When Renee Lau, a special projects coordinator at the trans-led housing and wellness center Baltimore Safe Haven, transitioned at the age of 63, she lost everything. “My marriage fell apart,” she says. “The Sears Holding Company, who I worked [with] for 30 some years, declared bankruptcy, and the business that I worked for got shut down immediately.”

That’s when Lau met Iya Dammons, the executive director at Baltimore Safe Haven, who hired her as the house manager for the organization’s senior home in 2019. Currently, Lau says Baltimore Safe Haven is the only transgender-specific housing provider in Maryland, with five different houses throughout Baltimore and a sixth property underway.

“[Baltimore Safe Haven] is the [only] housing provider for transgender people in the state that [is actually] dedicated to people within the community,” she explains, an issue that persists across the country as housing-insecure trans people of all ages seek safe, dignified shelter and learn that it often doesn’t exist.

For Beth Gombos and Ashton Otte, organizers at Trans Housing Initiative St. Louis (THISL), better access and competent service for the trans community begin with education. THISL works directly with shelters, housing providers, and other entities that might harm trans people or or turn them away.

“We’re training them to learn how to interact with and accept and serve trans and gender-nonconforming people with respect,” says Gombos, who is the organization’s cofounder and executive director.

Typically, this work begins by teaching trans identity 101: gender identity, sex, pronouns, and myth busting. “We start off by trying to build a level of understanding and basic empathy for this community,” says Otte. From there, THISL educates housing providers on anti-discrimination protocol and their responsibility to ensure care and access for the trans community.

Though equitable housing policies are needed at the federal level, trans-led organizations are not waiting for the federal government to take action. They are already taking care of their own.

Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of the Bronx-based LGBTQ grassroots organization Destination Tomorrow, says housing support goes beyond providing a safe place for unhoused people to be.

 “One of the biggest issues is that everyone’s at a different level when it comes to being ready to access housing, particularly independent living,” says Coleman. “The conventional shelter model has just this one-stop-shop approach, right? It’s just ‘You’re going in, we’re going to house you, you’ll stay for a little while, [and] we’ll try to get you into transitional housing or some type of supportive housing.’ [But they’re] not really going to train you as far as getting better employment or securing a better job or even sending you back to school.”

For Coleman, getting into a shelter is just the first step. Destination Tomorrow’s housing support also includes building wraparound services that consider the care of the entire person, including offering independent living support, career and academic opportunities, culinary training, mental health care, and financial literacy programs.

Corina Berry grew up going to drop-in programs with the Rainbow Youth program at the Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN). Now, she is studying Gender Studies and Social Justice at Trent University, and is the director of PARN’s Rainbow Youth programming. Berry credits the program’s weekly drop-ins and events with helping her find community and friends that had similar experiences as her. But since the U.S. presidential election, concern for Canada’s LGBTQ2S+ communities losing their rights comes up almost every session. “I’m really scared of what the future looks like,” she says. Berry adds that youth should never have to question if their life is worth living because of an election.

Here in Canada, on March 23, Prime Minister Mark Carney called an election to take place on April 28. For many young LGBTQ2S+ voters, this election feels crucial: it’s occurring in the midst of a significant rise in anti-trans and LGBTQ2S+ hate, on the brink of a recession and when Canada’s sovereignty is being questioned. With so much on the line, young queer voters like Berry are extremely worried going into this election. Speaking to young queer voters shows that they also feel exhausted, citing dissatisfaction with the candidates for prime minister, and the prospect of needing to vote strategically to protect their rights as queer people.

This article in the NYT made me curious what other people's experiences were like.

https://archive.ph/ISPSc

In recent years, opponents of trans medicine have increasingly presented themselves not as oppressors—intent on denying care to individuals whose gender identity they reject—but rather as the righteous critics of a corrupt “gender identity industry.” Big Pharma and Big Tech are to blame, they allege, for warping the fragile psyches of vulnerable youth via social media platforms and then selling them expensive, “experimental” puberty-suppressing medications, hormone replacement therapies, and surgeries as salves. This populist-in-form critique has spread rapidly, along with state bans on trans health for minors that now cover over half of the country. Criticisms of this so-called “transgender treatment industry” can be found in conservative states’ litigation defending their bans, as well as in a recent executive order that questioned whether such care might constitute consumer “deception” or “fraud.”

