Loren Cameron, who brought visibility to transgender men when there was very little to be found, died several months ago at 63. Here's a little about his life, death (cw: suicide) & the importance of his work: a 🧵 Loren Rex Cameron was a pioneer in the trans community, best known for his work as a photographer. His collection of groundbreaking portraits of himself & other trans men, "Body Alchemy," is considered a milestone of FTM documentation. amzn.to/3L64fqx

World Athletics’ decision to ban all transgender women & place harsh restrictions on athletes with intersex variations does not protect the integrity of women’s sports & only furthers the policing of women’s bodies. A 🧵 Quick recap: today World Athletics announced a ban on trans women who went through a testosterone based puberty & restrictions on athletes with intersex variations that may require them to take medical interventions in order to compete. (that's a human rights violation, btw)

I believe player safety should always come first.
AND, at a time when the LGBTQ community has become a target for politicians - over 400 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced this year - this gesture by @NHLBlackhawks feels like another organization caving to political pressure.

https://twitter.com/CydZeigler/status/1638715381450932224

Listen: we have much bigger issues than whether my local hockey team with an offensive name wears a rainbow jersey. BUT: Taking away the most visible piece of a Pride Night celebration sends the message that the team is stepping back on its commitment to inclusion.

Henry Berg-Brousseau, a transgender rights advocate & deputy press secretary for politics for @HRC, has died. He was 24.

🧵 Here's a little bit about him & why his life - and death - matter: As a teen, Henry fought against anti-trans legislation in Kentucky; he was a junior in high school in 2014 when he stood up to state legislators as they debated making a bathroom bill. “The message is clear with this bill: We don’t belong,” he told the Senate Education Committee.

CONTENT WARNING: SUICIDE/SELF HARM

As soon as he was missing, his mom said, "I better start planning a funeral." We all knew. But I had no idea about the rest of the story

A 🧵 Yesterday, my mom called to tell me he died. By suicide.

My cousin, a few years younger than me, was found dead after going missing on Saturday. He was struggling; he was being harassed & intimidated by his neighbors.

It sounded far-fetched, TBH. The owner wouldn't help.

ZERO: the number of trans women in professional Welsh Rugby.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has banned trans women from participating on women’s teams, despite the fact that there are no out trans women in professional Welsh rugby.
intomore.com/sports/welsh-r… The new WRU policy uses sex assigned at birth to determine eligibility for players in the female category.

Humorously, WRU's statement suggests that trans women can still be involved in non-contact rugby - and in "coaching, refereeing & volunteering opportunities."

1 in 3 #trans people have experienced discrimination from a doctor. I'm one of those people - & have been multiple times.

A story about my doctor visit yesterday:

#protecttranshealth A year ago, I had hip surgery. I was terrified to have a procedure where a doctor would need to access my hip/groin area & I would be under anesthesia. I had extra calls with the surgeon to get a better understanding of how I would be draped, who would be in the room, etc.

FINA's decision to ban transgender women from swimming is based on people's opinions & fears, NOT on science or reality.
To be clear: to my knowledge, there is not a single transgender woman who ever has or is currently competing in women’s swimming at the Olympic level. Transgender women & girls are drastically underrepresented in women’s sports. Recent polls show that 0.7% of Americans identify as trans.
About 220,000 women competed in NCAA sports last year; that should have amounted to 1,500 trans women athletes. That clearly didn't happen.

🧵Today swimming's world governing body, FINA, voted to ban the participation of transgender athletes in elite women's competitions. The new policy takes effect Monday & only allows trans athletes who have "completed" a transition by age 12.

AGE 12. 🤯 To require transgender athletes to "complete" a medical transition by age 12 - particularly when it is increasingly difficult & in some states nearly impossible to get gender-affirming care - is outrageous & completely unrealistic.

🚨 OHIO: House Republican lawmakers in Ohio passed a bill last week that would ban transgender girls & women from participating in high school & college athletics. It also comes with a “verification process” of checking the genitals of those “accused” of being trans. 🤯 Understand this: anyone could "accuse" a young girl of being trans, which would trigger an inspection of her genitals. 👀
Ohio Republicans who are claiming they want to save & protect women are putting young girls & women in this situation. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
#OhioCanPlay

Yesterday I celebrated 12 years on T.
13 years ago I didn’t think I would be here today. I didn’t know this level of joy & euphoria was possible.

