Category Archives: Transgender

Biden signs executive order to curb anti-trans laws and conversion therapy

Posted on by

The move expands gender-affirming care and urges federal departments to counter anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed by states

Joe Biden has signed an executive order aimed at curbing discrimination against transgender youth and drying up federal funding for the controversial practice of “conversion therapy”.

Biden’s executive order, which comes during Pride month, asks the federal health and education departments to expand access to gender-affirming medical care and find new ways to counter a flurry of bills passed in US states by conservative lawmakers this year that ban these treatments for transgender youth.

Continue reading...

Britons not bitterly polarised over trans equality, research finds

Posted on by

Study reveals majority agree schools should talk about trans issues and one in four knows trans person

The British public are not bitterly polarised over trans equality, according to new research, which found a majority agreed schools should talk to pupils about transgender issues and that one in four knows a trans person personally.

Thought to be the most in-depth UK study to date of public attitudes to what has become a notoriously toxic discourse in politics and on social media, the report from More in Common identifies a radically different attitude among ordinary people, who approach issues of gender identity from a position of compassion and fairness, often informed by their own relationships with trans people.

Continue reading...

Greens senator questions viability of new party convener over past comments about trans people

Posted on by

Newly elected Victorian convener Linda Gale co-authored a 2019 document described as ‘inconsistent with Greens values’

Greens senator Janet Rice says the position of the party’s recently elected Victorian convener is “untenable” unless she distances herself from previous comments that have been labelled transphobic.

Linda Gale, a senior industrial officer at the National Tertiary Education Union, was elected on Saturday to fill a casual vacancy of state convener of the Victorian Greens.

Continue reading...

‘Like a bridge that connects us’: Pride parade comes to Bangkok amid new hope for LGBT rights

Posted on by

Event returns for first time in many years on Sunday as city appoints governor vocal in supporting LGBT community

Kath Khangpiboon has seen many joyful Pride parades abroad. She has watched in Spain and Canada as young people and families joined celebrations under the rainbow flag. Now, she is looking forward to seeing Pride in her city: Bangkok.

“I feel so much pride that an activity like this is happening,” says Kath, who is a lecturer at Thammasat University and a trans activist. Bangkok Naruemit Pride on 5 June – believed to be the first official Pride parade in the Silom area of Thailand’s capital for more than 15 years – comes as the city appoints its new governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, an independent politician who has been vocal in his support for LGBT rights.

Continue reading...

‘Politics should steer clear’: rainbow flag set to fly over Wimmera

Posted on by

Four of five councillors vote to fly pride flag on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia

A special meeting of West Wimmera Shire council has overturned a decision against flying the rainbow flag.

The council ruling clears the way for the internationally recognised pride flag to fly above the rural Victorian council region for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on 17 May.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

Transgender medication law in Alabama blocked by judge

Posted on by

A federal judge has blocked part of a law that makes it a felony to give gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to minors

An Alabama law that makes it a felony to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to transgender minors has been blocked by a federal judge while affirming other aspects of the state’s “Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act”.

US district judge Liles Burke issued a preliminary injunction to stop the state from enforcing the medication ban, which took effect on 8 May, while a lawsuit against the bill goes forward.

Continue reading...

Election 2022 live updates: prepoll voting rush; Albanese lands in Sydney; 49 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Reports of rush on early voting; Scott Morrison reiterates support for Katherine Deves; Greens launch environmental policies; nation reports at least 49 Covid deaths. Follow today’s news live

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, Catherine King was also asked about Labor’s timetable (if it won the election) for the religious discrimination bill:

We need to consult again with both religious organisations, with LGBTIQ+ groups, we don’t want – we want to make sure we’re able to protect religious freedoms and people’s religious expression, but we don’t want to introduce new discrimination.

That’s what the government’s bill did. It had their own members, particularly in some of the inner-city seats saying they couldn’t support it. I didn’t get into parliament to put more discrimination on people. I want to remove discrimination from people, including people who have religious faith, but I don’t want to make it worse for other people.

Continue reading...

Dave Chappelle attacked by man with replica gun at LA comedy festival

Posted on by

Incident raises further questions over comedian safety after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at Oscars

The comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked during a performance in Los Angeles, according to witnesses and videos of the incident posted online.

Footage showed someone running on stage and tackling Chappelle during his performance at the Netflix Is a Joke festival at Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night. The incident took place as the comedian was closing the show and thanking earlier performers including Chris Rock, Leslie Jones and Jon Stewart.

Continue reading...

Democrats in states across US seek to offer legal refuge to trans youth

Posted on by

Effort by state legislators follows California’s lead in responding to wave of Republican laws targeting transgender kids and families

Democratic lawmakers in more than a dozen states are following California’s lead in seeking to offer legal refuge to displaced transgender youth and their families.

The coordinated effort, which was announced on Tuesday by the LGBTQ Victory Institute and other advocates, comes in response to recent actions taken in conservative states. In Texas, for example, Gregg Abbott, the governor, has directed state agencies to consider placing trans children in foster care, though a judge has temporarily blocked such investigations. And multiple states have approved measures prohibiting gender-affirming healthcare treatments for trans youth.

Continue reading...

Independent MP drops threat to withdraw supply to Perrottet’s minority government

Posted on by

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich says he will continue work with NSW government after meeting with premier and transgender advocates

Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich has dropped a threat to withdraw supply from the New South Wales government, which is dependent on the crossbench for support.

