Comments on: The LGBTQIA+ News Post, July 25, 2025: The Battle Goes On

The LGBTQIA+ News Post, July 25, 2025: The Battle Goes On

mephron — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:10:16 -0800

Welcome to the LGBTQIA+ News Post for July 25. The way the word is lately, it's like we're going off the rails on a crazy train.

(All sarcastic commentary is my own, so blame me for it.) The Bad News Andry Hernández Romero, falsely imprisoned at CECOT in El Salvador and now released has spoken about his time there, including discussions of horrific sexual and physical abuse. Romero, a gay makeup artist residing legally at the time in San Diego who entered the US through the US/Mexico border was decided that due to his tattoos - that read "Mom and Dad", he was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, and he was transported to CECOT. Florida AG James Uthmeier has been harrassing a wine bar in Vero Beach, the Kilted Mermaid, for having an event called the Pride Tea Dance, which had drag performers. The law he's using has been declared unenforcable by a Florida court. He's still doing it, because I guess he figures one of them might get missed and he can claim victory? I don't know, I try not to understand what happens in hazy voids. As long as we're visiting Florida (probably in disguise, at least for me), Groveland City Council member Judith Fike has been reinstated to her position on the council after social media messages publically mocking victims of the PULSE shooting. The linked story has the post in it; I will not repeat it here because I have a working sense of empathy. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has now banned trans women from all women's sports for competition. I hope they like the taste of old mushroom and cheap leather. And Texas Attorney General Ken "I Got 99 Problems But Impeachment Still Ain't One" Paxton is suing U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), alleging in a statement that the organization has supposedly "cowered to radical activists pushing gender warfare, and it has deprived female participants of the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels." The suit does not accuse the group of violating any laws surround trans participation in athletics, but rather of violating consumer protection laws. Oklahoma Education Superintendent and right wing failure to cogitate Ryan Walters is now preparing to create and introduce an ideology purity test to determine how "woke" teachers are. He did not indicate that he was doing it to make sure we were "one folk, one nation, one leader", but we all know how these things go. In a warehouse in Belgium sits $10 million in birth control supplies that the US Government will not be sending out to places where women cannot afford or access it. Due to Elon Musk's mindless crusade against the US Government called 'DOGE', there is no longer an agency to distribute it, as that was handled by USAID, dismantled by said zealots because this administration sought to prevent funding for "sexual reproductive health and reproductive rights" and "gender equality.". Therefore, the Regime is sending the warehouse's contents to France for incineration. No, it makes no sense to me either. As a horrific sidenote to that, the only part of USAID that was not destroyed completely was the PEPFAR program - it was restored at practically the past possible minute. Well, now Marco Rubio has been given the responsibility to slash its budget and lower its effectiveness, removing the aid it gives and turning what's left into a monitoring program for other diseases like ebola. The Kaiser Permanente medical group has announced that they are ending all gender-affirming surgeries for all people under 19. They will continue other forms of gender-affirming treatment. It is not confirmed if their definition is only for trans youth, or if it includes surgeries for gynocomastia and breast enhancements. (Out of 151 breast reductions performed on American minors in 2019, 146 (97 percent) were performed on cisgender males.) American painter Amy Sherald has cancelled an upcoming show at the Smithsonian after accusing the institution of censoring a painting of a trans model dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Because I'm sure someone will bring it up if I don't: A recent Gallup poll indicates that 40 per cent of respondents believe gender transitioning is 'morally acceptable', while 54 per cent believe it is 'morally wrong 'and five per cent have no opinion or believe it isn't a morality issue. When you go into the breakdowns, however, we see that of the people surveyed, 71 per cent of Democrat voters say that gender transition is morally acceptable, while just 9 per cent of Republicans agree – a 62 per cent difference. It also indicates that the decision seems to be aimed at gender confirmation transitions for youth over adults. And an study in the UK finds trans and non-binary people are facing severe 'hurdles' in accessing healthcare.

The report, published by Healthwatch on Friday (25 July), found less than a third of trans and non-binary people (32 per cent) rated the gender-affirming care from their GP as good or very good, with respondents also reporting a number of issues relating to formally changing their gender on their GP record. The study revealed nearly a third (28 per cent) of respondents who had changed their gender marker said they had lost access to their previous NHS record. In addition, 16 per cent of respondents had experienced disruptions to their prescriptions, while 18 per cent had been misgendered in NHS written communications.

