Reactionaries of every stripe have latched onto "academic freedom" for self-promotion as speakers on college campuses, but Wellesley College's Koch-funded Freedom Project came under scrutiny thanks to student activists and journalists. Now the program's head is taking a year off to teach "elsewhere." Read the rest
Because of course they do. The Republican National Committee supports Donald Trump's yet-unexecuted order to ban transgender people from military service, because the RNC says being transgender is “a disqualifying psychological and physical” condition.
Diana Tourjée spent election day with Danica Roem, the first-time politician who unseated one of the most notoriously transphobic politicians in Virginia. Watch her uplifting report. Read the rest
A federal judge in Washington D.C. blocked parts of Trump's ban on transgender military service today. This means that "openly trans troops may be able to join the military starting in 2018," according to Vox.
The decision comes after trans service members filed a lawsuit against the ban, arguing that it has “already resulted in immediate, concrete injury to Plaintiffs by unsettling and destabilizing plaintiffs’ reasonable expectation of continued service.” US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly argued that the trans service members are likely to win and stopped parts of Trump’s ban from taking effect, according to the Associated Press...
In July, Trump tweeted that he would ban trans military service. He argued, “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming … victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” (The research, based on the experiences of other countries, shows that the costs associated with trans service members are actually very small.)
Then in August, the White House put out the actual policy behind those tweets. According to the administration, Trump would effectively return to the pre-2016 era in which trans troops could not serve openly. The policy also banned the military from paying for gender-affirming surgery, with some exceptions to “protect the health” of someone who had already begun transitioning.
But today's decision doesn't undo Trump's ban on the military paying for gender-related surgery.
Image: Gage Skidmore Read the rest
The American Civil Liberties Union has released a brief overview of the transgender rights movement, focusing on the 1960s and 1970s, beautifully illustrated by Molly Crabapple. Read the rest
Fifty-six retired U.S. generals, admirals and other senior officers today voiced opposition to President Donald Trump's proposed ban on transgender military service. Trump attempted to justify his bigotry on the bogus grounds it would be disruptive and harm readiness.
Raised Without Gender looks at young people in Sweden who express their gender and identity in an affirming approach, instead of outdated disease model approach developed in Toronto last century. Read the rest
Beginning in July, Oregon driver's licenses and state IDs will allow applicants to choose M, F, or X for their gender designation. This follows an open comment period where the overwhelming majority of commenters praised the proposed legislation. Read the rest
World of Wonder did a wonderful interview with longtime Boing Boing pal and contributor Andrea James about being a transgender person in the time of President Donald Trump.
In this recruitment video for America's elite Bathroom Police, Officer Tammy Cox explains the duties and obligations of the crack force who will be carrying out Trump Administration mandates in public bathrooms. Read the rest
Sham president Donald Trump's sham government on Wednesday rolled back federal protections for transgender students who don't want to be harassed, sexually assaulted, or physically attacked when they go to a public school bathroom that matches their gender identity, instead of the conflicting gender definition others try to force upon them.