In a forthcoming essay in Signs, I have sought to understand the origins and ideological power of this anti-industry narrative. The fear of a predatory “transgender-industrial complex” clearly draws from due skepticism of industries that many understandably abhor. Pharmaceutical and social media companies do indeed hold dominion over our wallets, health, and attention spans. From there though, the narrative spirals into baseless paranoid suspicions about the perverse motivations of gender identity clinicians and their professional associations, complicit bureaucrats in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and trans subjectivity itself, which in this account is a blend of psychic pathology and a shopping disorder. Perhaps that it why this conspiratorial idea was at first confined to the fringes of the blogosphere—mainly in the writings of gender-critical, anti-transhumanist, and Catholic and Christian fundamentalist authors from around 2018-2021—before right-wing politicians, media outlets, and think tanks adopted a version of the idea to ground their anti-trans scapegoating policies.

Here, I want to focus on one voice in the anti-gender identity industry chorus, the ostensibly libertarian Manhattan Institute, and ask what its leaders and donors might gain from fomenting distrust of healthcare professional associations and bureaucrats. [...]

The Supper Table is a low-barrier food bank and community meal program that tackles food insecurity in downtown Ottawa by serving anyone in need of food, regardless of gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, religion, age, culture, social or economic status.

I sometimes wonder how LGBTQ2S+ community members feel about accessing our food bank. While the Supper Table and its staff and volunteers are very welcoming of LGBTQ2S+ individuals, unfortunately this is not true of all food banks connected to churches and faith-based organizations. I imagine some folks might fear being discriminated against and feel more comfortable visiting a food bank specifically geared toward queer and trans people where they can rest assured they’re entering into a safe and non-judgmental space.

A report released last year by the Department of Health and Society (DHS) at the University of Toronto looked at how LGBTQ2S+ people in the GTA experienced food insecurity during the pandemic. It found that 42 percent, nearly half of survey respondents, reported “some level of household food insecurity (HFI), with severe HFI higher among respondents who were bisexual, transgender/gender diverse and/or assigned-female-at-birth.” The study also showed that perceived discrimination was linked to an increased likelihood of all levels of household food insecurity.

Thankfully, community food banks for queer and trans folks exist in cities across the country. These programs aim to address food insecurity by creating inclusive and safer spaces for LGBTQ2S+ people to access food and find community alongside their peers.

Since 2012, Saige Community Food Bank has been serving individuals in East Vancouver, with a special focus on Two-Spirit, trans, gender-diverse and other marginalized communities who might also be navigating challenges like mental health issues and physical disabilities when accessing government-run food resources. They cultivate a safe, community-based experience for participants to receive healthy food, including fresh produce and higher-end items like baked goods and culturally appropriate foods that might otherwise be out of reach because of what is typically donated to food banks (shelf-stable items that are easy to store). Participants are empowered to select their own food items based on their personal needs and preferences, an approach also known as “the shopping model,” which differs from the pre-selected foods that some food banks provide, and have the opportunity to engage socially with fellow attendees as well as volunteers who function as community resource navigators connecting participants with other service providers and sharing information about local events.

The leader of the defunct “gay furry hacker” group SiegedSec, known for releasing 200 gigabytes of leaked data from the Heritage Foundation last July, may have been the subject of an FBI raid, according to a former member.

“This is about providing not only shelter but access to opportunities they’ve been denied,” Madison told NBC News.

The TS Madison Starter House debuted Monday on Transgender Day of Visibility and will host a cohort of five residents participating in a 90-day program designed to support their reentry into society. Organizers said the program will offer stable housing, gender-affirming health care, job assistance, GED support, life-skills training, nutrition education and individualized therapy.

Madison, known for her reality series “The Ts Madison Experience” on We TV, has long advocated for trans rights. She has also openly discussed overcoming homelessness and survival sex work.

“I wanted to make space for these girls,” she said. “I wanted to teach them how to be successful without relying on their bodies but on their other gifts.”

