom I would include in the umbrella of the broader Trans community. That includes some of our young people at WES, who need to know that the community around them loves them fiercely, and that the community will demonstrate that love with concrete action. My siblings, you are radiant in all of your ways of being and knowing and doing.

Another shared task is that we need to sustain and equip the allies who have been in this fight all along. And we need to provide urgently overdue background information and context for our beloved cisgender folks who haven’t yet begun their work in allyship and advocacy.

Though there are many paths, we must be resolved and united in our goals. We cannot be silent as right-wing activists with billions of dollars and positions in every legislature in this country take a jackhammer to the bedrock of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We cannot be silent as school policies and curricula and children’s books that celebrate diversity and inclusion are framed by right-wing politicians as grooming children for abuse. We cannot be silent when state laws are passed that criminalize the implementation of standards set by the American Medical Association. We cannot be silent as the right to privacy, the right to medical care, the right to equal access to education, the right of kids to simply be able to play are all under brazen attack. This is an emergency. So, forward we go.

This year, somewhere between 130 and 200 bills were introduced in state legislatures to attack Trans people, especially Trans youth. At least 30 bills this year have already become law. This is a coordinated attack, funded by organizations with innocuous-sounding names like the Family Research Council, the Family Policy Alliance, Focus on the Family, and the Alliance Defending Freedom. Flush with cash from billionaires like the family of Betsy DeVos, they feed copycat bills to multiple state legislatures simultaneously, like a hydra of hate. And this is on top of attacks beyond the legislature, like Texas Governor Abbott’s decision to investigate the parents of Trans youth for child abuse.

The hateful bills in this cycle fall into three general categories: youth sports, health care, and so-called “parents’ rights.” In the youth sports category, the main target is banning Transgender athletes from girls’ sports. Maryland residents should know that such a bill was introduced in the Maryland state legislature this year. The Maryland bill didn’t make it out of committee this time, but that it was entertained at all should make us worried about what’s going on in local school boards across the state. Similar bills have succeeded and been signed into law in other states. Like other anti-Trans legislation, bills that seek to ban Transgender youth from playing organized sports rely on misinformation and fear, as well as the tepid support of otherwise progressive people.

Hateful bills that are framed as “protecting” women’s athletics are never really about protecting or helping women. This rhetoric paints cisgender women as helpless and Trans people as predators. Those who promulgate these bills want to scare you with the possibility of a Trans takeover, the fear of cisgender women getting pushed out of a limited number of opportunities. The actual numbers do not support that claim. Participation in girls and women’s sports either holds steady or increases with inclusive policies, while discriminatory policies are sometimes correlated with lower participation in girls’ and women’s sports. If you really want to protect women’s sports, there are some other obvious avenues. The Women’s Sports Foundation writes:

“The false rhetoric taking hold is a distraction to the real threats to girls and women in sports, such as lack of Title IX understanding and compliance; inequity in compensation, resources, sponsorship, and media attention; harassment and abuse of female athletes and women working in sports, the list goes on.”

In other words, sports for girls and women need more funding and resources, not to be places of humiliation and scrutiny as those who want to erase the existence of Transgender people use this excuse to harass the athletes that arouse their suspicion. Being actively exclusive rather than inclusive is harmful to team unity, and undermines the very values that can make athletics a positive experience for any student.

An ACLU article on the topic quotes a physician on the myth that Trans athletes somehow have an unfair advantage:

“A person’s genetic make-up and internal and external reproductive anatomy are not useful indicators of athletic performance,” according to Dr. Joshua D. Safer. “For a trans woman athlete who meets NCAA standards, “there is no inherent reason why her physiological characteristics related to athletic performance should be treated differently from the physiological characteristics of a non-transgender woman.”

The undertone of the misinformation about athletes communicates the idea that Transgender people aren’t really human. At least, that’s how the hateful rhetoric goes. It’s worth pointing out that the high performing athletes in the crosshairs of conservative crusades are very often women of color, including women of color who were assigned female at birth. Trying to push some women out of the definition of womanhood or personhood goes way back and it never leads to more liberation or opportunities. Strict ideas about gender are tied up with white supremacy.

Excluding Trans students from sports not only has a negative impact on all athletes, it has a devastating impact on the mental health and wellbeing of Trans students. The cruelty is part of the point. Erasing Trans people from community life is part of the point. Affirming Trans youth in their gender, in all of the ways that youth normally live out their teen and young adult years, is critical to their health. Exclusion and harassment puts Trans youth at risk for bullying, targeted violence, self-harm, and other risk factors that impede their success. Affirming youth helps them to grow into the fullness of who they can become.

This is why fighting anti-Trans sports policy and legislation gets to the heart of our mission as Humanists. We believe in humans as ends in themselves. Anti-Trans sports legislation makes athletes into pawns in a culture war. Humanists believe in self-determination, while anti-Trans rhetoric is built on the assumption that the bodies of all of us except the rich, white men at the top don’t really belong to ourselves. Humanists understand that this is a world of interrelatedness, a world in which humans and the planet we share are connected and mutually affected, and that our thriving rises together. The anti-Trans radical right sees a world and all of its living things as something they need to control. Humanist philosophy rests on the assumption that each person has worth and dignity that is inherent, that doesn’t need to be proven. The anti-Trans crusade seeks to erode the perception of worth and the experience of dignity away from anyone who dares to practice independence from their worldview. Trans rights are human rights, and Humanists are called to defend human rights.

(ACLU resources on defending Trans student athletes here, here, and here; plus this article from the Center for American Progress)

The second category of anti-Trans legislation is bans on health care. Most of these are bans on health care for youth, but some go further in criminalizing Trans-affirming care. Medical experts agree that gender-affirming care is life-saving care. These bans go directly against the standards of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The rhetoric of this hateful legislation is, again, fueled by misinformation about what Trans affirming care looks like, especially what it looks like for youth.

Actual medical experts are on the side of Trans youth seeking healthcare. For instance, “The American Medical Association views these bills as a dangerous legislative intrusion into the practice of medicine.” (Source) In a collective statement, numerous professional associations of medical and mental health providers go on to say that these bills and policies seeking to prevent youth from accessing gender affirming care put Trans youth at severe risk for negative mental health outcomes, including suicide.

Denying care will not make Trans youth into cisgender youth. It will make them miserable, and it could threaten their lives. That’s part of the point. This legislation seeks to erase Trans kids, to make them not exist. Trans kids do exist, and they are precious, beautiful, amazing people of inherent worth. They need adults to show up for them.

It should not be lost on us that these health care bans represent yet another attempt by conservative legislators to get in between people and their medical providers when it comes to private medical decisions. The philosophy underpinning these bills is that our bodies need to be controlled by a theocratic system that demands submission to authority. It is not an accident that this is the same line of reasoning behind attacks on abortion care. The attacks are part of the same strategy, funded by the same multi-billion-dollar hate groups.

In the podcast, “The Anti Trans Hate Machine,” journalist Imara Jones traces the origins of these bills and the power behind the legislators that introduce them. She learned about a right-wing conference in 2019 called “The Summit on Protecting Children from Sexualization.” Let’s unpack that title. The assumption is that when we communicate acceptance to children, when we provide gender-affirming care, when we practice inclusivity in school and sports, that is equivalent to grooming children for abuse. That’s the rhetoric. Any time we communicate that something outside the conservative, hetero-patriarchial norm is OK, they say that is sexual abuse or grooming for sexual abuse.

So, back to this conference in 2019. It was organized by the Family Policy Alliance, which is a spin-off from Focus on the Family, brainchild of James Dobson. Over 60 right-wing organizations with ties to Dobson’s legacy have come together under an umbrella called Promise to America’s Children, with support from the Heritage Foundation. You may remember the Heritage Foundation from their past work, such as their 1976 attack on “Secular Humanism in the Schools.” They are also coordinating attacks on Critical Race Theory. Humanists everywhere have an interest in stopping whatever the Heritage Foundation is into. Through market research, these right wing organizations found that attacking Trans people would be a productive wedge issue to help them advance their agenda of dismantling civil rights in general, and so that’s where they have put a lot of time, money, and resources.

Because many cisgender people don’t know a lot about gender affirming care, the market was and is wide open for misinformation. These organizations have a lot of practice in framing their efforts for domination as protecting the innocence and purity of children. They knew that they could find success in targeting healthcare for youth. It is important that we not fall for their version of the story. Learn more from reliable sources like the American Medical Association or the American Academy of Pediatrics, or from Trans-led organizations like the Transgender Education Network of Texas or the Transgender Law Center. Stay vigilant about health care access, including questions of funding, clinic regulation, and legal documentation requirements that might be attempts to block health care in disguise.

Let us follow the lead of medical and mental health experts and the organizations led by Trans people themselves and demand that District, state, and national governments protect access to healthcare for Trans youth.

The third category of anti-Trans legislation that’s sweeping the country are so-called parents’ rights bills. These are bills that might not even say anything directly about gender identity or sexual orientation, but they are designed to cut off access to safe places and accepting atmospheres for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and especially Trans youth.

The rhetoric behind these bills and policies can be very seductive if you aren’t paying attention. Shouldn’t parents get to decide what children learn about sex? Wouldn’t you want to know if your kid came out as Trans? Remember that, for conservatives, learning that it’s OK to have to parents of the same gender or learning that Transgender people exist is equivalent to teaching kindergarteners about sex. The story we heard earlier, “Casey’s Ball,” could not be read in classrooms where these bills and policies are in effect. Our Whole Lives classes would also be banned. To conservatives, teaching accurate names for body parts and teaching children that they get to have a say in who touches them is grooming for abuse. Misinformation is everywhere, and part of what we can do is to learn the truth and to speak the truth.

