Tag: transgender

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56 Major Companies Denounce Trump Administration’s Attack On Transgender Protections

Fifty-six major companies (including Apple, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, and IBM) have signed on to a letter in support of transgender equality.

The project was headed up by 14 LGBTQ advocacy organizations, led by the Human Rights Campaign and Out Leadership.

The coalition included: Athlete Ally, Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, GLSEN, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, National LGBTQ Task Force, Out & Equal, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF).

In the letter, the companies denounce the Trump administration’s treatment of trans people including the recently discovered plan to ‘redefine’ trans people out of existence.

We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves.

We oppose any administrative and legislative efforts to erase transgender protections through reinterpretation of existing laws and regulations. We also fundamentally oppose any policy or regulation that violates the privacy rights of those that identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex.

In the last two decades, dozens of federal courts have affirmed the rights and identities of transgender people. Cognizant of growing medical and scientific consensus, courts have recognized that policies that force people into a binary gender definition determined by birth anatomy fail to reflect the complex realities of gender identity and human biology.

Recognizing that diversity and inclusion are good for business, and that discrimination imposes enormous productivity costs (and exerts undue burdens), hundreds of companies, including the undersigned, have continued to expand inclusion for transgender people across corporate America.

Currently more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 have clear gender identity protections; two-thirds have transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage; hundreds have LGBTQ+ and Allies business resource groups and internal training efforts.

Transgender people are our beloved family members and friends, and our valued team members. What harms transgender people harms our companies.

We call for respect and transparency in policy-making, and for equality under the law for transgender people.

Accenture
Adobe Systems Inc.
Airbnb
Altria Group
Amalgamated Bank
Amazon
American Airlines
Apple
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP)
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade
BNY Mellon
Cargill
Cisco Systems Inc.
Citi
Clifford Chance
The Coca Cola Company
Corning Incorporated
Corteva Agriscience [™] , the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont
The Dow Chemical Company
Deutsche Bank
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Facebook
Fastly, Inc.
Google
Hogan Lovells International LLP
HSBC
IBM Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intuit Inc.
Iron Mountain
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co.
LinkedIn
Lush Handmade Cosmetics
Lyft
Marriott International
MassMutual
MGM Resorts International
Microsoft Corp.
Nike, Inc.
PepsiCo
Replacements, Ltd.
Ropes & Gray
Royal Bank of Canada
S&P Global
Salesforce
Sheppard Mullin
Sodexo Inc.
Splunk
State Street Corporation
TiVo Corporation
Trillium Asset Management
Twitter Inc.
Uber
Warby Parker

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Transgender Activists Surprise With Pro-Trans Banner At World Series

During last night’s final game of the World Series, transgender activists somehow snuck a huge banner that read “Trans people deserve to live” into Dodger Stadium and unfurled the massive message during the game.

According to CBS News, the moment was planned by members of the TransLatin@ Coalition, a Los Angeles-based activist organization that advocates for the rights of transgender Latinx people.

It won’t surprise you to learn that Fox Sports didn’t show the sign or its removal on the air.

By the way, the Boston Red Sox clinched the Series by winning the game 5-1. This marks the 4th Series title in 14 years for the Red Sox.

A Facebook video of two activists unfurling the banner was uploaded by The TransLatina Coalition. According to The Los Angeles Blade, the two activists in the video were identified as Bamby Salcedo and Maria Roman.

“Our message tonight was to let the world know that we as Trans people deserved to be humanized, acknowledged and valued,” said Salcedo, according to the Blade.

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Caitlyn Jenner Pens Op-Ed: I Was Wrong About Trump

Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner, arguably one of the most famous transgender people in the world, has penned an op-ed for The Washington Post saying her “outlook has changed significantly” regarding her support for Donald Trump and his administration.

“These past two years under President Trump have given me the opportunity to reflect on a lot of topics that have come up in the LGBTQ community and in our nation,” writes Jenner. “As I’ve watched and pondered, my outlook has changed significantly from what it was during my highly publicized and glamorized early Caitlyn days, when my life as an out trans woman was just beginning.”

Admitting she’s been on a learning curve since coming out as transgender, the 68-year-old shares she has “reflected on what my unique position of privilege means and how I can best use it to make a positive difference.”

Pointing to Trump’s declaration at the Republican National Convention in 2016 where he promised he would do everything in his power to “protect LGBTQ citizens from violence and oppression,” Jenner says she “saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues.”

With American views on LGBTQ citizens were improving, even in the GOP voter base, Jenner felt “optimistic that this was how I could leverage my privilege for change.”

