Eve Hartley

/ /

Merriam-Webster Dictionary adds Three New Transgender Words

Three new words related to trans issues are being added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

The dictionary’s website said that 640 words are being added this month, including “gender nonconforming,” “top surgery” and “bottom surgery.”

Gender nonconforming is defined as “exhibiting behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits that do not correspond with the traits typically associated with one’s sex: having a gender expression that does not conform to gender norms.”

The entry says that the first known use of the term was in 1991 and quotes a 2015 Boston Globe article to show the word in context.

The three new trans words in the dictionary

  • Gender nonconforming: exhibiting behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits that do not correspond with the traits typically associated with one’s sex.
  • Top surgery: a type of gender confirmation surgery in which a person’s breasts are removed or augmented to match their gender identity.
  • Bottom surgery: a type of gender confirmation surgery in which a person’s genitalia are altered to match their gender identity.

The article explains top surgery is defined as “a type of gender confirmation surgery in which a person’s breasts are removed or augmented to match their gender identity” and bottom surgery is “a type of gender confirmation surgery in which a person’s genitalia are altered to match their gender identity.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of “top surgery,” was in 1992, while “bottom surgery” first appeared in 1994.

The dictionary, which is for American-English, updates with a new word if editors find evidence of “frequent use, widespread use, and meaningful use” of the word.

Janelle Monáe attends Universal Pictures And DreamWorks Pictures' premiere of "Welcome To Marwen" at ArcLight Hollywood on December 10, 2018
Janelle Monáe was cited as the main reason why pansexual was such a popular word this year (Emma McIntyre/Getty)

Merriam-Webster frequently highlights words involving the LGBT+ community.

In 2018 the word pansexual made it onto Merriam-Webster’s list of words of the year.

The US dictionary company explained that the sexual orientation‘s rise to prominence, which sees it ranked third after “Justice” and “Nationalism”—both of which relate heavily to Donald Trump—is largely down to performer Janelle Monáe.

/ /

Homeless Shelter for Trans Youths Opens in San Francisco

America’s ‘first’ homeless shelter for trans young people has opened in San Francisco.

The three-bedroom house has room for six people between the ages of 18 to 24. It opened quietly nearly two months ago, according to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Five trans young people currently live in the refuge, which will allow its residents to stay for two years, offering them a safe haven from transphobia and abuse.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the shelter is the nation’s first long-term transitional living program specifically for homeless trans young people. 

Christopher Rodriguez, a manager at the house, explained that trans youth have more complex needs than the rest of the LGBT+ community.

“Transgender youths have more medical needs, and they have a whole added extra layer of trauma,” said Rodriguez. “Many need hormone therapy, surgeries, preparation for surgeries,” he told the SF Chronicle.

Transphobia rife in homeless shelters

Rodriguez added: “They’re outed more easily than others — a gay man can pass as not gay if he wants to, but generally not someone who’s trans. So they get more attention, and not the good kind. And more violence. That takes a lot of careful work to heal.”

One of the residents spoke to the SF Chronicle about their past experiences of homeless shelters.

22-year-old Bobby Perez, whose parents are homeless, was staying in a Larkin Street shelter when she was told about the trans house. At one of her previous shelters, someone left tampons on her bed to taunt her.

“Now that I’m stable in a safe place, it’s about, ‘Who am I?’” Perez told the SF Chronicle. “I want to see where I can go. I just have to find a passion now.”

Larkin Street Youth Services, which is the leading homeless-youth agency in the city, is renting the house and running the trans program.

90% of homeless trans youths rejected by their families

According to Gregory Lewis, executive director of a nonprofit for LGBT homeless youths in Washington D.C, the trans house is extremely important.

Lewis’s organisation, True Colors United, ran two surveys in 2012 and in 2015, which showed that 75% of LGB homeless youth are rejected by their families, and the figure is 90% for trans youths.

About 40% of the 1.6 million homeless youths are LGBT, and 3% are trans, according to True Colors United.

