Libs of TikTok fails in attempt to generate problems for USC's drag show event

Editor' note - I was aware of this so-called controversy when Libs of TikTok sent out its initial tweet. I chose not to write about it because I didn't want to bring attention to what she was doing, no matter how small the attention my post may generate. I had a feeling that it would end exactly how it did with egg all over Chaya Raichik's face.

Chaya Raichik via her venomous site Libs of TikTok tried to cause trouble 'The Birdcage,' an annual drag event at the University of South Carolina. She failed.

On April 7, the anti-LGBTQ site Libs of TikTok posted the above tweet on Twitter attacking "The Birdcage" at the University of South Carolina. The Birdcage is an extremely popular drag event which has been held on campus for the past 27 years. It's obvious that Chaya Raichik (who runs the Libs of TikTok site and has been named by some as the Basic Barren Buzzard of Anti-LGBTQ Bigotry) thought she could control the narrative by appealing to fears and prejudices about drag shows and LGBTQ people in general. She thought wrong.

Raichik did catch the attention of SC Congresswoman Nancy Mace:

Of course this shouldn't be seen as a problem to The Birdcage, due to Mace's infamous reputation of desperate publicity-grabbing stunts and ridiculous attacks on the LGBTQ community; attacks which have been more transparent than a sheet of clear plastic wrap with a giant hole in the middle. Mace later sent out a boring "how dare tax dollars be spent on this filth flarn filth" tweet

The big tell is what USC tweeted back to Libs of TikTok:

To me, that sounded like USC's polite way of saying. "Chyle, sit your sorry, trifling bigoted ass down. This event is not paid for by tax dollars and if you think that we are going to interfere with probably the most popular campus event for the past 27 years simply because you got a hang up against drag queens, you're deluded."

Okay maybe my interpretation of USC's message is strictly wishful thinking on my part (and I wanted to say uglier stuff), but I think folks reading this can get the general gist.

So, what happened next? The event was still held - on Tuesday - and was successful and quite fun. It seems Raichik's attempt to cause problems for the event had the opposite effect. I'm told that the controversy she attempted to cause and Mace were both mentioned during the event by performers.

I'm hoping that this ends the nonsense Raichik and her site was trying to cause. But if not, it's safe to say that Round One easily went to the Birdcage and the USC students who supported it.

And another thing . . . in spite of Raichik's fearsome reputation of causing problems for the LGBTQ community and our allies, this is - as far as I am aware - the second time she and her Libs of TikTok site went after South Carolina's LGBTQ community and failed. In October of 2022, she posted videos of our annual Pride event in an attempt to generate hysteria. Aside from her customary (and downright inanely monstrous) supporters, her attempts failed to garner a reaction.

Maybe we're too "boring" to be weaponized by Raichik. Does anyone have a thong I can use?

On second thought, never mind. 

I'm trying to generate controversy, not audition for the part of Medusa in a remake of Clash of the Titans.

'WNBA's Brianna Turner - Policies scapegoating trans women and athletes are distractions, don't protect women's sports' & other Mon/Tue news briefs

WNBA star Brianna Turner

I'm a WNBA player. Don't use athletes like me to exclude trans women - 

 The IOC has a documented history of refusing to actually protect women in elite sports, and their current invocation of protection does anything but. 

Policies that single out transgender women and athletes with intersex variations do not protect women’s sports. They manufacture a scapegoat while the real challenges to women’s sports go unaddressed: unequal funding, limited access to training and facilities, pay disparities, male-dominated leadership, gender-based violence and harassment across race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women’s opportunities. 

 This policy also invites unequal scrutiny for women who already face heightened suspicion; Black and Brown athletes and competitors from the Global South will be unfairly targeted. 

New report shows affirming adults are critical to the success of LGBTQ+ students - 

 LGBTQ+ students with access to more supportive educators, anti-bullying policies that explicitly mention sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ+-inclusive learning, and GSA presence reported a higher sense of belonging and higher GPAs, the survey revealed. 

The good news is that about 70% of LGBTQ+ students reported having six or more adults at school they could count on for support. These adults help by displaying “safe space” stickers, advising GSAs, or giving LGBTQ+-inclusive lessons, among other actions. That support, in turn, led to better student outcomes, including a lower likelihood of absenteeism due to safety concerns, less harassment or assault, higher GPAs, and a sense of belonging among LGBTQ+ students. 