After “many trips to Washington” which produced what she described as “positive” and “encouraging” conversations, Jenner felt hopeful for “positive change.”

“Sadly, I was wrong,” admits the former Olympian. “The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community.”

“He has ignored our humanity,” continued Jenner. “He has insulted our dignity. He has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us in an attempt to energize the most right-wing segment of his party, claiming his anti-transgender policies are meant to “protect the country.”

“This is politics at its worst. It is unacceptable, it is upsetting, and it has deeply, personally hurt me.”

Jenner now feels her belief that she could work with the Trump administration to improve transgender lives was “a mistake.”

She calls the recently leaked Department of Health and Human Services memo, that reveals a plan to redefine gender in a very narrow manner that could virtually erase 1.4 million trans people in the United States, “just one more example in a pattern of political attacks” on trans people.

“I do not support Trump,” she shares. “I must learn from my mistakes and move forward.”

“I need to listen more to the members of the LGBTQ community and to learn more. I need to better use my voice, my privilege and my foundation to advocate and support our community.”

Jenner concludes with the statement: “The world needs to hear us. The world needs to know us. We will not be erased.”

Of course, the Twitterverse chimed in:

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Identical Twins Come Out As Transgender And Transition Together

Jack and Jace Grafe of Georgia

Jack and Jace Grafe, who live in Georgia, recently shared their amazing journey as identical twins who came out to each other as transgender and transitioned together.

Fox5Atlanta recently reported the story of the twins who were identified as female at birth, but came out to each other at the age of 15. That was just a year after they had even heard the word ‘transgender.’

“It’s like being in prison except it’s in your own body,” Jack told Fox5Atlanta. “And the older I got, the harder it was to swallow. And I was like, can’t do this for the rest of my life, I just can’t do it.”

Both men admit the fear of coming out was huge, but having a twin going through the same experience provided incredible emotional support.

“Fear is like the biggest thing to keep you away from anything,” Jack says. “That’s what kept me in my box.”

“I feel like we’ve saved each other from a lot of really dark and depressing moments,” added Jace. “Sometimes, I wonder if he wasn’t here, if I would have been by myself, if I would have had suicidal thoughts. I’m not saying I would have, but it’s very possible. I would have been most definitely alone.”

Study after study has shown that transgender teens are much more likely to face high instances of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Even though they came out to each other at 15-years-old, the two continued to present as female until they graduated from high school. “But as soon as I got out of there, I cut my hair, and I changed my clothes,” Jace says.

Both men are in long-term relationships and work as corrections officers in East Georgia. Looking to begin careers in law enforcement, Jace has already begun study at the police academy and Jack plans to follow in his footsteps.

(screen capture)

It wasn’t until they reached the age of 21 that they began giving each other male hormone injections which deepened their voices and made their appearance more masculine.

And in August of this year, the twins underwent top surgery on the same day which removed excess breast tissue and contoured their chests for a more masculine shape.

The twins turned to Georgia Plastic Surgery’s Dr. Sheldon Lincenberg for the final step in their transition.

Dr. Lincenberg told Fox5Atlanta that the surgery helps both Jace and Jack to look the way they feel inside – male.

“Their identity is set inside themselves,” Dr. Lincenberg says.  “They’re not trying to change that. They just want the world to see them as they are.”

Thanks to the gender-confirming survey, the twins were able to obtain new driver’s licenses that identify their gender as male.

“It’s real now, it’s official,” Jack says. “It’s like the biggest relief you could ever feel.”

“It’s perfect to me, I’m finally perfect to me,” added Jace. “I’m just excited to finally go out there and be exactly what I’ve been dreaming about for a long time.”

Watch the report from Fox5Atlanta below.

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Podcast: Trump Looks To Redefine Trans Americans Out Of Existence; RuPaul Wants You To Sissy That Vote!

In this week’s Randy Report podcast:

• The Trump administration is proposing a new, narrow definition of gender that would virtually erase transgender Americans out of existence

• Nancy Pelosi says The Equality Act would be a high priority for a Democratically controlled House of Representatives

• Trump voters believe straight men face more discrimination than gays

• And RuPaul wants to make sure you sissy that vote!

All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report.

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Trump Administration Proposes Defining Transgender People Out Of Existence

The Trump/Pence administration continues it’s assault on the LGBTQ community as the Department of Health and Human Services proposes a new, extremely narrow definition of ‘sex’ that would virtually erase the existence of 1.4 million transgender Americans.

The move would exclude transgender people from federal non-discrimination protections.

From The New York Times:

The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a government-wide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law.

