Here are a number of articles that caught my attention this week…
First the good news and then the bad.
Texas' capital city voted to adopt a measure providing some protections to transgender people seeking gender-affirming care despite state laws against the practice.Court NewsBy KIRK MCDANIELMay 2, 2024The Austin City Council on Thursday approved a resolution declining enforcement of the state’s laws banning physicians from providing gender-affirming surgeries and medications to minors — the first city in the state to do so.The resolution’s lead sponsor, Councilmember José “Chito” Vela, said that he hopes his office’s “transgender protection resolution” will offer some comfort to the transgender and non-binary community in Austin. With the measure’s passage, the city will not provide municipal staff, funds and resources that can be used to “investigate, criminally prosecute, or impose administrative penalties upon…” people seeking gender-affirming health care or those who provide and/or help provide access to such care unless required by law.“Trans people deserve the right to self-determination,” Vela said just before the vote on the resolution was held. “Our state has forced them and their medical providers into hiding and that is wrong, Austin should not be a party to that any more than we legally have to be.”Passing 10-1, the resolution makes Austin the first city in the state to take such a stand nearly a year after the Legislature passed Senate Bill 14, a law that prohibits physicians from prescribing hormone therapies to or performing surgeries on any minor with gender dysphoria. The law was a priority for Republican lawmakers who control the state house, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott who signed the bill into law this past June. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a former member of the Texas Senate, voted in favor of the resolution.
You know tht Abbott, Paxton and all the other right-wingers will be jumping up and down over this and having a hissy fit over the resolution.
- Jin becomes China’s first publicly recognised trans woman following surgery in 1995
- She divorces husband out of necessity for children before remarrying
- China’s first publicly recognised transgender woman Jin Xing divorces German husband – remarries him 18 years later
- Jin becomes China’s first publicly recognised trans woman following surgery in 1995
- She divorces husband out of necessity for children before remarrying
South China Morning PostBy Zoey Zhang7 May 2024China’s first publicly recognised transgender dancer has remarried the love of her life whom she was forced to divorce 18 years ago.Jin Xing, 56, from Liaoning province in northeastern China, is a renowned transgender performer with 14 million followers on Weibo.In April 1995, Jin underwent gender reassignment surgery in a Beijing hospital, becoming China’s first publicly recognised transgender person.[…]In 2005, the pair got married and Oidtmann moved to China alone to be with Jin.However, the couple divorced in 2006 and Jin explained that they did so to resolve the children’s household registration issues and avoid impacting their elder son’s studies.As a foreigner, Oidtmann had to wait a year to qualify for international adoption.They continued to co-parent their three adopted children, and in 2018, they secretly remarried in Italy.
Love will find a way!
WXXI NewsBy Jeremy MouleMay 3, 2024Greece Arcadia High and Middle schools were briefly evacuated Friday after the district received a transphobic, homophobic threat to bomb the school.The threat, which was loaded with profanity and slurs, was originally sent to WROC Channel 8 just after 6 a.m. Staff there called 911 and forwarded the message to Greece school district officials. Both of the schools were subsequently evacuated but were able to resume their days at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively. That was after Greece police searched the schools with dogs.Greece schools Superintendent Kathleen Graupman said to her, the threat qualified as a hate crime.“It is the exact opposite of what we do in schools, it is the exact opposite of what Greece Central believes in terms of what we teach, and how we behave, and how we conduct ourselves,” she said.
As far as I am concerned if they ever arrest the person they should be charged with terrorism.
The superintendent’s resignation follows an investigation into the student’s removal, which sparked nationwide backlash.NBC NewsBy Jo YurcabaMay 2, 2024A Texas superintendent voluntarily resigned Wednesday after a transgender student was removed and later reinstated in a high school production of “Oklahoma!” — a case that sparked nationwide outcry amid a broader fight over trans rights.The Sherman Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Superintendent Tyson Bennett at the end of a two-and-a-half hour closed special session Wednesday. Acting Superintendent Thomas O’Neal will continue to serve as interim superintendent until the board hires a new superintendent, the board said in a statement.“The school district will continue to operate as normal in the best interest of students, staff and families,” the board said.
Lastly...
SUMMARY
- Outrage over Gender Queer is out of context; the graphic novel is meant for teen readers, not young children, as the author intended.
- John Oliver points out misconceptions about the book's content, defending its relevance to teens' experiences.
- Author Maia Kobabe agrees that the book is not for kids, but important for teens going through similar struggles.
ScreenRantBy Angela DavisMay 9, 2024Maia Kobabe's controversial graphic novel Gender Queer has garnered support from Last Week Tonight's John Oliver. Gender Queer has been making headlines across the U.S. as one of the most banned books in the country. As of 2024, the autobiography of Kobabe's life has been banned in numerous school districts, with its removal from public libraries being discussed as well. In the heat of this debate, a prominent talk show host has thrown his hat into the ring to discuss why it needs to stay on the shelves.Last Week Tonight with John Oliver's May 5, 2024 broadcast features a segment where the titular host discusses the rise of book bans in public libraries. Some of the things he touches on include the lack of actually reading the material people want to ban and improperly labeling which books are deemed inappropriate. However, one clip from the segment features him discussing Gender Queer, mentioning how outrage over the book has led to it being pulled from libraries in schools, and now public institutions, for various reasons.
And so it goes… this is just one week of the stuff that we have to put up with.
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