Conservative Parents Are Suing a Minnesota School District for Letting Trans Kids Use Bathrooms -

 A conservative parents’ group is suing a Minnesota school district over its transgender-inclusive bathroom policy, one month after the Trump administration announced its own suit against the state’s Department of Education.

 . . . Minnesota has emerged as a major battleground in the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against trans students’ rights, which Trump has waged since the first day of his second term. The president’s offensive against Minnesota also comes on the heels of this year’s disastrous “Operation Metro Surge,” during which ICE agents swarmed Minneapolis neighborhoods and killed at least two people, including queer resident Becca Good. 

LGBTQ+ groups score legal victory over Trump, restoring Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument - 

 The rainbow Pride flag will return permanently to the Stonewall National Monument after the federal government agreed to reinstall it as part of a legal settlement ending a high-profile lawsuit over its removal.

LGBTQ community explores arming up during heated political times - 

 “I want to be able to defend my community, especially being in political spaces and queer spaces,” said Snively, a trans woman. “It’s just having that extra line of safety, having that extra peace of mind would be important to me.” 

Snively is among what some say is a growing number of LGBTQIA+ gun owners across the United States. Gun rights organizations and advocates say interest in gun ownership appears to have increased in that community since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. It began with outrage. It ends, for now, with a guarantee.

Author of Finnish study on trans youth has ties with anti-trans 'medical' group SEGM & history of anti-trans activism

The credibility of a controversial Finnish study on trans youth by Riittakerttu Kaltiala (seen here speaking at a 2023 conference held by anti-trans 'medical' group SEGM) is being called into question due to her ties with SEGM and history of anti-trans activism.

UPDATE - Some people are NOT happy with this post. Pan to after the "related posts" to read just a few of the messages I received on Twitter.

In my last post, I wrote about a Finnish study which anti-trans "medical" group SEGM claimed proves that gender-affirming care does not improve mental health of trans youth. 

Two things about it:

1. One of the sources I cited said that in spite of its flaws and limitations, the study is useful as a political document and will be cited on numerous occasions by those who oppose gender-affirming care. Unfortunately, this is true. SEGM's tweet has already reached over one million hits.

2. This is important. Apparently, the study has a conflict of interest. 

According to trans activist and substacker Erin Reed:

The study, published in the low-impact journal Acta Paediatrica, comes from Riittakerttu Kaltiala, a Finnish psychiatrist with extensive ties to at least one anti-LGBTQ+ hate group and a history of anti-trans political advocacy. The study uses Finnish registries and psychiatric visit data to support these conclusions. However, a closer examination reveals the study to be fatally flawed: it does not actually measure what it claims to measure, its headline finding is a massive artifact of surveillance bias, the clinics practices were abusive, and it operates within a system where its findings were essentially baked in from the start—regardless of what the actual mental health impacts of gender-affirming care might be.

The anti-trans hate group Kaltiala is connected to is SEGM - the same group which praised her study. 

In a piece Reed wrote in June 2024:

Importantly, members and associates of the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) have recently played a significant role in the Cass Review, a supposedly “independent” review now being cited to crack down on transgender care in England and the United States. Recent investigations revealed that multiple SEGM members and associates were part of advisory groups to the review with secret memberships. One such person was Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, a Finnish psychologist who prominently presented at the latest SEGM conference and has been closely associated with SEGM, which denies her membership due to the organization having “no official members.” Dr. Kaltiala facilitated a meeting between Dr. Cass and Dr. Patrick Hunter, a DeSantis medical board pick and member of Genspect. Dr. Cass later shared information with the team according a letter obtained exclusively by this publication. Dr. Kaltiala went on to “meet regularly” with the DeSantis appointees and even testified in favor of Florida’s ban on transgender care.

I've seen numerous tweets and articles (mostly in right-wing publications) praising the study, but none of them mentioned Kaltiala's connection with SEGM or her anti-trans activism. Some may argue that Kaltiala's personal bias and connections aren't a big deal. I'm guessing they will then push a "whataboutism" narrative.