We also need to remember that some parents are literally abusive. If school or the medical clinic is the one safe place where a kid can be their whole selves, parents’ rights bills cut off their access to safety. If the kid knows that they will be sent away to so-called conversion therapy, physically abused, or kicked out of the house if their parents found out, it puts lives at risk to require reporting to parents about sexual orientation and gender identity.

These three categories of bills all share the goals of erasing Transgender people, forcing them out of community life. There are many ways to resist what Imara Jones calls the Anti Trans Hate Machine. Sam Ames, Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs for the Trevor Project, said in a training I attended recently, “In a war of attrition like this, keeping people alive is the revolution.”

That means that communities like WES where we practice acceptance and inclusion are important. When you volunteer to teach children and youth, you are saving lives. When you show up week after week so that young LGBTQ people can be surrounded by a stable community, you are saving lives. When you make a financial pledge that is as generous as is congruent with your well being, you are saving lives. Hateful institutions are sustained by millionaires and billionaires. We are all we’ve got, and we need to sustain our own institutions of acceptance, support, and mission-driven Humanist action.

Sam Ames also said that we need to take joy in whatever form it comes. If we have a momentary win, a judicial injunction that might last twenty minutes, we celebrate for twenty minutes. We cannot let anyone steal our joy. While we do need to take strategic action, and I will say more about that in a moment, we also need to keep ourselves human. Let’s be vessels of humanity, let’s listen and support each other, let’s practice kindness and cultivate mindfulness. Joy and gratitude are acts of resistance.

In addition to practicing gratitude and joy and sustaining the institutions that live out the values of inclusion and inherent worth, there are organized and targeted actions we can take. Check out Unitarian Universalist Association’s Side With Love Action Center. There are options for lots of different levels of commitment on several issues, including climate, voting rights, and decriminalization, as well as LGBTQ and gender justice. You can sign up for a webinar, or a skill-up for leadership training, or to do phone banking or text banking with an online group of comrades, or sign on to a petition. Go to Side With Love dot org (https://sidewithlove.org) to learn more.

Before I close, I want to practice some of that joy and gratitude with you all. As a community that affirms and includes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people, you know that congregational Humanism has learned a lot from this community. LGBTQ folks bring longstanding practices of creating family and community wherever we find it, building collages and mosaics out of the reimagining of what has come before. Our dignity does not rely on the legislative atmosphere. We are prophets of the inherent worth of every person. We know that frameworks of bodily autonomy, shared liberation, mutual care, and interdependence are the ones that give us life, and there is room in these frameworks for everyone.

There is a lot to do, and urgency in our work. Being part of the movement, being with the people who are working for a world of love and justice, brings some of the hope and energy to keep us going. We need each other. Let us go forward with the clarity of our Humanist values, with gratitude for the ancestors and activists of the past and the young leaders of today, and with joy that we are equipped and called to lift up the inherent worth of every person.

May it be so.

[aroacepositivityplace]

I can’t even fathom how unproductive these conversations around kink at pride are. Due to the pandemic, most of us around the world aren’t going to get any public pride celebrations. The only thing this discourse seems to accomplish is pushing a conservative agenda inside our own communities, particularly targeted at queer men. And as tired as the statement is, yes, it’s very clear many people in the discussion have never been anywhere near an actual pride event.

Pride started as a protest. The sanitization of pride is what has led to corporations and uniformed cops moving in to shamelessly make money and spread propaganda through the very people they harm. It was never a disney/////land parade and given the multitude of issues still plaguing the community, eroding this tradition seems insidious to me. The fight for LGBTQIAP+ rights didn’t end at marriage equality and when too many people don’t even want us to exist, being loud and open sends a clear message that we aren’t going away or erasing our identities for their comfort.

And no, asking people to tone it down to show that “we’re just like straight/cis people” is not the answer. The hard truth is we will NEVER be accepted by people who think like that. Bigots have shown time and time again that they’ll happily tokenize conservative LGBTQIAP+ people and then throw them to the curb the moment they’ve lived out their usefulness to them. It isn’t just the kinky queers that demand more rights that they hate, it’s anyone who isn’t cis and straight. 

Beyond that, a lot of pride events have the nudity and other nsfw stuff roped off so that if you go past a certain point, you have nobody to blame but yourself if you see something that isn’t rated PG. Pride isn’t a public orgy, it has it’s rules and making it out to be is recycling the same garbage rhetoric bigots use to try and make ANY public displays of queerness to be pornographic deviance. 

While I agree that the issue with public kink is that others aren’t consenting to be a part of/witness to it, part of pride IS celebrating kink. Kink has been part of the community from its very beginnings and even outside of pride, you’re going to see kink pride flags alongside the others. If you don’t want to see kink and bare skin at pride, don’t go. You can’t throw a tantrum about seeing this kind of stuff when you know it’s part of pride and knowing that, you put yourself into that space.

If your kid is old enough to understand that people define their own genders and can love any gender they want to, you can add that said people can also have consenting sex if they want to and sometimes that sex involves more than just textbook intercourse. The human body isn’t something to be ashamed of and there isn’t anything positive to be had by protesting situations that may necessitate age-appropriate explanations. If you honestly think seeing a pup hood or leather daddy just hanging out at pride is going to ruin somebody’s childhood, I have a hard time believing you’re coming from a place of genuine concern. We’re exposed to so much straight sexuality on a daily basis, yet it’s only when queer people do the same that some of y’all clutch your rainbow pearls. 

I know it can be hard to have discussions like this when you aren’t in a place where you can be in real life queer spaces. For many of us, the internet is the only place we can talk with others like us and learn about our history. With that, though, it’s vital we all remember how inundated these online spaces are with bad information that’s meant to keep us at each other’s throats. If you don’t want to be arguing in bad faith, stop and ask yourself if what you’re about to say is something you’d hear some anti-gay, anti-trans politician say. Are you enforcing harmful stereotypes against queer people? Is this a community wide issue or something that makes you personally uncomfortable? Is what I’m saying meant to shame or hurt others? Life is hard enough without people who are supposed to be our siblings adding to the dog-pile 

TL/DR Taking the sex entirely out of sexuality is not progress, it’s the same repression that makes coming out and staying out a hell for too in the LGBTQIAP+ community. Keep pride weird. 

[canadiangeekgirl]

Photo, Canadian Press.

I’m scared about what’s happening in Canada.

When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, many of us Canadians wagged our fingers smugly at our southern neighbour. “What were they thinking?” we said to one another in line at Tim Hortons. We spent the next year or so glued to CNN, more captivated by American politics than what’s happening here.

We might have wanted to pay more attention.

The tide in the Great White North appears to be shifting right — but not in the way we’re used to. This isn’t a typical liberal-conservative tug-o-war, the ebb and flow we’ve seen throughout election cycles. This new movement is one that has already swept through Hungary, Poland, the U.S., it’s fuelled Brexit in the U.K. and has seen the rise of the far-right party Alternative for Germany, who have been compared to the Nazi regime. And it’s tilted so far to the right that it threatens to upend our democracy and the very liberties we’ve fought for.

While conservatives have historically called for less government regulation, lower taxes and a stronger military, today’s Canadian right-wing politics has rebranded itself to include more visible intolerance. Bigotry isn’t just bubbling under the surface these days, it’s out in the open and proudly displayed for when the guests come over.

This ugly, newfound boldness threatens to dominate the next federal election, impacting not only the world’s view of us a fair, diverse and welcoming country, but also the lives of all marginalized Canadians. That keeps me up at night.

As a gay mother with a trans child in the Ontario school system, and as a human rights advocate who spends a lot of time on social media, I’m on the receiving end of a lot of messages from people who think it’s “about time” politicians start standing up to “special interest groups.” We’ve been coddled for too long, they say, and we don’t deserve special treatment. They mock, namecall and outright threaten those of us who fight for the rights of marginalized people to be preserved. They’ve always done this, of course, but their voices, now embolded by the very politicians and public figures they support, are growing in number and getting angrier. I’ve had to file two police reports after my life was threatened — and those are only the incidents I reported.

This swing to the populist right is both in our face and insidious. Donald Trump might be loud and brash, but his win was unexpected by most. We surveyed the damage from up north, thinking it couldn’t possibly happen here. Surely, Canadians know better. We didn’t.

Modern populism has grown quietly, from the pages of right-wing websites to the birth of new neo-fascist groups such as the Proud Boys, now designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Support for the populism movement gained traction through one protest, one meeting, and one tweet at a time. Now it’s loud and it’s everywhere. It unseated Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Ontario government, with Premier Doug Ford and the Conservatives promising little more than a buck-a-beer and the end of teaching gender identity in schools.

And then, in October 2018, Premier Ford met privately with university professor Jordan Peterson. While the premier openly discussed other meetings that had taken place around that time, the public only learned of this one after the CBC obtained his itinerary through a freedom of information request.

Wildly popular in some right-wing circles, Peterson’s views have been slammed as retrograde, problematic and dangerous. He became well-known after taking a stand against using trans people’s chosen pronouns, claiming being forced to do so is an attack on free speech. He argued vehemently against the federal Liberal government’s now-passed trans rights bill, speaking in front of the senate committee overseeing the bill, and warned his followers about the dangers of “compelled speech.” Peterson has also proposed “enforced monogamy” as a way to reduce male violence and believes “crazy women” can’t be controlled by men because men can’t resort to physical violence against them.

Despite, or, perhaps, because of these views, Peterson, who teaches at the University of Toronto, earns tens of thousands of dollars monthly from his Patreon account, a site where fans can pledge financial support to creators of all stripes. These donations are given to him by admirers, many of them Canadians.

