Sunday, June 30, 2024

Study: Gender-affirming surgeries are performed more on cisgender minors than trans minors

In the race to demonize gender-affirming healthcare when it comes to trans kids, the facts spoken below have been known for quite a while but ignored.

From a June 27 article in The Advocate:

"Little to no" gender-affirming surgeries are being performed on minors in the United States, and those that are performed are overwhelmingly on cisgender minors. Out of the 151 breast reductions that were performed in 2019 on American minors, 146 (97 percent) were performed on cisgender males, according to a new study published in JAMA. 

Out of the 636 breast reductions performed on adults, 507 (80 percent) were performed on cisgender males. The study used data from 47,437,919 adults and 22,827,194 minors who were insured that year, finding that chest-related operations accounted for 1,591 out of 2,664 (59.7 percent) of surgical procedures performed on adults, and 82 of 85 (96.4 percent) of surgical procedures performed on minors.

 The rate of transgender and gender-diverse people undergoing a gender-affirming surgery was 5.3 for every 100,000 adults, and 2.1 for every 100,000 minors ages 15 to 17 years. Among minors ages 13 to 14 years, the rate of gender-affirming surgeries was 0.1 for every 100,000. There were no procedures among minors 12 years or younger.

Study leader Dannie Dai said the following: 

“Our findings highlight a bitter irony: that by banning gender-affirming care for only TGD people, these bills are targeting a group that in reality accounts for the minority of gender-affirming care use and for whom gender-affirming care has been most clearly shown to be lifesaving." 

 In September 2022, an article in The Advocate pointed out that more teens were getting breast implants than trans top surgeries.

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Wednesday, June 26, 2024

''Death to LGBTQs' MAGA pastor loses third bid for SC congressional seat' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

Extreme MAGA pastor Mark Burns lost his third attempt to win a Congressional seat.


“Death To LGBTQs” Pastor Loses GOP House Runoff​ - No Congressional seat for Mark Burns as he loses a third primary run for the U.S House. South Carolina Republicans did something right. Though not by much. 

Burns is a notorious opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, having called for the arrest of parents of transgender children, who he compared to the Hitler Youth. He further said that anyone who supports LGBTQ+ youth should be tried for treason or even executed by the government. Biggs was backed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), with whom she’s been friends with for years. In spite of not being endorsed by Trump, Biggs nevertheless promised to “help President Trump win back the White House.” While she is not nearly as extreme as Burns on LGBTQ+ issues, she nevertheless holds many of the same views as him. These include restrictions on abortions, immigration, and taxes.

Drag queen schools Marjorie Taylor Greene on gender: 'You have no idea what you’re talking about' - Poor MTG. She came for a drag queen and got her "edges ripped." 

Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Plan: Allow Anyone To Sue Teacher, Librarian ‘Groomers’ - One of our oldest "friends" on this blog, Janet Folger. Google her name on this site if you have time and a strong stomach. She is a MESS.




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Monday, June 24, 2024

Conservative writer mocked for making his (heterosexual) proposal a failed clap back against Pride Month



Conservative writer Addison Smith succeeded in his attempt to go viral by making his proposal to his heterosexual girlfriend a clap back against Pride Month and the LGBTQ community. Now what did he do that for?


 Addison Smith, far-right wannabe social media influencer posted the following on Twitter as a way of making his proposal to his fiancé all about slapping Pride Month in the face. He obviously did this for the engagement and a chance to rile up LGBTQ people and our allies. Smith clearly got the attention he wanted. He and his right-wing friends and his allies are giddy about how his act has gone extremely viral. 

But at what cost?

Smith comes across as someone deliberately jumping face-first in cow manure while pretending that it's oil he struck. Sometimes if one succeeds in their quest to gain attention, it's not a good thing. It only means more people know how much of a jackass you are, and Smith succeeded in making a jackass of himself. 

He also probably embarrassed his now fiancé, proved our evergreen point about how people like him are completely obsessed with us, and definitely made sure this incident is remembered should the "points" expressed about him by responders (who left brutally funny responses before he shut down the comments) turn out to be true.  It all comes down to how certain folks try so hard to dehumanize us that they end up looking simply stupid.  Can you imagine reducing such a special and sacred event such as a wedding proposal into a failed attempt to "own" LGBTQ people?

