LGBTQ+

Jay Katari has resigned from the board of equalpride, which owns The Advocate, Out, and Them.

The news comes one day after queer and transgender editors and other editorial staff at the country’s leading LGBTQ+ newsroom demanded answers about Katari's expanded role in the company and his reported expressions of support for President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. Independent journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas first reported on Katari’s social media history, including an image of him wearing a red MAGA hat.

Equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill announced the departure in an email to employees Tuesday afternoon. Katari’s name and biography were immediately removed from equalpride’s website, where he was listed as a board member and a role as “Strategic Advisor, Growth & Innovation.”

A new bill will remove references to banning the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality and banning Pride marches.

The Swiss government says it supports a uniform, national ban on so-called conversion therapy, and it’s moving ahead to consider federal legislation to outlaw the discredited practice.

A report from the government published last week details a number of current national regulations addressing the practice, as well as a patchwork of laws or procedures in various cantons (independent member states) across the country, which include their own administrative or criminal measures and corresponding legislative proposals that have been initiated, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation reports.

https://bsky.app/profile/feenavan2099.bsky.social/post/3mu6d2zxivc2w

Despite the isolation trans people frequently face and headlines about people turning to chatbots for companionship or even therapeutic support, trans people appear to be turning to AI very rarely and proceeding cautiously when they do.

Trans users have cited various appealing features of chatbots. In one study, researchers from Harvard, Emory, Vanderbilt, and University of California Irvine interviewed 31 people, a mix of cisgender straight people and LGBTQ+ people, about their use of chatbots for mental health support. It quoted a trans individual—the only trans person interviewed—who experienced rejection from friends over their gender and sexuality, who found comfort in responses that indicate there was nothing wrong with them. (The study doesn’t specify their gender or pronouns beyond that they’re trans.)

This respondent told researchers they ask the chatbot “personal questions, like ‘I wanna know if there’s anything wrong with me.’”

I also spoke to Terry, a trans woman who requested we use a pseudonym so she could speak frankly, about her use of chatbots. She highlighted the ability to talk to someone without any judgement. She also said she uses it for sexual fantasies, although she has increasingly run into limits platforms have added around explicit content.

When neither respectable protest nor threats of violence stop anti-trans campaigning, what can the trans community do? S. Lamble’s debut book, Unsafe: The Carceral Roots of the Anti-Trans Backlash, unpacks this paradox of safety. Lamble, a professor of criminology and queer theory at Birkbeck, University of London, spent decades studying and working alongside people involved in difficult cases like Stock’s. When Stock’s case entered public discourse, it immediately sparked what Lamble describes in the book as an escalation of “carceral safety politics.” Trans activists called for harsher punishments against gender-critical campaigners, who, in turn, advocated for tougher measures against trans activists. This conversation is foregrounded in a culture that uplifts figures like Nigel Farage, who actively push for harsher punishments against both migrants and trans women in female spaces. The core idea behind these messages from both mainstream trans and anti-trans activists is that punishment will lead to safety.

In Unsafe, Lamble argues that this assumption, uniting the British left and right, actually encourages trans exclusion from the start. Increasing the state’s capacity to punish will result in greater capacity for it to punish trans people. But what options do activists have without punishment? Lamble first urges readers to pause for reflection whenever the concept of safety enters the discussion. Does this form of safety mean exclusion or imprisonment? Or does it foster care and social bonds?

This surge in discourse—like most other ongoing “debates” around trans people in politics and culture—is entirely manufactured, most recently sparked by Cunningham’s statements and egged on by a media ecosystem well versed in alienating trans people and stoking moral panic.

Let’s lay some facts out. There are currently no trans women athletes in any major women’s professional league or on track to enter the leagues any time soon. While research into human biology is always evolving, there is no “new” groundbreaking data that has broken open the conversation around hormones and physical advantage. And no, there is no trans woman dominating at professional—or any level, for that matter—women’s sports.