Ford, meanwhile, campaigned heavily on the removal of Ontario’s most current incarnation of the sex-ed curriculum, and followed through — a move that has earned much criticism and more than one lawsuit. However, it was also, in part, what earned his party a majority government. A slew of Ontarians has proudly come out in support of Ford’s policies, including the removal of mandatory student funding for certain college and university services, such as pride centres.

A week before meeting with Premier Ford, Peterson had spoken out in a tweet against the Ontario Human Rights Commission, claiming it to be the most “dangerous” organization in Canada, and calling for the Ford government to abolish it. Peterson has previously said he doesn’t agree with the OHRC’s support of gender identity and gender expression. The OHRC had just joined the legal fight against the Ontario provincial government’s removal of the sex-ed curriculum, which covered LGBTQ+ issues, consent and cyber-bullying.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission does exactly what the name implies: using the Ontario Human Rights Code as its guide, it strives to protect all Ontarians from discrimination and harassment. Those who are fiscally-minded might also appreciate how the OHRC first tries to resolve issues between parties out of court, taking the less-expensive mediation approach. It is not the country’s most dangerous organization, but its dismantling could certainly be very dangerous.

The timing of this secret meeting should ring alarm bells for liberals and conservatives alike. Protecting human rights is, after all, supposed to be a closely-held Canadian value.

Trump’s 2016 victory was a dog whistle for bigotry that reached the ears of Canadians. Doug Ford has proven Ontario will welcome similar politics, while Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada, a federal right-wing party formed in 2018, has over 30,000 members and a social media presence that speaks out against “political correctness” and “diversity nonsense.”

Taking a page from the Yellow Vest movement in France, the Facebook group “Yellow Vests Canada” has more than 100,000 members. What began as a place to organize protests around the country quickly became a spot where anti-Liberal sentiments and memes are circulated around the clock, several going so far as to call for the Prime Minister’s death. Immigration is regularly condemned, and Islamophobia is dismissed as a made-up word.

While some of the most offensive posts have been removed over recent weeks, the views are still crystal clear. This group isn’t just anti-tax and pro-oil, it’s filled to the brim with intolerance. This message is consistent throughout provincial groups as well, such as BC Proud, Alberta Proud and Ontario Proud. With a combined total of hundreds of thousands of members in these groups, cries of fake news and the danger of refugees abound.

These sentiments don’t just live online.

Statistics Canada reported hate crimes had reached historically high levels in 2017, rising 47 per cent over the previous year, with Ontario and Quebec leading the pack on reported incidents. Black, Jewish and Muslim people were targeted most. Quebec saw a 50 per cent increase in hate crimes overall, and crimes against Muslims tripled between 2016 and 2017. In January of 2017, a shooter killed six men and injured several others in a Quebec City Mosque. Meanwhile, Ontario saw a 207 per cent increase in hate crimes against Muslims, and an 84 per cent increase against Black people. Crimes against LGBTQ+ people have also climbed. Swastikas have been spray painted on synagogues and other buildings across the country. Intolerance is growing.

Populism has many sources. Perhaps there are people who are tired of looking inward and are now lashing outward. Maybe, for some, it’s simpler to blame immigrants when they can’t find work than the companies who cut minimum wage jobs and still pay their executives millions in bonuses. Maybe it’s easier to find a scapegoat, to call someone like me a child abuser for supporting my transgender teen, than it is to grow and broaden our ideas of what’s normal.

Societal change can be hard and it can make people uncomfortable, but that’s a flimy excuse for discrimination.

Intolerance has never gone away, it was simply out of fashion for a while. Now it’s back with a fresh new look and a boost from fake news and social media.

We should all care deeply about this frightening political shift and where it could take us.

I know I care, which is why I’m so scared about what’s happening in this country, and what’s yet to come.

Amanda Jetté Knox is an award-winning writer, public speaker and LGBTQ advocate. She is the author of Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family, which will be published in August 2019 from Penguin Random House Canada. She lives in Ottawa with her wife and four kids.

[hippyspacewitch]

This has been building up for a while and this recent “bible” argument really bothers me. I can’t and won’t stay quiet about this. This is pungent with Fox News and the extreme Republican views. How can you not feel for people. It is genuinely upsetting and heart breaking. Those who stand on the side of coldness and disregard for life. You’re beyond despicable. There just aren’t words powerful enough to describe how much. Hypocritical. Sickening. These are words we could rightfully use to set the tone for an administration that strongly advocates putting children into concentration camps, separating families, while at the same time declaring it always necessary to follow through with every pregnancy. How cruel and lacking self awareness can you be? No, this is done in order to keep people down, and maintain control. Willful ignorance evolves into ultimate evil again.

I am not a sadness seeking person. I’m not the misery chick. Coming off a good high, actually. I’m living my life, feeling good. Aren’t I a lucky duck. Sweat is smelly, but it feels so good to get out of my skin for a bit. Looking more fit, take a pic, feeling happy. Whelp, let’s take a little trip to yon’ internet, gonna post another selfie of my cute face, look at those dimples! Wait, I’m not looking at my dimples anymore.

Looking at what’s going on in the world instead, so I continue reading NEWS, which is based on FACTS. I know. REALLY crazy to hear. Hopefully that catches on one day. Regardless, I am incredibly saddened. Only wish to repost the unpleasant articles I read, hoping it helps create awareness. It doesn’t feel like an appropriate time for sharing pleasantries or my happiness, because I’m truly very upset with the direction this current regime is leading our nation.

We weren’t too far from that standard already, but snowflakes are pushing back hard, trying to double down on ending crucial necessities needed to maintain a semi-capable, albeit heavily flawed, semi-civilized society. So many people have died to protect the right just to exist with dignity, relative to that previously stated fact alone, as it pertains mainly to the elongated fight for basic human rights. People of all races and cultural backgrounds have died for that much. I’m wholeheartedly dissatisfied and sickened by the actions of not just the notorious current administration, but the White House too, along with those who see the overall standard of humanity that so many people hold, as anything short of unacceptable. If you accept this, you should feel ashamed. I can’t say that enough, if you don’t hear your momma’s voice. If you continue to follow me, I’ll make sure you hear my voice enough.

I’ll make you feel something, whether you just stop reading because you can’t handle the truth, or if you’re feeling froggy, ready to speak against me, (I’ll weed y’all out.) or hey, you evolve at least far enough to want to see the world be better someday. (Work toward the latter.)

Therefore I am strongly urging and pleading with COGNITIVELY DISSONANT WHITE PEOPLE out there. It is long past time you MAKE A CHANGE, concerning the way you think about racism and race. SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING people of PRIVILEGE here, anyone born into the Christian faith, not specific enough, here - WHITE PEOPLE! Yes, I am one, and I even fit all that above criteria. Well look at that. I can speak for myself and therefore others like me. Coming from a place where I was misdiagnosed AMAB (that’s assigned male at birth) I can absolutely say it is EASY for me to recognize the first 27 years of my life I was living with the highest standard of privilege in the United States. I still live with privilege as a white person, even as a transgender woman.

Anyone who knows me well enough, might say, “Well, Eris you’ve described what it’s like to live in an impoverished area, with high levels of crime, gang violence, and from what you tell me, you had reason to be afraid. That doesn’t sound like privilege” To which I would respond to myself as someone else, for the purposes of making a point in this hypothetical scenario that fits my point in the end, “Self that isn’t myself, because I’m not an idiot. We see comment sections for days, with white people fired up, wanting so bad to let the world know from their brand new iPhone, they experienced some semblance of living within poverty. White people essentially bragging about having a cup of coffee in the ghetto. It’s either that, or meth head white people living in a meth head white people neighborhood. Fox News’ most loyal demographic. White people who take unemployment, have tons of babies, vote Republican, damn liberals out there who are fighting to keep them off the street, with extremely limited resources given. Some viewers don’t know the definition of ironic, but isn’t it ironic? Ignorance isn’t at all self aware, until you spell it out for them slowly, and then there’s a chance they briefly acknowledge it before turning away, and forgetting it happened entirely. That said we must strive to look further than our individual experience for lessons.”

I heard that hot garbage living in Washington. Surrounded by meth heads. Working at the gas station, you here people talk. False arguments straight from hypocritical, entitled white people who are just looking to close the gap and get even more. So many of them are far too shameless, they’ll just admit it themselves. Who else are they going to tell? I can’t make this up. People who think like this are naturally afraid, as you should be. Fear clouds our minds far too often, but white people like this are next level.

Pissed off they have to share, like an overgrown petulant brat, ready to lick whatever unseen, promised hints of scum off a criminal inheritors shitty ass boot, as long as they feel like that boot isn’t treading on them. I’m not at all going to even get into my experience living in a bad neighborhood, here. I won’t even get into how long either. I can tell you, it was bad enough for me to want to know why. Now, I know why, and it’s more important to know. Privilege white politicians redistricting people based on race.

If you’re at all uncomfortable hearing white people, think how other people must be feeling about the whole sociology of race and everyday human relations. Oh I’m sorry, you can’t know, and neither can I. White people contribute to poverty maintaining class and privilege, institutionalizing racism through laws they create with that specific intention. Now they want to shut immigrants out entirely. The rich are a head of the curve in terms of closing the gap. Not out of strictly self preservation, the real goal is to maintain constant control and domination, basically keep people of color down.

