Department of Discrimination

The Trump administration is coming for transgender students.

Aug 09, 2019

Of all the ways I can contribute to the world, I never would’ve guessed that I’d be invited onto a fitness podcast, and yet it happened. Thanks to Pete McCall for having me on All About Fitness today to discuss the Equinox/SoulCycle boycotts, and greetings to anybody who finds Fording the River Styx from listening!

In addition to the growing boycotts, a protest is planned in front of the West Hollywood Equinox Friday afternoon for those interested in participating. And by the way, Stephen Ross controls a lot of other well-known companies too.

Here’s the rest of today’s LGBTQ news:

They really are coming for the kids

We’re about to see the Trump administration truly turn the law on its head to discriminate against transgender students. Let me explain.

Across the country, transgender students have been successfully challenging their schools’ discriminatory policies by citing Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education. Courts have found that respecting transgender students’ gender identity is the only proper way to protect them under the law, and this year, the Supreme Court even decided not to take up such a case, leaving the pro-trans decision in place.

Earlier this summer, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti-LGBTQ hate group, decided to file a complaint challenging Connecticut’s policy of allowing transgender student athletes to compete according to their gender identity. ADF’s complaint depends upon misgendering trans girls, arguing that letting them compete is unfair and constitutes discrimination against the cisgender girls under Title IX. Today, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights agreed to investigate this complaint.

You may recall that early in the Trump administration, the DOE reversed an Obama-era rule recognizing transgender students as protected under Title IX. Last year, DOE further confirmed that it would no longer take up complaints filed by transgender students, leaving them to fend for themselves in the courts. Now, by taking up ADF’s complaint instead, DOE signals it’s willingness to use the law to force discrimination upon transgender students.

It gets worse. According to emails obtained by the Washington Blade, OCR rushed to take up the investigation before even figuring out a legal framework for doing so.

In short, Betsy DeVos has gone from ignoring trans students under the law to eagerly working with a hate group to weaponize the law against them. The results could be disastrous and undermine LGBTQ protections that exist at the state level across the country.

U.S. deported gay Kenyan back to violence

The brilliant reporter Kate Sosin profiles a 48-year-old gay Kenyan man who lived in Los Angeles for 27 years. Seven months ago, he was deported back to Nairobi after a judge denied his asylum claim simply because he wasn’t out when he lived in Kenya. Upon returning, he sought refuge in a safe house, but when police raided it, they punched out his teeth. Read the full profile.

Conversion therapy is trauma, finds unsurprising study

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine lays out the many consequences of conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. In addition to the direct traumatic impacts on mental health that were already known, researchers found that being subjected to the shame-based treatment also resulted in “serious economic burdens” for LGBTQ people, including “low educational achievement, lower income and lower work performance.”

Massive sexual abuse scandal at USC

An investigation has found 48 gay or bi men who, as students at the University of Souther California, were allegedly sexually abused by one Dr. Dennis Kelly. Far more complaints were filed than was previously reported, and a group of 50 patients is now suing both USC and Kelly, who departed the university last year.

Check out the feature investigation over at BuzzFeed, which was reported by Sasha Urban, a junior at USC, through the Beacon Project.

Straight Pride = white pride

My dear friend, veteran reporter Karen Ocamb, takes a deep dive into the organizers of a Straight Pride event in Modesto, California. Buried in the organizers’ documents is blatant white supremacy language, describing “Caucasions” as “the biological majority of the historical developers and founders of Western Civilization.”

Israeli advertisers forced to run anti-LGBTQ ads

Israel has a new ultra-Orthodox Jewish political party called Noam, founded for the sole purpose of opposing LGBTQ rights. It’s been peddling advertisements that directly accuse LGBTQ people of engaging in child trafficking, which ad companies have been reluctant to run. This week, a judge ruled that advertisers have no choice and must run the ads, because otherwise they would be favoring one political party over another.

Trans backslide fails in Uruguay

Last year, Uruguay passed an incredibly progressive trans rights law, one that allows transgender people to update all of their government documents without having to undergo any specific medical procedures first. Conservatives who objected to the law attempted to repeal it through a referendum, a process that requires a pre-referendum vote with 25% turnout. That vote was last week, and fewer than 10% of eligible voters turned out, putting a quick end to the repeal effort. Convincing people to take rights away from others is a tall order.

Good news for trans cricket players!

Cricket Australia has introduced a broad new policy welcoming transgender and gender non-conforming people to the game. Said CEO Kevin Roberts, “Today we demonstrate our commitment to include people with an affirmed gender identity in the game at every level and ensure all people in our communities experience Australian cricket’s inclusive culture.”

SPUNKY!!!!!!!

Having been a child through the 90s, I quite enjoy Nickelodeon’s cartoon lineup, including the amazing Rocko’s Modern Life. I had zero idea that Netflix had agreed to produce a 45-minute special reboot of the show — out this weekend no less — so I was excited just to see that much. But, it turns out that the special also focuses on a transgender character, and the creators even consulted with GLAAD to ensure the representation was good. That’s not evident from the new trailer, but I’m sharing it anyway because this was such an amazing show.

It’s time to go to church

Here in DC, the gay community is celebrating this week the announcement that the owners of Town, previously the biggest gay dance club (“danceboutique”) in the city, had found a new location (an old church!) to open a new club.

Now, this isn’t really a news story that’ll be relevant to most people, but the reason I wanted to mention it is because the return of such a nightclub to this city will actually be very important. Previously, Town was the only gay club for many miles around that had any kind of 18+ night. When Town closed last summer, that meant that young queer people in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area no longer had such a space in which to express themselves and find community.

I don’t know if the new space will be a place where I personally spend much time, but I really do hope it can serve this important function.