But when the adrenaline stops pumping and the glitter fades, that tweet will still be around. And I bet it will come up repeatedly during your marriage. That is if there will be one.  If you make your marriage proposal to your heterosexual fiancé all about making fun of LGBTQ people, you've got issues. And she probably will have problems. Just saying.

Sometimes our enemies are their own worst enemies.



As I said before, the responses have been brutal.

 
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Thursday, June 20, 2024

Why do right-wing pastors talk more about gay sex than most gay men I know?


From LGBTQ Nation: 
 Christian Nationalist hate preacher Joel Webbon shared his vision for a wholly Christian nation in a recent conversation on his Right Response Ministries YouTube show, advocating the death penalty for homosexuals, citing a seemingly made-up statistic about gays eating feces, and gay people dying young.

 . . .The wide-ranging discussion with two far-right wingmen, Michael Belch and Wesley Todd, centered on the perversion of gay men and their corrupting influence on American society. 

 . . . Webbon asserted good people “have been lied to by Modern Family, by Will & Grace” into believing that LGBTQ+ people are like everyone else. Degenerate popular culture dictates LGBTQ+ people are “marked by compassion or they’re marked by artistic expression,” Webbon told his Christian Nationalist fellows. “Well, don’t forget the key characteristic,” he continued. “The key characteristic of the gay community is butt sex. That’s the key characteristic. It’s feces. That’s the key characteristic. It’s AIDS, it’s disease. And it needs to be said, because nobody has said it for a very long time.” 

 . . .Belch jumped in with statistics that he claimed backed up Webbon’s embrace of disgust. “17% of homosexuals” consume human feces, Belch claimed, citing discredited data from anti-gay researcher Paul Cameron and his Family Research Institute. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Cameron and his so-called institute a “one-man statistical chop shop” which “churns out hate literature masquerading as legitimate science.” Citing Cameron again, Belch asserted that the “median age of death” for gays and lesbians is 42 and 45, respectively. Webbon joked, “Sounds like if society won’t enforce the penalties, God’ll do it.”

 There they go again. I swear that gay men don't have as much sex as the haters imagine we do. And the vast majority of us certainly aren't as sexually active as they think we are. I'm almost disappointed that he didn't bring up the "gay men stuff gerbils up their rectums" lie.

Reading all of that gave me an ugly blast from the past such as this 1984 anti-gay booklet:



It was even endorsed by a United States Congressman, William Dannemeyer:



And to label this comic as homophobic would be an extreme understatement:







 

Combatting junk like this is why I began this blog in 2006.  Nowadays though, our community is in less danger of three idiotic men drooling over what they imagine us doing sexually. 

It's the covert attempts to undermine our community that's the actual danger.  We have legislators teaming up with far-right groups to write laws they claim will protect kids, but whose actual intent is to wreak havoc on our lives, the safety of our children (particularly trans kids) and our culture.

We've got social media leeches shilling for engagement and clout via distorted videos and pictures which appeal to the worst but mostly unexpressed fears and stereotypes about our community, particularly when it comes to children.

All of it goes to prove that there are still people who believe the worse about LGBTQ and will still embrace some of the most unbelievable lies about us. And they either do it openly like the men above or behind a veneer of respectability. We should never be astounded or upset that people like this exist because they will always exist.

The key is to never allow them to shape our lives or make us live in accordance to their stereotypes and fears. And despite how things have been these days, I think we've done a good job at holding our own. 

At least thus far.


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Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Trump-supporting hate group leader accuses Biden Administration of being aligned with Satan

Donald Trump (left) and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins (right)

If having a lack of cognitive dissonance was an Olympic sport, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins would win the gold medal every time. 

From People for the American Way:

.

For the record, the Biden Administration is not targeting Christians. And if Perkins' attempt to connect the transgender community with Satan sounds familiar, then you are correct.

