BROADview in Brief

Punching down

Several times a week, I go to an exercise class, which the teacher starts with a “Would you rather” icebreaker. Eat out or make a meal at home? Pool or mountain lake? Winter Olympics or summer?

I’m terrible at answering because I want to modify. Is it a saltwater pool? How cold is the lake? Am I making the meal in my own kitchen or a really nice one?

Do the Olympics have males competing in women’s sports or not?

Yes, I am that annoying person who refuses to submit to these binary choices. Nobody ever asks Republican or Democrat—it’s a given in this zip code what party you belong to. I’ve met a lot of really lovely Republicans in the past few years of waking up (de-woking?), but I can’t imagine I’ll ever be one. What I wanted was to modify the Democrats, to move them from the edge of the political cliff where they now stand. I wanted to be excited about a candidate because of his or her policies or vision, not because of identity categories. I wanted to make moderation our North Star, and stop catering to the radical fringe.

Oh well. I’m not going to get what I want. Choices are, largely, binary.

And here are ours:

Trump’s performance at the black journalism event may have been cringey and strange, but there’s something to be said for consistency; he was the same old Trump. Harris comes off as a shapeshifter: tough cop in San Francisco one minute, sending men who identify as women to women’s prisons the next. There are many, many issues to consider beyond gender, of course. But Alejandra Q has gathered some intel about where Harris stands on that—or where she has stood. Who knows, going forward, where she’ll land?

The truth is, we can’t tell what anybody thinks just because of how they look or what identity they belong to. For a prime example, see my husband’s thorough investigation of Kitties for Kamala:

Headlines by our beloved Alejandra Q:

US

Elections

Jul 30: Kamala Harris Once Pledged To Keep Transgender Criminals Out Of Prison As President—Archived Harris campaign website says border security policies endanger the lives of 'transgender women' (Daily Wire)

Aug 1: ‘Bonkers town’: Kamala Harris’ policy on transgender surgeries for prisoners (Sky News Australia)

Jul 29: Kamala Harris expected to expand Biden’s child gender transition agenda if elected (The Washington Examiner)

July 29: Kamala Harris’ Surprising Record on Trans Rights—Some leftists don’t see the vice president as one of them. But she’s been very progressive on this issue for 20 years. (Slate)

Jul 27: 5 Excerpts From JD Vance’s Emails to a Transgender Classmate—A former Yale Law School classmate shared with The Times about 90 emails and text messages with Mr. Vance. Here are some of the most revealing moments in their correspondence. (The New York Times)

Title IX

Jul 26: Red states press justices to block Biden’s transgender school policy (The Washington Times)

Jul 30: Biden’s efforts to assist transgender students are unraveling—Pending lawsuits and vague guidance have muddied the administration’s efforts to protect transgender and pregnant students.(Politico)

Aug 1: Biden rules protecting trans students take effect - but not everywhere—Federal Title IX regulation bars discrimination on the basis of gender identity in schools, but it has been blocked by courts in 26 states. (The Washington Post)

Jul 30: New rule protecting transgender students is on hold at these NC schools. Here’s why “More than 200 North Carolina public schools are exempt from a new federal rule meant to expand discrimination protections for transgender students. (The News & Observer) 

Other US Headlines

Jul 30: Mother of transgender athlete will keep job with Broward school district: ‘I fought back’—School board votes to suspend, rather than fire, Jessica Norton (Local10)

Jul 28: Nebraska Supreme Court upholds gender affirming care ban & abortion restrictions—The Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of the restrictions. (LGBTQ Nation)