 Regardless, there should have been some effort by SEGM and others promoting her study to be more forthcoming as to who she is because a serious conflict of interest does exist. Them not being forthcoming raises questions about the study's credibility.

Especially considering how a scenario not unlike this one played out over a decade ago.

This situation involving SEGM,  Kaltiala, and her study on trans youth is somewhat eerily similar to a situation in 2012 when Mark Regnerus, a University of Texas professor, published a study which claimed that children in same-sex households face numerous problems. It was later discovered that study was funded by conservative group at the amount of $695,000.  Other conservative and anti-LGBTQ groups tried to pass it off as objective and accurate in spite of the errors in its conclusion and methodology.

Related posts:

Fact Check: New Finnish "Study" Does Not Prove "Trans Youth Care Leads To Worse Outcomes" 

 Unfin(n)ished Business: What the Finnish Registry Study Can and Cannot Tell Us About Mental Health in Gender-Dysphoric Youth

Editor's note - I did NOT expect that the impact of this post would be so extensive. Apparently, I ruined some people's day and they let me know it. The following three are along the lines of the messages I received on Thursday:

Finally, being the proud Black Southern queen that I am, I had to engage in a little reading

Anti-transgender 'medical group' SEGM faces criticism for its interpretation of Finland study

SEGM, an anti-trans 'medical group,' got pushback after it implied that a Finland study refutes the belief that gender-affirming therapy helps trans youth.

Those who have followed this blog over the years (it will be 20 this September) know that a feature is me calling out the religious right and the anti-LGBTQ industry when they create junk science and distort legitimate studies to demonize LGBTQ people. It's been a while since I've done this, so I think today is a good time to throw one out with the help of people more knowledgeable on this particular subject that I am. 

First, a little background.

The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM)  is an organization which claims to "promote safe, compassionate, ethical and evidence-informed healthcare for children, adolescents, and young adults with gender dysphoria."

However, its critics claim that the group pushes anti-transgender misinformation under the veneer of legitimate science. In 2024, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated SEGM as an anti-LGBTQ hate group.  The year before, SPLC issued an extensive report on how SEGM works with other anti-LGBTQ groups in legitimizing bigotry as science: 

 The report, Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience Through Accessible Informative Narratives, also known as Project CAPTAIN, unpacks the proliferation of biased and misleading information used — under the guise of science — in state and federal legislation and litigation over the last decade and exposes the far right and far-reaching network behind it. 

 Researchers from the SPLC’s Intelligence Project identify a network of over 60 groups, including Alliance Defending Freedom, the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine and Genspect, with nearly 1,000 shared connections that have mobilized their efforts to challenge the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards, advance the so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights” and recruit for Project 2025. Project CAPTAIN lists the 100 commonly cited sources used by anti-LGBTQ+ actors to make junk science claims, including research papers and letters to the editor, that attack the scientific consensus of gender-affirming care, defend conversion therapy and generate moral panic over trans people. 

 “We show how this network of anti-LGBTQ+ actors have built a political and PR machine that twists data and opinion from a very small minority of the medical community and positions it as mainstream,” said R.G. Cravens, senior research analyst for SPLC’s Intelligence Project. 

 In 2021, The Trans Safety Network published an extensive report on SEGM's ties to other anti-LGBTQ groups, its campaigning against trans health funding, and questions about its funding. 

All of this background leads to a recent tweet SEGM sent out trumpeting the "results" of a Finland study on gender-affirming care for kids:

 

Finland’s data are critical in the current debates on pediatric gender medicine. To our knowledge, Finland is the only country reporting full registry data, meaning outcomes are captured for all patients. By contrast, Dutch follow-up studies rely on later volunteers, with dropout…

— SEGM (@segm_ebm) April 4, 2026

This claim was retweeted by many of SEGM's supporters, i.e. folks who want to ban gender-affirming therapy for trans kids (and probably trans adults.) However, there was some pushback calling out how SEGM interpreted the study.

 

pic.twitter.com/9OVeYapzx6

— LGBwiththeT (@LGBwiththeT) April 6, 2026

Dr. Laura Targownik sent out a series of tweets analyzing the study and SEGM's claim. Targownik has been called "a prominent leader in advocating for gender equity and transgender health rights within the medical profession."