He once made the same claim about the LGBTQ community in general 13 years ago.

 

 And thereby lies two points we should remember. Perkins's affinity for playing the "Satan" card underscores how people like him and groups like FRC have recycled their anti-LGBTQ talking points and lies to specifically target the trans community. It's not without cause that the Family Research Council was designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. 

 The other point is as much as Tony Perkins has defended, lied for, and basically acted like a groupie around Donald Trump, he should know better than anyone else just who could be aligned Satan and who isn't.

Related posts:


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Monday, June 17, 2024

'Marlon Wayans claps back at the objections after posting Pride pics honoring his trans son' & other Mon/Tue news briefs




Marlon Wayans defied haters by posting Pride pics honoring his trans son - "While Wayans’ post drew hundreds of thousands of likes, the ratio wasn’t all good vibrations. But the negative commenters didn’t cow the In Living Color comedian, though, who responded with more selects from the shoot and some fire for his detractors. “Yeah and just for the HATE MONGERS … I’m posting ANOTHER,” Wayans wrote.


Trump campaign makes bizarre pitch to LGBTQ+ voters - "Former President Donald Trump is asking LGBTQ+ voters worried about an expansion of his anti-LGBTQ+ agenda in a second term to see the forest for the trees — and to ignore everything they’re seeing on the ground. “President Trump’s second term agenda will create a safer and more prosperous America for ALL Americans, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or creed!” 26-year-old campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told The Hill about her boss’s LGBTQ+ policies if he wins a second term." 

Related post - Donald Trump’s 8 Worst Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community - Trump obviously thinks that the LGBTQ community is stupid. For those who are tempted to be that stupid, Trump's first term wasn't exactly a wonderful time for LGBTQ people. What would make anyone think that his second would be any different? 

Trump-Linked Pastor Admits to Inappropriate Behavior With ‘Young Lady’ After Being Accused of Sexually Abusing a 12-Year-Old - A far-right Trump supporting pastor revealed to be . . . you know where I'm going with this. We've been on this road so many times, we might as well buy a house.
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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Physician faces felony HIPAA charges for leaking private medical of transgender children to anti-LGBTQ activist

Houston physician Eithan Haim (seen here being interviewed by Fox News personality Laura Ingraham) claims to be a "whistleblower." In reality, he is facing federal HIPAA charges for leaking the private medical information of trans children to a conservative activist. The conservative activist in question, Christopher Rufo, once encouraged his followers to falsely label drag queens as "trans strippers" who are coming into schools.


While this story has been mostly ignored by the mainstream news, conservatives and the anti-LGBTQ industry have been wallowing through it like pigs in mud. The physician in question has already appeared on Fox News. Other right-wing sources have anointed him as a "whistleblower." In reality, he is facing felony charges for leaking private medical information of transgender kids to a far-right personality who once advised people to label drag queens as transgender strippers.

From LGBTQ Nation:

Houston surgeon Eithan Haim has been indicted on four felony counts after he shared public documents revealing the private information of transgender patients – in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that protects patients’ medical privacy.

Haim leaked internal documents from Texas Children’s Hospital in 2023 to conservative activist Christopher Rufo, alleging that the hospital had violated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) opinion, which called gender-affirming care “child abuse.” Haim claims that the hospital continued to provide care up until the passing of S.B. 14, a gender-affirming care ban.

 . . . Mandatory reporters for medical abuse concerns are required to first go to the Texas Medical Board and not journalists. Reports for child abuse concerns are required to first go to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 

 . . .HIPAA regulates how healthcare professionals can share patients’ medical information with third parties and places strict limits in order to protect privacy. Haim claims he had a duty to report what he believed was child abuse, but the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ website says that they are the agency that needs to be reported to, not rightwing activists like Rufo. 

 Moreover, Haim claims that the medical records he leaked to Rufo were anonymized, but Assistant Clinical Professor Carmel Shachar of Harvard Law School told Assigned Media that the records Haim leaked were not de-identified in compliance with HIPAA, meaning that people could figure out who the records originally belonged to. 

