Nonbinary people face “clear bias” in the job market according to a new study from Business.com, with employers expressing blatant discrimination when presented with a resume that used they/them pronouns.
“As layoffs sweep through the U.S., our data shows nonbinary individuals may have a difficult time finding new jobs,” the site tweeted.
According to the study, many nonbinary workers feel they must conceal their gender identity. “People have complained about ‘the gay agenda’ to me,” one person in Oregon said. “This is why I am hesitant to openly identify as nonbinary. It jeopardizes my personal safety to be out. I wish it didn’t.”
“I am in the nonbinary closet due to professional reasons,” one 34-year-old said. “I live in Florida, and coming out as nonbinary could cost me future job opportunities.”
Nonbinary people in the South were more likely to fear prejudice in the workplace even after being hired. “I have not experienced difficulty working as a nonbinary person in New York City, but I previously lived in South Carolina where it was more difficult… in South Carolina, I was told I had to stay closeted to succeed,” a 25-year-old professional said.
Researchers also sent two identical resumes out to 180 employers. Both resumes featured a gender-neutral name, but only one indicated they/them pronouns.
“Our experiment revealed that the resume with nonbinary pronouns received less interest from employers and fewer requests for interviews or phone screens,” researchers said.
In the study’s third phase, researchers reached out directly to hiring managers to find out why the resume that included they/them pronouns received less interest. “When we asked what, if anything, the applicants could improve about their resumes, several hiring managers revealed blatant biases and even bigotry against nonbinary job seekers,” researchers wrote.
“This person seems like a decent fit on paper, though I am not interested in the drama that a person who thinks they are a ‘they/them’ brings with them,” a 57-year-old in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry told researchers.
“I immediately balk at the supposed ‘gender neutral’ pronoun of ‘they/them,’” a 32-year-old man in the arts, design, and entertainment industry said. “It doesn’t make sense when used like this and is, at its root, an attack on women.”
“Though it’s not surprising that some people still hold onto biases against nonbinary people, it was surprising that these biases existed in some unexpected places,” the study’s author Ryan McGonnagill told The Advocate. “People of all genders, ages, and regions expressed bias and even flat-out bigotry against our nonbinary job applicant. So did hiring managers in many different industries — even those that are often considered more progressive, such as higher education and entertainment.”
McGonnagill and his fellow researchers asked several experts how employers can make their hiring processes more inclusive for people who identify as nonbinary. Suggestions included diversifying search teams, using inclusive language in job postings, and giving job applicants the opportunity to self-identify during the interview process. Researchers also suggested that employers hire outside consultants or in-house diversity, equity, and inclusion experts to aid in the hiring process.
A Christian campaign planning to air two Super Bowl ads to promote Jesus as a loving and accepting figure is reportedly affiliated with anti-LGBTQ+ causes.
The “He Gets Us” campaign, which is not affiliated with a specific church or denomination, has already been airing ads during NFL playoffs. One of the ads says “Jesus disagreed with loved ones. But didn’t disown them.”
Trying to connect him to the modern age, one ad also says Jesus was “an influencer who became insanely popular” but was then “canceled” because he “stood up for something he believed in.
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The ads are designed in such a way that viewers don’t know they are religious until the end.
“We simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible — the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love,” states the website of the campaign.
And yet, He Gets Us is a subsidiary of the Servant Foundation, which, according toLever, has donated over $50 million to the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.
Alliance Defending Freedom identifies itself as a “legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God’s design for marriage and family.” The Southern Poverty Law Center describes it as a hate group. ADF has joined with like-minded organizations in Europe in support of forced sterilization of transgender individuals and has represented numerous anti-LGBTQ+ plaintiffs in pivotal legal battles for LGBTQ+ rights. The organization has also been a large force behind the anti-abortion movement.
According toChristianity Today, the Super Bowl ads are part of a three-year, one billion-dollar campaign, with $20 million of that going toward its two-game day ads.
And according to Jason Vanderground, President of the branding firm Haven that is working on the campaign, “That is just the first phase.”
Among the donors to the campaign is billionaire David Green, co-founder of Hobby Lobby.
In addition to being called out for its affiliation with the Alliance Defending Freedom, the ads have been criticized by some Christians as well, who say that encouraging people to identify with Jesus is not as important as promoting his divinity.
