Effects of Transphobia and Legislated Hate

Published on: 7/21/23
Author: Alexis Krohn

#TogetherAgainstBias

So, things continue to be… not great. 

There’s some good news. In June, we saw courts strike down a number of anti-transgender bills in the states. In Arkansas, District Court Judge James Moody, Jr. struck down a ban on gender-affirming care for youths. There have also been successful court cases against anti-trans/queer laws in Indiana, Tennessee, and Florida which focused on drag shows, education, and medical care. There were a couple of key quotes from Moody’s decision in Arkansas that highlight why these laws  are being enacted.

“Most of the State’s expert witnesses, Professor Mark Regnerus, Dr. Stephen Lappert, and Dr. Paul Hruz, were unqualified to offer relevant expert testimony and offered unreliable testimony. Their opinions regarding gender-affirming medical care for adolescents with gender dysphoria are grounded in ideology rather than science.” 

[...]

“"For these reasons, the Court finds that the State has failed to prove that its interests in the safety of Arkansas adolescents from gender transitioning procedures or the medical community’s ethical decline are compelling, genuine, or even rational."

That’s pretty good, right? But also, there’s still a huge swathe of the country where anti-trans bills are going into effect, including in Missouri. There are, nationwide, 79 bills which have passed this year to target trans folk. It’s dismaying. 

One place that you can keep up with the news on this is at the newsletter Erin in the Morning, recommended by friend of Calico, Ben Greene. 

Talk to folks. Vote. Donate. Call your Senators. Your life may not be depending on it, but there are a bunch of trans kids and adults out there whose lives are depending on it.