This could potentially make the children whose records Haim leaked targets for harassment and bullying. In an interview with Fox News, Haim stated that he believes the charges were “politically motivated.” Shortly after Haim’s documents were released to the public, an investigation was conducted by Paxton into Texas Children’s Hospital’s alleged continuation of gender-affirming care. Houston Public Media reached out for an indication as to whether this investigation is ongoing but did not receive comment. 


 LGBTQ Nation goes on to point out how anti-LGBTQ and far right personalities such as Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik have come out publicly in support of Haim. LGBTQ Nation also shared several questionable tweets and comments Haim has made: 


 Haim has expressed numerous fringe views on his social media as well. In May, he claimed that trans women breastfeeding is “the plight of Western Civilization.” 

 He also said that former President Donald Trump’s felony charges were a “Stalinist show.” 

 Haim said that Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the United States through the COVID-19 pandemic, should be imprisoned.

 An independent investigation by journalist Evan Urquhart found evidence of Haim expressing such views directly in an interview with Rufo, believing that support for gender-affirming care is only an extension of the left-wing “capture” of medical organizations. 


 Christopher Rufo, the person Haim is accused of leaking information to, is himself a controversial figure. Along with various other right-wing personalities, he is heavily involved in falsely claiming that LGBTQ people, specifically drag queens, are sexually grooming children. In 2022, he encouraged his supporters to falsely label drag queens as "trans strippers" coming into schools.




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Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Federal court permanently blocks Florida law banning gender-affirming care for trans minors, restrictions on care for trans adults

A huge victory in Florida for the trans community and it tells us something we already knew about anti-trans laws - that they are coming from bigoted animus instead of genuine concern for children. In other words, the opponents of gender-affirming care manufactured justifications to pass laws against it, but the arguments simply didn't stand up in court.

From The Advocate

A federal court has permanently blocked Florida from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrictions on the care for trans adults.

 “Transgender opponents are of course free to hold their beliefs,” Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida wrote in his ruling, issued Tuesday. “But they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals just for being transgender. In time, discrimination against transgender individuals will diminish, just as racism and misogyny have diminished. To paraphrase a civil-rights advocate from an earlier time, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

 “In the meantime, the federal courts have a role to play in upholding the Constitution and laws. The State of Florida can regulate as needed but cannot flatly deny transgender individuals safe and effective medical treatment — treatment with medications routinely provided to others with the state’s full approval so long as the purpose is not to support the patient’s transgender identity.”

Hinkle also asserted, “Gender identity is real.”

He had temporarily blocked the law last year. When hearing the case in December, he had ripped into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for spreading lies about trans care for young people. 

 Journalist Chris Geidner from his (GLAAD Media Award nominated) substack LawDork pointed out how Hinkle ruled the law was a product of personal animus against the trans community. 

 U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s fiery, 105-page ruling is a complete and proper repudiation of the campaign of hate against transgender people employed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies in the legislature and appointees within his administration.

 “A majority of unbiased legislators and Board members likely would have concluded there was no legitimate reason to ban gender-affirming care across the board for all minors,” Hinkle found in his ruling, which followed a full trial on the law, passed as S.B. 254, and the actions of the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine. “The plaintiffs have shown that animus motivated a sufficient number of statutory decisionmakers.” 

 Hinkle, a Clinton appointee, ruled that the across-the-board ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors is unconstitutional. He also ruled that several of the restrictions placed on similar care for adults or for minors already receiving care are unconstitutional, including limiting provision of care only to physicians, requiring annual X-rays and bone-density scans and other follow-up care regardless of individualized needs, requiring use of a misleading “informed-consent” form, and limiting mental health assessments to being performed by psychiatrists or psychologists.

Under the judgment in the case, which is a class-action lawsuit, the relevant state and local officials are permanently enjoined from enforcing the unconstitutional provisions against any adults or minors seeking gender-affirming medical care in the form of puberty blockers or hormones 

 The ruling does not address surgery, as none of the minor plaintiffs challenged that provision and the remaining adult class representative is not seeking surgery at this time. As such, Hinkle wrote, “This order does not address surgery issues on the merits.”