A series of decisions by the Obama administration loosened the legal concept of gender in federal programs, including in education and health care, recognizing gender largely as an individual’s choice and not determined by the sex assigned at birth. Conservatives, especially evangelical Christians, were incensed.

Now the Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government financial assistance, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times. The agency’s proposed definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with, according to a draft reviewed by The Times.

According to reports, the HHS Department is also trying to persuade the Departments of Education, Justice and Labor to adopt the policy in an effort to provide a more unified front in the certain-to-be-filed lawsuits.

The Human Rights Campaign quickly issued a statement denouncing the proposal.

“Setting a destructive precedent, the Trump-Pence administration intends to erase LGBTQ people from federal civil rights protections and eviscerate enforcement of non-discrimination laws,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.

“Defining ‘sex’ in this narrow language tailored to the talking points of anti-equality extremists is part of a deliberate strategy to eliminate federal protections for LGBTQ people,” added Griffin. “This is a direct attack on the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people and, if this administration refuses to reverse course, Congress must immediately take action by advancing the Equality Act to ensure that LGBTQ people are explicitly protected by our nation’s civil rights laws.”

The HRC suggests the administration’s policy change could have drastic consequences for LGBTQ people across the federal government. For example:

• Same-sex couples and their families could be turned away from emergency shelters
• A transgender person could have their insurance deny them coverage for transition related care
• A gay man could be harassed about being gay at a job skills training
• An elderly same-sex couple could be denied in home meal service
• A transgender woman could be turned away from a hospital for a broken ankle

The answer to all of this would be the passage of The Equality Act which adds clear, comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people to our nation’s civil rights laws.

The legislation has 246 cosponsors in Congress, and 117 major corporations have announced their support.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who could become the Speaker of the House after the midterm elections, has publicly stated she feels the passage of The Equality Act would be a high priority and one that is very personal to her.

LGBTQ discrimination is a real and persistent problem in the U.S.

Polling by the Human Rights Campaign has found that nearly two-thirds of self-identified LGBTQ Americans report experiencing discrimination.

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Homocon Journalist Invents “Transgender Privilege” And LGBTQ Folks Were Not Having It

In the aftermath of Vermont candidate Christine Hallquist’s historic win in the Democratic gubernatorial race this past Tuesday, a gay conservative journalist accused Hallquist of winning due to “transgender privilege.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Vermont, Christine Hallquist

In the aftermath of Vermont candidate Christine Hallquist’s historic win in the Democratic gubernatorial race this past Tuesday, a gay conservative journalist accused Hallquist of winning due to “transgender privilege.”

Wait, what?

Speaking to Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night, Chadwick Moore said, “She can get away with many, many things simply by being transgender.”

“I mean, who knows if that’s even how she won this primary,” he added. “But while the entire country is fixated on the fact that she’s transgender, nobody knows anything about her policies.”

It’s patently false to claim “nobody knows anything” about Hallquist’s policies and priorities.

As I wrote earlier this week, she spent the past several months criss-crossing the state sharing her ideas on addressing poverty, promoting renewable energy and fighting climate change, spotlighting economic development in the state’s rural areas, raising the minimum wage, working toward single-payer health care, and reworking the school funding structure, as well as empowering LGBTQ Vermonters.

Whether you consider the various “bathroom bills” being introduced in multiple states meant to keep trans people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, or the Trump administration’s attempts to keep transgender service members from serving in the U.S. military, the idea of “transgender privilege” is laughable.

LGBTQ advocates and politicians were not down with Moore’s claim of “transgender privilege.”

On Twitter, folks began trending the hashtag #transgenderprivilege, attempting to spotlight the violence and discrimination that transgender Americans face on a daily basis.

A study by the National Center for Transgender Equality found in 2015 that 46% of trans folks had been the target of verbal assault in the past year.

Additionally, 30% said they had been fired or denied a promotion for being transgender.

And one in ten trans respondents admitted to having been physically assaulted by family members.

Does this sound like “privilege” to you?

Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston and now President of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, addressed the ludicrous idea of “transgender privilege” in a statement which read, in part:

“For two cisgender white men on Fox News to bemoan ‘transgender privilege’ in a conversation about one of the few openly trans candidates in the entire nation requires extraordinary ignorance, at best.

“Christine was the chief executive of a well-respected energy utility company for more than 12 years and traveled the entire state sharing with voters her progressive vision for Vermont.

“They claimed Vermont primary voters know nothing beyond her gender identity while in fact the opposite is true – voters chose Christine because of her experience and positions, not because of her gender identity, and it is an insult to Vermont voters to say otherwise.

“To say trans candidates have ‘privilege’ is simply these two pundits spewing nonsense and hate – there are only 13 trans people in elected office nationwide, hardly a privileged group.”

