Tag: Transgender

Pope Francis, often praised for his outreach to queer people, sat by silent this week as the Vatican released documents referring to transgender people as seeking to ‘annihilate the concept of nature.’ The document, referred to as Male And Female He Created Them, further maligns the transgender community as “nothing more than a confused concept of freedom in the realm of feelings and wants.” The Vatican describes the document as an educational tool for teachers and parents. The 31-page report also...

Since Grindr introduced various options for trans and gender non-conforming users in 2017, those communities have been using the dating app to find love and sex much more. However, as violence against trans women – specifically trans women of color — continues, the app may be used by people who are trying to meet these women for dangerous purposes.  This is what happened to Luna Lovebad, a Latina trans woman who lives...

Donald Trump on ‘Good Morning Britain’ (screen capture)Donald Trump, currently on a three-day state visit to the UK, defended his ban on transgender soldiers in the U.S. military by lying about the ‘massive’ cost of hormone treatment. Trump sat down with his old pal and former winner of Celebrity Apprentice, Piers Morgan, on iTV’s Good Morning Britain to chat for an hour on a range of subjects. While mentioning Trump’s recent tweet acknowledging...

XY Chelsea, a documentary about whistleblower Chelsea Manning.Produced by Laura Poitras (RISK, Citizenfour) with filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins, XY Chelsea follows Manning as she is released from Fort Leavenworth, an all-male maximum-security prison in Kansas, for disclosing classified materials to WikiLeaks. Before leaving the White House, President Barack Obama commuted all but four months of Manning's remaining prison term. She served 7 years of a 35-year sentence.Manning, 31, came out transgender on the day after she was sentenced."Shot over two years...

Half the fun of pride is putting your most fabulous self together for it. There are the outfits. There are the shoes. There are sunglasses and pride t-shirts and shorts to be ironed out before the main event. But why simply shop, when you can combine it with performances, delicious food, fashion and prizes? Check out special appearances by Peppermint, Vanderpump Rules star Billie Lee, and the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus. Better yet? All pride month, Macy’s is partnering with The Trevor...

Octavia Donata Columbro is living her truth, nearly three years after competing on ITV’s The X Factor as one half of the pop duo Bratavio: Columbro announced in a new interview with The Sun that she is transitioning to female. The singer’s transition follows years of inner torment. “I lost my drive for life,” she tells the newspaper. “I shut myself away from the world and would spend days in my bedroom with the curtains drawn not wanting to see...

Great news from the world of ride sharing! Lyft has just announced that users are now able to add their preferred pronouns to their accounts so drivers know how to address them. In today’s world, and with so many possible identities, it’s important not to assume to know someone by their physical appearance. So this new feature on the Lyft app is a great way to show how the company is committed LGBTQ+ equality and supports all expressions of...

Screen shot from THIRTY-FIVE Vimeo videoWhat do you feel your life expectancy is?  Do you think it is different because you are LGBTQ+?  The current life expectancy for the “average” American is roughly 78 years and Brazil is not far behind.    Sources include: World BankBut the life expectancy of transgender people in Brazil is 35 because of the violence and discrimination against them. This fact is highlighted in the new film Thirty-Five developed for...

Gliding like a dual-blade razor through sensitive areas, Gillette introduces its second social media ad to take on social topics, this time with a father sweetly guiding his trans son during a first shave. Sitting on the couch with his dad beside him, real trans activist Samson Brown of Toronto, Ontario, says, “I always knew I was different, I didn’t know there was a term for the type of person that I was. I went into my transition just wanting...

Aidan DeStefano talks to The Today Show (screen capture)In a win for transgender students, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review Doe v. Boyertown School District which leaves in place a policy of allowing trans students to use the bathroom facilities that align with their gender identity. The policy has been in effect since 2016. The school district also provides private restrooms with lockers for any student, trans or otherwise, who may feel uncomfortable with the arrangement. ...

Photo by Samantha Hurley from Burst(Geneva, May 27, 2019) – The World Health Organization (WHO) approved a major change to its global manual of diagnoses on May 25, 2019, that will greatly benefit transgender people around the world, Human Rights Watch said today. The World Health Assembly, the WHO governing body that represents 194 member states, voted for new diagnostic guidelines that no longer describe gender nonconformity as a “mental disorder.” Historically, many medical systems, including those supported by the WHO, have...

Roger Severino, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, said that the change would eliminate language put in place as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) that defined "sex" to include gender identity.'When Congress prohibited sex discrimination, it did so according to the plain meaning of the term, and we are making our regulations conform," Severino said in a statement. "We have concluded in our most recent filing with the court that discrimination on...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - "We're not seen as humans by some people," said Emmit Davis, a transgender man in Colorado Springs brutally attacked with his partner by a group of men. Davis and his partner of 6 months pictured above. The attack happened this past Saturday as Davis and his partner were sitting outside on their porch. "For it to happen in our own front yard, it was pretty terrifying," he said. Davis said three men jumped over the fence to his property...