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Published by GB News Daniel Radcliffe told a group of transgender children that adults concerned about kids changing their gender are “condescending”. The Harry Potter actor spoke to six trans and non-binary children at a roundtable organised by LGBTQ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project where he told them that adults should just “trust kids to tell us who they are”. It comes after Radcliffe took a swipe at JK Rowling saying that younger fans were “hurt” by her transgender views. He was told at the round table by 11-year-old trans girl, Daley: “I learned out of the cradle that I was a boy: ‘I should like … Read More View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — When The Warehouse made the top seven list of most endangered buildings in Chicago facing possible demolition, preservationists sprung to action to save the West Loop industrial building where legendary DJ Frankie Knuckles elevated Chicago to a higher musical levelwith “house music.” Besides playing soul-moving music through sound systems created by a New York engineer, Knuckles brought together partygoers from all backgrounds. Some have said The Warehouse was Chicago’s Paradise Garage and Studio 54. “Frankie Knuckles would take the patrons of The Warehouse on a musical journey,” sai… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s culture wars have begun. Almost six months after taking office, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government is pushing out bills that promise to promote national identity, defend the traditional family, protect cultural heritage and hold back migrants. Recent proposals include a bill to safeguard the Italian language and a ban on lab-grown food. The government is also making it harder for same-sex parents to register their children, in a move which drew condemnation from the European Parliament. Critics say the welter of legislation is aimed at disguising the fact that the coalition is struggling to make headway in more crucial areas, such as utilising European Union post-COVID-19 pandemic funds. “These ‘identity’ choices can spark tensions with the EU in the long term, especially when it comes to civil rights issues,” said Massimiliano Panarari, a political communication expert at Unimercatorum university. Last month Brussels froze a 19-billion-euro ($20.76 billion) tranche of the money, requesting clarification on Rome’s efforts to meet the agreed policy targets needed to obtain the transfers. On civil rights, Meloni vaunts the importance of traditional family values, in a country which already lags behind most of western Europe on LBGT rights. Government lawmakers say policies to protect heritage were always going to be a key part of their agenda, and Italy has for years undervalued its rich, historic patrimony. “We do not have diamonds, or big oil and gas resources,” said Fabio Rampelli, a senior member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party. “Italian mines are made up of culture, gastronomy, language, arts, fashion, history, archaeology and monuments. This is what we can offer to the world, and what we can improve.” Taking the lead, Rampelli last month put forward a bill proposing fines of up to 100,000 euros ($109,000) for Italian companies and public entities that use foreign terms, most notably English, instead of the national language in their official documents or communication. The opposition Five Star Movement ridiculed the idea, pointing out that the government itself had added the English term “Made in Italy” to the title of the industry minister when it took office last year. “Identity messages are meant to tell the electorate that Brothers of Italy will not give up its line,” analyst Panarari said. ‘GREAT IN THE WORLD’ Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida defended the ban on lab-grown food by saying it was incompatible with Italy’s culinary history and potentially dangerous for health. Meloni herself has called for the creation of a “Made in Italy” high school to teach students the creative and business skills which made the nation “great in the world”, a proposed law presented by her party said. When Meloni won power last year, there was widespread concern in Europe about her post-fascist political roots, fearing she would follow the authoritarian path trod by her old political friend – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. She has largely defied her critics, avoiding tough confrontation at home and clashes with Brussels, which was a regular target of her fiery rhetoric in previous years But she has not rowed back on electoral promises to be hard on immigration. One of her first acts was to curb the operations of charity rescue ships in an effort to reduce the time they could spend at sea looking for migrants. In her autobiography “I am Giorgia”, published in 2021, Meloni compared mass immigration to the forced transfers of populations in the old Soviet Union, aimed at diluting local customs and religions. “The right wants to preserve these same deep-rooted identities that the left wants to cancel,” she wrote, warning of the dangers of “ethnic substitution” and the dilution of Europe’s Christian culture. Opinion polls suggest that voters are broadly supportive of the government’s actions, with backing for Brothers of Italy seen at 29% in recent polls, slightly lower than at the start of the year but up from the 26% it scored in the October ballot. “I believe these are attempts to divert attention away from the real challenges, including the economy, and to lure us into an ideological debate,” said Alessandro Alfieri, a senator with the opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Other critics on the left accuse the government of being stuck in a defensive pose, wanting time to stand still – a charge the culture minister rejects. “Being conservative means relying on the sense of history, on tradition to seek the way to the future, it does not mean rejecting change,” Gennaro Sangiuliano told a seminar last week on the construction of an Italian cultural identity. “It means mastering (change), orienting it to the deep sense of the history of a community.” (Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Crispian Balmer, Gavin Jones and) View the full article