Aug 1: BOMBSHELL FDA Email Turns Transgender ‘Health Care’ Narrative on Its Head “A team leader at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended approving ‘puberty blockers’ for teens who identify as transgender even while noting that a recent study showed these drugs are associated with an ‘increased risk in depression and suicidality.’…The conservative nonprofit America First Legal obtained the email in the discovery process of a lawsuit and made it available to The Daily Signal. ‘Our review focused on suicidal ideation/depression, seizures, and bone health,’ Sullivan wrote in the email. Although most of the minors in the study suffered from central precocious puberty (in which puberty starts too early), ‘a handful were transgender kids using the drugs off-label.’ ‘We found no effect on bone (after factoring in catch-up growth), including no increase in fracture risk,’ she noted. ‘We did find increased risk of depression and suicidality, as well as increased seizure risk and we issued [safety-related labeling changes]. ’Yet Sullivan went on to recommend approving GnRH agonists for minors.” (The Daily Signal)

Jul 26: Washington DC family lose custody of their autistic son, 16, after refusing to let him transition to a girl (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: Seventeen States Side With Teacher Fired for Refusing to Follow School’s Transgender Pronoun Policy “An Indiana music teacher fired for refusing to follow his school’s transgender pronoun policy has gained the support of 17 states in his long battle against the school.” (Legal Insurrection)

Jul 30: Judge says Missouri lawmaker immune from subpoena in challenge of transgender care ban—State Sen. Mike Moon will not have to defend a law he sponsored that places restrictions on gender-affirming care in the lawsuit seeking to stop its enforcement (Missouri Independent)

July 29: ACLU files lawsuit accusing Liberty University of firing worker for being transgender (ABC 13News)

Jul 29: Marin educators in line with school transgender notification ban (Marin Independent Journal)

Jul 29: West Virginia is asking the US Supreme Court to consider transgender surgery Medicaid coverage case (WOAY)

Jul 29: Ohio school district's transgender anti-bullying policy upheld by appeals court (Reuters)

Jul 29: Transgender Rower Wins Charles River Women’s Regatta (New Boston Post)

Jul 27: Oregon HS track coach fired for proposing ‘open’ division for transgenders sues district (College Fix)

Jul 28: Nebraska Supreme Court upholds gender affirming care ban & abortion restrictions—The Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of the restrictions. (LGBTQ Nation)

Jul 29: Horrific violence erupts at South Carolina women's shelter 'after staff unwittingly let a transgender woman move in'  “Staff at a facility for abused women and children unknowingly sheltered a transgender woman for weeks before she stabbed a warden so viciously her 'internal organs were exposed', police say. Michelle Silva Perez was offered a place at Shepherd's Gate in Greenville, South Carolina, less than four miles from a men's shelter also run by Miracle Hill Ministries.” (The Daily Mail)

Jul 28: Parents Outraged School District Forces Children to Room With Trans Students on Overnight Trips (The Daily Signal)

Aug 1: Georgia GOP leaders want to keep transgender athletes on the sidelines (AJC Politics)

Aug 1: Lawmaker appeals in Kyrene transgender case (Ahwatukee Foothills News)

Jul 31: The world's biggest YouTuber MrBeast has a £550m fortune and millions of young fans. But as he cuts out transgender former friend after unsavoury accusations, why experts say claims may prove 'financially catastrophic' (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: 6th Circuit refuses to block school's pronoun policy; dissent makes belief-in-ghosts comparison  (ABA Journal)

Jul 30: Starbucks launching new benefit for transgender workers (Human Resources Director)

Jul 30: LGBTQ+ advocates contemplate legal challenges to bills affecting trans students “In the week since Gov. Chris Sununu signed a pair of bills limiting access to sports and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth, civil rights groups in New Hampshire have said they are still deciding whether to file litigation.”  (New Hampshire Bulletin)

Jul 30: Families want Premera class action over transgender teen care certified (Top Class Actions)

Jul 29: Is the Washington University Transgender Center shutting down? Here's what we know (STLPR)

Jul 29: Milwaukee man sentenced to prison for fatally shooting transgender woman—Clayton Hubbird will spend 23 years in prison for the death of Regina Allen (WISN)