This is barely getting close to just scratching the surface about race. A subject, I actually don’t like speaking a whole lot about. I don’t feel like I’m appropriate representation, for one thing. Personally, more of a reader on the subject. I will explain my experience learning about racism. It was fairly early on. I didn’t learn it, because of the area I lived in. The area I lived in was small, bad areas are small or larger depending on the states race issues and redistricting. I learned it before I moved there actually. There’s no way to put this without causing discomfort, so I apologize.

My biological donor called my former step dad the n word constantly. I actually asked him about it. I was very young, so I only remember my stepdad at the time, explaining certain things in a very delicate way, mostly to not harm my innocence. Saying he doesn’t actually feel like he’s a racist, that he’s just mad. It was hard on my mom and step dad to struggle with not wanting to shatter the image of my biological father, versus him basically doing it to himself. Being an empath, I recognized it was difficult, eventually I was calling them out on it. That doesn’t really have much to do with where I’m going, it’s just a bit of background to my mind altering experience as it pertains to learning about race.

Once I was older, around fifth or sixth grade, a few people would target me at school, because I’m white. It wasn’t until we got older, for the last couple years before I moved. I used to just be frustrated that we couldn’t keep seeing past it. I had yet to discover why that thought is selfish, but I was a good hearted kid. I thought it wasn’t fair, remembering how I felt, as it pertains to expecting people to learn English. How many extra languages are you fluent in, again. It isn’t easy for most people to casually pick up another language.

It’s important to realize, I’d been taught discrimination is wrong. I was taught not to blame other people for my problem. Once again, more learned behavior. My whole point is coming into fruition soon. Yes, I was discriminated against for being a white person. There it is, did you catch it? You might only be able to imagine why people of color would discriminate against white people; if you watch bullshit news and drink hot garbage for tea, wake up and smell the coffee!

If you are not lacking in awareness, you don’t have to look very far to see racism for what it is, and know the difference between perceived racism (discrimination) and racism as a contributing factor in our society. A real problem that effects people of color in so many complex ways, I truly can’t comprehend. It’s hard enough being trans and dealing with people hating you, before they know you at all. That’s one instance I can peel back in a big old nasty onion with many layers. Another privilege for white people, along with ignoring it, as far I am concerned it’s absolutely willful ignorance.

Deflate this desperate flotation mechanism and aesthetics. I hope this at least brings people the shame and guilt too many people are tired of feeling and want to just move past. Check yourself white people, you have no idea what it’s like to struggle daily as a disenfranchised person of color. You might have problems, but your privilege confines your experience.

[el-shai]

The Fatal Hiring Mistake Reddit Made, Making them Lose Millions!

With 52 million daily active users and worth $6 billion, Reddit has got to be one of the most important, if not the most important, websites on the internet. While it might not be as popular here in Egypt, Reddit is often called "The front page of the internet" since it's usually the source of all new things on the internet. From news to memes! With the concept of staying anonymous at all times (except if a user chooses not to), the website was never shy of stirring up the virtual pot on the internet.  However, these last couple of days, the website's drama seemed to be more than usual. Hundreds of Reddit communities have locked down to protest Reddit's handling of a controversy surrounding hiring former UK politician Aimee Knight.  More than 200 subreddits have set their status to private in the past day, leading the website to lose millions of users' interactions. Moderators demanded a statement from Reddit about Knight's hiring and the action the platform will be taking. But why are people so angry about Reddit hiring Knight? Well, she's an overall tool, but let us get into details.

What did Amiee Knight do to lead to all the users' hate?

Knight has been suspended from the Green Party after selecting her father as her election agent in a 2017 political campaign. Her father is a convicted pedophile who was accused of raping and torturing a 10 years old girl in their own house, in which Aimee lived in. Yikes...

After being arrested and charged for the crime, Aimee hired her father to be her campaign manager for elections with the Green party before being tried and sentenced.  She gave him a false name to the party on the paperwork. When the Green Party found out he's her father, she claimed she was unaware of the extent of his crimes.  Subsequently, she was removed from the party for safeguarding failures. Her father is not the only pedophile in her life, though, no, no, no! Her husband is also an open pedophile who posts erotic fiction about children.  After being removed from the Green Party, Aimee had joined the Lib Dem party and was fired when her husband tweeted that he "Fantasized about children having sex, sometimes with adults, sometimes kidnapped and forced into bad situations."  Both Aimee and her husband claim that the Twitter account was hacked at that time. Of course, it was... So even if she uses the "I can't choose my father," you can at least pick a husband who doesn't want to rape kids!

What led to users losing it over her hiring?

You see, Knight is a transgender woman who was targeted for harassment by anti-trans activists and the right-wing. Not because of the pedophilia, but because she's trans. She was a volunteer moderator on subreddits like r/lgbt, and she helped write an open letter to the site's administrators about anti-LGBT harassment last year. This led Reddit to secretly enabling protections that all Reddit posts would be automatically scanned. If it was detected to be doxxing Aimee, it would result in an automatic ban. Reddit ended up banning a UK politics subreddit moderator for linking to an article that mentioned Knight.  Reddit reversed the ban and posted an explanatory statement, saying it was fighting a harassment campaign against an employee.

According to the Statment:

Earlier this month, a Reddit employee was the target of harassment and doxxing (sharing personal or confidential information). Reddit activated standard processes to protect the employee from such harassment, including initiating an automated moderation rule to prevent personal data from being shared. The moderation rule was too broad, and this week it incorrectly suspended a moderator who posted the content that included personal information. After investigating the situation, we reinstated the moderator the same day. We are continuing to review all the details of the case to ensure that we protect users and employees from doxxing -- including those who may have a public profile -- without mistakenly taking action on non-violating content.Content that mentions an employee does not violate our rules and is not subject to removal a priori. However, posts or comments that break Rule 1 or Rule 3 or link to the content will be removed. While there are still plenty of stories to tell about Amiee Knight and the hate she's been getting on Reddit, this article's main intent is to take a good look at Reddit's statement about the scandal. 

Reddit's Full Statment:

We would like to give you all an update on the recent issues that have transpired concerning a specific Reddit employee and provide you with context into actions that we took to prevent doxxing and harassment. As of today, the employee in question is no longer employed by Reddit. We built a relationship with her first as a mod and then through her contractor work on RPAN. We did not adequately vet her background before formally hiring her. We've put significant effort into improving how we handle doxxing and harassment, and this employee was the subject of both. In this case, we over-indexed on protection, which had serious consequences in terms of enforcement actions. - On March 9th, we added extra protections for this employee, including actioning content that mentioned the employee's name or shared personal information on third-party sites, which we reserve for serious cases of harassment and doxxing. - On March 22nd, a news article about this employee was posted by a mod of r/ukpolitics. The article was removed and the submitter banned by the aforementioned rules. When contacted by the moderators of r/ukpolitics, we reviewed the actions and reversed the ban on the moderator, and we informed the r/ukpolitics moderation team that we had restored the mod. - We updated our rules to flag potential harassment for human review. Debate and criticism have always been and always will be central to a conversation on Reddit—including discussion about public figures and Reddit itself—as long as they are not used as vehicles for harassment. Mentioning a public figure's name should not get you banned. We care deeply for Reddit and appreciate that you do too. We understand the anger and confusion about these issues and their bigger implications. The employee is no longer with Reddit, and we'll be evolving a number of relevant internal policies. We did not operate to our own standards here. We will do our best to do better for you.

The part we really need to talk about here:

"We did not adequately vet her background before formally hiring her." Let us remind you again, Reddit is worth $6 billion.  That is 94,786,200,000.00 Egyptian Pound. They can afford HR, we're sure of that! Yet, they chose to hire someone who volunteered for them without making a background check.   This is a fatal error many companies, honestly, including ourselves, always make.  If anyone helped us out with our business, this means we owe them a place in the company, and this should never be the case! Voluntary work is a choice the volunteer makes, and companies should never owe them anything.  Additionally, companies should not take the easy route and hire someone who's easier for them to hire.  Even if a person is your best friend, regular hiring processing must be made! So remember, HR people. Whenever you're hiring someone "bel7ob", remember that Reddit incident. Read the full article

[xbrokenxdollsx]

hi kitty im a trans girl and with the white house getting rid of the public bathroom policy i feel a bit scared with how america is now. idk why im telling you but i love your blog and how you seem so accepting of people and think fro is nb and open about other peoples head canons. thank you for being you and i hope you get this message

So I got this message, probably last night while I was asleep, and have been thinking about how to respond to this without being political - knowing that babehz understand that this isn’t a political blog whatsoever and I prefer not to have politics as a topic. You deserve a response from me for taking the courage to write this message at a time you feel vulnerable and frightened about the fate of our many brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings who are feeling the same way.

As a person who is cis and knows she has the privilege of being cis, (straight) and white, I stand for those who are poc, outside the binary spectrum, under the different sexualities. I stand for cultures who are discriminated or appropriated by media as figments of fantasy when, really, they are more than real and staying alive and strong. I stand for individuals who face difficulties within a country that is built on diversity, and as well scary history of our own war for freedom from slavery, segregation and hate to innocent people - and this still stretches on to the world today.

Growing up in a culturally diverse community, I found it to be a blessing to meet people of all places and backgrounds that probably majority of politicians don’t have the honor; being invited to festivals and celebrations of immigrant families and traditions being passed to the next generation, I found the comfort in the warmth and acceptance of human beings who wanted me to learn about them.

Coming to grow and learning from those I am close to, friends who have been there when I needed my own support, to branch out and discover themselves with their gender and sexualities, I also found pure amazement of what humans can become throughout their lives of finding themselves. As hard as it is and the many obstacles they face, I have met and lost many beautiful people who are stronger than they can claim themselves to be.