/ /

Caster Semenya Loses Case Challenging Testosterone Levels

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled against gold medallist Caster Semenya, who challenged the implementation of rules which would limit the testosterone levels of female athletes.

The landmark ruling on May 1, brought forward by the South African three-time world champion, comes after a long and bitter dispute over proposed rules by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last year.

Under the regulations, the IAAF rule that female athletes with a so-called difference of sexual development (DSD), will have to undergo testosterone restrictions. The UN condemned such treatment as an “unnecessary, humiliating and harmful medical procedure.”

In reaction to the ruling, the athlete simply tweeted a graphic which read: “sometimes it’s better to react with no reaction.”

The CAS ruling stated: “DSD Regulations are discriminatory but the majority of the Panel found that… such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the Restricted Events.”

In response to the decision, the IAAF said it was “grateful to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for its detailed and prompt response” and “pleased that the regulations were found to be a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s legitimate aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics.”

Caster Semenya to undergo hormone therapy before competitions due to high testosterone levels

Semenya, 28, who has naturally high testosterone levels, will now have to undergo hormone therapy for at least six months before competing in any competition. The rules stipulate those female runners with so-called DSD who compete in events between 400m and a mile will have to undergo the procedure.

Caster Semenya of South Africa celebrates wins gold in the Women’s 800 metres final during athletics on day nine of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

An IAAF statement in February explained the proposals: “If a DSD athlete has testes and male levels of testosterone, they get the same increases in bone and muscle size and strength and increases in haemoglobin that a male gets when they go through puberty, which is what gives men such a performance advantage over women.

“Therefore, to preserve fair competition in the female category, it is necessary to require DSD athletes to reduce their testosterone down to female levels before they compete at international level.”

What if she won?

It was suggested that, if the verdict went against the IAAF, athletics might have introduced an ‘open’ category that men and women could, in theory, compete in side by side, and a ‘protected’ category based on hormone levels, rather than gender.

Her legal team argued her advantages are no different from other genetic variations celebrated in sport, and that “her genetic gift should be celebrated, not discriminated against.”

They also maintained: “Her case is about the rights of women who are born as women, reared and socialised as women—[to] be permitted to compete in the female category without discrimination.”

More from PinkNews
Stars You Didn’t Know Were Gay Or BisexualThe Stars You Didn’t Know Have An LGBT SiblingThe Straight Stars Who Went Gay For Pay

Finally, they said the IAAF’s requirement for DSDs to take hormone suppressants to reduce testosterone is ethically wrong and potentially poses a health risk.

A bitter dispute over DSD athletes

The Semenya case divided opinion across the athletic world. One of the people with the most outspoken opinions against the case was marathon runner Paula Radcliffe.

Radcliffe said that the ruling could hand intersex and transgender athletes an unfair advantage, and ultimately bring about the end of women’s sport.

The former marathon runner claimed that should Semenya’s appeal be successful, coaches could begin seeking out women with similarly high testosterone levels.

Caster Semenya and Paula Radcliffe
Caster Semenya and Paula Radcliffe (Getty; Sky News)

“It would be naive to think if this rule didn’t go through that there aren’t some people out there, managers or federations, who would actively seek out girls with this condition and say: ‘Right, you are going to do this sport and this event so that we can win,’” she told Sky News on Thursday (April 18).

While IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe explained the decision to bring forward the proposals: “No individual athlete has been targeted in the creation of the regulations. We need to create competition categories within our sport that ensure that success is determined by talent, dedication and hard work, rather than by other factors that are not considered fair or meaningful, such as the enormous physical advantages that an adult has over a child, or a male athlete has over a female athlete,” he said.

Throughout the case, Semenya has said, “I just want to run naturally, the way I was born.”

What about trans athletes?

Critics of Semenya’s legal challenge, such as Radcliffe, argue that it would “open the door to cases for trans athletes,” who currently have to lower their testosterone levels to complete.  Radcliffe has previously argued for trans athletes to be banned from competing in elite sports.

