Category Archives: Transgender

Singular ‘they’ voted word of the decade by US linguists

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American Dialect Society’s choice recognises word’s rising use to refer to person whose gender identity is non-binary

US linguists have chosen “they” as their word of the decade, recognising the growing use of third-person plural pronouns as a singular form to refer to people who identify their gender as neither entirely male nor entirely female.

The American Dialect Society also bestowed its word of the year honours on the increasingly common practice of introducing oneself in correspondence or socially by the set of pronouns one prefers to be called by – declaring in an email, for example, “pronouns: she/her”.

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From the man with a three-week erection to the UK’s last MEPs: what happened next?

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Plus, an update on the trans man who gave birth, the woman deported to Grenada, and more

Last March, Margaret Simons wrote about the abandoned children of British sex tourists in the Philippines. Brigette Sicat, now 12, was unable to go to school because of ill health, and was living in a leaky shack with a dirt floor and no toilet. Today, thanks partly to the generosity of Guardian readers, Brigette and her family live in decent accommodation, she is a regular attendee at school and her grades are outstanding. The turnaround has been even more dramatic for twins Melanie and Madeline delos Santos – now 19. Reading of Madeline’s ambition to be an architect, a reader is supporting her through university in Angeles City. Human rights law firms in Britain, Griffin Law and Dawson Cornwell, are in the process of confirming the twins’ right to British citizenship; they are also exploring the use of DNA technology to help other children establish parentage, and their rights to child support. Simons and photographer, Dave Tacon plan to visit the children again next May. Their report won a Foreign Press Award last month for best travel and tourism story of the year.

In April, Simon Hattenstone interviewed Freddy McConnell about his quest to conceive and carry his own baby. The film of McConnell’s story, Seahorse, was screened widely. In September, the high court ruled that McConnell cannot be registered as his son’s father. He is appealing the decision and the hearing is expected next year. His young son is thriving.

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Virginia teacher sues after being fired for refusing to call trans student ‘he’

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Peter Vlaming lost his job after claiming his religion prohibited him from using male pronouns for a student who transitioned

A Virginia high school teacher who was fired for refusing to use a transgender student’s new pronouns has filed a lawsuit.

The Washington Post reported that Peter Vlaming filed suit on Monday against West Point Public Schools, a system outside Richmond.

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Transgender man loses court battle to be registered as father

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Ruling in Freddy McConnell case is first legal definition of a mother in English common law

A transgender man from Kent who gave birth with the help of fertility treatment cannot be registered as his child’s father, the most senior family judge in England and Wales has ruled.

In the first legal definition of a mother in English common law, Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the high court’s family division, ruled on Wednesday that motherhood was about being pregnant and giving birth regardless of whether the person who does so was considered a man or a woman in law.

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Sam Smith on being non-binary: ‘I’m changing my pronouns to they/them’

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Singer ‘scared shitless but feeling super free right now’ and asks fans to be kind

The pop star Sam Smith has come out as non-binary and asked to be addressed by the pronouns they/them. Smith, 27, wrote on Instagram: “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out.”

In an interview with Jameela Jamil published in March, Smith said: “I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum.” Smith described being non-binary as “your own special creation”.

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Transgender teen fears being ‘stranded’ by father’s lawsuit to halt transition

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The case of a 14-year-old who identifies as a boy has sparked a debate over parental rights, free speech and informed consent

A transgender teen has issued an emotional plea to a Canadian court, arguing that he will be left “stranded” between genders if judges rule in favour of his father who took legal action to halt to his hormone treatment.

The case, which was heard at British Columbia’s highest court this week, centres on a 14-year-old from Vancouver, who started publicly identifying as a male at 11.

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Trans woman seeking asylum dies after pleading for medical help in US custody

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Death of Johana Medina Leon, hospitalized following chest pains, echoes case of Honduran woman a year ago

A transgender migrant has died after becoming sick while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody, sparking renewed claims of medical neglect and human rights violations.

Johana Medina Leon, a 25-year-old asylum seeker from El Salvador, died Saturday at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, after she was detained for over a month and complained of chest pains, officials said. Leon had repeatedly pleaded for medical help and was held in poor conditions, advocates who had contact with her and others at the privately run New Mexico detention center said.

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Italy’s first transgender mayor says ‘kindness revolution’ can defeat far right

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Gianmarco Negri was elected in small town of Tromello, beating far-right League candidate

Italy’s first transgender mayor has said the “arrogant and oppressive” politics of the far right would sooner or later be overcome by a “kindness revolution”.

Gianmarco Negri, a 40-year-old lawyer, was elected mayor of Tromello, a small town south of Milan, last week. Capturing 37.5% of the vote, his leftwing platform scored him a clear victory over the candidate for the far-right League, who came second with 26%.

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Who is trying to ban abortion in the US? – podcast

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Alabama is one of 15 states to recently pass an abortion ban. Although none of the bans are currently in effect, the aim is to place pressure on Roe v Wade, the court decision that enshrined a woman’s legal right to an abortion. The Guardian’s US health reporter, Jessica Glenza, discusses her meeting with Janet Porter, the religious extremist who inspired the anti-abortion laws. And: Serena Daniari on trans women finding their voices

Janet Porter believes life begins at conception and has spent the last 10 years lobbying on the fringes of the US abortion debate. Many on the left and right despise her, but in Donald Trump’s US, she has just had one of the biggest victories of her life. Porter successfully lobbied Ohio’s legislature to pass one of the strictest abortion bans in the world in April – the “heartbeat bill” would make the procedure illegal about six weeks into pregnancy. Alabama followed in May with an even more restrictive version, outlawing abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for those resulting from rape or incest. Six-week bans have been introduced in 15 states, although none are currently in effect.