I know that I myself can not be the voice for those are are most affected, but I know that I am affected by seeing the people I love and care for living in fear - and have been, since I was a kid. I have seen classmates during the time of 9///11 of muslim decent being targeted by others physically in hallways and outside of school grounds, and even years after; black acquaintances actually being treated differently in public places while we go out to eat by staff while they give me the better treatment - and I can’t even to begin to start on how I’ve seen the violence of those who know who they are gender-wise and their own sexuality and even keep to themselves.

Even as I am writing this, I get overwhelmed at how people can be so cruel to others, when the world itself is made of different people and we all originate from the same color of blood and beating hearts. It makes me cry to know that so many amazing, talented and perfect individuals are targeted and shown such hatred from a country that is suppose to give you the American Dream: to follow your heart and show the world what you’re made of and have a happy life. 

I know this may seem pointless and annoying to some people, but I feel that this is important to remind those that I am honestly so, so proud of all of those who are still here now and see that they are human and they have rights. This goes to those of religious beliefs, ethnicity, skin, sexuality, gender and everything in between. Members and true allies standing together, you remind me what it means to be human and fighting.

I want all to know that I fight for my friends and community for what is right among the human race, that I fight for the safety of those who feel scared and comfort those who are too afraid as of right now to express who they are - whether if it’s with family or your surroundings, you’re still fighting to survive in a society that can be toxic and even deadly to some, and I am proud.

I hear your voices and I see your faces and signs of much needed attention and support, and I give you all my undivided attention to you all and give you the love and acceptance that you deserve as humans. I want you to know that I see amazing people doing what they can do survive trying times and hardships, and I want to see you all succeed and win with your voices, faces and love to share.

I know you are scared, and so am I. We don’t have any idea what is to come, but I refuse to give up for those I love and appreciate, and no government or law is going to stop you or me from continuing on making history as the people we are as the human race.

I want you to keep being yourself and be proud of who you are, because I am proud of you and I love you. You are perfect and it’s okay to be scared, but remember that there are many who will stand with you no matter what.

[lodelss]

Trans People Belong

Across the country, politicians are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people — shutting people out of public spaces, basic services, educational institutions, and ultimately compromising the ability of trans people to survive. Trans people of all ages and backgrounds are targets, from kids in schools to incarcerated people to elderly patients in the health care system. But the weight of these attacks disproportionately falls on Black trans women and other trans people of color. Simply put, lawmakers want to stop people from being transgender — and they’re willing to put lives at risk to achieve their aims. 

This year is an important one in the fight for trans rights. A record number of anti-trans bills are making their way through state legislatures, and the Supreme Court will issue a monumental decision on the civil rights of trans people in the coming months. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to find more ways to green-light discrimination against trans people. 

Trans people have a right to live in safety, to thrive, and to be treated with dignity. A trans patient in need of care should receive it. A trans student should be able to play sports, use the restroom, and participate in activities alongside their peers. Trans people must have safe conditions in prison, jail, immigration detention and other sites of confinement, including shelters, and must be able to utilize facilities and services as their true selves. 

Now is the time to raise our voices and remind lawmakers:

… in health care … in schools … in sports … in the military … in workplaces

Health Care

Transgender people should be able to access health care just like everybody else. Yet transition-related health care is explicitly excluded from many public health care programs and private insurance policies, and loopholes in anti-discrimination laws allow health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against trans people. 

In recent years, the Trump administration has put trans people’s health at even greater risk by proposing to gut nondiscrimination protections in the Health Care Rights Law, also known as Section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act, thereby removing vital protections against sex-based discrimination. The administration also wants to give health care providers a license to discriminate based on their religion. For example, a doctor or nurse could refuse to provide care for a transgender person, a same-sex couple, or a person seeking an abortion, saying it violates their religious beliefs. The goal of the administration is clear: to excise transgender people from the basic right to access health care. 

The ACLU is fighting back in the courts as tens of thousands of activists are raising their voices in opposition to the proposed changes to the law. We must ensure that trans and non-binary people have meaningful, comprehensive access to care, just like all of us. 

Stories

Oliver Knight: Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender

Dashir Moore: Denied Health Care for Being Trans

Hilde Hall: My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription

Resources and action

Menstrual Equity Toolkit

Tell Congress to pass the Equality Act

Schools

In 2016, lawmakers fixated on where transgender people go to the bathroom. This year, lawmakers have decided to prioritize barring trans and non-binary youth from accessing the same spaces and rights as their peers. That includes accessing restrooms, athletics, and documentation consistent with their gender identity. 

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has rescinded key components of Title IX that allowed transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. DeVos has also announced that the Department of Education will no longer investigate any complaints filed by transgender students who have been banned from restrooms that match their gender identity. At the same time, states across the country are proposing bans on restroom use, harming trans students.

Through various litigation and advocacy initiatives, the ACLU and partners are fighting back to ensure schools are a safe, inclusive space for transgender and non-binary students. 

Resources and action

KYR guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students 

Stories

A Boy Named Gavin

Aidan DeStefano: My School Was Right to Let Me Use the Bathroom Consistent With Who I Am

Sports

Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination.

However, states and schools across the country are trying to marginalize trans athletes by banning them from participating in sports like any other athlete. These measures would exclude transgender people from enjoying the benefits of sports on equal terms with their cisgender peers. Not only do these bills discriminate against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, they also raise a host of privacy concerns.

The marginalization of trans student-athletes is rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes. Transgender girls are often told that they are not girls (and conversely transgender boys are told they are not really boys) based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism, and gender. As a result, transgender athletes — particularly Black transgender women — face systemic barriers to participation in athletics and all aspects of public life. This exclusion contributes to the high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence that Black trans women and girls face.

Resources/action

Pledge to support trans student-athletes

Stories

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood: Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal

The Military

For decades, transgender men and women have been barred from openly serving in the military, despite the fact that recent studies show that about one-fifth of all transgender adults are veterans, making transgender people approximately twice as likely as others to serve in the military.

In 2015, the Pentagon announced the military will work on a policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly — but those plans came to a halt when President Trump entered office and promptly signed an executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

Though the ACLU, partners, and fellow advocates fought back, the trans military ban still stands. Current U.S. Department of Defense regulations bar transgender persons from military service. Requiring these brave Americans to continue to serve in silence is a profound injustice.

Stories

Brock Stone: Transgender Soldiers Are Equal to the Task. We Have Earned the Right to Serve Our Country

Noah Strangio: Veteran’s Day Reflections From a Civil Libertarian Former Soldier

We Support Our Trans Troops

Workplaces

Sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with how well a person can do their job. Yet transgender workers are often rejected by employers, denied compensation and benefits, or even fired because of who they love or who they are. Nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

For the past two decades, anti-discrimination laws have protected trans people — and all LGBTQ people — from certain forms of discrimination in the workplace. But the Trump administration is trying to strip away these hard-fought rights. In 2019, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would allow government-contracted employers to discriminate against trans employees. 

Trans rights are at stake in the courts, too. This year, the Supreme Court will decide three cases in which the Trump administration is urging the court to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQ. These cases will affect more people than the 2015 ruling on marriage equality, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm if the court green-lights discrimination. 

Through advocacy and litigation, the ACLU is fighting for clear and explicit laws that protect trans people from discrimination on the job. All LGBTQ people are entitled to fair consideration based on their job qualifications alone, just like everyone else.

Stories

Aimee Stephens: My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender

Jennifer Chavez: A Trans Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Industry

Resources and action

Take the Pledge for Aimee: Trans People Belong

Tell Congress to Pass the Equality Act

Trans People Belong Everywhere

Trans people belong in health care systems, in schools, in the military, in workplaces — everywhere. Trans people have the same civil rights and liberties as anybody else in this country. 

The ACLU is fighting for transgender rights in the courts and in legislatures at both the state and federal level. Join our fight by telling Congress to pass the Equality Act and by looking up anti-trans legislation in your state.

Further action and resources

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Rights

Transgender people and ID documentation

For more information, visit the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center.

Published March 5, 2020 at 02:13AM via ACLU https://ift.tt/3akLSdk

[nancydhooper]

Trans People Belong

Across the country, politicians are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people — shutting people out of public spaces, basic services, educational institutions, and ultimately compromising the ability of trans people to survive. Trans people of all ages and backgrounds are targets, from kids in schools to incarcerated people to elderly patients in the health care system. But the weight of these attacks disproportionately falls on Black trans women and other trans people of color. Simply put, lawmakers want to stop people from being transgender — and they’re willing to put lives at risk to achieve their aims. 

This year is an important one in the fight for trans rights. A record number of anti-trans bills are making their way through state legislatures, and the Supreme Court will issue a monumental decision on the civil rights of trans people in the coming months. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to find more ways to green-light discrimination against trans people. 

Trans people have a right to live in safety, to thrive, and to be treated with dignity. A trans patient in need of care should receive it. A trans student should be able to play sports, use the restroom, and participate in activities alongside their peers. Trans people must have safe conditions in prison, jail, immigration detention and other sites of confinement, including shelters, and must be able to utilize facilities and services as their true selves. 

Now is the time to raise our voices and remind lawmakers:

… in health care … in schools … in sports … in the military … in workplaces

Health Care

Transgender people should be able to access health care just like everybody else. Yet transition-related health care is explicitly excluded from many public health care programs and private insurance policies, and loopholes in anti-discrimination laws allow health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against trans people. 