Joanna Harper, who advises the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on regulations for trans athletes, has told The Guardian that “the IOC is waiting to see what happens in the Semenya case” before announcing testosterone limits for trans athletes in the Tokyo 2020 games.

/ /

India Opens Health Clinic Run Entirely for and by LGBT People

India has opened the doors to its first health clinic run entirely for and by LGBT+ people.

The healthcare centre, located in Mumbai, employs LGBT+ receptionists, pharmacists, and counsellors to provide the most comfortable experience for its patients.

Vivek Anand, CEO of the Humsafar Trust, who opened the clinic in February spoke about its importance to The Guardian.

“Over the years, 30-40 percent of the individuals who tested HIV-positive at our clinic disappeared at some point during their [ARV] treatment at government hospitals,” Anand told the Guardian.

“Half of them never even showed up. More than discrimination, self-stigmatisation keeps the community away from accessing treatment,” Anand explained.

It is estimated there are about 2.1 million people are HIV-positive in India, one of the highest rates in the world. Discrimination against gay and trans people can limit their access to treatment and services.

Stars You Didn’t Know Were Gay Or BisexualThe Stars You Didn’t Know Have An LGBT SiblingThe Straight Stars Who Went Gay For Pay

LGBT+ people have been turned away from other clinics

“We have known days when trans communities could not get past the doors of any public healthcare deliveries in India. Security does not let them in,” Anand said.

A 2016 report on trans health in India found that two-thirds of transgender people had no access to treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Only 59 percent had been referred for HIV testing.

The Guardian spoke to Sharma, who defines as bisexual, while he was waiting in the clinic after being transferred from a government hospital.

“In any other [antiretroviral] waiting room of the city, I wouldn’t have been at such ease,” Sharma said. “The crowd there would have immediately labelled me as homosexual and made sure I felt unwelcome.”

The eight-room clinic sees a majority of people who belong to the lower socio-economic strata, according to Anand. “So treatment is free and voluntary donations are appreciated,” he added.

There are separate therapists for pre- and post-HIV testing, as well as general counsellors, and a social support group that meets monthly.

India’s ‘historic’ law for people with HIV or AIDS

In 2017, India passed a law ensuring equal rights for people with HIV or AIDS. The country’s Parliament in New Dehli passed the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill, outlawing discrimination against those with the infection.

At the time then Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said the bill showed the government “stands committed for free treatment of HIV patients.”

The bill made it illegal for a patient’s HIV status to be revealed without their consent, and ongoing research and strategies were developed to tackle the spread of the infection.

/ /

Indya Moore, Ryan Murphy Lead TIME 100’s Influential LGBT People

TIME magazine has released its annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.

The collection includes a number of LGBT icons, including trans actress Indya Mooreand the lawyers who helped decriminalise homosexuality in India.

The list also includes homophobic Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The Latin American leader is described by TIME as a “poster boy for toxic masculinity… intent on waging a culture war and perhaps reversing Brazil’s progress on tackling climate change.”

Other notable names include LGBT+ allies Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, as well as actor Rami Malek who won an Oscar for his portrayal of queer icon Freddie Mercury.

Indya Moore celebrated by TIME 100

Janet Mock, the first trans woman of colour to write and direct for television, profiles Indya Moore who stars in Pose.

Mock wrote in TIME Magazine: “Writing her character Angel proved healing for me as a trans woman who had walked in those same platform shoes, longing for more than the crumbs society had thrown girls like us. But a greater gift has been watching Indya rise from an adolescence navigating foster care in the Bronx to critical acclaim as an actress and model using her voice to center the marginalized communities she comes from.”

TIME 100 picks Lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy

The list also includes Indian lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who helped orchestrate the overturning of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The colonial-era law criminalised homosexual sex in India for 157 years.

The landmark judgment was the outcome of a long-term campaign organised by Katju and Guruswamy.