The World Surf League has announced it is to adopt a new policy on transgender athletes.
The governing body announced it would adopt a policy recommended by the International Surfing Association (ISA) in a Friday (3 February) statement.
Under new guidelines, trans female athletes are required to maintain a testosterone level of less than 5 nmol/L (nanomoles per litre) for at least 12 months in order to compete in the women’s division.
“The WSL is working hard to balance equity and fairness and it’s important for a policy to be in place,” WSL chief of sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said. “We recognise that the policy may need to evolve over time as we get feedback and see new research in the field.”
The ISA first recommended the policy in October 2022 following pressure from various groups due to the ongoing controversy surrounding trans athletic participation.
The international organisation said it based the policy on guidance from its medical commission and vowed to reevaluate recommendations annually.
“The ISA is committed to the fundamental principles of fairness and equality of opportunity, and therefore this policy will be reevaluated annually as more research, information, and feedback becomes available.”
Miley-Dyer explained to The Inertiathat the decision was made unanimously among WSL leadership following a review.
She added that there had been “a lot of conversations with a lot of different stakeholders groups” during deliberation on the matter, adding that WSL officials recognised the ISA “took a very deliberate approach.”
Tests to check for eligibility will not be done by World Surf League, but will be arranged by applicants looking to compete.
Those tests will then be sent to WSL medical officers, who will have a “confidential conversation” to discuss medical requirements.
Several experts and athletes have explained that creating a comprehensive trans policy is often incredibly tricky because there isn’t enough research to suggest whether there are advantages.
Trans male athletic swimmer Schuyler Bailar explained to PinkNews in 2022 that the often hostile debate on trans athletes participating in sports makes it difficult for progress to be made.
“There’s a really big problem with putting out rules right now on trans athletes because we don’t actually have robust research,” he said.
A trans passenger has accused the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of severe mistreatment and is calling on TSA to provide better training to staff.
“One of the worst things about traveling as trans is going through TSA,” said photographer and activist NV Gay in a video posted to Instagram describing their experience.
Gay said they were going through security at the Orlando International Airport when they were flagged by the body scanner.
“Of course, if you’ve got boobs and a bottom part, well it’s gonna flag you, and ya know I’m ready for that, I’m expecting that…The problem is that the TSA continually does not train their employees on how to respectfully pat down and talk to trans people.”
Gay said the person patting them down “continually decided to rub ‘down there’ multiple times all over me and then very loudly put it out there to everyone in the crowd that I was trans with a penis and with boobs and that she had no idea and she didn’t know if she could clear me and that she’d have to get her supervisor to clear me.”
“It’s ridiculous at this point,” Gay lamented. “It’s so easy to just be respectful. Be like ‘hey, you’ve got flagged, I need to check’…Be better TSA.”
In the caption, Gay added that “the most disgusting part was that the TSA officer constantly said that my bottom part was poking her, which was not true at all.”
“Having to go through that was horrible,” they added. “No person should ever be treated this way.”
Gay told LGBTQ Nation that this is far from the only negative experience they have had with TSA and that since posting the video, other trans people have messaged them to share their own “truly horrific experiences.”
“The TSA needs to implement trainings on how to treat all passengers as humans and understand that different people look different and have various body parts,” Gay said.
“They should also have multiple agents present for screenings and make sure that the passenger has given consent. Passengers should also be able to record situations in order to make sure that they are not taken advantage of. This goes for everyone, not just transgender individuals.”
The official account of Orlando International Airport replied to Gay’s Instagram post with an apology for what they experienced and asked them to provide more detailed information about where and when the incident took place so the airport could reach out to the local management team.
This led to a Direct Message conversation between Gay and the airport on Instagram (which Gay shared with LGBTQ Nation), in which the airport representative apologized repeatedly and told Gay to reach back out if they don’t hear back from TSA soon.
On Twitter, TSA replied to Gay’s video that they “appreciate” the “feedback” and “continue to push for technological improvement that will provide effective security w/ out gender identification.”
Gay, who has also filed an official complaint with TSA, then replied that updating technology is a step but that it is far more important to train employees in respectful treatment. “The scan was not the problem. The way the agent treated me was the issue!” Gay emphasized.