In recent years, the Trump administration has put trans people’s health at even greater risk by proposing to gut nondiscrimination protections in the Health Care Rights Law, also known as Section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act, thereby removing vital protections against sex-based discrimination. The administration also wants to give health care providers a license to discriminate based on their religion. For example, a doctor or nurse could refuse to provide care for a transgender person, a same-sex couple, or a person seeking an abortion, saying it violates their religious beliefs. The goal of the administration is clear: to excise transgender people from the basic right to access health care. 

The ACLU is fighting back in the courts as tens of thousands of activists are raising their voices in opposition to the proposed changes to the law. We must ensure that trans and non-binary people have meaningful, comprehensive access to care, just like all of us. 

Stories

Oliver Knight: Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender

Dashir Moore: Denied Health Care for Being Trans

Hilde Hall: My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription

Resources and action

Menstrual Equity Toolkit

Tell Congress to pass the Equality Act

Schools

In 2016, lawmakers fixated on where transgender people go to the bathroom. This year, lawmakers have decided to prioritize barring trans and non-binary youth from accessing the same spaces and rights as their peers. That includes accessing restrooms, athletics, and documentation consistent with their gender identity. 

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has rescinded key components of Title IX that allowed transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. DeVos has also announced that the Department of Education will no longer investigate any complaints filed by transgender students who have been banned from restrooms that match their gender identity. At the same time, states across the country are proposing bans on restroom use, harming trans students.

Through various litigation and advocacy initiatives, the ACLU and partners are fighting back to ensure schools are a safe, inclusive space for transgender and non-binary students. 

Resources and action

KYR guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students 

Stories

A Boy Named Gavin

Aidan DeStefano: My School Was Right to Let Me Use the Bathroom Consistent With Who I Am

Sports

Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination.

However, states and schools across the country are trying to marginalize trans athletes by banning them from participating in sports like any other athlete. These measures would exclude transgender people from enjoying the benefits of sports on equal terms with their cisgender peers. Not only do these bills discriminate against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, they also raise a host of privacy concerns.

The marginalization of trans student-athletes is rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes. Transgender girls are often told that they are not girls (and conversely transgender boys are told they are not really boys) based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism, and gender. As a result, transgender athletes — particularly Black transgender women — face systemic barriers to participation in athletics and all aspects of public life. This exclusion contributes to the high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence that Black trans women and girls face.

Resources/action

Pledge to support trans student-athletes

Stories

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood: Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal

The Military

For decades, transgender men and women have been barred from openly serving in the military, despite the fact that recent studies show that about one-fifth of all transgender adults are veterans, making transgender people approximately twice as likely as others to serve in the military.

In 2015, the Pentagon announced the military will work on a policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly — but those plans came to a halt when President Trump entered office and promptly signed an executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

Though the ACLU, partners, and fellow advocates fought back, the trans military ban still stands. Current U.S. Department of Defense regulations bar transgender persons from military service. Requiring these brave Americans to continue to serve in silence is a profound injustice.

Stories

Brock Stone: Transgender Soldiers Are Equal to the Task. We Have Earned the Right to Serve Our Country

Noah Strangio: Veteran’s Day Reflections From a Civil Libertarian Former Soldier

We Support Our Trans Troops

Workplaces

Sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with how well a person can do their job. Yet transgender workers are often rejected by employers, denied compensation and benefits, or even fired because of who they love or who they are. Nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

For the past two decades, anti-discrimination laws have protected trans people — and all LGBTQ people — from certain forms of discrimination in the workplace. But the Trump administration is trying to strip away these hard-fought rights. In 2019, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would allow government-contracted employers to discriminate against trans employees. 

Trans rights are at stake in the courts, too. This year, the Supreme Court will decide three cases in which the Trump administration is urging the court to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQ. These cases will affect more people than the 2015 ruling on marriage equality, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm if the court green-lights discrimination. 

Through advocacy and litigation, the ACLU is fighting for clear and explicit laws that protect trans people from discrimination on the job. All LGBTQ people are entitled to fair consideration based on their job qualifications alone, just like everyone else.

Stories

Aimee Stephens: My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender

Jennifer Chavez: A Trans Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Industry

Resources and action

Take the Pledge for Aimee: Trans People Belong

Tell Congress to Pass the Equality Act

Trans People Belong Everywhere

Trans people belong in health care systems, in schools, in the military, in workplaces — everywhere. Trans people have the same civil rights and liberties as anybody else in this country. 

The ACLU is fighting for transgender rights in the courts and in legislatures at both the state and federal level. Join our fight by telling Congress to pass the Equality Act and by looking up anti-trans legislation in your state.

Further action and resources

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Rights

Transgender people and ID documentation

For more information, visit the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247012 https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/trans-people-belong via http://www.rssmix.com/

[thenoticeblog]

100 Days of Resistance: Day 3 "Am I Human?"

by Dana Aliya Levinson

I came of age during the Presidency of George W. Bush. Being a native New Yorker, I remember 8th grade, when we had to shut off the air conditioning system in the school because the dust cloud from the World Trade Center was floating above us. I remember the ghostly looks of my fellow students in the hallway. I remember not knowing if the flight my aunts were supposed to take back to North Carolina that morning was one of the planes that was hijacked. I remember not knowing whether my mom had made her way into Manhattan for work as she was supposed to or if the planes had hit before she got on the train. I remember that the cell phone towers were down and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. I was lucky. All of my loved ones were okay in the end. That was not the case for all of my peers.

For me, 9/11, the anthrax scare, Afghanistan, Iraq; they all felt like the world was spinning out of control. They felt like a decisive turning point and a loss of innocence. I felt like we were being attacked on all sides. While all of this was going on, I was also beginning to understand my own queerness. The summer going into seventh grade, I was stating to become aware that it was boys I was getting crushes on, not girls. Ever since I was a little kid, my femininity was a target for bullying. Being called faggot was a daily occurrence from the age of seven on. As I realized my attraction to men, my first thought was ‘oh no, my bullies were right.’ The shame had been so internalized in me that the idea of being queer was the most horrifying thing, because I had been taught by my peers that it wasn’t okay.

I came to terms with my sexuality and began to come out later in 8th grade. By the end of my freshmen year of high school, I was totally out as gay. Then in 2004, President Bush voiced his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. I was fifteen. I come from a political family, so I was well aware that President Bush was using this amendment as a wedge issue to fire up his base in his reelection bid against then Senator Kerry. I was being used as a wedge issue to fire up his base in his reelection bid against then Senator Kerry. Imagine for a moment being fifteen years old, being bullied for who you are, and having the President of the United States validate those bullies. Imagine having the President of the United States tell you at fifteen that you are less than. Not only did it feel like our whole country was unmoored and at war with some faceless enemy, but now I felt like war was being waged on me and my body against my will.

The amendment failed. While I had come to terms with my sexuality, I was on the long road towards coming to terms with my gender identity, finally coming out as trans at twenty-four. Eventually the right side of history won the battle and marriage equality became the law of the land. However, the religious right has once again decided to make my body and life political against my will. Their latest cause du jour is the rash of ‘religious freedom bills.’ These bills legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people in the name of religious freedom. Under these bills, a landlord could refuse to rent an apartment to someone because he is a bisexual man, an employer could refuse to hire someone because she is a lesbian, and a florist could refuse to do an arrangement for a gay wedding. However, these bills have become ubiquitously known as the ‘bathroom bills.’

Not only do these state bills allow all of these forms of discrimination against me or anyone LGBTQ, they have been sold to constituents on the fear-mongering about trans-women in the bathroom. They claim they’re keeping ‘men out of the women’s’ bathroom. I am being told that I am a predator. That I am likely a rapist. That I am likely a pedophile. Of course, none of these things are true, and if anything these bills put men in the women’s bathroom by forcing trans-men to use the women’s room. Once again, my basic humanity is a subject of debate by mostly heterosexual cisgender men who know nothing of trans identity other than their own prejudice and don’t care to learn about it or to humanize it. I don’t need to relitigate the statistics about how many trans-women have been assaulted in a bathroom (a lot) and how many cis-women have been assaulted by trans-women in the bathroom (none). What these bills are really about, is that they want us gone. They want us removed from view and from public life, as if somehow if LGBTQ people are legally discriminated against and barred from existing in the same realm that heterosexual and cisgender people exist in, that heterosexual cisgender people will somehow stop having LGBTQ children and we’ll go away.

President Trump’s view on this issue is murky. While he voiced support for allowing people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity on the campaign trail, he quickly walked that back after outcry from the base. His Vice President is one of the most anti-LGBTQ politicians in the country. Meanwhile, President Trump has voiced support for the First Amendment Defense Act proposed by Utah’s Senator Mike Lee. This piece of legislation would be North Carolina’s HB2 enshrined in federal law. Not only would it allow LGBTQ discrimination in the federal government, but it would also allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in the private sector specifically when it comes to marriage and allow LGBTQ discrimination in public schools, including tacit support for conversion therapy.

The jury is not out. Gender identity and sexuality are immutable characteristics. They cannot be changed. The only ‘choice’ there is is whether or not one chooses to live authentically. This is about whether or not someone believes I am as much of a human being as someone who isn’t LGBTQ. Once again, the message from the right is loud and clear; ‘you are not a human being deserving of equal rights and respect.’ I am now a twenty-eight year old woman who is very secure in and proud of who she is. I am willing to dive into this fight head first. However, who I worry about is that fifteen year old once again being told by their government that they’re less than. I worry about that twelve year old who isn’t sure, thanks to bullying, whether there’s any place in this world for them and whose government tells them the answer is no. To President Trump, should the First Amendment Defense Act cross your desk, I implore you to do one thing: Before signing it, meet with LGBT children and teenagers and talk with them about their lives. Then before you pick up that pen, ask yourself if they are human beings just like you.