Published by Raw Story Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon (R) this week defended the rights of parents to marry off children as young as 12 years old. The Springfield News-Leader reports that Moon made the remarks during a contentious debate over banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors in which Democratic State Rep. Peter Meredith accused him of hypocrisy for supporting the bill despite positioning himself as a champion of parents’ rights. “I’ve heard you talk about parents’ rights to raise their kids how they want,” argued Meredith. “In fact, I just double-checked, you voted no on making it illegal for kids… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Created by Dana Terrace, “The Owl House,” which is now available in its entirety on Disney+, follows Luz, a human teenager who stumbles into an alternate dimension known as the demon realm. Disney Channel/dpa From the very first episode of “The Owl House,” its central message has been clear: Embrace your inner weirdo. “Us weirdos have to stick together,” protagonist Luz Noceda says in the series premiere, rallying a group of oddball strangers to revolt against their unjust imprisonment. “And nobody should be punished for who they are.” This declaration became increasingly resonant over the course of “The Owl House’s” three-season run, which concluded Saturday, as the show repeatedly broke new ground for LGBTQ representation in kid-friendly animation. Nurturing a central queer teen romance in a world that embraces a full spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities, the series has been a vital beacon of queer perseverance and joy at a time when right-wing activists and politicians have become increasingly hostile to the LGBTQ community, often targeting queer and trans youth. Created by Dana Terrace, “The Owl House,” which is now available in its entirety on Disney+, follows Luz, a human teenager who stumbles into an alternate dimension known as the demon realm. A spunky, spirited fantasy lover with a penchant for getting carried away, Luz doesn’t quite fit in in the human world, so she decides to begin training as a witch rather than go back home. No less an outsider in the demon realm — she’s still human, after all — Luz finds her place among fellow misfits like her mentor, Eda, a rebellious witch who refuses to conform, and the tiny but mighty beast King. Her circle of confidants grows to include classmates from her magic school, including frenemy-turned-crush Amity, who Luz eventually starts dating. (For all the reasons Luz had been made to feel like an outsider in either world, being bi was not one of them.) In the series finale, Luz and her fellow weirdos overcome the odds to triumph over a powerful, manipulative man whose fear and self-righteous ambition have fueled his mission to annihilate everything he refuses to understand. And they save the demon realm without compromising who they are or what they believe in. This is not the time for subtlety. “The Owl House” debuted in 2020, at a time when LGBTQ visibility on TV was on an upswing. Thanks to the behind-the-scenes efforts of queer creators on shows such as Cartoon Network’s “Steven Universe” and Netflix’s “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” queer characters were increasingly front and center and thriving on screen, even in kid-friendly animation. And though Disney had long been criticized as behind the curve compared with other studios and platforms when it came to LGBTQ representation — the company’s own employees pointed to this track record when calling out the company’s lackluster initial response to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year — “The Owl House” raised the bar. Besides featuring Disney’s first bisexual protagonist, the show set a number of queer precedents with its inclusion of a central queer romance, same-sex kisses, nonbinary characters and more. That the representation is unambiguous and casual — these LGBTQ characters just exist and their identities are not a big deal — makes it that much more meaningful. “The Owl House” was even awarded a Peabody in 2021 “for building a wildly inventive other world that makes room for everyone and giving queer kids a welcome template alongside which to explore their own budding creative energies.” Of course, “The Owl House” is more than a collection of representational milestones. It’s a fun, funny and heartfelt series that celebrates individuality, family, kindness and creativity set in a creepy, vibrant world. But its legacy as such an unabashedly queer show is one of the primary reasons the show concluding after an especially short third season stings. When “The Owl House” premiered, there were other ongoing shows that were also unapologetically queer, such as the aforementioned “Steven Universe” and “She-Ra,” with some titles still on the way, like Netflix’s “Dead End: Paranormal Park.” It seemed like television was finally catching up to reflect the real world, where mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ people is the norm and marriage equality is a recognized right. Kids were getting to see shows that I wish I had growing up. Times have quickly changed. Like “The Owl House,” most of the other standout LGBTQ-centric animated shows have concluded or have been canceled. States have passed or proposed an increasing number of anti-LGBTQ laws, including those that prevent any mention of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms, ban