Their listing was written by Priyanka Chopra, who wrote: “The LGBTQ+ community has battled on both legal and social fronts for decades—for their fundamental rights, for privacy, for dignity, for safety and for love.”

Ariana Grande performs with NSYNC at Coachella
Ariana Grande (Kevin Winter/Getty)

Screenwriter Ryan Murphy makes TIME 100

Legendary actress Jessica Lange wrote about gay screenwriter Ryan Murphy. Lange discussed the fond memories of how she came to work with Murphy on American Horror Story. 

“That is one of his great and seductive charms: the wonderful childlike enthusiasm he possesses. His sense of adventure and exploration, a boundless imagination, a brilliant mind and a wicked sense of humor,”

“He is a born storyteller, and, like the best of them, he is constantly pushing the limits. I have often marveled at his uncanny ability at capturing the zeitgeist,” Lange wrote.

Noteworthy queer allies

Lady Gaga also made the 2019 influencer list and Celine Dion wrote about her activism. “Whether it’s her unstoppable support for the LGBTQ community, or her anti-bullying campaigning, Lady Gaga’s voice is being heard where it really counts,” Dion said.

Queer icon Troye Sivan wrote about his friend Ariana Grande. “Her love of her fans and of music guide her every move. But my favorite moments with Ari are the quieter ones. When I, like so many, have been inspired by that resilience, love, care and heart in someone I’m lucky to call my friend,” Sivan said.

Taylor Swift also made the list. Shawn Mendes wrote about Swift and said: “I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until I met and got to know her that I understood how wonderful a person she truly is.”

Sandra Oh, who stars in popular crime series Killing Eve is also listed, as well as singer Khalid who featured on the soundtrack for the gay romantic comedy Love, Simon.

/ /

Russian LGBT Activists Arrested in St.Petersburg Day of Silence Protest

A group of Russian LGBT+ activists have been arrested in St. Petersburg during an annual “Day of Silence” protest for sex and gender equality.

Some 11 people were detained by police on April 17, including Daniel Maksimenko, who spoke to reporters at local news site OVD-Info.

“The police are going to detain everyone who walked with their mouths sealed. I heard what they said,” said Maksimenko.

The activists were walking in the direction of the Church of the Saviour and covered their mouths with red tape when the police began making arrests. According to the organisers around 40-50 people attended the protest.

The “Day of Silence” is a global student-led protest to highlight the silencing of LGBT+ communities across Russia.

A history of anti-LGBT policing in St.Petersburg

In 2013 Russia implemented a “gay propaganda” law which prohibits “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” towards minors. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the law is discriminatory.

Since it was implemented hate crimes against LGBT+ people have doubled in the country.

An activist displays a rainbow flag in front of the Chancellery in Berlin on April 30, 2017, during a demonstration calling on Russian President to put an end to the Chechnya anti-gay purge.
LGBT activists have filed a criminal complaint to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
(John MacDougall/AFP/Getty)

In August 2018 police detained around 30 LGBT+ activists in St Petersburg.  A total of around 60 campaigners assembled in Palace Square after their request for a pride parade was turned down by local authorities.

On November 27, 2018, the European Court of Human rights ruled that Russia’s ban on pride events breaches human rights. The ruling found that “the applicants suffered unjustified discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.”

According to polling in January 2018, 83 percent of Russians think gay people are ‘reprehensible.’ The poll marks a drastic increase from 1998 when some 68 percent found it unacceptable and 2008 when 76 percent found it wrong. 

/ /

Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Prisoners Put in “Alternative Lifestyle” Isolation Tank

A group of gay, bisexual and transgender prisoners who were put in an “Alternative Lifestyle” isolation tank, in some cases for 23 hours a day, have reached a proposed settlement in court.

The group were systematically discriminated against and mistreated for their sexuality and gender identity while incarcerated at a Southern California jail.

