'Right-wing try and fail to stir outrage over trans teen homecoming queen' & other Thur midday news briefs

Missouri Transgender Girl Wins Homecoming Queen and the Right Loses It​ - And leading the horde is Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok. Just so ugly to attack a trans girl who fairly won homecoming queen. Her peers voted for her so that should be the end of it. Raichik can't help herself though. She's a sad bully. 

Right-wingers tried to stir outrage over trans teen winning homecoming queen. They failed miserably. - And it's wonderful to see people standing up for the young lady. 

Many Workers Leaving States That Pass Anti-LGBTQ Laws - Sometimes you gotta let bigots hurt themselves for them to get the message. 

Global anti-LGBTQ rights backlash overshadows UN General Assembly - The struggle is real, and it is worldwide.

Senate confirms federal judge who fought for marriage equality as a lawyer - Good news!

Settlement of drag show complaint is loss for DeSantis, highlights how attack on drag shows isn't helping his campaign

Fl Gov Ron DeSantis

While DeSantis's campaign is "going through some things," a drag show he targeted has just settled some mess which he helped to cause.

From The Miami Herald:

A Miami restaurant has settled a legal dispute over a drag queen show with the state of Florida, ending a yearlong case that became tinged with partisan politics as Gov. Ron DeSantis accused the venue of trying to sexualize children. The owners of the restaurant, R House, agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to end the dispute. In a statement Tuesday, the owners said the payment of the fine “did not result from the finding of any violation of any administrative or criminal laws. 

 . . . Those cases — against the Hyatt Regency Miami and the historic Plaza Live theater in Orlando — are ongoing. But records show that in the Orlando case, state regulators filed their complaint even though they had found no evidence of lewd acts at the drag show. 

 In the case of R House, the dispute stemmed from a video on social media that showed a drag performer leading a young girl during a brunch performance. The performer said the parent had asked her to take the girl’s hand and walk with her because it was her birthday. The performer accepted, walked with the child briefly and then returned her to her parents.

 On Tuesday, R House owners said their drag show performances were “never specifically intended for minors,” but that a few parents in the past had “felt they were uniquely qualified to evaluate what was appropriate entertainment for their children and brought their family to our shows.” 

 “Be that as it may, in January 2023, we did introduce a mandatory age limit of 18+ and will continue that moving forward,” they said. “We are a small independently-owned business and never wanted to become a lightning rod for divisive political or cultural issues but unfortunately that is exactly what happened.” 

 Don't let neither DeSantis nor his supporters try to claim this as a victory. In reality, it underscores just how DeSantis is willing to waste time and taxpayer monies to further his presidential ambitions. In the end, this situation has been resolved like it probably should have been before DeSantis sniffed an opportunity to appeal to a bigoted conservative base and decided to create a phony war on drag shows. He claimed to be protecting the children, but what he was only interested in protecting was his so-called place in the Oval Office.

And how it is going for him?

For all of the threatening and appeals to fear, the attack on drag shows have been a colossal flop for his presidential ambitions. DeSantis is still far behind in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination. He's been steadily losing ground and it has been enjoyable to watch.

 It comes down to the fact that in spite of all of his bluster and choreographed moments, DeSantis is simply not a likable person. His attempts at being cordial makes me miss his sneers. His attempts at being friendly comes across as distasteful as a python strangling a baby rabbit.  And don't even get me started about when he attempts to laugh.

Perhaps it would help DeSantis to campaign with drag queens instead of against them.

'GOP candidate facing multiple child cruelty charges promises to protect kids from LGBTQ+ people' & other Tue midday news briefs

GOP candidate facing multiple child cruelty charges promises to protect kids from LGBTQ+ people - Hypocrisy is one thing. Shameless hypocrisy is just repulsive.

2 Arkansas school districts deny claims that they broke a law on teaching race and sexuality​ - Simple madness. They shouldn't have been put in that silly position in the first place. 

Deja Vu - Anti-gay tactics are now being used to harm the trans community - Sharing my post from last night. 

Americans Don’t Want Politicians Focusing on Transgender Issues, Survey Finds - But certain people won't listen to this. So let them learn the hard way.

