On January 14, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” aiming to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female sports teams at federally funded educational institutions. The bill redefines sex under Title IX to be based solely on reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The vote concluded with 218 in favor and 206 against, with two Democrats supporting the measure. The bill now advances to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
“Only a few Republicans spoke in favor of the bill, including Representative Jedediah Hinkle, who argued that it was necessary to prevent people from “getting off” on bathroom sounds. Hinkle also pointed out that some transgender women are attracted to other women, raising questions about whether the same logic could be used to target lesbians as well.”
More than 400 LGBTQ and civil rights organizations have urged Congress to reject proposed legislation that would bar transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. Led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the coalition argues that such a ban would harm women and girls and undermine civil rights for all students.
“Targeting and excluding transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students from participation in school programming, including athletics programs, alongside their cisgender peers is harmful to all students and undermines the learning environment for everyone. If schools mark some students effectively as outcasts, they foster an environment where no student is included and safe.”
“Out of the major social media sites (TikTok, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Threads and Instagram), TikTok is the only one to have explicit rules prohibiting misgendering, deadnaming and misogyny, which all directly impact trans social media users. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, on Jan. 19 of this year, TikTok will be banned in the U.S., which might take away the safest site that exists for transgender individuals to find support and community.”
Uncloseted Media talks to Judd Legum, Founder of Popular Information, a newsletter that focuses on accountability journalism. He is also the founder and former editor of the progressive website ThinkProgress.
“The other part of this announcement that really stuck out and underscores that, was Zuckerberg saying that they’re going to continue some content moderation about certain topics, but they’re moving their content moderation team to Texas because Zuckerberg says that Texas is a place where people have less concern about bias, which is also something that Musk talks about a lot, that Texas is the greatest place. …And that somehow is this neutral place and California is just full of biased people. And so all of that is pretty ridiculous on its face. The only way that it’s preferable is if you are trying to pander to the right.”
Important article about how the New York Times failed in providing a fact-based, fair and critical presentation of transgender lives.
One argument is the bizarre idea that since transgender journalists have an interest in the case, they cannot be trusted to provide neutral or reliable analysis. In other words: really knowing something about a topic becomes a liability.
Critical journalism is not about giving both parties equal space. The truth is not found somewhere in between fascists and the people they oppress. Critical journalism is to spend a lot of time digging and exposing unethical behavior and abuse.
“In other words, Meta now appears to permit users to accuse transgender or gay people of being mentally ill because of their gender expression and sexual orientation. The company did not respond to requests for clarification on the policy.”
A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents with commercial insurance received gender-affirming medications, such as puberty blockers or hormones, over a five-year period.
The study analyzed a large insurance claims database and found that only 926 adolescents received puberty blockers and 1,927 received hormones from 2018 to 2022.
The findings suggest that the use of these medications is not as widespread as some might believe. The study also highlighted that no patients under age 12 were prescribed hormones, indicating cautious medical practices.
In response to the Oxford Literary Festival's programming of Helen Joyce and Julie Bindel (amounting to an entire third of its 'LGBTQ+' offering), I have withdrawn from my scheduled session on 'Shakespeare for the Modern Age.'
“Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical directed by Jacques Audiard, achieved significant recognition at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. This marks the first time a non-English-language film has secured this award.
The film tells the story of a Mexican cartel leader who transitions into a woman, with Karla Sofía Gascón, a Spanish trans actress, portraying the lead role. Gascón made history as the first transgender actress nominated for a film acting category at the Golden Globes.
During the ceremony, Gascón delivered a powerful acceptance speech, stating, “You can put us in jail, you can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity.”
“Emilia Pérez” also received awards for Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language), Best Original Song (“El Mal”), and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña.
This article by Rachel Saunders on Medium critiques the use of data in understanding trans identities. Saunders argues that data often fails to capture the full spectrum of trans experiences and can be manipulated to support harmful ideologies.
She highlights the limitations of data collection, especially in societies where being trans is dangerous or illegal. The article emphasizes that trans lives defy normative data analysis and that data should not be treated as reality.
Saunders also criticizes gender-critical discourse for using crude statistical measures to enforce discriminatory views and underscores the importance of recognizing the complexity and individuality of trans experiences.
The What the Trans Awards of 2024. Best album, film, television show, video game, news story, ally, coming-out, journalist and activist of the year. (podcast episode)
