A "father" by any other name
Well, actually, that's a big problem.
These days with all the impeachment news seem so long already, don’t they? The transcript! The press conference! It can be a lot to handle. Just remind yourself that no matter the temptation, you don’t have to follow every second of it just because you can. It’s okay to catch up later, you’ll probably understand it all a lot better anyway.
If you’re curious what implications the impeachment inquiry has for LGBTQ people, check out this great new piece from the brilliant Mary Emily O’Hara. While Trump asking Ukraine to investigate the Bidens isn’t explicitly LGBTQ, the stakes are still very high!
And with that segue, here’s some more of today’s LGBTQ news:
Where LGBTQ lawmakers stand on impeachment
Okay, so one more thing on impeachment. We have ten federal lawmakers who all identify as members of the LGBTQ community, and it’s always interesting to check in on where they stand on important issues.
So far, nine of them have openly expressed support for the impeachment proceedings, including all eight LGBTQ members of the House of Representatives. The only queer lawmaker who hasn’t is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who instead gave a response avoiding a commitment for or against the inquiry. She did support access to the whistleblower’s report and transcript in a statement, but not the proceedings.
YouTube and Facebook excuse politicians’ hate
YouTube confirmed today that, like Facebook and Twitter, it will allow politicians’ content on the site even if it violates their standards. So, if a politician wants to spout a lot of anti-LGBTQ language, YouTube will just go ahead and leave that on the site simply because a politician said it.
What’s the point of having rules against hateful and discriminatory language if they’re enforced selectively?
Watch an Emmy-winning short about a trans kid!
This week, the winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Short Documentary was a film made by the ACLU and the queer magazine them. about a transgender six-year-old in Texas and her family’s fight for inclusion. And you can watch Trans in America: Texas Strong right now, and you probably should! There are also other films in the Trans in America series you should check out.
About that radio station that attacked a gay reporter on Twitter
There were two big developments in the case of the New Orleans-area radio station that called one of its employees a “fag” on Twitter. To recap, host Seth Dunlap had been speaking out about Saints quarterback Drew Brees partnering with the anti-LGBTQ group Focus on the Family, and at one point his employer, WWL Radio, responded to one of his tweets calling him a slur.
Dunlap has been on a leave of absence ever since the incident, and he is now threatening to sue, alleging “an appalling history of discrimination” over the eight years he’s worked there.
Meanwhile, WWL Radio completed its digital forensic investigation into the sending of the tweet and announced that it’s turning the matter over to law enforcement. It’s unclear what this means, but it adds further mystery as to who may have sent the tweet from the account, especially given there were no other unauthorized tweets sent.
UK trans dad forced to be called “mother”
You might think that the most challenging part of being a transgender man who gets pregnant might be the pregnancy or giving birth parts, but for one trans dad, it’s the legal fight that followed. Freddy McConnell has had to sue the British government for the right to be called his child’s “father,” and the country’s highest court just ruled against him.
The court’s ruling dictates that any trangender man who gives birth in the UK must legally be registered as the “mother” on the birth certificate, regardless of whether they’re otherwise legally recognized as a man — as McConnell is.
That means the terms “mother” and “father” no longer legally designate gender, but ova- and sperm- providers, I guess? But we know that’s not how anyone interprets the words. It basically just means that transgender people will be forcibly misgendered when they have children. There are also implications as to whether transgender people will be allowed to access fertility treatment moving forward, questions about what this means for same-sex parents, and concerns this could otherwise undermine trans rights. It’s bizarre, and seemingly disastrous.
Check out Patrick Strudwick’s feature story at BuzzFeed about McConnell and his fight to be recognized as the parent he is.
Quick Hits
Thousands are expected in DC this weekend for the National Trans Visibility March!
A Virginia Republican politician paid a service to scrub some extremely offensive tweets, but because he then had a campaign finance statement to “Tweet Deleter,” his opponent called him out — and found the deleted tweets.
In a powerful moment for HIV advocacy, Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness explained to TODAY that U=U — undetectable equals untransmittable:
BONUS JVN: Watch him talk to Elizabeth Warren after endorsing her. I think it’s enjoyable even if you’re not sure you support her.
HIV blogger Mark S. King opens up about being “bamboozled” by pharmaceutical company Gilead into providing them marketing for their newer HIV drugs, from which they will profit more as their older drugs go generic.
British-Serbian activist Nik Jovičić-Sas is facing death threats and lawsuits after carrying an image of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo at Belgrade Pride.
Mattel has introduced its first-ever gender-inclusive — or perhaps more accurately, gender-customizable — doll:
Until next time, stay platinum!
(Freddy McConnell photo credit: BBC/Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth/Screenshot)