In a statement to LGBTQ Nation, TSA stated that it “recognizes the concerns of transgender/non-binary/gender nonconforming passengers with the security screening process, and the agency continues to implement the new algorithm on the Advanced Imaging Technology units to significantly reduce false alarms and improve efficiency for all passengers.”
It continued, “At TSA, we are committed to ensuring every traveler is treated with respect and courtesy. When passengers have complaints about their specific screening experience, we encourage them to contact the TSA Contact Center.”
The FBI has joined the investigation of violent threats against three LGBTQ+ bars in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis, and a fourth threat against a children’s play space in the city that was scheduled to host a drag queen story hour. NBC affiliate KMOV reported the addition of federal law enforcement to the probe.
Saturday afternoon, around 4 pm, at least two gay bars in the Grove entertainment district in the city received calls from an individual threatening violence at the establishments. Three bars in the area, Prism STL, Just John, and Rehab, all received calls threatening violence that night.
“The caller off the bat started talking about how they were the Joker, and they were going to blow up the bar, send bombs and shoot up everybody,” Prism bartender Jordan Cox told the Riverfront Times. Cox said it sounded like at least two other people were on the line with the caller.
Just John bar owner John Arnold said he received a voice mail about the same time.
“It said they were going to come in at 3 o’clock in the morning and shoot the place up,” Arnold says. “And that they were tired of us ‘faggots.’”
The same voicemail mentioned a Just John staffer by name, whom the caller said he liked. “They told us to make sure he wasn’t there,” said Arnold.
KMOV reported the FBI is also investigating threats against a children’s play space in the South City area called Urban Fort. The owner said they’ve received violent threats and have been forced to increase security and change the date, time, and location of a scheduled story time hour featuring a drag performer.
“Apparently, the federal government is involved at this point, as well,” Prism owner Sean Abernathy told the Riverfront Times. He says that around midnight on Saturday, St. Louis police showed up with members of law enforcement who looked like they worked for agencies other than St. Louis police.
Since September, the FBI has been on heightened alert for violence directed at LGBTQ+ plus establishments, groups, and events. A threat assessment distributed in the weeks before the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs in November warned that hate crime perpetrators and violent domestic extremists may increase threats against the LGBTQ+ community “due to their reactions to legislative or socio-political changes related to LGBTQ+ topics, and conspiracy theories involving the LGBTQ+ community.”
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement, “The investigations remain ongoing.”
“It’s frustrating,” Prism owner Abernathy told KMOV, “because we’re just people trying to be ourselves, trying to enjoy our lives. We’re not out to hurt anybody, but it feels like it’s a lot of people out to hurt us.”
Park Cannon was first elected as a Georgia lawmaker in 2016 at only 24 years old.
The youngest elected official in the state legislature, she demonstrated early on that she had an insatiable energy for fighting for equity and standing up for marginalized groups.
In a 2020 interview with LGBTQ Nation, Cannon described herself as an “activist elected official” who will settle for nothing less than sweeping change.
Cannon was instrumental in passing 2019 legislation that created a three-year Georgia pilot program to provide PrEP to those at high risk for HIV. According to Cannon, the program will be expanded this year.
A doula and preschool teacher, Cannon serves on the Board of Directors for the Reproductive Justice organization SisterSong, the lead plaintiff in the 2019 case challenging Georgia’s restrictive law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, although the case ultimately did not stop the law from taking effect.
State Representative for Georgia House District 58, Park Cannon speaks at the March On For Voting Rights at The King Center on August 28, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Derek White/Getty Images.
On her own, Cannon has also spoken out repeatedly for reproductive rights. In 2019, she opened up about her own abortion during a powerful speech on the House floor.
“I stand here today confident in my decision to terminate my pregnancy when I was sexually assaulted in 2010,” she said. “As a member of the LGBTQ community, there are many people who believe they can ‘rape us straight.’ I do not deserve to live in a world or a state where people believe that I should be ashamed because of my sexual orientation.”
In 2021, Cannon became a national name after she was arrested for standing up to S.B. 202,a law that significantly rolled back voting rights for Georgians. The bill increased voter ID requirements for absentee ballots, allowed state officials to take over local elections, limited the use of ballot drop boxes, and even made it a crime to give water to people standing in line to vote.
Cannon, who is Black, was arrested by a white state trooper for knocking on Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) office door as he signed the bill in a closed-door ceremony. Charges against Cannon were ultimately dropped.