gender-affirming care, bar students from competing in sports or using restrooms that align with their gender identity, force teachers to out trans students and more. Not to mention the intensifying movement to ban books, including those that even hint at LGBTQ subject matter. It’s almost as if conservative politicians and activists believe they can legislate us out of existence. In the process , the rollback has emboldened people to be more vocal in their homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. Queer and trans kids deserve better than that. And while studies have shown that television has been much more inclusive of LGBTQ characters and storylines in recent years, according to GLAAD’s latest “Where We Are on TV” report, overall LGBTQ representation was slightly down during the 2021-2022 television season. The study also noted that more than 20% of LGBTQ characters counted in the study would not be returning next year because their series had concluded or were canceled. This decline is not surprising. The current media climate, in which companies are scrambling to make their streaming services profitable, has resulted in more shows getting canceled, and some being removed from their platforms altogether. Also not surprising: Many of the shows affected are those trying to tell diverse, inclusive stories. So while other LGBTQ-inclusive animated shows still exist, from Apple TV+’s “Pinecone and Pony” to Disney’s “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” nothing seems poised to fill the void “The Owl House” leaves behind. But we need shows like “The Owl House” now more than ever. Television alone cannot make the world a better place, especially for the young people directly affected by the right-wing crusade against the queer and trans community. But these young audiences are the ones that most need to see that their stories matter. And they should be able to see themselves as the heroes in these stories without having to compromise who they are. “The Owl House” helped its audience feel seen and told them that “nobody should be punished for who they are.” It’s time the rest of the world listens. View the full article

Published by Raw Story A Florida Republican on Wednesday doubled down on a controversial anti-drag bill. State Rep. Randy Fine, a proponent of SB 1438, the so-called “Protection of Children Act” that would ban anyone under 18 years of age from attending a drag show, argued during a debate on the House floor that “if it means erasing a community, because you have to target children, then damn right we outta do it.” Fine didn’t identify the community he supports “erasing,” but SB 1438 targets Florida’s LGBTQ community, The New Republic reports. The bill would also prevent anyone under 18 from attending The Rocky Horro… Read More View the full article

Published by Fort Worth Star-Telegram If you feel like drag queens are ubiquitous these days, you aren’t wrong. Whether it’s public libraries, advertisements or award shows, it seems like the gender-bending performers, once relegated to mature adult spaces, are suddenly impossible to avoid. They’re practically everywhere — except perhaps the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon. Late last month, university President Walter Wendler, canceled a student-run drag show. It was intended to be a charity event, raising funds for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on suicide prevention in the LGBTQ community… Read More View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Berlin is one of Europe’s most popular destinations for a city break, with approximately 10.4 million visitors in 2022. But many tourists just stick to the well-known central attractions. Now, local authorities want visitors to explore further afield, venturing out into the lesser-known areas of the city. The council has launched an initiative called ‘Off to B!’ that refers to traffic zone B, an area outside of the inner S-Bahn railway ring. Discover Berlin’s lesser-known B zoneBerlin’s B zone is made up of nine districts each offering tourists a chance to explore a different side of the city…. Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet Anti-transgender rhetoric is on the rise within the Republican Party, from conservative commentator Michael Knowles’ suggesting transgender people should be “eradicated,” to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) anti-trans Twitter rant following the recent Nashville school mass shooting. The latest example of brazen anti-trans language comes from former President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., on an episode of the “Full Send” podcast. Former GOP prosecutor Ron Filipkowski shared a clip of the MAGA heir’s rant Sunday, writing, “Junior claims he has trans friends and is pretty liberal on t… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – The federal judge who on Friday suspended approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is a former Christian legal activist whose small courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, has become a go-to destination for conservatives challenging Biden administration policies. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, had a long track record of opposing abortion and LGBTQ rights before the U.S. Senate confirmed him in 2019 to a life-tenured position as a federal judge. Now on the bench, he has routinely ruled against Democratic causes. Since October alone, Kacsmaryk has blocked an end to Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration program and ruled against Biden administration policies designed to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace and at doctors’ offices. Kacsmaryk did not respond to a request for comment. When anti-abortion groups in November filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s more than two-decade old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, they filed in Amarillo, guaranteeing the case would be heard by Kacsmaryk. Although his ruling on Friday was preliminary and not on the merits of the case, Kacsmaryk indicated he thought the challenge was substantially likely to succeed. He said that the FDA had ignored risks in approving the drug. His ruling used language common in anti-abortion circles. Mifepristone, he said, is used to “kill unborn humans.” He disclaimed the use of the word “fetuses” as “inaccurately describing unborn humans,” noting they might be “persons” entitled to equal protection rights. He also described some of the defense arguments as supporting “eugenics.” Josh Blackman, a conservative law professor at South Texas College of Law who knows Kacsmaryk, compared his judicial philosophy to that of two of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most conservative justices, Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. “He’s not a moderate,” Blackman said. ‘SHADOWY PENUMBRAS’ Kacsmaryk left a position as a federal prosecutor in 2014 to join the Christian legal group First Liberty Institute, where as its deputy general he fought against LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections, same-sex marriage and abortion rights. In that role, he called abortion rights supporters “sexual revolutionaries” in a 2015 article that was critical of the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, which had guaranteed a national right to abortion, until the high court overturned it last year. Kacsmaryk called Roe v. Wade a ruling in which “seven justices of the Supreme Court found an unwritten ‘fundamental right’ to abortion hiding in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the shadowy ‘penumbras’ of the Bill of Rights, a celestial phenomenon invisible to the non-lawyer eye.” During his time with the Christian legal group, he helped oppose a federal mandate that employer-provided health insurance cover women’s birth control, and fought a Washington state law requiring pharmacists to stock a “representative assortment of drugs” to meet patient needs, including emergency contraception medications. His nomination to the bench was part of a push during Trump’s tenure to tilt the judiciary to the right. Trump got a near-record 234 judicial nominees confirmed, including Kacsmaryk, who like many other Trump appointees belongs to the conservative Federalist Society. Facing fierce opposition from LGBTQ groups and Democrats, Kacsmaryk testified before a December 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee that it would be “inappropriate” for judges to allow their religious convictions to influence their rulings. He won Senate confirmation on a party-line 52–46 vote in 2019, with only one Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, voting against him at the time, citing his “alarming bias” against LGBTQ people. FAVORED VENUE Since then, his courthouse has become a favored venue for conservative legal activists and Republican state attorneys general pursuing lawsuits seeking to halt aspects of Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda – often with success. In October, Kacsmaryk vacated Biden administration guidance requiring employers to allow transgender workers to dress and use bathrooms consistent with their gender identities. A month later, he ruled the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Biden had wrongly interpreted a provision of the Affordable Care Act as barring healthcare providers from discriminating against gay and transgender people. Kacsmaryk has also ruled for birth control foes, ruling in December that allowing minors to obtain free contraception though the Title X federal program without parental consent was unlawful. He is currently presiding over a lawsuit filed by the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and others accusing media companies, including Reuters, of violating federal antitrust laws by working with tech companies to censor information about COVID-19. A Reuters spokesperson has denied the allegations. The fact that conservatives have been able to steer so many cases to Kacsmaryk’s courthouse in the 14th largest city in Texas involves an obscure local order that assigns 95% of federal civil cases to him, its lone judge. The order virtually guarantees litigants suing in Amarillo get Kacsmaryk and not any of the 12 other active judges in the Northern District of Texas, which also covers Dallas, Fort Worth and other cities. The Biden administration has sought to transfer at least one case away from Kacsmaryk, accusing a group of Republican state attorneys general of “judge shopping” by filing a lawsuit challenging a rule that allows socially conscious investing by employee retirement plans in Amarillo to get Kacsmaryk. The judge rejected the administration’s bid to move that case in late March, saying it had provided no evidence that the litigation did not belong in his court or that plaintiffs were attempting to manipulate the process. While the district’s chief judge could order cases be reallocated, he has not. Supporters of the current practice note that it ensures someone living in Amarillo and suing there does not need to drive five-plus hours to Dallas for a court hearing. Sarah Lipton-Lubet, executive director of the progressive legal advocacy group Take Back the Court said, “conservative litigants know that they can make all sorts of outlandish arguments, because they know that right wing judges, and this judge in particular, are going to be receptive.” (This story has been refiled to fix dateline) (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot and Diane Craft) View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Award-winning author and trans activist Rachel Pollack has died aged 77. The writer was a leading authority on tarot and the occult, and a comic-book