The following are a few excerpts.

 

THERE IS A LOT IT DOESN'T TELL US!

1) In the patients who received gender interventions, we don't know if the increased use of psych services occurred after, during, or following the intervention, and for how long

2) we don't know if the psych visits were for management of…

— 👩‍⚕️ Dr. Laura 👩‍⚕️ (@datadriven_tdoc) April 5, 2026

Also,

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS LITTLE IN THE DATA TO SUPPORT SEGMs ASSERTIONS ABOUT PSYCH "SYMPTOMS" WORSENING AFTER TREATMENT

this study assessed psych service utilization, and did not measure symptoms

there is no way to assess mental or overall well being/quality-of-life, given…

— 👩‍⚕️ Dr. Laura 👩‍⚕️ (@datadriven_tdoc) April 5, 2026

Finally, and perhaps more importantly,

ZOMBIE STUDIES NEVER DIE!!!

The trans care evidence base is littered with what I call "zombie literature": severely methodologically flawed or limited studies that get repeatedly cited by supporters of a particular theory of a case as "proof" of a preferred outcome, and which… pic.twitter.com/HPxj3ik6c5

— 👩‍⚕️ Dr. Laura 👩‍⚕️ (@datadriven_tdoc) April 5, 2026

Not unlike other anti-LGBTQ groups masquerading as legitimate medical organizations, SEGM seems to be more interested in creating a narrative instead of genuine scientific research.

'Kristi Noem receiving brutal reminders of her anti-LGBTQ history in light of husband's crossdressing scandal' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

25 hilarious reactions to Kristi Noem's hypocrisy after husband's cross-dressing fetish leaks: 

Noem has also built a career on supporting policies restricting LGBTQ+ rights, and while governor of South Dakota, she signed the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," which would have granted the state "a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people," HRC reported. She also approved a ban on transgender girls participating in women's sports, and supported gender affirming care restrictions. 

 Gay D.C. staffer Josh Sorbe, who attended the University of South Dakota, summed up Noem’s hypocrisy perfectly in an Instagram Reel he posted yesterday after the cross-dressing news broke. 

 "They will do horrible things to queer people in public," he said in the video. "They will ban their books, they will ban their healthcare, they will ban their expression, they will ban their drag shows, and then turn around and queen out and do gay sh*t behind the scenes all the time. That’s where I draw the line. Be whoever the hell you want to be because your business is your business, but the second that your business involves insecurity or hypocrisy and you decide to make that my business — no, no, no."

Ken Paxton told therapists to stop affirming trans patients. Here’s why they shouldn’t listen: 

 But here’s the wrench in Paxton’s nefarious threat: His opinion – even when issued with an official seal – doesn’t actually change the law. “People are taking this opinion as fact, as Ken Paxton altering the law or reinterpreting the law to suit his whims,” Naveen Farrani, strategic Communications Manager for Equality Texas, told LGBTQ Nation. “He does not have the jurisdiction to do that.” 

These 10 out LGBTQ women made history as firsts in sports: 

 “Pioneer” is a term often thrown around loosely, but these nine out LGBTQ women in sports exemplify the term. Each of them has done something no publicly out gay, lesbian, bi or trans athlete had done before them. Some like Billie Jean King are household names, while others are lesser-known but no less important. We celebrate the women who have led the way out of the closet in sports.

Colo. activists condemn SCOTUS conversion therapy ruling: 

 The Supreme Court ruled in Chiles v. Salazar that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy is unconstitutional, striking down the state’s 2019 statute and potentially impacting similar laws across the country. Religious advocates have hailed Tuesday’s decision as a victory for the First Amendment and evangelical Christians, while LGBTQ activists warn it could lead to increased harm for LGBTQ youth. The conservative majority, joined by two progressive members of the court, sided 8–1 with Kaley Chiles on March 31 in what some critics are calling a landmark ruling for religious zealots, placing the teachings of the Bible above established medical consensus.