Deja Vu - Anti-gay tactics are now being used to harm the trans community

Over a decade ago, I wrote about six tactics of distortions used by the anti-LGBTQ industry to inhibit pro-gay laws and demonize gays in general. Bear in mind all of this was before my knowledge of the LGBTQ community's diversity, hence me using "gay" as a general term when I meant all of us

These tactics haven't changed. They've simply been applied specifically to trans people.

Below is the list with examples:

1. Using nonrepresentative or out of date studies to make generalizations or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions.

In 2020 conservative author Abigail Shrier published Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Shrier claimed that being transgender is a "social contagion." but her book was called out for numerous errors, including:

Shrier claims that “in most cases—nearly 70 percent—gender dysphoria resolves," and thus youth should not be provided gender-affirming medical care. That statistic is false. 

 Shrier incorrectly uses this statistic to claim that trans youth shouldn't be offered gender-affirming medical interventions because most will change their minds and later regret their decision. The studies Shrier refers to used an old diagnosis of “gender identity disorder,” not the DSM-5 diagnosis of gender dysphoria. 

 The reason this is a problem is that one could meet this diagnosis without being transgender. The old criteria largely focused on gender expression (think a tomboy or a cisgender boy who likes “feminine” toys). Those kids aren’t transgender, so it’s not surprising that most of them weren’t transgender at follow-up. This problem with the “gender identity disorder” diagnosis from the DSM-IV was fixed for the DSM-5. 

 Furthermore, those studies were of very young prepubertal children. Under the current medical consensus, gender-affirming medical interventions are not offered to prepubertal youth. They are only offered after youth have reached adolescence. Once youth reach adolescence, it’s rare for transgender youth to later decide they are cisgender.

 2. Repetition 

This is the easiest technique to note. Anti-trans spokespeople and organizations have a wonderful resource in the conservative ecosystem. On networks such as Fox News and places like the Daily Wire, they tend to get interviewed and amplified continuously without anyone speaking for the trans community to debate them. A good example would be Fox News's Shannon Bream who, before she replaced Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, weaponized her segments as an attack on LGBTQ people at large and specifically against trans people.

3. Conspiracy Theory 

How often have we've heard nonsense about plots to "make kids believe that they are transgender." Or a plot to "erase women."  They are no different than claims that LGBTQ people are attempting to "jail Christians" or "destroy marriage." Claiming that groups of people are trying to do harm dehumanizes them. They are not seen as individuals with simple goals of trying to better their lives. Instead, they become mindless, faceless hordes i.e an invading army. Like locusts.

4. Dire Consequences 

This when the anti-LGBTQ industry spin lies about children being "castrated" or "men trying to take over women's sports." This is where the right-wing ecosystem plays in. When they are able to repeat these lies without challenge, they become commonly heard and easily repeated. The truth - trans athletes are not stealing awards and victories from cis females and gender-affirming healthcare for kids has nothing to do with mutilation or castration - gets drown out. 

5. Phony Experts 

As seen recently with an excellent article in the Huffington Post, the anti-LGBTQ industry create their own experts on gender-affirming care. It is similar to how they did the same in the past to hinder pro-gay laws and ordinances. Back then, they used such (now discredited) people as George Rekers (who got caught coming from a European trip with a male escort) and Paul Cameron (who once claimed that gays stuff gerbils up their rectums.)

Now there are new people such as Paul Hruz, Patrick Lappert, and several others. Very few - if any - have ever dealt with gender-affirming care (Lappert for example is a former plastic surgeon) and all have personal biases against the trans community.

Also, there is the use of destransitioners, or folks who claim they are no longer transgender. This mimics the past (and ultimately disastrous) technique of relying on so-called ex-gay spokespeople to claim that being homosexuality was a choice and that laws protecting gays from discrimination is needless. 

 For present purposes, the anti-LGBTQ industry relies particularly on one person - Chloe Cole. Cole claims that she was tricked by physicians to transition, and it harmed her physically. Subsequently, she travels throughout the country speaking for anti-trans laws. Cole provides confirmation bias for those who think that gender-affirming care is harmful even though there are several unanswered questions to her claims.