Dan McKibben, a former sheriff’s officer, said he identified himself as gay during his processing at the West Valley Detention Center.After entering the jail McKibben says he was immediately sent to the so-called “Alternative Lifestyle Tank,” a two block 16-cell housing section, where he was kept in his cell on average nearly 23 hours a day.

McKibben’s length of time locked up is in contrast to other non-LGBT inmates who are usually allowed out of their cells, according to prior reporting in 2014 by Four Two Nine.

Imprisoned for two months in 2014 on a probation violation, McKibben filed a federal class action in 2014 along with 15 other gay, bisexual and transgender inmates, but died in 2016.

Fellow inmate Lynn Price, who identifies as a transgender woman, was also incarcerated at the West Valley prison and says she too, was put in the tank for all but one or two hours per day.

“It felt so lonely and humiliating back then, seeing everyone else out and allowed to eat together, talk with each other,” Price said, as reported by Courthouse News Service.

A lawsuit filed against the prison said the tank held 600 people between 2012 and 2018, and said enforcement officers called plaintiffs derogatory names and denied them opportunities for jail work, education, drug rehabilitation and religious programmes.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and law firm Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt, representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement Wednesday that they will seek approval of the settlement at a hearing Friday morning before U.S District Judge Jesus G. Bernal.

San Bernardino County, Sheriff John McMahon and Sheriff’s Department personnel Greg Garland, Jeff Rose, James Mahan and Armando Castillo were named defendants in the lawsuit.

As part of the proposed settlement, defendants will pay damages of $950,000 and $1.1 million in attorney’s fees, as reported.

Attorneys for McMahon and other defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Courthouse News Service.

The proposed settlement would also enforce open work and educational programs, mandate staff training and establish a policy of zero tolerance for harassment of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people within the prison.

The terms of the settlement also state that the tank will be renamed the ‘Gay, Biseuxal, Transgender and Intersex Unit’, which will operate as a facility for medical care, privacy protections and housing placements for transgender people.

It will have the mandate that “incarcerated people are to be free from sexual abuse and harassment,” according to the statement.

“Over the past 20-plus years of litigation against jails, it has been our experience that jail culture often undermines recognition of inmates’ humanity,” said attorney David S. McLane of Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt.

“This culture had led to a complete disregard for inmates’ fundamental constitutional right to equal treatment.”

McLane said the county can set the “national example” of how jails can respect people’s identities and value their dignity without compromising safety.

/ /

Russian Teenager Persecuted Under Anti-gay Propaganda Law for ‘Posting Pictures’

A teenager has been found guilty and fined 50,000 rubes (£600) under Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law.

16-year-old Maxim Neverov, was charged with “propaganda of homosexuality among minors”, for publishing pictures on a Russian social network.

The Russian LGBT Network, who provided a lawyer for Neverov, published the story on its website on August 8.

According to the report of the offence, Neverov,who is from the town of Biysk, published “some pictures of young men whose appearance (partly nude body parts) had the characteristics of propaganda of homosexual relations.”

The Russian LGBT Network claimed the teen was not allowed to consult his lawyer when the officer was filing the report.

The group also suggested that Neverov could have been targeted because he took part in a highly public protest called “Gays or Putin,” in May.

The performance was discussed in the Russian federal legislative assembly, known as the Duma.

Neverov had previously submitted 12 applications for permission for the performance, and he was refused a permit. The teen also attempted to organise a local pride parade.

According to the network, in the teenagers case materials there was a document which reported that there was a public outcry over the pride parade.

The LGBT Network’s lawyer, Artem Lapov, has appealed the outcome and said the decision violated the right to freedom of expression.

In addition Lapov said the commission did not prove the fact that the discussed posts in the social networks were posted by Neverov, and he himself refused to testify.

The group is awaiting a decision to be made on the appeal.

Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law was passed in 2013 banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships.”

The country began to crackdown on LGBT+ activism across the country.

In Chechnya, Russia, Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to promptly and effectively investigate the reports of abduction, secret detention, torture and killing of men believed to be gay in the Chechen Republic.