Jul 29: Trans teen killer's chilling 911 call after gunning down mother, 41, and stabbing her boy toy, 22, when she ran out of bullets  “Julia Grace Egler, 16, apparently tried to place the blame on an unidentified masked man that broke into her Palm Bay, Florida home on July 6 and fatally shot her mother Kelley McCollom, 41, and her mother's boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22.” (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: Philadelphia mother shares family story to help others celebrate transgender loved ones (The LA Times)

Jul 28: Judge tosses suit against Mesa Public Schools transgender rules (The Mesa Tribune)

Jul 30: City of San Diego declares August Transgender History Month (KPBS)

Jul 29: Maine school district will vote on whether to restore transgender protections (Bangor Daily News)

Jul 28: Transgender business program honored for helping people build economic power—Transgender District’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program has helped launch 37 businesses since 2020. “The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recognized a local trans nonprofit this week for its program supporting trans and nonbinary entrepreneurs.” (LGBTQ Nation)

Aug 1: Transgender flag-raising ceremony held at San Francisco City Hall (ABC7)

Aug 1: A Pattern of Lavish Spending at a Leading L.G.B.T.Q. Nonprofit—GLAAD paid for its chief executive to fly first-class, rent a Cape Cod house and remodel her home office. It may have violated I.R.S. rules. (The New York Times)

Aug 1: MAP: The 25 states that ban trans people from competing in female sports, and the remaining 25 'failing' women (The Daily Mail)

Aug 1: 2 law firms warn Rochester Public Schools of potential lawsuits (ABC 6 News)

Jul 31: Gender-affirming care approved for El Paso city jobs (El Paso Inc.)

Jul 25: REVEALED: The affluent California school that connects students to a sex-change clinic (The Daily Mail)

Australia

Jul 28: Big change to Qld birth certificates after gender laws passed—Almost 250 Queenslanders, ­including 11 children, have ­applied to change the gender on their birth certificates in the four weeks since landmark laws came into effect. (The Courier Mail)

Canada

Aug 1: Research group calls for Canada to rethink its stance on gender-changing treatments “The Aristotle Foundation, a public policy think tank, alleges that the recent exponential number of children receiving transgender medical care is likely closer linked to social contagion, instead of the theory that gender is a social construct.”  (True North)

Jul 31: Ontario transgender woman loses fight to have province pay for facial feminization surgery—'Where do we draw the line?' Some doctors argue Canadian provinces should pay for facial gender-affirming surgery so trans women can 'pass' as female (The National Post)

Aug 1: Hulking trans powerlifter is BANNED from competing in women's events after slew of vile threats - but female-born rival who complained gets even LONGER suspension “Anne Andres, a transgender powerlifter who set an unofficial women's world record last year, has been banned from participating in any events for six months by the Canadian Powerlifting Union.” (The Daily Mail)

UK

Jul 31: BMA to undertake an evaluation of the Cass Review on gender identity services for children and young people (BMA.org)

Jul 31: BMA urges pause on implementation of Cass transgender child treatment advice  (Pulse)

Jul 29: Puberty blockers ban is lawful, says High Court (BBC)

Jul 27: Father's letter begging top surgeon to cancel trans operation on 'depressive'

20-year-old: 'Please don't remove my daughter's breasts ...in just one day you'll ruin her life for ever' (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: British female darts star Deta Hedman forfeits ANOTHER tournament as she refuses to face a transgender player... one week after she called for a 'fair and level playing field' in the sport (The Daily Mail)

Jul 29: Southport stabbing of transgender woman - attempted murder arrest—38-year-old Mark Henderson of Albert Road has been charged with attempted murder (LacsLive)

Jul 28: Trans Pride London marchers on what it means to be transgender in 2024 (The Independent)

Paris 2024

Jul 31: Female volleyball player, 17, left paralyzed with brain damage by transgender opponent who 'cackled with delight' after knocking her to ground  “Payton McNabb was 17 when a ball spiked by a trans opponent with force struck her in the face, threw her to the ground and shut off her consciousness.” (The Daily Mail)

