Conversion therapy refers to a range of practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. These practices are based on the false premise that being LGBTQ+ is a disorder that needs to be “fixed.”
Major medical and psychological organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), widely condemn conversion therapy as harmful and ineffective. Research has shown that it can lead to severe mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.
Many countries and U.S. states have banned or restricted conversion therapy, especially for minors, due to its harmful effects.
New guidelines released by the medical societies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland strongly advocate for gender-affirming care for transgender youth, countering claims that Europe is retreating on such treatments. The 400-page document, developed by 26 medical and psychotherapeutic organizations, highlights the necessity of gender-affirming medical measures, including puberty blockers, for young individuals experiencing persistent gender incongruence.
The guidelines also critique the UK’s Cass Review, which has been used to justify restrictions on transgender care
Miss Hanafi is an Egyptian comedy from 1954 that explores gender and their roles vis-a-vis prevailing societal norms. It was the first film in the Arab region to have a central transgender character, and to explore its protagonist’s gender identity and its challenges at length.
Transgender Representatives Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell delivered impassioned speeches in the Montana House of Representatives, leading to a historic defeat of two extreme anti-transgender bills.
HB 675 aimed to ban public drag performances and Pride parades, while HB 754 sought to remove transgender children from supportive families.
Zephyr condemned the bills as attacks on the transgender community, highlighting the cultural significance of drag and the importance of family support. Howell criticized the vague and harmful language in HB 754, emphasizing the tragic consequences of separating children from stable, loving homes.
Their speeches inspired a remarkable shift, with 29 Republican lawmakers breaking ranks to oppose the bills. Representative Sherry Essman, a Republican, also publicly defended Zephyr and emphasized the importance of parental rights.
In a landmark ruling for trans people in Poland, the Supreme Court has issued a resolution declaring that someone wishing to change their officially recognised gender no longer needs to involve their parents in the case.
Up until now, people who wanted to change their gender have had to sue their parents to do so, even if they are adults. That practice made the process more difficult for those involved.
In a stunning reversal of his long-standing reputation as a champion of LGBTQ+ rights, California Governor Gavin Newsom has aligned himself with radical right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the ongoing debate over LGBTQ+ rights— specifically with regards to transgender athletes in women’s sports
Today, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland blocked the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting gender-affirming care for individuals under 19. The preliminary injunction applies nationwide, marking a stark contrast to an earlier lawsuit filed by Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington, which only secured protections in those three states.
In his address to Congress on March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump defended his recent anti-transgender executive orders and criticized what he described as wasteful government spending on projects like «making mice transgender.»
Fact-checkers have refuted this claim, noting that the National Institutes of Health allocated approximately $477,000 between fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to studies involving feminizing hormone therapy in monkeys to assess its impact on the immune system and susceptibility to HIV; no funding was directed toward transgender research involving mice.
A federal judge in Seattle has blocked two executive orders from President Donald Trump that aimed to strip federal funding from programs “promoting gender ideology” and cut off research grants to healthcare providers offering gender transition care to minors. U.S. District Judge Lauren King ruled that the orders were discriminatory and breached the separation of powers between Congress and the president. The orders, issued in January, sought to eliminate access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery for individuals under 19.
Photo: Demonstrators rally in support of trans youth at Seattle Children’s Hospital after President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to deny federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care on Feb. 8. (David Ryder/Reuters/Washington Post)
