BROADview in Brief: Big News Week

Where are we going, where have we been?

The Cass Review seems to have struck a nerve. Even The New York Times started their article (which clearly had been prepared far in advance to include dissenting voices, and dropped in the Review details last minute) like this: “The National Health Service in England started restricting gender treatments for children this month, making it the fifth European country to limit the medications because of a lack of evidence of their benefits and concern about long-term harms.”

That’s a shift. Too little, too late, you say? I disagree. If you want reform instead of perpetual culture war, you gotta give liberals and Democrats permission to defect. Let’s hope we’re seeing the beginning of that. I wrote a shorty for The Free Press and have a longer analysis coming out soon. I have found the mainstream media far more receptive to this issue, post-Cass, than they’ve been in years.

I also want to draw your attention to this article “Ethical Care in Secret”: Qualitative Data from an International Survey of Exploratory Therapists Working with Gender-Questioning Clients.” It details “therapists’ experiences of anxiety in working in a hostile professional environment, and their adoption of strategies to minimize risk of allegations of conversion therapy.” That is, therapists who are doing actual therapy with gender-distressed clients, as opposed to simply affirming their self-assessments, do so in fear. Will the Cass Review help? Or are we about to see the viciousness and vitriol kick up to a level we’ve not yet experienced, ignoring Cass’s call to end the “increasingly toxic, ideological and polarised public debate”?

Now to news from our indefatigable Alejandra Q:

Summaries: US

Mississippi’s House voted on Wednesday in favor of a measure that would restrict college dorm options and access to public bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex “as observed or clinically verified at birth.” Senate Bill 2753, also known as the Safer Act, will now move to the Republican-led Senate.

An Ohio bill that would ban access to college bathrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity passed out of the Ohio House Higher Education Committee on Wednesday. House Bill 183 will now be considered for further consideration in the state’s House later this month.

This week, Idaho governor Gov. Brad Little signed Idaho House Bill 538 after the bill passed the Legislature last month. The bill will bar college professors and K-12 teachers from “knowingly and intentionally” addressing minors with names or pronouns that misalign with their sex, unless they have parental consent to do so.

A federal court ruled that Florida cannot enforce part of a law that restricts the use of pronouns in schools after Katie Wood, a trans-identified Hillsborough County teacher, filed a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Education last year. The ruling, however, is not expected to affect the statewide enforcement of the law.

Newsweek reports on a North Alabama trans-identified high school student who was banned from entering their prom based on the refusal to change out of a dress.

Connecticut Democratic State Rep. Robyn Porter successfully amended a bill launched by the state’s Human Services Committee. The bill will now incorporate the term “expectant mothers” instead of “caregivers” and “pregnant persons.”

The House Civil Law Committee of Luisiana approved a bill that would grant access to school bathrooms, changing rooms, dormitories in domestic violence shelters, prisons and juvenile detention facilities based on sex rather than gender identity.

Colorado will pioneer a new model of housing for trans-identified male inmates as part a legal settlement. The state will build two designated units meant specifically for trans-identified male inmates, one unit will be built in a male prison (the Sterling Correctional Facility) and another unit will be housed in the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility.

The Colorado Democratic Party demanded that the Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender remove the word Democrat from its name. DIAG, a group which describes gender affirming interventions as “dangerous and disturbing” and that believes the party has “veered off its tracks,” replied to the Colorado Democratic Party’s demand by stating: “The Kremlin would be proud.”

One last Colorado headline describes a lawsuit filed by the Institute for Free Speech on behalf of Gays Against Groomers and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Network. The lawsuit aims to challenge the enforcement of restrictions against misgendering and deadnaming.

A Nebraska bill (Legislative Bill 575, also known as the Sports and Spaces Act) that would have barred trans-identified students from single-sex bathrooms and sports failed by a margin of 31 to 15 to get the 33 votes needed to end a filibuster. The bill was stalled for over a year before it was suddenly voted out of committee.

During a Saturday news conference, South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley spoke about her belief that trans-identified male athletes should be able to participate in women’s sports: “I’m on the opinion of if you’re a woman you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion.” NBA star Chandler Parsons challenged Stanley’s position on X by asking: “so if Zach Edey wants to be a women, he can play against you next season?” Former WNBA player Val Whiting also reacted to Stanley opinion by stating the following on the same platform: “A lot of my basketball sisters feel differently but trans women do not belong in women’s sports. It’s not fair nor safe for biological women. There has to be another solution for trans women to be able to compete athletically besides having them compete against biological women.”