“We will not live in fear and we will not be controlled,” she wrote on Twitter after her arrest. “We have a right to our future and right to our freedom. We will come together and continue fighting white supremacy in all its forms.”
Cannon spoke with LGBTQ Nation about the state of the queer movement in 2023 and what must be done to advance equality. The conversation occurred on December 13, 2022, mere minutes after President Biden signed the Respect For Marriage Act, which requires the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage.
LGBTQ NATION: Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act. How are you feeling?
PARK CANNON: This is courage. This is breaking news. The last time I felt this way was when, in the state of Georgia, we passed the anti-hate crime bill [in 2020], and it was decades-long work of queer activists, Black politicos, and faith-based coalitions coming together.
This feels very similar to some of the pro-equality work we’ve done here in Georgia, and it reminds us all that as we head back into the legislative session in January, Georgia will need to add some additional state-based protections.
US President Joe Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Law of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 13, 2022. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images.
LGBTQ NATION: As the President prepares to address the nation for the State of the Union address, what do you see as the most vexing problems currently facing the queer equality movement?
PC: It’s difficult to break down into less than a handful, but I’ll go with two categories.
The first category is health — understanding breast cancer in a lesbian relationship, understanding uterine fibroids, or a trans person trying to have a successful pregnancy, and understanding hormones and affirmation surgeries for youth. In Georgia, these are all areas that need more support.
The other category, of course, is basic protections, equal rights protections. So, the ability to own a home with someone who you love who is of the same gender; the ability to purchase life insurance for someone for whom you’ve cared for multiple years; the ability to not be discriminated against and fired because of your identities, whether those are identities that relate to your sexual orientation or your gender identity or gender presentation.
It’s imperative that the newly elected members around the United States listen to their constituents about amending [policies] that do not support healthy families or healthy lives.
LGBTQ NATION: What is the next big rights issue Congress should focus on? What else can legislators accomplish if they give it the same attention they did the Respect for Marriage Act?
PC: The economy affects everyone, and so we need to [ensure that we] don’t isolate LGBTQ families from the safety net and support systems that are coming.
I know that there has been some … money that came out of the American Rescue Plan for schools. I know Georgia will be having a series of dialogues … and they’re actually granting money to school systems to focus on safety.
I am hopeful that that doesn’t necessarily mean more police and stricter dress codes and intensity around bathrooms. I’m hoping that safety includes mental health professionals at schools.
Participants march in the 2022 Long Beach Pride Parade on July 10, 2022, in Long Beach, California. Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images.
LGBTQ NATION: What does it mean to you in 2023 to fight for queer rights? How do we best do that?
PK: It’s about coalitional understanding.
I remember when the White House reached out to one of the nonprofits that I serve on the board of, SisterSong, to ask, what is reproductive justice? For southern queer activists, who have been on the front lines without financial support and without political titles, that phone call was the door opening towards justice.
So we, as members of the queer community, are looking for more doors to open.
LGBTQ NATION: What do you mean by coalitional understanding? What action items do lawmakers need to take to reach it?
PK: The Georgia House of Representatives has never had an LGBTQ caucus.
Under the previous [Republican] speakership, we were not granted a caucus because we were told it would be divisive. Now there’s a new speaker [Republican Jon Burns], so it’s kind of like a new day.
I have requested a meeting with the speaker to ask if we would be able to create a rainbow caucus. Members of the LGBTQ community who are elected could enlist other allies who are in the house to look at measures that affect the community but are not always LGBTQ-specific.
“We, as members of the queer community, are looking for more doors to open.”Park Cannon
As much as HIV impacts same-gender loving people, so are Caucasian women, according to our Department of Public Health’s most recent pilot program that it just completed. The pilot program just finished its third year and is now actually going to be expanded. We found out the Department of Public Health is asking for more money.
There are opportunities to work on public health and public safety with an LGBTQ caucus, even if you’re not LGBTQ.
Secondly, there is an understanding that LGBTQ children have been a hot topic, and I really think that there’s misunderstanding and a lack of empathy that needs to be addressed through education committees.
Phoenix May, left, 15, mother Danielle May, and brother Hunter Ray, 12, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2021. Phoenix identifies as transgender and helped launch the Equality Crew, which provides resources and hosts events for queer kids throughout northwest Arkansas. Photo by Lauren Rae.