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Did An Airline Agent ‘Out’ A Trans Woman To Her Fellow Passengers?

Lenore Herrem (image via Facebook)

A transgender Canadian woman traveling from Calgary to Saskatoon told CBC News that she was “outed” to the other passengers by a WestJet gate agent.

Lenore Herrem says that when she presented her ID at the gate for her flight, the agent became “upset and confused.”

While Herrem presents as female, her five-year-old ID lists her as male.

More from CBC News:

“She got upset and said, ‘They don’t match,’ but her colleague said, ‘Yes, they do, it’s fine, go ahead,'” Herrem said as she described the agent’s reaction.

“So I gently and discreetly expressed to her, ‘It’s because I’m transgender, that’s why they don’t match up. But my face is the same and my ID matches the name on my boarding pass.'”

Herrem boarded the plane and was settled in her seat for about 10 minutes when she said both gate agents boarded the flight, and the agent who had been confused once again demanded her ID.

“She said something like, ‘Oh, that’s not the name I remember seeing on the computer when I looked at it,’ and she started spouting off different, other women’s names that were not mine,” Herrem recalled.

“She rolled her eyes at me and said, ‘Are you sure it wasn’t your girl name that was on the computer?’ … She outed me in front of the whole airplane.”

Herrem says the experience left her feeling “unsafe, vulnerable, belittled.”

“I was in shock, it was quite traumatizing having someone, especially the way she did it so loudly and in front of everyone, it was really unprofessional,” she added.

WestJet has emailed Herrem apologizing for the incident writing, “WestJet’s inclusive culture is a point of pride for WestJetters and our goal has always been to create a safe and inclusive environment for all.”

“We have extended our apologies to the guest and are reviewing the matter as we are continuously assessing and evolving our practices and policies to maximize inclusiveness and celebrate diversity.”

Herrem says she was “pleased” with the manner the airline dealt with the incident.

“She expressed that they will be implementing training to staff to deal with these sort of situations better in the future which was the most important thing for me to hear,” Herrem added.

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Trans People Say They Experience Discrimination At LoveLoud Music Event

Bobbee Trans Mooremon (image via Facebook)

It seems that, although the LoveLoud LGBTQ benefit concert in Utah raised $1 million for LGBTQ youth charities, some transgender people found the experience not quite as welcoming as they’d been promised.

Bobbee Trans Mooremon, a board member at Queer Meals in Provo, spoke out about discriminatory treatment at the event including having difficulty finding gender-neutral bathrooms.

Via FOX13:

The confrontation was at Rice Eccles Stadium in an area reserved for charities and supporters affiliated with LoveLoud.

Bobbee says the man was not threatening but it still created an unsafe situation. “There’s always a fear no matter what bathroom I go in I’m going to get yelled at or beat up. Which one do I want?” said Bobbee.

After conferring with other members of Queer Meals, the organization decided to pack up and leave early. So did Provo Pride.”

LoveLoud issued this statement on Facebook:

“We were saddened to hear that a few of our LGBTQ+ community members faced discrimination at last night’s festival. We have a zero-tolerance policy toward any behavior that makes anyone feel unsafe or unwelcome.

“As an organization dedicated to creating safe and affirming events for our LGBTQ+ friends and families, our staff, volunteers, and charity partners were asked to participate in an LGBTQ+ cultural competency training.

“We are committed to learning from our mistakes and will continuously work to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people in our community and beyond.

“If you would like to share your experience so that we know where we excelled and where we have room to grow, please send feedback to info@loveloudfest.com. We love you. We stand with you.”

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Podcast: Homeless Gay Teen Survives & Thrives To Become Valedictorian; ‘Riverdale’ Gets A Gay Romance

In this week's podcast: • A homeless gay teen becomes valedictorian of his class. Head to www.gofundme.com/hoyaseth to contribute to his college fund. • Puerto Rico now allows transgender folks to change the gender on their birth certificates. • The hit TV series Riverdale is getting a gay romance. • The CW's Supergirl will debut television's first transgender super-hero. • Ryan Reynolds wants to see more sexuality in his Deadpool movies All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.

In this week’s podcast:

• A homeless gay teen becomes valedictorian of his class. Head to www.gofundme.com/hoyaseth to contribute to his college fund.

• Puerto Rico now allows transgender folks to change the gender on their birth certificates.

• The hit TV series Riverdale is getting a gay romance.

• The CW’s Supergirl will debut television’s first transgender super-hero.

• Ryan Reynolds wants to see more sexuality in his Deadpool movies

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.