Geidner goes on to meticulously point out just how Hinkle ripped the law and its justification apart. It's an entertaining read for those of us who've watched the war of lies waged against the trans community and gender-affirming care.
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Monday, June 10, 2024

LGBTQ History - The 'Sissy' Stereotype in Classic Hollywood

For Pride Month 2024, I am going to post a segment every now and then on LGBTQ history because frankly I think a lot of folks - particularly our younger generation - are taking things for granted. Back in the day, I ran a feature every Friday on this blog called Know Your LGBT History. Its point was to spotlight the past portrayals of LGBTQ history in film and television no matter whether they be positive or negative.

In the spirit of that segment, I'm featuring this video about the "Sissy Stereotype in Classic Hollywood."

"In a time when homosexuality was illegal, 1930s Classic Hollywood films commonly had so-called “sissy” characters. Clearly coded as gay, their effeminate demeanor was presented for laughs and ridicule. While these characters were meant to be mocked, they triumphed in their own way. They were bold in expressing their identity, were typically engaged in careers they were passionate about, and lived how they pleased, without caring what anyone thought of them."

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Wednesday, June 05, 2024

'Social media creator Ms. Rachel brushes off backlash against Pride Month post' & other midweek news briefs

Ms. Rachel


SPLC Designates Genspect, SEGM As Anti-LGBTQ Hate Groups​  -   "In a major move, the Southern Poverty Law Center has formally designated the anti-transgender pseudoscience organizations Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine as anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups. This designation is part of the civil rights organization’s latest release of its “Year In Hate & Extremism” report, which tracks hate groups and extremist groups throughout the United States. Members of these and other anti-LGBTQ+ organizations listed have played significant roles in the passage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policy by concealing and underplaying their ties to anti-LGBTQ+ extremism. Most recently, members of the newly designated hate group, Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, helped advise the Cass Review in the United Kingdom, which has led to the criminalization of possession of some forms of transgender care there and is currently being used to argue for heavy restrictions in the United States."


 High turnout at first White House LGBTQ-inclusive Pride Month blood drive - Wonderful news but at the same time, I'm kinda glad it flew under some people's radar. 

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Tuesday, June 04, 2024

Trans man win $4 million appeals court victory in decade-long legal battle with school district

Score another one for the good guys. Some folks have to learn the hard way about bigotry.

From The Missouri Independent:

An appellate court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a transgender man who formerly attended the Blue Springs School District was discriminated against when he was barred from using the boys' locker room. After a decade-long legal battle, a transgender man and former student of the Blue Springs School District should receive over $4 million in damages for discrimination that occurred when he was an adolescent, the Missouri’s Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. 

 Judge Anthony Gabbert wrote the court’s unanimous decision, ruling that the school district discriminated against the student, identified by his initials R.M.A., on the basis of sex when it barred him from using the boys’ locker room. A key part of the appellate court’s decision was the factor that spurred the school district’s discrimination. Attorneys for the Blue Spring School District did not contest that R.M.A. was treated differently, according to Gabbert’s ruling, but said it was because of his “female genitalia.” 

 “School district employees suggested that R.M.A. had been excluded from the boys’ restrooms and locker rooms because of [the] school district’s belief that he had female genitalia,” Gabbert wrote. “[The] school district did not actually determine the nature of R.M.A.’s genitalia, however, and does not speculate, inspect or otherwise inquire as to the genitalia of other male students.” 

 The admission of different treatment based on assumed genitalia, Gabbert wrote, was itself discrimination on the basis of sex.

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Monday, June 03, 2024

Pictures - SC Outfest fun way to start Pride Month 2024

 Editor's note - A nice short post today. I should have posted it Sunday, but I had other obligations. 

Last Saturday, SC Pride held Outfest in downtown Columbia to commemorate the beginning of Pride month in June. While the big event - Famously Hot SC Pride - is held in October, Outfest is a wonderful big block party where everyone is invited to have fun. Below are a few pictures I took.  They are a small reminder how Pride is everywhere, even in the Southern states which don't get as much positive attention from the community as they should.








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