I’m hopeful that there will be some leadership from the federal government that helps State Departments of Education to really look at the social-emotional learning outcomes and needs of transgender children and their families so that the policymakers who are making decisions on sports or on bathrooms get a better understanding of the emotional impact of these policies. Because most of them do have a soft spot for children, and it’s just very unfair to trans children and queer children that they’re not afforded those same [considerations].
Lastly, as far as the coalitional building conversations, there are numerous nonprofits that have boards of directors that do not include LGBTQ people, and I really think it would be great if we saw larger corporations, larger nonprofits, have clear our leadership in the forefront as they move into 2023.
LGBTQ NATION:This year’s anti-trans bills focus heavily on medical bans targeting both trans kids and adults. As these bills keep coming, do we need a new strategy to fight them?
PK: It definitely goes back to empathy and understanding that bias around sexual orientation and gender identity is harmful.
We recently passed an anti-hate crime bill in Georgia, but other states still don’t have one, and federally, LGBTQ families have to become more comfortable reporting these instances as issues of bias and hate. Not everyone is economically ready or emotionally ready to file a lawsuit about a traumatizing medical experience that they’ve had, but I do think that the legal routes that we need to take are going to increase and they should talk more about these as issues of bias and hate.
LGBTQ NATION: Across the country, the 2022 midterms were accompanied by an extreme rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, yet at the same time, we saw a record number of queer candidates win their elections. What do you make of these two things happening at the same time?
PK: There’s a powerful synergy in being rejected, and I believe that there were so many constituents in Georgia who, due to what they felt were antiquated voting laws, oppressive reproductive health sanctions, and a lack of economic opportunity really became self-mobilized in a way that I’ve not seen before.
When we were calling voters to remind them about election day and texting them to give them their precinct information, overwhelmingly, we received responses that people were on it. Interestingly, I believe that some of the GOP’s reliance on personal responsibility actually benefited marginalized people to meet that expectation of personal responsibility with twofold action.
[Personal responsibility is the idea that we are all responsible for our actions and was a core GOP message for decades, though many say today’s GOP has completely lost sight of it.]
These are the most diverse staff, team members, volunteers I’ve ever seen on elections in Georgia. These were the most bubbly types of events that I’ve ever seen.
“It’s not just about representation; it’s about the legislation that can come from an intergenerational and intersectional perspective.”Park Cannon
LGBTQ NATION:You’ve been a tireless advocate for reproductive justice. What will the next few years look like in a post-Roe world?
PK: I am really proud that last year, I got over 49 legislators to sign a resolution expressing their support for Roe v. Wade on the 49th anniversary, and it was written in a somber tone because we were concerned that it would be the last time being able to celebrate that as people in the South who support people who have had abortions or who need to access abortion.
But at the end of the day, it’s about employment, as well. Many people have built their careers around being abortion doulas, being nurse practitioners who are non-judgmental, by studying the science of the latest techniques and opportunities for reproductive technology. So I care deeply about ensuring that the workforce of reproductive justice advocates can find places of employment that are gainful, dignified, and respectful.
Cannon says that she cares “deeply about ensuring that the workforce of reproductive justice advocates can find places of employment that are gainful, dignified, and respectful.”
LGBTQ NATION: Since you were first elected in 2016, do you feel like the conversations you’re having about rights have changed?
PK: I remember when I ran in 2016 and made it clear that I would run openly queer, specifically. I was met with disbelief. I was met with concern, people saying, “Why can’t you just say you’re a lesbian? How are you going to express that in the Bible Belt?”
I had to remind people that authenticity on the election trail can secure trust, confidence and votes. So to now see that the Georgia House of Representatives has a queer representative, has a lesbian, has a gay man – the first gay Asian man we’ve ever had, and now we have two – to see that the Georgia Senate has an openly queer female pastor, that we recently elected another lesbian, a Black lesbian to the house, it’s magical.
It feels like the rainbow wave that I’ve wished for and that I’m also a part of. And I’m really proud that organizations who otherwise could have been edged out over the years for their stances and their supporters are now at the White House in positions of leadership and bringing the issues that matter to us along. It’s not just about representation; it’s about the legislation that can come from an intergenerational and intersectional perspective.
