Some proof that there ARE elected officials out there, like Vice Mayor Sean Cummings in Oklahoma, who are standing up for LGBTQ+ youth like Nex Benedict and calling out the fact that our words and rhetoric DO matter.

[Context: In this video, Sean Cummings is seen speaking to Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters referring to the death of student Nex Benedict].

Kentucky governor vetoes sweeping GOP transgender measure

Kentucky’s Democratic governor issued an election-year veto Friday of a sweeping Republican bill aimed at regulating the lives of transgender youths that includes banning access to gender-affirming health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use.

The bill also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and allows teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use. It easily passed the GOP-dominated legislature with veto-proof margins, and lawmakers will reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s session, when they could vote to override the veto.

Gov. Andy Beshear said in a written veto message that the bill allows “too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children.”

In his one-page message, he warned that the bill’s repercussions would include an increase in youth suicides. The governor said, “My faith teaches me that all children are children of God and Senate Bill 150 will endanger the children of Kentucky.”

In case no one told you this year, I’ll say this. You are loved. You are worthy of being loved.you are enough. You are not alone. Your story doesn’t end here. This is your sign to keep going. This is your sign to stay alive. This is your sign to live the life the way you want. This is your sign to follow your dreams. This is your sign to save yourself.

"While mainstream media increasingly cover violence and legislative attacks against trans people, many scholars and activists worry that focusing just on violence and discrimination fails to capture the full experience of being trans.

Drawing on the success of movements like the Black Joy Project, which uses art to promote Black healing and community-building, trans activists are challenging one-dimensional depictions of their community by highlighting the unique joys of being transgender.

My research on trans parents affirms the reality of trans joy. From 2019 to 2021, I interviewed 54 transgender women — both current and prospective parents — from diverse racial and class backgrounds across the country.

I found that while many have navigated discrimination in their parenting journeys, they also have fulfilling parent-child relationships, often with the support of partners, families of origin and their communities.

Gender euphoria

Scholars and community members use the term gender euphoria to describe a “joyful feeling of rightness in one’s gender/sex.”

It diverges from the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or a sense of conflict between assigned sex and gender identity typically associated with feelings of distress and discomfort.

Gender euphoria celebrates feeling comfortable with who you are and how you are perceived by the world.

Some people transition with a specific set of goals, while others discover new sources of joy and new facets of their identity over time.

Many of the trans women I interviewed expressed their gender euphoria in relation to their role as mothers. A Black trans woman in her 20s, whom I will call Gloria, experiences joy in being recognized as a mother.

“I love being called Mom. That’s the greatest thing,” she told me. “I love waking up every morning to see [my child’s] beautiful face. It keeps me motivated.” ...

For many trans people, transitioning opens up a new set of possibilities. When I asked Adriana, a trans Latina in her 30s, what it was like to come out as trans, she told me,

“I’ve never been happier. The happiest day of my life was when my daughter was born, and the second happiest day of my life was when I [started transitioning].”

Family and community connections

While some trans people do experience rejection from their families of origin, that is not true for the majority of the community.

In a 2015 national survey of over 27,700 trans adults, the U.S. Trans Survey, 60% of respondents reported having families who are supportive of their trans identity.

Trans women also form chosen families with friends, co-workers and other community members. Relationships with other trans people can have particularly positive effects on identity development and overall well-being, including emotional resilience, self-acceptance and a sense of connection.

Trans community care

In addition to caring for their biological and adopted children, the trans women I interviewed felt a responsibility to take care of their community.

Sometimes this care manifested as parent-child relationships, in which respondents provide financial or emotional support to LGBTQ+ youth.

Maggie, a white woman in her 50s, didn’t know she was a parental figure for her “queer kids” until they tagged her on Instagram to celebrate Mother’s Day.

“Someone might go, ‘Hey, can I stay on your sofa tonight? I’m having a hard time.’ Well, yeah, of course,” she said.

“Or they might hang around the shop [I work at], and only later it dawns on me, ‘Oh, this was the only place they could come and get affirmed and not feel weird.’” ...

Miriam, a white trans woman in her 60s, agreed that she has a lot to learn from younger trans people.

“A lot of my community today, people who I count as family and my beloveds, are not of my generation,” she said. ‘Beloveds’ is the term she uses to describe her platonic loved ones.

“I learn a lot from my beloveds in their 20s and 30s, who don’t have the same baggage I [dealt with] about how I could be and who I could be.”"

-via GoodGoodGood via The Conversation, July 14, 2023

even though it’s silly how many times nick nelson says “i’m bi actually” in heartstopper season 2, the presence of that detail is actually so important because it displays the reality for bisexual people coming out, especially if they’re also in a relationship, because people will just assume you’re either gay or straight but like. i’m bi actually. and it just makes nick feel so much more real as a character and really builds on the preexisting sense of relatability already found in the show. in this essay i will-

I love you trans people.

I love you disabled trans people.

I love you old trans people.

I love you young trans people.