This follows a report in March that UK General Practitioners are retreating from care to their transgender patients, claiming "lack of expertise" and "lack of support." Apparently "lack of moral fortitude" is not something they are willing to admit to. The Good News In Texas, a group of women led by former Texas State Rep. Wendy Davis - who, when she was in the Texas House, led a filibuster for abortion rights - led a protest against Texas Bill 32, which will ban transgender women from using bathroom facilities aligned with their gender presentation in government buildings, public schools, domestic violence shelters, and prisons, and defines "biological sex" through chromosomes, anatomy, and the designation on a person's unamended birth certificate. And if it wasn't bad enough, the bill also authorizes civil penalties up to $25,000 (inviting lawsuits) and attempting to block Texas courts from even hearing constitutional challenges. There were a lot of great lines delivered about why the bill is stupid, and I encourage you to read the article to see what got said. Vive le France! French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron, are suing Candace Owens for defamation, claiming "she orchestrated a "campaign of global humiliation" by falsely claiming Brigitte, 72, is a transgender woman and that the French president, 47, is part of a CIA mind control experiment." Candace has doubled down on her rhetoric. Over in Spain, the first out trans senator there, Carla Antonelli, cheerfully defied the proposed UK bathroom ban, heading into a lavatory at Gatwick getting off a flight. A brave woman - I've heard stories about the Gatwick lavatories. And in Hong Kong, Judge Russell Coleman struck down two provisions in law that it criminal for people to use lavatories aligned with their gender identity. The ruling has been suspended for twelve months to allow the government to "consider whether it wishes to implement a way to deal with the contravention". This occurs after a change in Hong Kong policy in April that allows gender self-identification on ID without gender confirmation genital, or "bottom", surgery. The Cinnamon Roll Report Ever have a "I never thought I'd write this, but..." moment that didn't involve a fake letter to Penthouse? (You may need to ask your parents.) Well, here's a sequence of words I never thought I would write in a section like this one: The late John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is being remembered for his support of the queer community by artists like Yungblud, Elton John, and Billy Ray Armstrong of Green Day. and Pedro Pascal (you knew he was coming eventually!) had two escorts for the Fantastic Four: First Steps premiere, and it was a family affair: his sisters, Javiera Balmaceda and Lux Pascal. Missing was their brother, Nicolás Balmaceda Pascal, so we didn't have the Fantasic Four Pascal Siblings. Be well, friends. If you have news I missed or personal triumphs, bring them here! Let us know your joys. Crazy, but that's how it goes Millions of people living as foes Maybe it's not too late To learn how to love and forget how to hate

By: kristi

kristi — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:35:14 -0800

Thank you for this post, mephron, for the time and care you take in putting it together. I was especially glad to read about Wendy Davis and all the outstanding women who spoke out at that protest - State Sen. Molly Cook especially. Thank you for this, mephron. Here's my recurring and eternal hope for a time when there's all good news, all the time.

By: kokaku

kokaku — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:38:42 -0800

Amy Sherald is awesome for telling the Smithsonian where they can go. I saw her show at the Whitney in NYC and that painting is absolutely glorious (the entire show was full of glorious works).

By: kokaku

kokaku — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:42:03 -0800

Also, in the Bad News side. Yale Health is also apparently withdrawing gender-affirming healthcare for 19 and under.

By: kyrademon

kyrademon — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:48:23 -0800

> "personal triumphs..." Well... my very queer book This Princess Kills Monsters came out recently. It even got a blurb from Ryka Aoki (Light From Uncommon Stars)! (This Princess Kills Monsters a retelling of a very weird Grimm Brothers fairy tale in which twelve identical duplicate women disguised as men face off against a gender-essentialist lion. I took the most minor character in the story, told it from her point of view, and made it queer as all heck.)

By: The Ardship of Cambry

The Ardship of Cambry — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:53:24 -0800

Bad news that Andrey and so many others got sent to CECOT and suffered the horrific abuse that they did. Good news that Andrey, at least, is free now, and God willing Rainbow Railroad or a similar group can help him find safety. Congrats on the book, kyrademon!

By: jenfullmoon

jenfullmoon — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:14:16 -0800

I want to give mephron a hug every week after reading these.

By: mephron

mephron — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:23:46 -0800

A quick follow-up to the USOPC story from Erin In The Morning: Team USA Olympics Trans Ban May Violate Federal Law. It appears that following the executive order puts them in violation of the Ted Stevens Act:

The Ted Stevens Act was passed in 1978 to prevent national governing sports bodies from enacting eligibility criteria "that are more restrictive than those of the appropriate international sports federation."

As noted in the article, this along with the USA Fencing decision to fold to what the USOPC did, also can be used against intersex people - who may not even know about their intersex status - or just used to challenge women who someone feels is insufficiently feminine, too particularly athletic, or just to be an asshole. The prospects for the Olympics is looking darker and darker. And stupider.

By: mephron

mephron — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:26:04 -0800

Kyrademon: that's JUST the kind of thing I mean! I am so happy for you, and I hope your book does amazingly. kristi and jenfullmoon: thank you. I'm just trying to make sure that in this weird, stupid world we're forced to live in, they can be seen. I appreciate the good wishes.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:45:35 -0800

The prospects for the Olympics is looking darker and darker. I think you mean whiter and whiter.

By: i used to be someone else

i used to be someone else — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:44:10 -0800

Over on Twitter it seems like the blue checks are trying to spin Pedro Pascal as some kind of predator because he hasn't been the most complimentary to jkr

By: The corpse in the library

The corpse in the library — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 17:05:03 -0800

Re the Olympics: I've seen a few people on-line saying that there are only a few American trans athletes, that none competed the last time around, etc. But that's not the point. Olympic athletes start competing as children and these new stupid rules are going to exclude trans girls. USA Archery has already told trans women that they can't compete in the women's division because of this decision. This isn't just for women who are going to the Olympics -- one archer I know has been told she's out even though she doesn't even compete with a bow style that's eligible for the Olympics. USA Fencing was also gleefully fast to let trans women know the bad news. So please, don't think "well, that's too bad for that rare trans woman who expected to compete at the Olympics in 2026." It's an attack on casual-but-serious athletes at all levels.

By: Flight Hardware, do not touch

Flight Hardware, do not touch — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 23:19:18 -0800

146 (97 percent) were performed on cisgender males.) Given the statistical prevalence of trans people, and the average years of persistent gender dysphoria before transition (27 years for trans women), odds are fairly good that at least one was a woman, who will likely regret her surgery.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 13:11:52 -0800

[Added to USpolitics sidebar ]

By: Seven Deadly Gins

Seven Deadly Gins — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:44:48 -0800

Kyra: Congrats! By strange coincidence, I was checking out a new indie bookstore the other day, and bought your book entirely based on the cover and Ryka Aoki's recommendation. I loved it! Just the lighthearted tone I needed this month, thank you so much.