[lodelss]

Trans People Belong

Across the country, politicians are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people — shutting people out of public spaces, basic services, educational institutions, and ultimately compromising the ability of trans people to survive. Trans people of all ages and backgrounds are targets, from kids in schools to incarcerated people to elderly patients in the health care system. But the weight of these attacks disproportionately falls on Black trans women and other trans people of color. Simply put, lawmakers want to stop people from being transgender — and they’re willing to put lives at risk to achieve their aims. 

This year is an important one in the fight for trans rights. A record number of anti-trans bills are making their way through state legislatures, and the Supreme Court will issue a monumental decision on the civil rights of trans people in the coming months. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to find more ways to green-light discrimination against trans people. 

Trans people have a right to live in safety, to thrive, and to be treated with dignity. A trans patient in need of care should receive it. A trans student should be able to play sports, use the restroom, and participate in activities alongside their peers. Trans people must have safe conditions in prison, jail, immigration detention and other sites of confinement, including shelters, and must be able to utilize facilities and services as their true selves. 

Now is the time to raise our voices and remind lawmakers:

… in health care … in schools … in sports … in the military … in workplaces

Health Care

Transgender people should be able to access health care just like everybody else. Yet transition-related health care is explicitly excluded from many public health care programs and private insurance policies, and loopholes in anti-discrimination laws allow health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against trans people. 

In recent years, the Trump administration has put trans people’s health at even greater risk by proposing to gut nondiscrimination protections in the Health Care Rights Law, also known as Section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act, thereby removing vital protections against sex-based discrimination. The administration also wants to give health care providers a license to discriminate based on their religion. For example, a doctor or nurse could refuse to provide care for a transgender person, a same-sex couple, or a person seeking an abortion, saying it violates their religious beliefs. The goal of the administration is clear: to excise transgender people from the basic right to access health care. 

The ACLU is fighting back in the courts as tens of thousands of activists are raising their voices in opposition to the proposed changes to the law. We must ensure that trans and non-binary people have meaningful, comprehensive access to care, just like all of us. 

Stories

Oliver Knight: Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender

Dashir Moore: Denied Health Care for Being Trans

Hilde Hall: My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription

Resources and action

Menstrual Equity Toolkit

Tell Congress to pass the Equality Act

Schools

In 2016, lawmakers fixated on where transgender people go to the bathroom. This year, lawmakers have decided to prioritize barring trans and non-binary youth from accessing the same spaces and rights as their peers. That includes accessing restrooms, athletics, and documentation consistent with their gender identity. 

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has rescinded key components of Title IX that allowed transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. DeVos has also announced that the Department of Education will no longer investigate any complaints filed by transgender students who have been banned from restrooms that match their gender identity. At the same time, states across the country are proposing bans on restroom use, harming trans students.

Through various litigation and advocacy initiatives, the ACLU and partners are fighting back to ensure schools are a safe, inclusive space for transgender and non-binary students. 

Resources and action

KYR guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students 

Stories

A Boy Named Gavin

Aidan DeStefano: My School Was Right to Let Me Use the Bathroom Consistent With Who I Am

Sports

Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination.

However, states and schools across the country are trying to marginalize trans athletes by banning them from participating in sports like any other athlete. These measures would exclude transgender people from enjoying the benefits of sports on equal terms with their cisgender peers. Not only do these bills discriminate against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, they also raise a host of privacy concerns.

The marginalization of trans student-athletes is rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes. Transgender girls are often told that they are not girls (and conversely transgender boys are told they are not really boys) based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism, and gender. As a result, transgender athletes — particularly Black transgender women — face systemic barriers to participation in athletics and all aspects of public life. This exclusion contributes to the high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence that Black trans women and girls face.

Resources/action

Pledge to support trans student-athletes

Stories

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood: Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal

The Military

For decades, transgender men and women have been barred from openly serving in the military, despite the fact that recent studies show that about one-fifth of all transgender adults are veterans, making transgender people approximately twice as likely as others to serve in the military.

In 2015, the Pentagon announced the military will work on a policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly — but those plans came to a halt when President Trump entered office and promptly signed an executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

Though the ACLU, partners, and fellow advocates fought back, the trans military ban still stands. Current U.S. Department of Defense regulations bar transgender persons from military service. Requiring these brave Americans to continue to serve in silence is a profound injustice.

Stories

Brock Stone: Transgender Soldiers Are Equal to the Task. We Have Earned the Right to Serve Our Country

Noah Strangio: Veteran’s Day Reflections From a Civil Libertarian Former Soldier

We Support Our Trans Troops

Workplaces

Sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with how well a person can do their job. Yet transgender workers are often rejected by employers, denied compensation and benefits, or even fired because of who they love or who they are. Nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

For the past two decades, anti-discrimination laws have protected trans people — and all LGBTQ people — from certain forms of discrimination in the workplace. But the Trump administration is trying to strip away these hard-fought rights. In 2019, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would allow government-contracted employers to discriminate against trans employees. 

Trans rights are at stake in the courts, too. This year, the Supreme Court will decide three cases in which the Trump administration is urging the court to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQ. These cases will affect more people than the 2015 ruling on marriage equality, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm if the court green-lights discrimination. 

Through advocacy and litigation, the ACLU is fighting for clear and explicit laws that protect trans people from discrimination on the job. All LGBTQ people are entitled to fair consideration based on their job qualifications alone, just like everyone else.

Stories

Aimee Stephens: My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender

Jennifer Chavez: A Trans Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Industry

Resources and action

Take the Pledge for Aimee: Trans People Belong

Tell Congress to Pass the Equality Act

Trans People Belong Everywhere

Trans people belong in health care systems, in schools, in the military, in workplaces — everywhere. Trans people have the same civil rights and liberties as anybody else in this country. 

The ACLU is fighting for transgender rights in the courts and in legislatures at both the state and federal level. Join our fight by telling Congress to pass the Equality Act and by looking up anti-trans legislation in your state.

Further action and resources

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Rights

Transgender people and ID documentation

For more information, visit the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center.

Published March 4, 2020 at 08:43PM via ACLU https://ift.tt/3akLSdk

[lodelss]

ACLU: Trans People Belong

Trans People Belong

Across the country, politicians are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people — shutting people out of public spaces, basic services, educational institutions, and ultimately compromising the ability of trans people to survive. Trans people of all ages and backgrounds are targets, from kids in schools to incarcerated people to elderly patients in the health care system. But the weight of these attacks disproportionately falls on Black trans women and other trans people of color. Simply put, lawmakers want to stop people from being transgender — and they’re willing to put lives at risk to achieve their aims. 

This year is an important one in the fight for trans rights. A record number of anti-trans bills are making their way through state legislatures, and the Supreme Court will issue a monumental decision on the civil rights of trans people in the coming months. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to find more ways to green-light discrimination against trans people. 

Trans people have a right to live in safety, to thrive, and to be treated with dignity. A trans patient in need of care should receive it. A trans student should be able to play sports, use the restroom, and participate in activities alongside their peers. Trans people must have safe conditions in prison, jail, immigration detention and other sites of confinement, including shelters, and must be able to utilize facilities and services as their true selves. 

Now is the time to raise our voices and remind lawmakers:

… in health care … in schools … in sports … in the military … in workplaces

Health Care

Transgender people should be able to access health care just like everybody else. Yet transition-related health care is explicitly excluded from many public health care programs and private insurance policies, and loopholes in anti-discrimination laws allow health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against trans people. 

In recent years, the Trump administration has put trans people’s health at even greater risk by proposing to gut nondiscrimination protections in the Health Care Rights Law, also known as Section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act, thereby removing vital protections against sex-based discrimination. The administration also wants to give health care providers a license to discriminate based on their religion. For example, a doctor or nurse could refuse to provide care for a transgender person, a same-sex couple, or a person seeking an abortion, saying it violates their religious beliefs. The goal of the administration is clear: to excise transgender people from the basic right to access health care. 

The ACLU is fighting back in the courts as tens of thousands of activists are raising their voices in opposition to the proposed changes to the law. We must ensure that trans and non-binary people have meaningful, comprehensive access to care, just like all of us. 

Stories

Oliver Knight: Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender

Dashir Moore: Denied Health Care for Being Trans

Hilde Hall: My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription

Resources and action

Menstrual Equity Toolkit

Tell Congress to pass the Equality Act

Schools

In 2016, lawmakers fixated on where transgender people go to the bathroom. This year, lawmakers have decided to prioritize barring trans and non-binary youth from accessing the same spaces and rights as their peers. That includes accessing restrooms, athletics, and documentation consistent with their gender identity. 

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has rescinded key components of Title IX that allowed transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. DeVos has also announced that the Department of Education will no longer investigate any complaints filed by transgender students who have been banned from restrooms that match their gender identity. At the same time, states across the country are proposing bans on restroom use, harming trans students.

Through various litigation and advocacy initiatives, the ACLU and partners are fighting back to ensure schools are a safe, inclusive space for transgender and non-binary students. 

Resources and action

KYR guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students 

Stories

A Boy Named Gavin

Aidan DeStefano: My School Was Right to Let Me Use the Bathroom Consistent With Who I Am

Sports

Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination.

However, states and schools across the country are trying to marginalize trans athletes by banning them from participating in sports like any other athlete. These measures would exclude transgender people from enjoying the benefits of sports on equal terms with their cisgender peers. Not only do these bills discriminate against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, they also raise a host of privacy concerns.