writer who created the first mainstream transgender superhero. She first found success in 1971 with her short story ‘Pandora’s Bust’, which was published in Michael Moorcock’s seminal new wave magazine New Worlds. Pollack transitioned soon afterwards. She was an incredibly prolific writer, publishing numerous non-fiction works including many on tarot, as well as publishing seven novels and four collections of short stories, including ‘Unquenchabl… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Almost two months after Don Lemon dissed Nikki Haley, he is now coming for Jon Stewart. The TV personality, 57, showed a clip of the comedian, 60, interviewing U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, where Stewart commented how wasteful the budget is. “I can’t figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. To me, that’s f****** corruption,” Stewart replied after Hicks challenged him. The video of the interview stayed on the screen, but the audio cut out, then Lemon could be heard talking to his co-hosts about the situation. “He gets a lot of leeway with the comedian thing, though,” Lemon said before attempting to recover from the awkward moment. Lemon insisted that Stewart is much more than a comedian, which he repeated multiple times. mega Of course, people couldn’t help but weigh in on Lemon’s comments. One person wrote, “Ha, Jon Stewart as a comedian/activist has done more to change our country for the positive than @donlemon could ever dream of,” while another said, “He’s an angry resentful insecure gay man that hates women.” A third person added, “Good grief, what is going to be coming out of his mouth next.” Don Lemon & Donald Trump’s Lawyer Viciously Butt Heads Over ‘Garbage’ Hush-Money Probe Don Lemon’s Past Misogynistic Behavior Exposed: CNN Star Called Producer Fat To Her Face, Mocked Nancy Grace On-Air Megyn Kelly Slams Don Lemon’s Alleged Threatening Texts To Kyra Phillips As ‘Crazy A** Single White Female Behavior’ As OK! previously reported, the CNN star’s past behavior was exposed whenVariety revealed he called one of his producers fat to her face and mocked Nancy Grace on-air. “That was the beginning of when you knew that Don was kind of volatile and didn’t say good things about women,” an insider said of the Grace incident. mega Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! Lemon has also angered his colleagues with his “diva-like behavior,” as he would skip editorial calls, show up late to the newsroom or exhibit disengaged behavior. Things got worse in 2009 when Anderson Cooper and Lemon covered Michael Jackson‘s memorial from inside. However, Cooper ended up getting more airtime, leading Lemon to become jealous. “That led to a come-to-Jesus moment,” a senior executive spilled. “Don was told, ‘Look, you’ve got to address your behavior. Your performance as a reporter is great. It’s your behavior that’s gotta improve. It’s what’s going to derail you if you’re not careful.’” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA; @kidrock/twitter Howard Stern said that he was “dumbfounded” after watching Kid Rock‘s Bud Light protest video, RadarOnline.com has learned, explaining the music star seemed to be “really bent out of shape” over the beer company’s partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Although Kid Rock did not mention her by name in the viral clip, the American Bad Ass hitmaker made sure to deliver a “clear and concise” message following Mulvaney’s recent promotion with their signature blue and white cans by shooting up full cases. MEGA “F— Bud Light, and f— Anheuser-Busch,” Kid Rock said. “Have a terrific day.” SiriusXM’sThe Howard Stern Show covered the controversy on Monday’s episode, with him asking why Kid Rock and country star Travis Tritt were so upset and “lost their s— over this beer can thing.” “I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing and I don’t know why — I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life,” Stern continued. @kidrock/twitter The Bud Light vice president said just days before Mulvaney’s collab was revealed that her marketing strategy for the brand has been to incorporate inclusivity while also appealing to “women and to men” as well as a younger demographic. Alissa Heinerscheid, who became the first woman to lead Bud Light last year, said that BL had been “in decline for a really long time” during her recent interview. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. Battle Of The Exes: Kid Rock & Tommy Lee Went Head-To-Head Over ‘Baywatch’ Bombshell Pamela Anderson After Friendship Turned Sour, Sources Claim Kid Rock’s ‘Borat’ Blowup: Pamela Anderson Claims Ex-Husband Scolded Her & ‘STORMED Out’ Of Film Screening Kid Rock Declares ‘F— Bud Light’, Shoots Up Beer Cases In Anger Over Trans Star Dylan Mulvaney’s Partnership With Company MEGA Tritt sounded off not long after Kid Rock, announcing that he would be removing all related products from his hospitality tour rider in protest, a choice Stern was baffled by. “They don’t hurt my life,” Stern said of the gay and transexual community. “I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman, be a woman, you wanna be a dude, be a dude … Long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team.” MEGA Stern said he would like to book Kid Rock for the show to explain. “He transitioned from some kid in Michigan to a rock superstar. And that was a good transition,” the media personality added. “I’m really dumbfounded by why someone would care so much that they would blow up a can of Bud Light.” Stern then reflected on Kid Rock’s rise to fame, explaining that “he would wear a feather boa — you know, when he first started out with maybe even a mink coat, you know what I mean? He was flamboyant in his own way.” Kid Rock has yet to respond to criticism of his protest video. View the full article