A trans teacher at a Texas high school has resigned after becoming the target of conservative backlash and online attacks.

Rosie Sandri came out as a trans woman about seven months ago. Her colleagues at Red Oak high school and the Red Oak independent school district were very supportive, she recalled to NBC News.

Sandri posted videos speaking about her life as a trans woman and teacher on TikTok. Last week, the rightwing social media account Libs of TikTok posted one of Sandri’s TikTok videos in which she talks about “gender euphoria”.

“They call me ma’am. They call me miss. They use my correct pronouns and know my correct name, and it is incredibly affirming,” she said in the TikTok video describing her positive experiences with her students.

In the post, Libs of TikTok deadnamed and also misgendered her.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60191746

It’s a creative act to find and make sense of my own history, one that requires a leap of faith in order to fill in the silences, erasures, omissions, and genuine mysteries that old books and documents, records and artifacts, represent. A lot is left to the imagination. Much of what survives from the past asks more questions than we can answer. This is true for queer and trans archival traces, as it is for other aspects of humanity that are poorly accounted for in public records, or actively discriminated against through surveillance and omission in equal parts.

=)

In the weeks leading up to Transgender Day of Visibility, book lovers are expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for trans-led charities and organizations, while spreading the word about books written by and for trans and nonbinary people.

Until March 31, the 2025 Trans Rights Readathon will be in full swing. Participants read as many books as they want while raising money for trans-led groups of their choice. Each day, readers are encouraged to support transgender people by writing letters of support, sharing mutual aid fundraisers, signaling to their neighbors and colleagues that they are trans-friendly, or calling their elec ted representatives to alert them to the importance of trans rights in an increasingly hostile political climate.

In 2023, the readathon raised over $230,000 for organizations supporting trans people — through 2,669 participants reading across 43 countries. This year, those numbers are expected to grow, since the readathon is longer than it has been for the last two years. On social media, the Trans Rights Readathon account is sharing ample book recommendations to choose from — including dozens of novels written by trans Black, Latinx, and Asian authors, books that feature disabled characters, and books with romantic relationships between trans people.

This readathon aims to support Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), an annual celebration to recognize the contributions and lives of trans people, while raising awareness of the discrimination that they face.

As the readathon continues, here are a few book recommendations by independent booksellers and public libraries, as well as by the Trans Rights Readathon

Article from January 2025:

The United States Health and Human Services Department (HHS) published a landmark report on intersex health equity last week, calling for an end to medically unnecessary non-consensual surgeries on children born with intersex variations.

The report, based on a literature review and listening sessions with intersex people, ethicists, and medical professionals, states that “the over 5 million intersex people in our nation deserve to live healthy and fulfilling lives free from stigma and discrimination.”

Children born with variations in their sex characteristics, sometimes called intersex traits, are often subjected to “normalizing” surgeries that are irreversible, risky, and medically unnecessary. Approximately 1.7 percent of people have an intersex trait, meaning intersex variations are not uncommon, but often misunderstood.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/23565790

Hello! I'm currently working on a research paper for my English composition course, and we were given free reign on the topic. I decided to do my topic on the history of queerness in gaming, and I'm not only talking about queer characters, but also the gaming community too. So far, my major sources focus on things like:

• Demographics of games with queer characters (which identities, created in what country, what year was the game made, etc.)
• I want to try to find more stuff about trans, enby, and ace characters as I feel their representation is a little underepresented
• Opinions of queer and non-queer gamers on queer representation in games
• How fan interpretations, fanon, and external content (like social media posts) is important to gaming too
• What games do right and wrong with representation, especially when it comes to "non-gendered" character creators
• How localizations/translations are sometimes used to censor queerness. Also about how queerness can be seen differently around the world.
• Some info on Gamergate, but that's not a major focus of the paper
• A pinch of info about feminist gaming, but not necessarily lesbian-women-only gaming

I want to make sure I'm hitting what people find important to explain and teach to others, as the goal of this paper is to be read by anyone who's curious to learn. So if there's any topic you deem extremely important that shouldn't be missed, please tell me! Also, I'm a little more knowledgeable about JRPGs compared to popular western games, so character recommendations to bring up are appreciated greatly.