 6. Dehumanizing Semantics

 

This is a matter of phraseology. And it also relies on repetition. We refer to transgender healthcare as "gender-affirming" care. The opposition always refers to it as "castration" or "mutilation." Or they falsely imply that gender-affirming care for kids is something rushed through when in fact it is a slow, monitored process by physicians and parents alike. 

Take for example the recent incident involving former VP Mike Pence when he was asked what he would do to protect the trans community from violence.

Instead of answering the question, Pence said this:

"For me, what adults do in their lives, decisions that they make, including transgender adults, is one thing, but for kids under the age of 18— there’s a reason why we don’t let you drive ’til you’re 16. In the state of Indiana, you can’t get a tattoo until after you’re 18, you can’t drink until after you’re 21, that’s because we understand that kids don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions … When it comes to surgical or chemical procedures, I just— I really believe that we’ve got to protect our kids from decisions that will affect them, the balance of their lives, while at the same time saying adults can make decisions according to the dictates of their own conscience."

In using dehumanizing semantics, the point is to scare and distract - 

Scare people into thinking that gender-affirming healthcare is being rushed on kids and they may later regret it as adults and 

Distract from the fact that gender-affirming care is a complicated process or, in the case of Pence, the question of what he would do to protect trans Americans from violence.

The general point is that these tactics belie any claim that anti-trans laws are being created to save women's sports, protect kids, or anything else the anti-LGBTQ industry says. Just as when they used these tactics in the past specifically to target gays, the anti-LGBTQ industry's goal remains the same - to undermine the rights, health, and safety of a group of people who they deem as "unworthy."

Related post -  Opinion: What the anti-trans movement is all about

'BUSTED! Huff Post exposes cottage industry of 'experts' paid handsomely to defend anti-trans laws' & other Monday news briefs

Inside The Cottage Industry Of ‘Experts’ Paid To Defend Anti-Trans Laws​ - This is a HUGE expose about the 'experts' chosen to testify for anti-trans laws in courts. Not only are they completely clueless on what they testify about, they are racking up big bucks. This should be seen as a big scandal in light of all of the anti-trans legislation being passed around the country. And it will be because we will make it known. 

Mayor speaks out after LibsofTikTok publishes video of him getting spanked by drag queen - Master class in handling bullies - you don't back down. Not an inch. 

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert Dates Bar Owner Who's Hosted Drag Shows - The same one she was playing "happy hands" with in public. Hypocrisy foul and foul for being generally nasty. 

Tennessee elects its first transgender lawmaker - In case you haven't heard. Good for Tennessee!

GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence sidesteps a question about protecting transgender Americans from violence

 

 When specifically asked what about what he would do as president to protect transgender Americans from violence, GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence gave an answer which completely ignored the question.

And while it shouldn't surprise anyone, it should get us all angry.

A mother of a transgender child broke down while confronting former Vice President Mike Pence about his LGBT policies during a NewsNation town hall on Wednesday. After Pence declared that as president he would “protect our kids from that radical gender ideology that’s taken hold in too many public schools,” moderator Leland Vittert called on a member of the audience, Melissa McCollister, to ask Pence a question. 

 McCollister, who could be seen crying, said: 

"Good evening, vice president. I am an LGBTQ member and I have trans individuals in my family. Recent anti-LGBTQ bills have been signed into law all around this United States, including here in Iowa. So far, in 2023, 15 transgender individuals and gender-nonconforming people have been murdered. The vast majority of those people have been Black and Latinx transgender women. It is very hard for me to ask these questions after just hearing what I heard. What is your policy plan to protect the transgender community, specifically Black and brown trans women from historically high levels of violence?"

This was Pence's answer: 

 Pence replied, “Well, Melissa, let me say I’m deeply grieved to hear about those tragic circumstances, and I hear your heart, and I’m moved by your emotion, I truly am,” before continuing: 

 "I’m a Bible-believing Christian. I have particular views of these matters and you have a different view of those, perhaps, but I want you to know I believe in the freedom of religion, I believe in the freedom of conscience, I believe in the right of every American to live, to work, to worship according to the dictates of their conscience and I’ll respect that. But I hope you also hear my heart on this. 

