1. Transgender people have a biological advantage at... pool?
That seems to be the argument today from those who advocate for laws targeting trans people.
This comes after recent bans on trans women in disc golf, beauty pageants, and chess.
Subscribe to support my work. 🧵
2. This week, the Daily Mail reported that Alexandra Cunha, a 5th-place pool competitor, was so upset after losing to a trans woman and a policy change that she led a group of athletes to call for their banishment from the sport.
3. “I recently played against a transgender player and was devastated by the loss," she said.
Her statement came after a policy change by the organization to allow trans women to play, after backlash to a ban the organization considered.
4. Cunha's group told The Daily Mail that transgender women might execute a stronger “break” in the game. It's important to note that no studies have been cited to confirm any such advantage for transgender women in pool.
5. Anti-trans activists jumped in to defend her and demean trans people. Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines tweeted a post calling trans women "Trans Identified Males," or "TIMs," a stereotypically masculine name used as a slur towards trans people.
6. Many questioned the narrative and mocked the idea, however. Speak Out Sister, a trans-inclusive feminist group, jokingly remarked: "Guess the cues and balls are heavier than we knew."
7. This is the latest in a series of dubious bans on trans participation.
Other bans have included:
- Chess
- Disc Golf
- Beauty Pageants
- Theatre
9. I will close off by asking you to please consider supporting LGBTQ+ journalism. I can only report on topics that you care about with support from people like you.
Please consider becoming a subscriber to support my work.
1. Nancy Mace, in an interview, made it clear that her opposition to Sarah McBride in Bathrooms was never about safety.
She stated, "It's offensive that Sarah McBride thinks [she's] my equal."
The audacity of a trans person being her equal.
Subscribe to support my journalism.
2. Nancy mace's comments show how attacks on one trans congresswoman in a bathroom were never about her being dangerous, or unsafe. It's about raw hate.
3. In a Newsmax Interview, Mace stated, “It is offensive that a man in a skirt could ever think [she’s] my equal, that his challenges are the same as mine. They’re not. [She’s] forcing [her] genitals into women’s restrooms, into dressing rooms, into locker rooms. It’s sick."
1. On day 1 of prefiling, Republicans have filed 32 anti-trans bills in the state of Texas.
The bills target transgender people with bounties, could shut down Pride parades, ban gender marker changes, and force mass-scale chromosome testing.
Subscribe to support my journalism.
2. The latest suite of bills in Texas comes after the largest campaign targeting transgender people in history. Republicans, emboldened by the election results, could press forward with bills considered too extreme in previous years.
Some have argued that Democrats should give up on trans people in sports.
As a leading transgender journalist covering the issue for years, I can say that this is a strategy doomed to fail.
Here's why.
Subscribe to support my journalism.
2. In the wake of Harris loss in the 2024 election, a debate has emerged over trans participation in sports... on whether or not Democrats should abandon "the sports issue."
This is deeply misguided. I explain why in my latest piece.
3. If you had a time machine in 2019 and traveled to 2024, the shift over trans rights in the US would be shocking. In the 2019, trans people could openly access care in all states.
Now... bounties in bathrooms, adults cut off from medical care, and drivers licenses pulled.