Looking Back On The Year

Did we gain or did we lose?

We had several victories for Trans Rights but we also had several really great setbacks

Coming out of Washington DC we took a number of hits with the loss of trans healthcare and housing. We lost in a number of lower federal court cases but we’re waiting for the Supreme Court cases, they will be case that either make or break anti-discrimination laws.

Around the country many states pass pro-LGBTQ rights legislation while in a number of Republicans states they are trying to pass draconian legislation to take away our right to healthcare.

Trans Visibility Exploded in the 2010s. But What Did Trans People Actually Gain?
The ten biggest moments in transgender rights and representation this decade proved that visibility is a double-edged sword.
Vice
By Katelyn Burns
December 5 2019

Transgender people entered the 2010s quietly and are leaving it as magazine cover stars and TV show protagonists. That increased visibility pushed society’s understanding of the gender binary, with many people becoming aware of the existence of trans and non-binary people for the first time.

But the 2010s were also when we learned that mainstream visibility doesn’t always equal rights, wealth, or safety. While visibility brought significant rights gains to the trans community over the past decade, it also brought a significant backlash that currently threatens several decades of progress for trans people. Here are the 10 most significant moments marking the steps toward rights and representation, which were also, in many cases, steps back.

The article lists these milestones...

• May 30, 2010: The State Department Makes Public Life for Many Trans People Possible For the First Time
• August 22, 2013: Chelsea Manning Becomes a Trans Whistleblowing Icon
• May 29, 2014: Laverne Cox’s Time Magazine Cover Puts Trans People in the Spotlight
• June 25, 2015: Caitlyn Jenner Becomes the New Face of the Trans Community, For Better or Worse
• March 23, 2016: The Bathroom Bill Is Signed and Organized Backlash Begins
• May 13, 2016: The Affordable Care Act Revolutionizes Access to Transition-related Care
• June 15, 2017: Oregon Becomes the First State to Allow Non-binary Gender Markers
• July 26, 2017: Trump Bans Trans People From The Military
• November 7, 2017: Danica Roem Becomes First Openly Trans State Legislator
• October 8, 2019: Trans rights goes to SCOTUS

I would add,

• The Department of Education removing gender identity and expression from Title IX
• The Department of Labor removing gender identity and expression from Title VII
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development removing gender identity and expression from the Fair Housing Act 
• The Department of Health and Human Services proposed removal gender identity and expression from ACA
• Trump’s Executive Order removing LGBTQ protection from federal contracts

So what do you think? Has this year been a good or bad year for us?

polls

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New Now Next also has a list;

Gay as in Happy: 11Reasons Queer People Were Celebrating in 2019
There were plenty of triumphs for the LGBTQ community over the year.
By Jeff Taylor
December 17, 2019


2019 was a rough year politically for queer people on a number of fronts, with the Trump administration continuing its attacks on LGBTQ rights at home, and places like Chechnya, Azerbaijan, and Uganda ramping up persecution of the community.

While it would be easy to write the year off as one of doom-and-gloom, there were a number of bright spots, both in the United States and abroad. As we close out the year, here are some of the news events from 2019 that are worth celebrating.

They list the following…

1. Marriage Equality Gains
2. Brunei and Uganda Abandon Plans to Introduce “Kill the Gays” Bills
3. Botswana Legalizes Gay Sex
4. U.S. Embassies Defy Trump’s Pride Flag Ban
5. Alan Turing Announced as New Face of £50 Note
6. States Embrace Nonbinary IDs
7. Five States, and Puerto Rico, Ban Conversion Therapy
8. Courts Keeping Trump in Check
9. “They” Is Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year
10. Scientists Continue Making Progress in Battle Against HIV/AIDS
11. Impeachment Proceedings Against Trump Move Forward

Our Readers Share Highlights From Their Year in Queer
NewNowNext asked our readers to share their own personal triumphs during 2019, and here are some of the uplifting responses we received.

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I think for me I had a couple of personal triumphs this year.

First one is medical, all summer long I had back problem; mother was right, lift with your knees and arms, not with your bad. Everyone told me to go to physical therapy, I said naw, I said my back always got better on its own. Well after six months I went to physical therapy, in two weeks I could go most of the day without my back aching and by the time I finished physical therapy my back wasn’t hurting at all.

On the activist level I think it was the first meeting of the Legislative LGBTQ Public Health and Human Services Network committee meeting.

Please post what your own personal triumphs this year?