Jul 29: Transgender athletes face an uncertain future at the Olympics as reactionary policies gain ground (Pittsburgh Courier)

Jul 31: Paris 2024, Abodi: "The issue of transgender athletes must be addressed, it is not fair competition" (Agenzia Nova)

Aug 1: Transgender nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz on criticism and following the rules ahead of Olympic debut (The New York Post)

Jul 29: Olympian Nikki Hiltz is model for transgender, nonbinary youth when they need it most (USA Today)

Jul 29: Are there any transgender athletes competing at the 2024 Olympics?—Transgender athletes face heavier restrictions in a number of sports than during Tokyo 2020 (The Independent)

Jul 27: Is Lia Thomas in the Olympics? Explaining USA transgender swimmer's World Aquatics ban (Sporting News)

Jul 30: Republicans demand the Olympics make drastic changes after 'vulgar mockery' of the Last Supper at the 2024 opening ceremony (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: Lucy Zelic slams the Paris Olympics for allowing two soccer stars to play against the Matildas after they were 'banned for failing gender tests (The Daily Mail)

Jul 28: Revealed: Number of transgender athletes competing at Paris Olympics is halved compared to Tokyo 2020

after major rule change, sparked by backlash over 'unfair advantage' in women's events(The Daily Mail)

Olympic Boxing

Jul 31: Ebanie Bridges: Australia's best female boxer lashes out at fighters who failed gender tests being allowed to compete against women at the Olympics (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: Watch moment transgender boxer Imane Khelif batters female opponent - as two boxers are cleared to fight in Olympics despite being rejected from World Championships (The Daily Mail)

Jul 30: IOC cites transgender athletes’ passports in allowing them to play in Olympics (Washington Examiner)

Aug 1: What is intersexuality and what’s the difference between transgender and cisgender?—The term ‘intersexuality’ is attributed to people who do not fit the established patterns of male or female bodies. (Diario AS)

Aug 1: Conservatives Attack Olympian as Part of Anti-Transgender Crusade “Conservative anti-transgender activists in Colorado are using recent Olympic controversies to promote their political agenda and ballot initiatives, despite the fact that the athletes involved are not transgender.” (Colorado Times Recorder)

Aug 1: Algeria's Olympic committee reacts to transgender boxer scandal  “The Algerian Olympic Committee issued a statement in defense of their athlete: ‘Algeria's Olympic Committee "strongly condemns unethical targeting and maligning the esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.’” (Daily Sports)

Aug 1: Of course biology matters in sport – this video proves it—Angela Carini pulled out of her fight with Imane Khelif after 46 seconds. How can the IOC allow something as violent and unfair as this? (The Telegraph)

Aug 1: Anti-trans activists keep falsely accusing female Olympians of being men The women are not transgender. (Daily Dot)

Aug 1: LOGAN PAUL SLAMS OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY: CALLS TRANSGENDER BOXER’S WIN ‘PUREST FORM OF EVIL’

Aug 1: Female boxer Carini who quit a match against 'transgender' boxer speaks (Ghana Web)

Jul 27: TWO "Female Boxers" Set To Compete At Paris 2024 Were Previously Disqualified From Women's World Championship For Having "XY Chromosomes" (Reduxx)

Jul 30: Video: Transgender boxer cleared to compete in Olympics batters female opponent mercilessly (Pulse)

Jul 31: Women’s boxer identifying as a man calls for transgender Olympians to be banned  “Philippines fighter Hergie Bacyadan, who was bundled out of the Paris Olympics on Wednesday afternoon, created a stir on the eve of the bout after an Instagram post, declaring: ‘I still consider myself as a trans-man because my heart says so’.” (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Jul 30: ‘Tragic reality’: Olympics’ gender storm erupts over banned athletes “The International Olympic Committee has been forced to defend two boxers in the women’s competition at the Paris Games who failed gender eligibility tests last year. A storm has erupted in the French capital after historical footage of a one-sided boxing contest prompted concerns about potential physical advantages the two athletes will have in their competitions this year.”  (Fox Sports)