 For me, what adults do in their lives, decisions that they make, including transgender adults, is one thing, but for kids under the age of 18— there’s a reason why we don’t let you drive ’til you’re 16. In the state of Indiana, you can’t get a tattoo until after you’re 18, you can’t drink until after you’re 21, that’s because we understand that kids don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions … When it comes to surgical or chemical procedures, I just— I really believe that we’ve got to protect our kids from decisions that will affect them, the balance of their lives, while at the same time saying adults can make decisions according to the dictates of their own conscience." 

 Good Lord! That was a deliberate blow-off of her question.

 She didn't ask Pence about his personal beliefs. 

She didn't ask about gender-affirming healthcare.

And she certainly didn't ask for his thoughts and prayers.

She asked about action. She asked him what he would do to prevent violence against transgender Americans. 

How difficult would it have been for Pence say something generic about every American having the right to lead lives free of violence? How difficult would it have been for Pence to at least verbally denounced acts of violence against trans Americans?  

But no. Pence chose to repeat completely detached, obviously rehearsed (and very inaccurate) anti-trans talking points which have nothing to do with what McCloster asked. Pence claims to be a "Bible-believing Christian," but he can't give a constituent an honest answer or give her some assurance that he will protect her community from violence?  Excuse me? Mr. Pence, you are not running for Pastor of the United States. As president, you have a duty to protect all Americans from violence; not just the ones you deem worthy. And if you can't at least say that you would protect all Americans from violence, you need to drop out and let someone who will make that assurance take over.

Pence used his faith as a shield like the presidential candidate in the Stephen King novel, The Dead Zone, held up a child to dodge an assassin's bullet, but he didn't sidestep the question because he didn't have an answer. He sidestepped the question because he didn't want to give an answer. 

To remind folks, the question had nothing to do with his personal beliefs about transgender Americans. It had to do with how he would protect them from violence. And by his dodging, Pence gave us the unfortunate answer to the question.

Editor's note - This isn't the first time Pence has dodged direct questions when it comes to the rights and safety of LGBTQ people. In 2015 while he was Governor of Indiana, he was asked eight times by George Stephanopoulos​ of ABC's This Week if he opposed LGBTQ discrimination.

He would not give an answer:

Minnesota library won't ban LGBTQ-oriented book after community steps up

We have heard so many negative stories about libraries banning book. How about one with a happy ending for a change: This happened at the Carver County Library in Chaska, Minnesota:

It could have been a war of words, but instead it was a collective call from the community to keep a book on the shelves. "Gender Queer: a Memoir" By Maia Kobabe has become the most challenged book in the United States, according to the American Library Association. In July, a Waconia woman raised concerns about the book which detailed the author's gender identity journey. She then went on to file a request for removal which was at first denied, but after another appeal, the board discussed the book further during a meeting Tuesday night. Dozens packed the usually-empty meeting to make their voices heard on the issue. 

 . . . Erin Busse, the woman who advocated for its removal, did not speak during the meeting. During a meeting on Aug. 8, she described her concerns with the book saying, "This book is shameful and harmful, and to put it and allow it to be in the hands of children is sexual grooming." 

 Parents disagreed Tuesday. One resident said, "If you don't like it, don't read it. If it makes you uncomfortable, maybe you should examine why that is." 

This was the first time the Carver County Library Board considered removing a book. Nationwide, attempts are on the rise. The American Library Association says there were almost 1,300 demands to remove library books last year, the highest ever in its 20-year recording history.  In Minnesota, 22 demands were made with "Gender Queer" being the top title for removal. By the end of the meeting, the demand was unanimously denied by the board who had all read the book over the last month. "I was really quite amazed at how touching I found the book. I found it really, quite moving and also extremely informative," Secretary Frank Foss said. 

"Gender Queer" will remain in the adult-fiction section in Carver County.

This was nice. No noisy adults calling people groomers, no lies about "sexual instruction," no reading sexual book passages in order to shock people.  Just calm and rational discussions. This is what the book banners fear. And what we need more of. 

Below is the standing ovation the Carver County Library Board received when they voted to keep the 'Gender Queer'

Standing ovation for the Carver County Library Board after they voted to KEEP the book Gender Queer: a Memoir in circulation. It comes after a request for removal from a Carver County resident. More at 10pm @WCCO pic.twitter.com/pC1lr05Vt7

— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) September 12, 2023