LGBTQ NATION:How do we deal with the relentless right-wing rhetoric leading to book bans, attacks on drag shows, and attacks on trans youth?
PK: The truth is that growing into a positive self-identity can be complicated, but it can also be really fun. I know the feeling of coming out in the South and expecting that there would be hate. And there was, but there was also a lot of fun and exploration and resistance that teaches people more than they could ever imagine.
So I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to look at LGBTQ culture as groundbreaking and inclusive and not look at it as anything but that.
As anti-trans activists and right-wing politicians in the U.S., along with so-called “gender critical feminists” in the U.K., continue to stigmatize gender-affirming healthcare, trans men who have undergone phalloplasty are sharing their stories.
PinkNews reports that a recent post from an anti-trans Twitter user seems to have sparked a wave of trans men posting about how the surgical procedure, which uses a skin graft to construct (or reconstruct in the case of cis men who have sustained serious injuries) a penis, has had a positive impact on their lives.
In late January, a Twitter user who goes by “terftastic” posted photos of what appear to be scars resulting from a recent phalloplasty skin graft. “Is this liberation?” the user wrote, implying that the scars were unsightly and unnecessary.
Many commenters saw the tweet for what it was: an attempt at fearmongering around gender-affirming surgeries and at othering trans bodies. It’s unclear where the photos originated.
“Trans healthcare is already stigmatized, and scaremongering around phalloplasty only makes this worse,” a spokesperson for U.K.-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Gendered Intelligence said. “There is a great deal of misinformation and anxiety around trans health care that is irresponsibly fueled by these kinds of bad faith actors. Phalloplasty is a safe practice before which patients are extensively consulted to ensure they are aware of risks involved, including scarring from graft sites.”
“I see that terfs are scaremongering about phalloplasty again, so here’s my graft site,” Colby Gordon, an assistant professor of literature at Bryn Mawr College, tweeted a few days after the terftastic post, along with a photo of his own scars. “I love my trans body—all of it. And I love your trans bodies, too.”
Other trans men followed suit, posting photos of their own skin graft scars.
“Sharing my graft (partially tattooed now) too because i love my trans body, and the euphoria and connection i feel to my body that once felt like a cage has been life changing,” wrote user Felix, an artist. “Trans bodies are beautiful.”
“The increase in self-confidence and love has been more than I dreamed. I am still amazed at how it feels sometimes,” Felix told PinkNews following his tweet. “I’m able to feel more safe in situations I didn’t before, like locker rooms at the gym. I don’t hate my scars, they each tell a story of a time in my life I made it through a hardship.”
The 25-year-old artist admitted he was nervous ahead of his phalloplasty. “Who wouldn’t be? Fortunately, I had a big support system at home who had put time aside to help me recover,” he explained. “I had also done a lot of research on the surgical team and listened to the experience of other trans people who went to the same surgeon, so I knew I was in good hands.”
“I did have a few small complications,” Felix continued. “I had some places that healed slower than others [and] some that healed with hypertrophic scarring.” But, he says, “If you were to ask anyone in my life if transitioning helped me, it would be a resounding ‘yes’. Transitioning saved my life, sincerely, and it makes me so sad that so many people aren’t able to receive the care they need.”
“My life has been changed beyond all recognition, for the better,” YouTuber and author Finlay Games said of the procedure. Games created a series of videos documenting his recovery after having phalloplasty in 2015. “I wanted a body part I deeply felt was missing and in the process of that part being created, I’ve discovered myself and so much more.”
A gay man is suing Canada’s federal government, alleging that its restrictions on gay and bisexual male sperm donation are unconstitutional.
The man, identified only in the press as Aziz M., is suing Health Canada, the country’s national health department. He says the current policy is unconstitutional and renders him and other MSM as “second-class citizen[s].”
Health Canada’s current policies prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating to a sperm bank unless they’ve abstained from sex for three months or are donating sperm to someone they personally know, CTV News reported. The policy refers to sperm from MSM donors who don’t meet these criteria as “unsuitable,” even though all donors are screened before and after donation to ensure that they don’t have sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“Why I decided to take this to court is because of that feeling of discrimination,” he said. “[It’s] like you’re undesirable because of your gayness as a donor… It feels like such an arbitrary rule.” His case is financially supported by Canada’s Court Challenges Program, an independent group that supports cases of national importance involving individual constitutional rights.