Jessica Glenza, the Guardian’s US health reporter, tells Anushka Asthana about her meeting with Porter. With the recent appointment of two Trump-nominated supreme court justices and a growing number of anti-abortion federal judges, the ultimate aim of anti-abortion activists and lawmakers is to mount a challenge to Roe v Wade, the 1973 court decision that legalised abortion in the US.

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Survey finds 70% of LGBT people sexually harassed at work

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Study shows ‘hidden epidemic’ with BME women and those with disabilities most affected

Nearly seven in 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people have been sexually harassed at work, according to research for the Trades Union Congress revealing a “hidden epidemic”.

The survey, published on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Friday, found that more than two in five LGBT people (42%) said they had experienced colleagues making unwelcome comments or asking unwelcome questions about their sex life. More than a quarter (27%) reported receiving unwelcome verbal sexual advances.

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Caster Semenya ruling ‘tramples on dignity’ of athletes, South Africa says

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Olympian receives strong backing from South African government and fellow athletes

South Africans have expressed widespread support for the double Olympic champion Caster Semenya, who will run her last 800m on Friday before the imposition of controversial new rules limiting testosterone in female athletes.

Tokozile Xasa, the sports minister, said on Thursday that the South African government was disappointed with the ruling by the court of arbitration for sport that women with unusually high testosterone levels, such as Semenya, would have to take medication to significantly reduce their testosterone before they were permitted to compete internationally at distances between 400m and a mile.

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The dad who gave birth: ‘Being pregnant doesn’t change me being a trans man’

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Transitioning meant that Freddy McConnell finally felt comfortable in his skin. Then he began a quest to conceive and carry his own child

Freddy McConnell takes out his phone and shows me a film of his baby snoring contentedly. Jack is gorgeous, with blond hair, blue eyes and heavy eyelids, and McConnell is the classic doting dad – albeit more hands-on than most. It’s a year since he gave birth to Jack, an experience he describes as life-changing. He has also made an intimate and moving film about that experience, from the decision to have a baby, through pregnancy and the delivery. Everything is documented in close-up, including Jack’s arrival in a hospital birthing pool.

You might expect McConnell to be an extrovert; an exhibitionist, even. In fact, the Guardian multimedia journalist is reserved and private in a rather old-fashioned, stiff-upper-lip English way. So why on earth would he want to expose himself like this?

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‘For me, it was everything’: the trailblazing school for trans people | Natalie Alcoba

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At 15, bigotry drove Viviana Gonzalez from school. Decades on, a dedicated school in Buenos Aires is putting wrong to right

Viviana Gonzalez vividly remembers her first day of high school.

She was 12, and imagined a future as a doctor, a teacher or an artist. But the school administrator in her home town in Argentina looked at her long hair, noticed the boy’s name on her ID and kicked her out “like a dog”, admonishing her for wearing “a costume”. She refused to cut her hair and wear a tie. “I was already Viviana. I didn’t want to dress up like a boy.”

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Trans troops return to era of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ as Trump policy takes effect

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Openly transgender people now banned from serving in the military as LGBT groups denounce ‘shameful’ rule

The US military is returning to the era of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policies, after new rules that ban transgender people from serving came into effect on Friday.

The new policy bars military members who have transitioned or are openly trans from enlisting after Friday, while troops who come out as trans while serving after that day will be discharged.It forces trans soldiers to hide their identity or lose their job and will result in increased stigma and mental health issues, said troops and LGBT groups.

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Church of England plan for welcoming trans people under fire

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More than 2,000 clergy and lay members sign letter asking bishops to withdraw guidance

More than 2,000 clergy and lay members of the Church of England have signed a letter calling on bishops to withdraw or change recent guidance on welcoming transgender people to the church.

Last month the church issued advice to clergy and congregations recommending an adapted affirmation of baptism service to allow transgender Christians to celebrate their new identity and name.

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The joy that comes from embracing trans identity shouldn’t be so rare | Andy Connor

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‘Gender euphoria’ is a concept whose time has come, and at this year’s Midsumma festival we got a chance to see it in full flight

As the chorus of voices lifted in the final kaleidoscopic song of Gender Euphoria, the first mainstage all-transgender show in Australian history, something rare and vital was communicated. So many trans stories are tragedies; it’s easy to miss the triumphs. So much of the world is still so stigmatising and cruel to trans people that it’s easy to overlook the joy. More than just relief at having escaped something, the show tells us, being trans is also about having found something. “Goodbye gender dysphoria,” proclaimed cabaret star Mama Alto, “Hello gender euphoria!”

Related: Shantay, you play: the drag queens of gaming

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Facts Matter: No, Michelle Obama is not running for presidentAn image …

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A photo posted on former President Barack Obama's POTUS44 Twitter account is a frequent fake news target, with the T-shirt altered to carry fake messages about ISIS, transgender rights, equality marches and President Donald Trump. An image making the rounds on social media appears to show Michelle Obama planning a run for office in 2020.

Upcoming Supreme Court term lacking blockbusters

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The list of cases pending on the Supreme Court 's calendar this year lacks blockbusters - but court-watchers say they're hopeful some of the big ones get added in before the end of the term. The justices convene their 2018-2019 session Monday with far more drama over who will be the ninth member of the court than over the cases already on the schedule.