Aug 1: Paris 2024։ Italian boxer refused to continue fighting after receiving two punches from a transgender competitor (News.am)

Aug 1: Soon To Be Movie Star Claressa Shields Condemns Transgender Boxers Competing Against Women (Boxing News and Views)

Aug 1: Olympic officials address gender eligibility as boxers prepare to fight “The case of two Olympic boxers has drawn attention to a thorny issue: Who and what determines which female athletes can compete. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan both were disqualified from the 2023 women’s boxing world championships when they reportedly failed gender eligibility tests.” (USA Today)

Other International

Jul 31: Parents fight to protect gender-confused daughter taken away by Swiss social services (The Christian Institute)

Jul 28: Tricked into conversion therapy in Russia for being trans (BBC)

Jul 30: ‘We are killed for what we are’: trans women in Colombia targeted by armed groups —Paramilitaries killed more than 40 transgender women last year, and threaten a further wave of ‘social cleansing’ in Caquetá (The Guardian)

Jul 30: Ghana: Supreme Court Upholds Colonial-Era Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Law (Zawya)

Jul 30: Supreme Court ruling leads to new clinic for trans population “An outpatient clinic for transgender patients considering fertility preservation is now offered at Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, the nation's first facility to provide such care.” (Asahi Shimbun)

 Jul 30: Transgender Man In Uganda Advocates For Direct Funding Due To Ant-LGBTIQ Bill—Transgender people in Uganda have asked international communities to channel financial support directly to the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) in the country and not through the government. (Capital News)

Aug 1: Nepal Supreme Court grants legal recognition to transgender woman without medical verification (jurist.org)

Aug 1: Indian Home Ministry Directs Prisons To Protect Transgender Inmates (Lavender Magazine)

Opinion

Jul 27: How activists are manipulating NY’s transgender law with wolf in sheep’s clothing bill “Senate Bill 107, or the SAFETY Act, passed mostly along party lines, will make California the first state in the US to prohibit school districts from requiring staff to inform parents if their child adopts a different gender identity. The law will also ‘authorize a court to take temporary jurisdiction because a child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care.’” (The New York Post)

Jul 31: The Debate Over Gender-Affirming Care (The New York Times)

Aug 1: Why is a “Transgender” Identity Even Plausible?—Gender ideology is a false anthropology and preposterous belief system that is being “baked into” our assumptions, judgments, and relationships. Inevitably, it will make Christians less receptive to the truth. (Catholic World Report)

Jul 31: Transgender Parents Face Opportunity And Challenge (Forbes)

Jul 30: Transgender health care under increasing scrutiny (The Center Square)

Jul 30: Trans Health Care Is Under Attack. But Are Concierge Providers Really the Solution?—Companies like Folx and Plume have branded themselves as beacons of community and pride. But their model may not be as revolutionary as it seems. (Slate)

Jul 29: Transgender rights must be part of struggle for wider LGB movement (The Herald)

 Jul 31: Letters to the Editor: Readers’ opposing views on ‘detransition’ activist Chloe Cole (Low Angeles Times) 

Aug 1: Rampini: "La lobby transgender cattivissima e potentissima" e Marianna Aprile: "La possiamo chiamare comunità?" (Rampini: "The very evil and powerful transgender lobby" and Marianna Aprile: "Can we call it a community?") (LA7)

Research/Studies

Jul 30: There’s more data for trans people with HIV than any other disease — but it’s still flawed (STAT)

Jul 30: Prevalence of Cirrhosis Higher in Transgender Versus Cisgender Adults (Physicians Weekly)

Jul 31: Hormone Therapy for Gender-Affirming Care: What to Consider—At the MetroHealth Pride Network, your first appointment to discuss hormone therapy is centered around making sure you’re heard and seen. (The Good Men Project)