The aforementioned publication notes that the policy stops any sexually active MSM from donating, “even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.”
Aziz M’s lawsuit says the policy “perpetuates stereotypical attitudes and prejudices against gay and bisexual men, including false assumptions about their health, their sexual practices, and their worthiness to participate in child conception.”
Aziz M. said he donated sperm in the city of Toronto in 2014 and 2015 without any problems (resulting in the birth of a child whose life he’s now involved with). His claim is surprising considering that, before February 2020, Health Canada’s policies required a lifetime ban on MSM over concerns about possible HIV transmission.
Aziz M. said he felt embarrassed after telling other MSM to donate sperm, only to later learn that they were rejected for their sexual behavior.
The man’s lawyer, Gregory Ko, said, “It is not uncommon for a lot of gay and lesbian couples to rely on sperm donors within the community, and this directive explicitly puts a barrier, in addition to all the other barriers that exist for queer families, in having children.”
Ko said that, since sperm donations are handled through a government department — unlike blood donations, which are handled through a third-party non-governmental agency — that the federal health minister can easily change Health Canada’s donation policies.
Canadian Member of Parliament, Randall Garrison of the New Democratic Party, told CTV, “There’s never been any science behind the ban on gay men donating sperm, none whatsoever … People tell me they’re working on it, but they’ve been telling me they’ve been working on this for over five years.”
“It’s just disappointing at this day and age that the government doesn’t recognize their need to act,” he added.
However, Dr. Sony Sierra, President of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, said that the policy remains in place to help prevent the “very small” risk of STI transmission that could occur with sperm donations from MSM.
“[The policy] can be taken as stigmatizing,” Sierra said. “It is, but we have to also understand that our concern also involves the intended recipient, and therefore that intended recipient needs to be cared for and counseled regarding all risk. And that’s our intention in practicing in accordance with these guidelines,” Sierra said.
Sierra said that he hopes future guidelines will “become even more inclusive” as improved science helps determine actual and not theoretical risks.
“We sincerely believe that the courts will agree that this is a clear breach of the right to equality and is an indefensible based on the state of the science,” Ko said.
On Monday, activists gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol building in Oklahoma City to protest two bills that would dramatically restrict access to gender-affirming care in the state.
Around 150 protesters gathered outside the Capitol, according to OU Daily, before entering the building, chanting “trans lives matter” and holding signs that read “Save Trans Lives” and “Stop Healthcare Bans on Trans.”
The protest took place the same day as the start of the legislative session and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s (R-OK) State of the State address. At issue were two bills introduced by Republican state senators: Senate Bill 129 would ban gender-affirming care for Oklahomans under 26, and Senate Bill 252 would restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors.
One protester who identified herself as Laine told OU Daily she wanted lawmakers to base legislation on interactions with actual trans people rather than anti-trans misinformation. “It would really help if these people got to know us, and weren’t just living off of these unfounded claims,” she said.
“Working to ban HRT and other trans healthcare is active genocide. People will not survive to 26 to get that,” Benjamin Patterson, a trans man, said of S.B. 129. “For a lot of us, it is one of the only things that can help us feel at home in our body.”
The Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health survey found that 22 percent of young trans men, 12 percent of young trans women, and 19 percent of nonbinary youth attempted suicide in the past year. Meanwhile, a recent study from The New England Journal of Medicine pointed to growing evidence that access to gender-affirming hormone therapy improves the mental health of transgender youth.
State Rep. Mauree Turner (D), Oklahoma’s only out trans legislator, spoke to demonstrators in the Capitol. “I live and I work in a body where I could come to work on a Monday morning and get a death threat just for showing up as Black, trans, Muslim and gender diverse in Oklahoma,” said Turner. “That is the reality, right? That’s the reality that so many of the people in the rotunda face.”
During his address on Monday, Stitts encouraged the state’s lawmakers to pass S.B 252. “We shouldn’t let a minor get a permanent gender altering surgery in Oklahoma,” he said. “That’s why I’m calling for the legislature to send me a bill that bans all gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors in the state of Oklahoma.” Stitts had previously called for such a ban last October and signed into law a bill that bans the Children’s Hospital at Oklahoma University Hospital from using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for gender-affirming care for minors.