/ /

Number of LGBT Candidates Standing for US Office Breaks Record

A record number of over 400 LGBT+ candidates are standing in elections for public office in the United states, according to the Victory Institute.

The nonprofit group supports leadership campaigns within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Sean Meloy, the political director of the Institute, told Reuters: “It’s a really exciting time… We believe that representation is power and when someone is in the room and helping to make decisions, they will automaticaly bring an LGBTQ perspective.”Amongst the candidates is a Democrat transgender woman, Alexandra Chandler, who is a former military intelligence officer running for Congress in Massachusetts.

The candidate wrote on Twitter that she not only hopes to become the only openly transgender Congressional nominee in 2018, but that she plans to make history for the trans community by being elected.

According to CNBC, there are currently only two LGBT+ women who are federal lawmakers. The first, Tammy Baldwin, was elected to the US House in 1998, becoming Wisconsin’s first female representative, and the nation’s first LGBT+ federal lawmaker.

In 2012, Baldwin won a race for the US Senate, and the second LGBT+ woman Krysten Sinema was elected to represent Arizona’s 9th District in Congress.

But the pair could soon be joined by a plethora of other LGBT+ representatives and senators.

Public policy expert Patrick Egan told Reuters that the figures reflected an increasing tolerance of LGBT people among the US public.

“Gay people have always been involved with electoral politics and many of them ran for office,” said Egan, associate professor of politics and public policy at New York University.

“What we are seeing now is the slow receding in stigma against gay people in that they can not only run for office but run openly as LGBT.”

A previous report released by the Victory Institute this year revealed that of all US elected public officials currently serving 559 were openly LGBT+, which is 0.1 percent.

The majority of the LGBT candidates coming forward are Democrats, and many are standing in November’s midterm elections.

They are running for positions ranging from state governor to local government officials.

/ /

HRW Healthcare Report Reveals Significant Barriers for LGBT People

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has revealed the state of accessing healthcare for LGBT people in the United States.

The research indicates that queer and trans populations encounter significant barriers, including facing discrimination from insurers or providers and long waiting lists for specialist services.

Additionally, the report found that LGBT people have restricted options when facing prejudice as there isn’t federal legislation which prohibits healthcare discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.The majority of the 81 interviewees told HRW that they had little or no access to LGBT-friendly healthcare providers in their area.

The head of one community center in rural Michigan said: “I do not know of any trans-affirming healthcare providers in the area. And I’ve talked to many trans people in the area.”

Some interviewees described driving two hours to attend a support group for gender-expansive youth, and others travelling two hours to attend therapy or meet with a trans-affirming doctor.

A survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 29 percent of transgender people who are able to access transition-related care have to travel more than 25 miles to obtain it.

Other findings revealed some interviewees knew of very few providers in their areas who would prescribe PrEP, a medication that significantly lowers the risk of HIV infection by preventing HIV from taking hold in the body.

A psychologist in Knoxville, Tennessee, explained: “There are only two providers who’ll prescribe it—in a community this large. And the doctor we like, we overload him—we’re like, you have one option, and if you don’t have insurance, you’re pooched, because he’s expensive.”

While in Memphis, Tennessee, a healthcare provider similarly said that, in a city of a million people, the hospital they worked with was aware of three doctors who would handle PrEP referrals.

The report also highlighted struggles for same-sex couples looking for reproductive health providers.

A lesbian woman in Mississippi recalled that, when she and her wife sought a fertility doctor in 2012, they were unable to find options in their area and contacted a clinic in Alabama. When that clinic informed the couple that they only treated heterosexual, married couples, they did not find an LGBT-friendly provider for a year.

The report primarily focused on LGBT people living in Mississippi and Tennessee, two of the states where statewide antidiscrimination protections do not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and where lawmakers have recently enacted exemptions permitting some providers to refuse service to LGBT people because of their religious or moral beliefs.

The full report can be read here.


1 2