That’s all to say: There is no discernable reason for roughly half of the women’s sports stories on The Athletic to be related to trans people, as they were at one point last week, or for players, coaches, executives and owners to be expected to weigh in on how they feel about the prospect of a trans woman playing professional sports. And while some have met the moment with thoughtful shows of solidarity (see: Reeve’s shirt on the court) or clear statements of allyship (Valkyries player Gabby Williams, I see you), it’s frankly insulting to athletes and fans of all genders—trans and cis—that airtime continues to be devoted to this.

Hi! I'm straight, cis male, and white.

I had a bar that went out of business because we were hosting drag shows in a rural town and the mayor held a 2 year slander campaign. My business was vandalized, Nazis parked outside it. I had panic attacks during the worst of it and have since been diagnosed with PTSD surrounding the experience. At one point a friend/gay pastor told me that because I chose to continue supporting the queer community and creating a space for queerness to exist, and thrive, as opposed to taking the safe approach, that I am now a member of the queer community.

I genuinely feel safer in queer spaces, and even chose my dentist by searching "lgbt friendly dentists near me." A dentist office isn't a dedicated queer space though, so I have no qualms.

I went to a drag performance last night, to support a queen I knew. I went to a few shows a couple months ago and ran into some performers from my bar too.

I started realizing last night that I'm knowing fewer and fewer people from the bar days though. And resultantly I feel that means I have fewer people to vouch for me that I am a safe person, without that vouch I feel as though I may make real members of the community feel unsafe - and moreover a feeling of unsafeness is sometimes as unsafe as being unsafe.

For years I've been inspired by the craft of drag. I've had visions of outfits in my head but never had the time, a queen interested, and my pussy has never really been on fire.

With everything going on in the world...when I was at the show last night, my pussy started to quake, dare I even say, ignite? I dunno, I think it's gonna be time soon.

I know there are plenty of examples of famous straight men doing drag such as Rudy and his pedopal. But there's also plenty of real queens dedicated to the craft, such as Maddy Morphesus and .

I guess I'm wondering is it an invasion of space? Both in and out of drag for a straight guy to enter. What and where are the lines? And most importantly, what do I need to be doing to keep everyone in these precious spaces feeling and being safe? If the chat believes its cool for me to do drag, please feel free to hit me up with drag name ideas.

Lastly, am I allowed to say CUNT?

Thanks in advance! I'm not a perfect ally, nor will I ever get there, but I'm trying my best to get as close as I can.

Research undertaken by Daniel L. Metzger and colleagues is the latest in a long line of studies demonstrating that, far from not knowing who they are, trans youth have a very firm grasp of their gender identity. It builds on research by Kristina R. Olson finding very low rates of detransition among trans youth, and research by Michael Zaliznyak demonstrating that the decision to come out and begin medical transition is an extremely slow one that usually requires years of gradual processing and sustained effort.

Metzger and his team followed 445 trans adolescents for a median period of 2.4 years, finding that only 2.9% of them switched their gender identity back to one that aligned with their birth sex; the remaining 97.1% retained a trans identity. What’s more, of those who initiated gender-affirming medical care, only a miniscule 1.1% of them chose to discontinue it, and none for reasons of reidentifying with their birth sex. This research puts the lie to the idea that massive amounts of trans youth will regret their transitions.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/72750599

“A human rights crisis is unfolding in Puerto Rico — one that disproportionately affects LGBT+ people, particularly transgender and nonbinary Puerto Ricans,” said True Self Foundation Executive Director Miguel Vázquez-Rivera.

The True Self Foundation and LatinoJustice PRLDEF participated in the briefing that took place on July 15.

Vázquez-Rivera during the briefing highlighted several anti-LGBTQ laws and policies that have been implemented since Gov. Jenniffer González took office in January 2025. These include Law 63-2025, which prohibits gender-affirming healthcare for anyone under 21, and Law 26-2026, which prohibits the University of Puerto Rico and other “government facilities” from installing “mixed or gender-neutral multi-occupancy restrooms.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/72704202

With 30,627 trans participants from the EU27 (plus Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia), it is the largest survey of trans people in the EU to date. The survey results provide a crucial socio-demographic resource on the EU trans population, detailing their experiences in areas such as openness, healthcare, legal issues, discrimination, violence, and wellbeing.