Published by Raw Story Remember Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), who in 2006 resigned in disgrace following a sexting scandal with an underage congressional page? He had technically kept open his campaign committee, which once had a 7-figure surplus. Today, in a letter to the Federal Election Commission obtained by Raw Story, Friends of Mark Foley reported donating almost all of its remaining cash to charity — including $1,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County in Florida. In all of those years the committee had been active, it wasn’t entirely going unused. A report earlier this year indicated that Foley was sti… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP The Biden administration has released new proposals which seek to find a middle ground on the thorny issue of transgender athletes competing in school-related competitions, such as when swimmer Lia Thomas competed in a 2022 collegiate event Los Angeles (AFP) – A US government proposal which would prevent schools from implementing blanket bans on transgender students participating in sports matching their gender identity has triggered a furious backlash from both conservative politicians and trans rights activists. The Department of Education unveiled a proposal last Thursday which aims to provide clarity on the issue of transgender athletes competing in school and college sports across the United States. The department said in its proposal that outright bans of transgender athletes would violate Title IX, the landmark civil rights law enacted 51 years ago that forbids discrimination of any kind on the basis of gender in schools or educational facilities that receive federal support. At least 20 states have so far implemented bans on transgender students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity — bans that fall foul of the Department of Education’s new proposal. “Such bans fail to account for differences among students across grade and education levels,” the Education Department said. “They also fail to account for different levels of competition — including no-cut teams that let all students participate — and different types of sports.” Yet while outright bans are outlawed under the proposal, educational institutions would however be granted discretion to bar trans students from competing if their participation was deemed to undermine fairness. Under the proposal, a school might, for example, have difficulty keeping a transgender student from playing in an elementary school sports match meant to emphasize teamwork, but could potentially ban such athletes from competitive high school matches. Trans people in sport has become a heated political issue in the United States, with religious conservatives especially fighting against their inclusion on girls’ teams. The thorniness of the issue was underscored by the fact that the Biden administration’s attempt to find a middle ground brought condemnation from across the spectrum. Some progressives and trans rights activists framed the move as a “betrayal” while conservative politicians vowed to fight its implementation. Proposal ‘a disgrace’ Progressive Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the proposal as a disgrace. “Absolutely no reason for the Biden admin to do this,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. “It is indefensible and embarrassing. The admin can still walk this back, and they should. It’s a disgrace.” Erin Reed, a legislative researcher and activist for transgender rights, said the proposal would provide an opening for Republicans seeking to justify outright bans on transgender athletes in school sports. “I can’t read this any other way than a betrayal,” Reed wrote on Twitter. “The administration will argue that this was ‘nuanced’ and ‘disallows outright bans’. Republicans will run with this as justification. School boards will use this to ban.” Other trans rights supporters, however, were more receptive to the proposal, which must clear several hurdles before it is finally approved. Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD, a legal advocacy group, said the rule “affirms the importance of giving transgender students the chance to play sports. “Being on a team helps students build healthy self-esteem, confidence, and positive self-image,” Levi said. “The proposed rule prohibits the kind of categorical bans adopted in too many states that are hurting transgender students and that send a dangerous message to all students.” Meanwhile conservative critics — notably from states among the 20 which have implemented outright bans on transgender students from participating in sports — vowed to fight the Biden administration proposal through the courts. “We will defend our laws,” South Dakota’s Republican governor Kristi Noem wrote on Twitter. “Only girls will play girls’ sports. President Biden, we’ll see you in court.” Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall also suggested the state would mount a legal defense of its ban on trans women and girls from participating in female school sports teams. “I have made myself abundantly clear to the Biden Administration that he will not impose his radical policies on Alabama athletes. He will not destroy athletic competition for our young women & girls. In Alabama our law protects girls sports.” View the full article

Published by AlterNet When pro-choice Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, the pro-choice Republican insisted that then-President Donald Trump’s nominee considered Roe v. Wade “settled law.” But she was wrong. In 2022, Kavanaugh was among the five justices who voted to overturn Roe — after 49 years — with the widely unpopular Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Dobbs was not a nationwide abortion ban. Post-Roe, the legality or illegality of abortion is being decided on a state-by-state basis in the United States. And one of the th… Read More View the full article