Gender affirming care is life saving care.

🎉 Everyone should be able to feel the joy I feel. Unfortunately, in states across the country we have seen legislative attacks on trans people, particularly youth, attempting to block us from accessing the care - medically necessary, best practice care - we need.

It's critical that journalists talk to the people directly impacted by anti-trans legislation & policies, which is why the NYT reporter was directed to me to provide my insights in what turned out to be this weekend's hit piece on trans athletes. Some thoughts: Unfortunately, interview subjects can't control & most often have no oversight into where the pieces we are interviewed for will go. All we can do is give our perspectives from lived experiences & keep fighting for trans voices to be heard & for trans athletes to be included.

Yesterday @NCAA announced it will allow championships to go on as scheduled in states with laws that ban transgender athletes from participating. Here’s why this is an issue (thread)

ncaa.org/about/resource… @NCAA said it “will require all hosts to reaffirm their commitment to ensure a nondiscriminatory & safe environment for all college athletes per their host agreement.” It is impossible to do that in states with laws that ban transgender athletes.

🚨ALABAMA: SB10, the transgender medical ban, is on the House this week. Not only would this bill criminalize doctors who provide gender-affirming care, but it could also criminalize parents & kids who are administering medication at home (a class C felony). SB10 also targets school administrators who provide support to trans kids, including counselors, principals, nurses, and teachers & would require that they out trans & non-binary children to their families.

Arkansas Governor @AsaHutchinson signed the anti-trans sports bill into law today.

We've explained how harmful this is to trans athletes & all women. Here we are, with it in law. It is incredibly hurtful, but SOMETHING MUCH WORSE is still up & we need to take action RIGHT NOW ⬇️ Arkansas HB1570, the bill that would ban healthcare for trans people in Arkansas, is NOT LAW YET. We can still protect healthcare for trans kids, but we need to mobilize RIGHT NOW.

🚨NORTH DAKOTA residents: HB1298 is delayed, giving you a bit of extra time to reach out to your senators TODAY & tell them to vote NO.

https://twitter.com/libbyskarin/status/1375093371581177858

You can personalize a message to your senators here: act.prairieactionnd.org/letter/HB-1298…

For Transgender Week of Visibility and Action, let’s commit to elevating trans and nonbinary voices and taking action to stop the passage of these dangerous bills. Today through Friday, let’s focus on Arkansas. Two bills we need to take action on in Arkansas:
🚨HB1570 bans healthcare for trans youth & insurance coverage for all trans people.
🚨SB354 bans trans women & girls from sport & polices all women’s bodies in sport.

Join me in calling on @AsaHutchinson to VETO HB1570 & SB354

🚨ARKANSAS SB289 says doctors & other medical providers are “not required to participate in a healthcare service” if doing so would violate their religious or moral beliefs by far, this is vthe nation’s worst anti-LGBTQ+ healthcare refusal law. SB 289, the nation’s most extreme anti-LGBTQ healthcare bill, is at the Governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would apply to everything including counseling & therapy, general medicine, PReP, hormones & other affirming care, as well as ambulance, EMT care & insurance coverage.

CURRENT STATUS of Anti-trans sports bills across the United States:
#LetKidsPlay In 2021, anti-trans sports bills gave been defeated in South Carolina & Utah, but signed into law in Mississippi. And 25 other states have pending legislation.

🚨MINNESOTA: HF 1657 not only bans transgender girls from participating in girls sports but actually imposes a criminal penalty ON CHILDREN.

HF 1657 threatens kids with arrest & juvenile detention for using the school locker room or playing sports.
🤯🤬 Once more, Minnesota lawmakers not only want to ban trans kids from sports - they want to fine or JAIL trans kids who play.

We are talking about kids. In school sports. Being criminally penalized for who they are.

🚨 WEST VIRGINIA: HB2141 would force trans kids in elementary & secondary school to play on sports teams by their "original birth certificate." But let me tell you about what happens when they don't have a birth certificate that designates "male" or "female" : If an elementary or secondary school KID’s original birth certificate issued does not designate male or female, then participation in sporting events with and/or against others must be established by a "valid genetic test sampled from the applying athlete’s own bodily tissue"...