The marginalization of trans student-athletes is rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes. Transgender girls are often told that they are not girls (and conversely transgender boys are told they are not really boys) based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism, and gender. As a result, transgender athletes — particularly Black transgender women — face systemic barriers to participation in athletics and all aspects of public life. This exclusion contributes to the high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence that Black trans women and girls face.

Resources/action

Pledge to support trans student-athletes

Stories

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood: Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal

The Military

For decades, transgender men and women have been barred from openly serving in the military, despite the fact that recent studies show that about one-fifth of all transgender adults are veterans, making transgender people approximately twice as likely as others to serve in the military.

In 2015, the Pentagon announced the military will work on a policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly — but those plans came to a halt when President Trump entered office and promptly signed an executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

Though the ACLU, partners, and fellow advocates fought back, the trans military ban still stands. Current U.S. Department of Defense regulations bar transgender persons from military service. Requiring these brave Americans to continue to serve in silence is a profound injustice.

Stories

Brock Stone: Transgender Soldiers Are Equal to the Task. We Have Earned the Right to Serve Our Country

Noah Strangio: Veteran’s Day Reflections From a Civil Libertarian Former Soldier

We Support Our Trans Troops

Workplaces

Sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with how well a person can do their job. Yet transgender workers are often rejected by employers, denied compensation and benefits, or even fired because of who they love or who they are. Nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

For the past two decades, anti-discrimination laws have protected trans people — and all LGBTQ people — from certain forms of discrimination in the workplace. But the Trump administration is trying to strip away these hard-fought rights. In 2019, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would allow government-contracted employers to discriminate against trans employees. 

Trans rights are at stake in the courts, too. This year, the Supreme Court will decide three cases in which the Trump administration is urging the court to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQ. These cases will affect more people than the 2015 ruling on marriage equality, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm if the court green-lights discrimination. 

Through advocacy and litigation, the ACLU is fighting for clear and explicit laws that protect trans people from discrimination on the job. All LGBTQ people are entitled to fair consideration based on their job qualifications alone, just like everyone else.

Stories

Aimee Stephens: My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender

Jennifer Chavez: A Trans Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Industry

Resources and action

Take the Pledge for Aimee: Trans People Belong

Tell Congress to Pass the Equality Act

Trans People Belong Everywhere

Trans people belong in health care systems, in schools, in the military, in workplaces — everywhere. Trans people have the same civil rights and liberties as anybody else in this country. 

The ACLU is fighting for transgender rights in the courts and in legislatures at both the state and federal level. Join our fight by telling Congress to pass the Equality Act and by looking up anti-trans legislation in your state.

Further action and resources

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Rights

Transgender people and ID documentation

For more information, visit the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center.

Published March 5, 2020 at 02:13AM via ACLU https://ift.tt/3akLSdk from Blogger https://ift.tt/3czrk2v via IFTTT

[lodelss]

ACLU: Trans People Belong

Trans People Belong

Across the country, politicians are attacking the fundamental rights of transgender and non-binary people — shutting people out of public spaces, basic services, educational institutions, and ultimately compromising the ability of trans people to survive. Trans people of all ages and backgrounds are targets, from kids in schools to incarcerated people to elderly patients in the health care system. But the weight of these attacks disproportionately falls on Black trans women and other trans people of color. Simply put, lawmakers want to stop people from being transgender — and they’re willing to put lives at risk to achieve their aims. 

This year is an important one in the fight for trans rights. A record number of anti-trans bills are making their way through state legislatures, and the Supreme Court will issue a monumental decision on the civil rights of trans people in the coming months. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to find more ways to green-light discrimination against trans people. 

Trans people have a right to live in safety, to thrive, and to be treated with dignity. A trans patient in need of care should receive it. A trans student should be able to play sports, use the restroom, and participate in activities alongside their peers. Trans people must have safe conditions in prison, jail, immigration detention and other sites of confinement, including shelters, and must be able to utilize facilities and services as their true selves. 

Now is the time to raise our voices and remind lawmakers:

… in health care … in schools … in sports … in the military … in workplaces

Health Care

Transgender people should be able to access health care just like everybody else. Yet transition-related health care is explicitly excluded from many public health care programs and private insurance policies, and loopholes in anti-discrimination laws allow health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against trans people. 

In recent years, the Trump administration has put trans people’s health at even greater risk by proposing to gut nondiscrimination protections in the Health Care Rights Law, also known as Section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act, thereby removing vital protections against sex-based discrimination. The administration also wants to give health care providers a license to discriminate based on their religion. For example, a doctor or nurse could refuse to provide care for a transgender person, a same-sex couple, or a person seeking an abortion, saying it violates their religious beliefs. The goal of the administration is clear: to excise transgender people from the basic right to access health care. 

The ACLU is fighting back in the courts as tens of thousands of activists are raising their voices in opposition to the proposed changes to the law. We must ensure that trans and non-binary people have meaningful, comprehensive access to care, just like all of us. 

Stories

Oliver Knight: Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender

Dashir Moore: Denied Health Care for Being Trans

Hilde Hall: My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription

Resources and action

Menstrual Equity Toolkit

Tell Congress to pass the Equality Act

Schools

In 2016, lawmakers fixated on where transgender people go to the bathroom. This year, lawmakers have decided to prioritize barring trans and non-binary youth from accessing the same spaces and rights as their peers. That includes accessing restrooms, athletics, and documentation consistent with their gender identity. 

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has rescinded key components of Title IX that allowed transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. DeVos has also announced that the Department of Education will no longer investigate any complaints filed by transgender students who have been banned from restrooms that match their gender identity. At the same time, states across the country are proposing bans on restroom use, harming trans students.

Through various litigation and advocacy initiatives, the ACLU and partners are fighting back to ensure schools are a safe, inclusive space for transgender and non-binary students. 

Resources and action

KYR guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students 

Stories

A Boy Named Gavin

Aidan DeStefano: My School Was Right to Let Me Use the Bathroom Consistent With Who I Am

Sports

Transgender people have the right to participate in sports consistent with who they are, just like anyone. Denying this right is pure discrimination.

However, states and schools across the country are trying to marginalize trans athletes by banning them from participating in sports like any other athlete. These measures would exclude transgender people from enjoying the benefits of sports on equal terms with their cisgender peers. Not only do these bills discriminate against trans youth in ways that compromise their health, social and emotional development, they also raise a host of privacy concerns.

The marginalization of trans student-athletes is rooted in the same kind of gender discrimination and stereotyping that has held back cisgender women athletes. Transgender girls are often told that they are not girls (and conversely transgender boys are told they are not really boys) based on inaccurate stereotypes about biology, athleticism, and gender. As a result, transgender athletes — particularly Black transgender women — face systemic barriers to participation in athletics and all aspects of public life. This exclusion contributes to the high rates of homelessness, suicidality, and violence that Black trans women and girls face.

Resources/action

Pledge to support trans student-athletes

Stories

Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood: Banning Trans Girls From School Sports Is Neither Feminist Nor Legal

The Military

For decades, transgender men and women have been barred from openly serving in the military, despite the fact that recent studies show that about one-fifth of all transgender adults are veterans, making transgender people approximately twice as likely as others to serve in the military.

In 2015, the Pentagon announced the military will work on a policy allowing transgender soldiers to serve openly — but those plans came to a halt when President Trump entered office and promptly signed an executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

Though the ACLU, partners, and fellow advocates fought back, the trans military ban still stands. Current U.S. Department of Defense regulations bar transgender persons from military service. Requiring these brave Americans to continue to serve in silence is a profound injustice.

Stories

Brock Stone: Transgender Soldiers Are Equal to the Task. We Have Earned the Right to Serve Our Country

Noah Strangio: Veteran’s Day Reflections From a Civil Libertarian Former Soldier

We Support Our Trans Troops

Workplaces

Sexual orientation and gender identity have nothing to do with how well a person can do their job. Yet transgender workers are often rejected by employers, denied compensation and benefits, or even fired because of who they love or who they are. Nearly one in three transgender people has experienced discrimination in the workplace.

For the past two decades, anti-discrimination laws have protected trans people — and all LGBTQ people — from certain forms of discrimination in the workplace. But the Trump administration is trying to strip away these hard-fought rights. In 2019, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would allow government-contracted employers to discriminate against trans employees. 

Trans rights are at stake in the courts, too. This year, the Supreme Court will decide three cases in which the Trump administration is urging the court to rule that it’s legal to fire workers for being LGBTQ. These cases will affect more people than the 2015 ruling on marriage equality, and they potentially implicate a broader range of contexts in which LGBTQ people may face harm if the court green-lights discrimination. 

Through advocacy and litigation, the ACLU is fighting for clear and explicit laws that protect trans people from discrimination on the job. All LGBTQ people are entitled to fair consideration based on their job qualifications alone, just like everyone else.

Stories

Aimee Stephens: My Boss Fired Me From My Funeral Home Job for Being Transgender

Jennifer Chavez: A Trans Woman Working in a Male-Dominated Industry

Resources and action

Take the Pledge for Aimee: Trans People Belong

Tell Congress to Pass the Equality Act

Trans People Belong Everywhere

Trans people belong in health care systems, in schools, in the military, in workplaces — everywhere. Trans people have the same civil rights and liberties as anybody else in this country. 

The ACLU is fighting for transgender rights in the courts and in legislatures at both the state and federal level. Join our fight by telling Congress to pass the Equality Act and by looking up anti-trans legislation in your state.

Further action and resources

Know Your Rights: LGBTQ Rights

Transgender people and ID documentation

For more information, visit the Trans Women of Color Collective, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center.

Published March 4, 2020 at 08:43PM via ACLU https://ift.tt/3akLSdk from Blogger https://ift.tt/2Im602Q via IFTTT