I love you trans people who struggle with your mental health.

I love you trans people who don't pass.

I love you trans people who don't want to pass.

I love you trans people who don't fit into any gender binary.

I love you stealth trans people.

I love you trans people who tell everyone you're trans.

I love you weird, strange and freaky trans people.

I love you angry trans people.

I love you horny trans people.

I love you sex-repulsed trans people.

I love you trans people who hate being trans.

I love you trans people who love being trans.

I love you trans people who don't have or want surgery.

I love you trans people who plan on having surgery.

I love you trans people who have already had surgery.

I love all trans people.

🩵🩵🩷🩷🤍🤍🩷🩷🩵🩵

We support trans and queer pagans in this cottage

I'm so good at keeping secrets mainly because I end up forgetting them so they're actually safe with me cuz no one will know, not even me😌

To every Trans bean like me who cried when Ballister said he saw Nimona and that they weren’t alone.

We aren’t alone now. We have each other as fans. We can get through this and this pain we feel. We just have to fight. You’ve got this, babes. I love you and care for you. Now go out there and CHOP AN ARM OFF AND K E E P I T

AS A LOVE LANGUAGE

Every time I post something about Benedict, I want to say something meaningful, but I can't come up with anything. It's just fucking sad and awful that this kid saw no hope in their future. I hate it.

Oh, he's pissed.

Good.

When they try to make school harder for LGBTQ+ youth...we make it better.

Over the past 2 years, students across the U.S. have used our 50 States 50 Grants funds to...

Build gender-affirming closets and gender-neutral bathrooms at school

Host their school's first Pride fest or Pride conference

Educate parents and teachers

Fund their GSA club

And so many other rad projects to support their queer students!

Apps are open for Season 3 now through April 1, 2024 - if you have an idea for how you'd use up to $10,000 at your own school (or if you know someone in middle or high school who could), reblog and spread the word!

(1) Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors ruled unconstitutional

While Moody’s ultimate ruling in the case and legal conclusions obviously matter, his findings of fact issued Tuesday could be the most important aspect of his decision. Because trial judges are able to review the evidence and are closest to the case at trial, their findings of fact are accepted on appeal unless the appeals court finds that the those findings constitute an “clear error,” a deferential standard.

After detailing the evidence presented by the parties regarding the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care and Endocrine Society’s guidelines for care, Moody — an Obama appointee who has been on the bench since 2014 — found as a fact: “Transgender care is not experimental care."

hey! do you feel like everyone sucks? that no one who isn't queer/disabled/othered will ever agree with you? well golly jee you are wrong!

my class is very queer, with an exception of like three girls who are honestly respectful. on the van this morning, on the way to school, one of our token straight girls OINKS AT A COP WITH ME. they didn't hear because we were in the van going down the damn highway, but it was super unexpected.

I promise, not everyone is evil. not even ablebodied-neurotypical-cishet-alloromantic white girls with a valley girl accent

i know im getting into a serious topic here but thisbhas to be said. the bullying and harassment of innocent children in schools is going too far. i myself have been harassed multiple times A DAY due to the fact that ive been openly trans and gay since 6th grade. the school board in my district refuses to acknowledge the outright cruel way kids are being treated. my friend @idkwhydoyouwanaknow and i, ad well as many of our other queer or ally friends have been working to fix this. so far we've created a GSA for our school and reported everything we can about or treatment and still the office workers remain to be homophobic and deny that we are being treated wrongly. so, if your environment is safe to do so in your school, your childs school, even just mentioning to your local school district about the chance to start a GSA or at least complain about any bullying going on is always a good idea. if you live in an area where its unsafe for you to do these things, please just reblog this post to help it reach more eyes and have more effect on queer youth.

CampOUT is a Florida summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth ages 10-17. We focus on helping our campers do the most courageous thing possible: being and loving their authentic selves. The camp is a week-long experience that provides a place for the kids to build their confidence through workshops, mentorship, and outdoor activities. CampOUT is queer founded and queer lead. Rachel (aka Riot, she/her) and her partner Shannon (aka Grizzly, they/them) concocted the idea of CampOUT after many talks about their own experiences in summer camps growing up as queer people. Riot is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who saw the need for CampOUT through her quest to provide a safe space for her clients. Though Riot has been able to help people as a social worker, she and Grizzly knew that they had to create CampOUT where they will have the opportunity to help improve the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth on a larger scale. As you may know, the LGBTQ+ community has been target by recent legislation, and our safe spaces are dwindling. More specifically, spaces for queer youth are becoming non-existent. CampOUT is a week long experience that allows kids to just be kids. Our next camp is in July, and with so much going on we are desperate to raise some last minute funds to pay for a security detail during the week of camp. Security was not something we worried about last year because our camp location was unknown, but we have received an influx of online trolls, and even had neonazis show up to one of our fundraising events. Our board of directors has decided that security is necessary to ensure the saftey of our campers and staff. Your support and donations are deeply appreciated.