Stand in Solidarity With Trans People

I'm asking allies to step up this week.

Girls, Gays, Theys, & Allies,

Hey hey! It’s KB Brookins, your pro-trans sensei. I have good news for you: the world is full of good trans news!

Before I get into that: I’ve been thinking a lot about allyship & how its kind of… useless if it’s not put into action. Is your empathy going to get anyone rights? How are states, cities, & people inconveniencing themselves in order to enact trans rights today?

Luckily, these questions have multiple answers. Allies: I’m going to give you tasks that you can do in less than 10 minutes throughout this newsletter. Choose one, or two, or all five!

Let’s get into it.

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Trans News: The Video

earthtokb

A post shared by @earthtokb

This week, I’m sharing news that I thought would never happen: Florida tabled two anti-trans bills. & also, less anti-LGBTQ+ bills were filed in Florida overall this year. Yay!!

Although this doesn’t mean the bills — the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans at Work” bill (SB 440) & the “Banning Diversity & Equity in State Agencies” bill (SB 1694) — are going away for good (sadly), it’s great they were delayed. Hopefully, they continue to be. Much love to the Florida LGBTQ+ activists that made this happen.

ALLY ACTION #1: donate to Equality Florida to support their ongoing efforts to shut down these bills. Message 2 friends & ask them to do the same.

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Trans News: The List

A slew of organizations threw a Trans Joy Party at the Kentucky State Capitol despite Republicans passing two anti-trans laws. Shoutout to them for reclaiming that space!

Washington state provides guaranteed protections for trans people. Heck yeah!

Another one: Colorado passed sweeping protections for trans & abortion rights. Hopefully more states follow suit!

ALLY ACTION #2: Check & see if your state has protections for trans people. If they don’t, contact at least one of your state representatives & ask them to provide guaranteed protections for trans people. Use Washington &/or Colorado’s protections as an example. Then message 2 friends & ask them to do the same.

In the age of trans athletes being cracked down on, some trans people have found solace in gymnastics.

Montana’s anti-trans bathroom ban was blocked by a judge. Turns out, there’s no evidence that supports the claim that making trans people use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender they were assigned at birth “protects women”.

More on Montana: after an impassioned speech given by nonbinary State Representative SJ Howell, a bill that would’ve charged parents with child abuse for providing gender affirming care to their children died. Woo!

ALLY ACTION #3: Contact one of these organizations (ideally one in your state!) & ask how you can testify — virtually or IRL — to shut down an anti-trans bill.

Invisible Histories, a nonprofit that works to preserve & share the history of Southern LGBTQ+ communities, is creating a permanent archive in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shout out to them for making sure transphobes don’t erase us!

After a cis woman refused to fight her trans opponent in a fencing match & was disqualified, USA fencing doubled down on their support of trans players. I know that’s right!

ALLY ACTION #4: Contact a sports organization in your city & ask them to make their inclusion/support of trans people public.

A study found that hormone replacement therapy & gender affirming surgeries improve trans men's quality of life. A lot of us already knew that, but now there is (more) proof!

More proof: scientific studies say that banning trans women from women’s sports is ridiculous. Yipee!

Austin, Texas now has a resource guide of trans-owned & trans-affirming services, resources, community-building orgs, businesses, & more.

ALLY ACTION #5: Shop at a trans-owned business — online or IRL.

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Friends: that’s all the news I have for you this week. What did I miss? How are you standing in solidarity with trans people? Let me know in the comments.

Till next time,

KB