Following reports of Monday’s protest, which was peaceful and took place without incident or police involvement, some on right-wing social media began comparing it to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Trans Lives Matter stormed and occupied the Oklahoma capital today,” tweeted alt-right activist Jack Posobiec, along with video captured by KFOR reporter Nick Camper.
“Oklahoma came under attack today by a group of insurrectionists,” anti-trans activist Chaya Raichik tweeted via her Libs of TikTok account. “I’m sure the FBI is already on it and will use every available resource to identify all these domestic terrorists.”
But as Newsweek notes, protesters at the Oklahoma Capitol gathered peacefully, did not clash with police, and reportedly caused no damage.
“No glass was broken, no bear spray deployed, no police injured or killed, they didn’t bring zip ties or a noose,” one user commented. “They came and clapped. Learn the difference.”
“No beatings of police officers with American flags. No bear spray. No broken windows,” another tweeted in response to Posobiec. “I think stormed is not the appropriate adjective. They likely walked in peacefully into a public building and petitioned their govt for a redress of their grievances.”
“It was quite peaceful,” another user tweeted. “No one built a scaffold or demanded that certain leaders be brought out for hanging. No one broke windows. No one chased anyone. Boring basic citizen redress just as the constitution intended.”
“They are not trying to overturn an election, they are not armed, they are not breaking stuff, attacking and killing police officers,” This is not an insurrection. It’s freedom of assembly.”
Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
LGBTQ+ activists have staged a defiant protest in Afghanistan to draw attention to the United States’ failure to offer protection from the Taliban.
At a private residence on Wednesday (1 February) in the country’s capital Kabul, around a dozen Afghan people from the Behesht Collective, an LGBTQ+ group, congregated to show the world that their lives are still in jeopardy.
Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, reports have circulated of LGBTQ+ people being beaten, raped and even murdered in Afghanistan.
It’s a dire situation, but finding a route to safety isn’t always easy – numerous western governments have introduced policies making it harder for people to claim asylum in recent years, meaning many can’t access the support they need.
While countries like Canada have offered specific schemes for LGBTQ+ Afghans, others have yet to recognise the danger queer people face under Taliban rule.
Qadam, one of the LGBTQ+ people who took part in Wednesday’s protest, is now calling on the world to sit up and pay attention to what is happening to the country’s queer community.
Activists staged their protest in a private residence. (Supplied)
“This is a regime that doesn’t believe in LGBTQ+ rights, human rights and the rights of women,” Qadam, who previously worked in a senior state security role before the Taliban takeover, tells PinkNews.
“We decided to stage this protest because the USA and western countries left us alone here.”
LGBTQ+ people living in hiding in Afghanistan
Immediately after the protest in Kabul, Qadam and others involved fled to a neighbouring country to protect themselves from the Taliban – but there’s still a long path to safety.
The country they’re now residing in is a Muslim country where same-sex sexual relations are criminalised – but as Qadam says, it’s still better than Afghanistan.
“In Afghanistan, if they know that you are LGBT they punish you, they beat you, they arrest you. They even kill LGBT people… You are hiding everywhere.”
As the Taliban continues to wage war on LGBTQ+ Afghans, Qadam is pleading with governments in western countries to help them – to give them the chance to live their lives free from the threat of violence or persecution.
Members of the Behesht Collective, an LGBTQ+ group, holding up posters at a protest in a private residence. (Supplied)
“My last message is that the world, the USA and western countries should help LGBT Afghans to flee because they are in a very bad situation here.”
Nemat Sadat, a gay Afghan who’s working to evacuate LGBTQ+ Afghans, says Wednesday’s private protest is signifiant because it took place “under the noses of the Taliban”.
“They are speaking for themselves and the hundreds of thousands of LGBTQI+ Afghans who have no future under Taliban-rule in Afghanistan,” Sadat tells PinkNews.
Like many LGBTQ+ Afghans, Sadat has been left disappointed by the response from the United States. He says the government hasn’t done enough to protect vulnerable people put in harm’s way by the Taliban takeover.
“The facts are as clear as day: the US did nothing for LGBTQI+ Afghans during the 20 years of US occupation in Afghanistan and continues to turn a blind eye to the savagery committed by the Taliban.
“Unless the US reverses course and proactively works with the Behesht Collective and Roshaniya, we will witness the total annihilation of the LGBTQI+ community in Afghanistan.”