Greenwich had threatened to leave the minority government out in the cold as a public debate over transgender people’s participation in sport dragged on.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Emily Seebohm condemns ‘horrific’ transphobic billboard that uses her image without permission

Posted on by

Olympic swimmer says election message promoted by rightwing lobby group Advance ‘is just awful to me’

The Olympic gold medallist Emily Seebohm has slammed rightwing lobby group Advance for using her image without permission on a transphobic billboard.

The billboards display the words “women’s sport is not for men” alongside images of swimmers Dawn Fraser, Emma McKeon and Seebohm and were launched as part of an attack on the Warringah MP, Zali Steggall, who has been vocal in her support for trans women to compete in female sports.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

AOC and Swimming Australia threaten legal action over billboards claiming ‘women’s sport is not for men’

Posted on by

Conservative lobby group uses images of elite swimmers in ads targeting ‘woke politicians’ but Emily Seebohm says Advance acted ‘without my consent’

The Australian Olympic Committee and Swimming Australia are threatening a conservative lobby group with legal action for featuring images of elite female swimmers on billboards it is using to campaign against trans women’s participation in sport.

The AOC will send a legal letter to the conservative group Advance on Tuesday alleging the billboards are using its intellectual property without permission, a spokesperson said on Monday night.

Continue reading...

NSW MP Alex Greenwich threatens to withdraw supply from Perrottet government over ‘attacks’ on trans kids

Posted on by

Sydney independent says he can’t have a ‘cooperative relationship’ with the NSW minority government if the premier continues comments

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, will meet with an independent MP who has threatened to withdraw supply and confidence from the minority government, following comments about the participation of transgender kids in sport.

The Sydney MP, Alex Greenwich – one of a handful of lower house crossbenchers the Coalition relies on to govern – said he could not have a “cooperative relationship” with the government if the premier continued to make “attacks” on the LGBTQ+ community.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Johnson’s LGBT adviser ‘dismayed’ at failure to ban trans conversion practices

Posted on by

Nick Herbert calls for royal commission to detoxify trans debate but criticises ‘shouty protests’

The prime minister’s LGBT adviser has said he is “dismayed” by the decision not to include transgender people in a ban on conversion practices, while describing the cancellation of the government’s equality conference as an “act of self-harm by the LGBT lobby”.

Nick Herbert also called for a royal commission to detoxify and take the politics out of the trans debate.

Continue reading...

Alabama governor signs two anti-transgender bills into law

Posted on by

One criminalizes medical care for trans youth and another requires students to use bathrooms that match birth certificates

The governor of Alabama on Friday signed into law two controversial bills: one that criminalizes healthcare providers who offer gender-affirming care to transgender youth and another that requires students to use bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates.

Kay Ivey, a Republican, said she “believed very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl”.

Continue reading...

Johnson says trans athletes should not compete in events that do not match biological sex

Posted on by

PM also says women should have ‘dedicated’ spaces, amid fallout over decision to exclude trans conversion practices from ban

Boris Johnson has suggested athletes who are transgender should not be allowed to compete in sports competitions that do not match their biological sex, amid the fallout from his decision not to ban conversion practices for people questioning their gender.

The prime minister said the issue “wasn’t something I thought that I would have to consider in great detail”. Johnson also said that women should have spaces in hospitals, prisons and changing rooms which were “dedicated to women”.

Continue reading...

LGBTQ+ conference cancelled over conversion practices furore

Posted on by

Organisations pulled out of Safe to Be Me after government failure to ban conversion practices for transgender people

The government’s flagship LGBTQ+ conference is to be cancelled after it fell into disarray with more organisations pulling out and a key government adviser accusing ministers of waging a “woke war”.

With Downing Street under fire for watering down its commitment to ban conversion practices, the Safe to Be Me event due to be hosted in June has now been scrapped.

Continue reading...

Pakistan’s transgender women protest against rising tide of violence

Posted on by

Rally and vigil held in Islamabad to highlight discrimination and attacks on community, including murders of five trans women in March

Mano had gone to meet her boyfriend at a printing press in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani bazaar to get back some money he had borrowed.

“But he refused to pay,” her friend Farzana Riaz said. “Mano insisted and refused to leave without money. When Mano kept resisting, her boyfriend Sanaullah shot her.”

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s partial U-turn on conversion practices does not go far enough, activists say – UK politics live

Posted on by

Latest updates: prominent campaigners furious that trans conversion practices are being excluded from legislation

New Home Office figures show 4,700 visas had been issued under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme by yesterday, and 32,200 applications had been submitted. There have also been 24,400 visas granted under the Ukraine family scheme out of 32,800 applications received.

The Peter Tatchell Foundation, a human rights group set up by Tatchell, who is best known for his gay rights campaigning, has issued a more detailed response to the PM’s partial U-turn on conversation practices. It says:

The Peter Tatchell Foundation will never accept a conversion therapy ban that does not protect our trans siblings. We will support their struggle for reinstatement. United we stand.

The government promised a comprehensive ban nearly four years ago and reiterated this commitment in the Queen’s Speech last year. We feel conned and tricked.

Continue reading...

UK politics: Boris Johnson grilled by MPs at liaison committee – live

Posted on by

Latest updates: the PM is facing questions at the liaison committee, which is comprised of the chairs of the Commons select committees

Betts asks Harrington how many people have actually arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Harrington says it is too early to say, but he says he may be able to tell the committee at the end of the week.

Harrington said that he agreed it took too long to fill in a visa application form. He said at the weekend he spent just under under an hour filling out one out himself, and he was in a more comfortable situation than the refugees who have to fill them out. He said the government was looking at what it can do to make the forms shorter.

Continue reading...