I plan to promote a survey about this stuff later on, I just need to get my questions together :). I will crosspost this to other gaming or queer communities, so you might see me there too!

This post is also on Reddit, although due to it being a new account I'm going to struggle to gain traction there with the low karma bans :(

As laws banning trans people from sports have proliferated—and become a central pillar of President Trump’s administration—the derby community has stood steadfast in their view that everyone has a place on the derby track. In the hours, days, and weeks after the executive order, the line “You Can Skate With Us” appeared in social media posts by roller derby leagues across the U.S., from the Bradentucky Bombers in Southwest Florida; to South Sound Roller Derby in Lacey, Washington; to Salt City Roller Derby in Syracuse, New York. High Altitude Roller Derby of Flagstaff, Arizona, posted that “Roller Derby is for everyone. Please, come skate with us. You’re safe here.” A coalition of roller derby players in Minnesota penned an open letter condemning attempts to take trans women out of sports. The “You Can Skate With Us” movement went beyond the boundaries of the U.S., with leagues from Canada, Australia, England and Finland rolling in, vowing resistance to the States’ new executive order. As individual leagues weighed in, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the governing body for 400 derby leagues across the world, reaffirmed their policy of allowing “any individual of a marginalized gender” to skate on a WFTDA team “despite the U.S. administration’s newest Executive Order,” and promised resources for teams concerned by the trans sports bans.

A community-organized sport that receives no federal funding, derby should be safe from the Trump administration’s recent executive action. But the sport’s relative isolation doesn’t immunize it against all trans bans. The Long Island Roller Rebels are now in the second year of a lawsuit against Nassau County over a law that bans women’s sports teams from using county facilities if their team includes trans women. Most trans sports bans start in the context of schools or federal funding, but Nassau County’s law includes any sport that uses a park or recreational space—the next step, perhaps, in an ever-evolving landscape of anti-trans laws. “It’s all the more important that an adult league like the Roller Rebels is pushing back on this before it’s normalized,” argues Gabriella Larios, a staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union who is litigating the Roller Rebels’ lawsuit.

Some articles to those that prefer only to read, but the video is a really good analysis of the situation and shows how a healthy discussion around the subject should be conducted:

• https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/03/11/natalee-b-fitness-the-girls-spot/
• https://www.indy100.com/news/the-girls-spot-women-only-gym-trans-2671352416

It’s an informative and educative video around a specific case that showcases how misogyny can also be expressed in the form of transphobia and how the fear of aggression might lead to unfortunate and harmful decisions.

More explicitly, it’s about the plans to open a women-only gym that were inclusive of all women, but that changed when the threats and fear of men invading that space pretending to be women poisoned the ideal.

I believe the video is being fair in presenting the point of view of someone that seems to genuinely want to do the right thing and is being transphobic in the process.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59167518

COPENHAGEN (AP) — The Danish foreign ministry has changed its U.S. travel advisory for transgender people, following other European countries such as Germany and Finland who suggest they may face difficulties when trying to enter the United States.

Karla Jay remembers joining the second night of street protests during the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. For her, and for so many other LGBTQ+ people, something had shifted: People were angry. They didn’t want things to go back to normal — because normal meant police raids. Normal meant living underground. It meant hiding who they were at their jobs and from their families. They wanted a radical change.

Radical change meant organizing. Jay joined a meeting with the Gay Liberation Front, which would become the incubator for the modern LGBTQ+ political movement and proliferate in chapters across the country. At those meetings, she remembers discussing what freedom could look like. Holding hands with a lover while walking down the street, without fear of getting beaten up, one person said. Another said they’d like to get married. At the time, those dreams seemed impossible.

To fight back, LGBTQ+ Americans need to organize, Jay said. That starts with thinking locally — supporting local artists, independent stores and small presses, as well as LGBTQ+ organizations taking demonstrable political action and protecting queer culture.

“See what you can do without going crazy. If you can focus on one thing and you can spend one hour a week, or you can spend one day a week, that’s much better than being depressed and doing nothing,” she said. “Because the person you’re going to help is yourself. This is the time for all of us to step up.”