How in the world was the Supreme Court’s awful conversion therapy ruling 8–1?: 

More likely, the conservative justices have a unique hostility toward pro-LGBTQ+ protections and concoct bespoke reasons to strike them down—rules that are not applied to laws that these justices favor. We saw this move in 2023’s 303 Creative v. Elenis, which undermined another Colorado law protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in the marketplace without fully dismantling all civil rights law. And we could see it again in Chiles. This time around, Kagan and Sotomayor may have sought to mitigate the damage rather than take a loss on the chin. But Jackson’s pessimism gives us every reason to fear that her colleagues have crafted a doctrine that lets them impose their own orthodoxy in the name of free expression. 

The ugly history behind the Olympics’ new gender test: 

 How Nazi-era fears about gender gave rise to sex testing—and why the policy is resurfacing now.

'Leader of national Republican group says gay men take over gyms to spread AIDS' & other Mon/Tues news briefs

Kai Schwemmer

Leader of national GOP organization says gay men take over gyms to spread AIDS:

The College Republicans of America (CRA) — an organization for young conservatives that has over 280 chapters on campuses nationwide, as well as had numerous recent scandals involving bigoted statements from its leadership — appointed right-wing broadcaster Kai Schwemmer as its new political director on March 5. However, Schwemmer has ties to white supremacist Nick Fuentes, and a recent review of Schwemmer’s past videos reportedly revealed his homophobic, antisemitic, and racist comments, including a claim that gay men are trying to give people AIDS by taking over gyms. The CRA has refused to apologize for hiring Schwemmer and said it will not bow down to the “woke mob” that has expressed concern over his views.

 According to The Guardian, also:

 Schwemmer said he would accept a world in which slavery was legal if abortion was criminalized, describes himself as “very much an anti-universal suffrage guy” and accepts a supporter’s description of him as “our Mormon Nick Fuentes” – referring to the white nationalist influencer whose platform he streamed on for years. The comments were made after Schwemmer’s return from a two-year Mormon mission to Argentina; a period he recently claimed had seen him undergo a “process of growth” that led him to abandon previous racist beliefs. Schwemmer had previously expressed extremist and bigoted views.

Trump DOJ sues Minnesota over its trans-inclusive school sports policies: 

 Keith Ellison, the attorney general for Minnesota, said, “Donald Trump is currently facing an unpopular war that he launched, rising gas prices, massive health insurance price hikes, and a partial government shutdown caused in part by his ICE agents killing two Minnesotans in broad daylight. It is astonishing that any president would try to target, shame, and harass children just trying to be themselves, let alone a president with so many actual problems to address.” 

 And speaking of Trump and the trans community:

‘Transgender MUTILIZATION’: Donald Trump just making up words in bizarre, unfocused late-night rants - Trump keeps claiming that Democrats want to engage in "mutilization" of kids. He's repeating the false narrative about trans kids and surgery but keeps repeating "mulitization," a word he apparently made up. From what I hear, he means to say "mutlilation" but his people are too chickenshit to correct him.

Chicago Bulls cut Jaden Ivey after anti-gay social media posts, reports say - If you're going to be a homophobic athlete, you had better produce in what you are being paid for on the court, field, etc. The end. 

State bans against conversion therapy are ineffective, argues leading LGBTQ+ activist - From my friend and a hell of an activist, Wayne Besen.

Visual reminder - homophobia and transphobia are two heads on the same beast

I have a visual reminder for everyone, particularly the relatively small number but nonetheless extremely annoying and ignorant LGB people in my community. 

Remember when these notions were openly expressed about gays:

There has been a small shift:

This not to say that lies about LGB people have gone away. But there have been some "incorporations." They have gone from this:

To this:

 Some folks have expressed the stupid belief that this new wave coming against us is the fault of the trans community. The people and groups who spew the vile tropes which I've just featured seek to eliminate equality, as well as the right to self-determination, and safety from all of us. Not just the trans community. 

Think of homophobia and transphobia as two heads on the same beast. And this beast has always hit at us from a perceived weak angle.  Once it was those of us who wanted to marry.  Today it's the trans community. Who knows which part of our community will be the next victim of its undeserved attention. 

We should have sense enough as a community to not open our doors and invite the beast in.  And we definitely should have sense to know that allowing the beast to feed on a portion of our community won't satisfy it. 

It wants all of us.

 

Hat tip to Comics with Problems for some of the images in this post.