These trans handypeople are going Tool 4 Tool.

A new home repair company, owned by two transgender construction professionals, has opened in Atlanta, per local LGBTQ+ publication Georgia Voice. The two professionals behind the nonprofit, who go by Nicky and Sam, formerly worked as part of the organization Queer Hands, a collective of queer people who provide home services. Per the Voice, Nicky and Sam requested that their last names not be used in the reporting.

While Queer Hands focused on help around the house, including painting, automotive care and cleaning, Nicky and Sam’s new venture, T4T Repairs will focus entirely on construction “to focus on workforce development for trans and gender non-conforming folks while continuing to provide reasonable priced carpentry, repair, design, demo, and general handy they work,” according to their website. Per the Voice, the T4T in the name of the nonprofit, which can often mean “trans 4 trans” in dating parlance, here means “Trans 4 the Trades.”

Legislation to strengthen protections for reproductive and transgender healthcare providers and patients is poised for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s approval following party-line votes by New Jersey lawmakers Tuesday.

The state Assembly approved the Democratic-sponsored measure to create a new crime of interfering with reproductive healthcare, which under the bill includes care for people who are transgender, by a vote of 55 to 23. The Senate also approved minor changes made by the Assembly by 25 to 15.

Jennifer Williams, a city council member in Trenton who is transgender, said she “could not be happier” with the outcome, given the years of advocacy by LGBTQ+ supporters.

Kris Cravens-Hutton and her husband, Dave Hutton, made headlines with the “maximalist” Pride Month display in front of their Detroit home. The large, rainbow-colored display of allyship even gained the couple a visit from pro-LGBTQ+ Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D).

The straight couple’s display includes a 40-foot arch of rainbow-colored flowers stretching over their home’s entrance, a trans-inclusive Progress Pride flag, and large foam white letters covering three-fourths of the couple’s historic Detroit home, which spell out “Detroit, Pride, Peace, Love, Dance, Hugs, Resist!”

She even posted a video of Gov. Moore visiting the display. As he emerges from his car, he says, “Oh my goodness! I love it! … This is amazing! I need this in Maryland!” She explained that she typically puts the decorations up on Memorial Day weekend (at the end of May) and puts them away on July 4 weekend.

A trans teen withdrew from the girls’ division of an Irish Dance contest in Florida after the organizers were pressured by state officials to kick her out. However, it is unclear whether the girl’s participation in the competition would have actually violated any law.

“No young person should become the center of a political fight simply because they want to participate in the activities they love,” said Public Policy Manager for Equality Florida Quinn Diaz in a statement. “At a time when Florida is competing to attract visitors, talent, and major events from around the world, the question for our leaders is simple: will we send a message that our doors are closed, that ours is only a state for some? Or will we make it clear that everyone is welcome here?”

The Irish dance contest is governed by the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association of North America (IDTANA). That organization has trans-inclusive policies that allow competitors to decide how they compete. They have previously defended those policies, and the community has supported that move, including by setting up a petition to the Dublin-based governing body, An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), to voice their unequivocal support for the inclusion of trans dancers.

In a win for trans people, their families, and healthcare providers in the state, California has passed a new budget that includes funds to protect gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare from federal funding interference. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the budget, which was the result of extensive lobbying from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including TransFamily Support Services.

“This historic investment will help keep care accessible, support the providers doing this lifesaving work, and remind trans young people that California will not abandon them,” said Kathy Moehlig, director of TransFamily Support Services.

The 2026-27 budget sets aside $26 million to support gender-affirming care access in the state, as proposed by a coalition of LGBTQ+, healthcare, and civil rights organizations earlier this year. The fund will be disbursed through grants to ensure that providers have “meaningful resources” not only to continue providing gender-affirming care to existing patients but also to expand their offerings.