The Council of Presidents of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) approved a policy on Monday that will ban trans-identified males from competing in female athletics in all NAIA competitions. The move follows a December survey pointing toward an overall support for the new policy. The HRC president responded to the NAIA decision: “The NAIA should listen to Hall of Famers like Coach Dawn Staley, and do everything it can to expand access to athletics, including to correct the long-standing lack of resources and support for women’s athletics, instead of engaging in even more discrimination. The chilling message this sends not just to other sanctioning bodies but also to youth sports leagues across the country is dangerous and it must be stopped in its tracks.” Newsweek compiled a list of colleges that will be part of the ban.

Christina Buttons wrote on her Substack about the preprint of a study from the Mayo Clinic on puberty blockers. The study concluded that puberty blockers may lead to problems such as infertility, withering testicles, and potentially even cancer, with its authors expressing doubts about claims of reversibility. The story was eventually picked by The Daily Mail.

Summaries: International

World Netball officially banned trans-identified males from competing in women’s international competitions on Monday, after the group released its new participation and inclusion policy. Netball Australia rejected World Netball’s new policy stating that it had no plans to follow the lead of the global governing body for the sport.

Several Outlets including Spike and The New York Post report on a new 15-year study of 2700 children conducted in the University of Groningen, Holland. The study concluded that children who felt they were the wrong gender tended to outgrow this feeling: 11 per cent of the study’s children said that they felt ‘gender non-contentedness’ when the study began but only four per cent of participants felt this way once they reached the age of 25.

Sweden has proposed a new gender law that would lower the age limit from 18 to 16 for minors looking to change their legal gender. The same bill will require that those changing their legal gender undergo a "simplified test of gender identity" without a formal medical diagnosis. The bill is supported by only some members of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s Moderate party, representing a significant split in the party’s ranks.

The Vatican released on Monday a new document which asserts the church’s stance on gender transition. The document, which was approved by The Pope, referred to a person’s biological sex as a gift from God, describing sex-change interventions as threatening to “the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.” Worth noting is that the document is similarly critical of surrogacy. Reacting to the release, executive director for New Ways Ministry, an advocacy group for gay Catholics, claimed that “The Vatican is again supporting and propagating ideas that lead to real physical harm to transgender, nonbinary and other L.G.B.T.Q.+ people.” When asked about the document, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that “the President will continue to be an advocate for the rights, safety, and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community, including transgender people, here in the U.S. — and not just here in the U.S. but also around the world.”

As has been the case for the past few weeks, several of this week’s headlines cover the topic of gender in British schools and the country’s school transgender guidance. The Telegraph reports that the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust, a group of Church of England schools that manages 42 schools around Somerset, warned their primary school teachers that they would be in violation of the country’s Equality Act if they were to tell pupils that a person cannot be change their sex. Additionally, according to the trust’s transgender student policy, girls who object to sharing changing rooms with boys identifying as trans are to be moved to a different facility. The Telegraph also reports on an analysis of the equality and trans policies in over 600 school mainstream state schools across Devon and Cornwall. The analysis concludes that up to three-quarters of the schools had misrepresented laws pertaining to sex and gender. Such misrepresentations include teachers being told to transition students as young as four without their parents’ knowledge and teachers granting access to dormitories and restrooms based on “gender identity.” According to the Daily Mail, The National Education Union (NEU), which is Britain's largest teaching union, passed a motion vowing to “campaign and lobby the Government” to scrap the new transgender guidance. The Mail describes how the union takes issue with the portion of the guidance stating that parents need to almost always be told about their child’s social transition in school, which the union likens to “compulsory outing.” Julie Bindel also writes for the Telegraph about the need for a referendum on trans gender ideology in British schools. With regards to the case of student a socially transitioned in school Bindel writes: “You would expect the Government to crack down on this sudden and potentially catastrophic reduction in parental authority. Yet the draft government guidance on social transitioning in schools does no such thing. While it sings the right tune – stating there is ‘no general duty’ for schools to allow social transitioning, and that parents should not be excluded from decision-making – the guidance is non-statutory and could potentially be ignored.

Headlines:

Apr 8: DeSantis fentanyl bill-signing veers off into attack on transgender athletes—Surgeon General Ladapo brings subject up for no known reason (Florida Phoenix)

Apr 8: Mother of transgender teenager, 15, who took his own life while on NHS gender clinic waiting list slams social services for sweeping her son's needs 'under the carpet' (The Daily Mail)

Apr 11: Murrieta schools ordered to stop enforcing transgender policy—State education officials say parental notification policy is illegal “Murrieta's school district must stop enforcing a policy that requires parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender, the California Department of Education ordered after finding the policy discriminates against transgender youth.

The Wednesday, April 10, letter gives the Murrieta Valley Unified School District five days to tell staff and students that the policy, approved in August, will not be implemented. Department spokesperson Scott Roark said via email that the department ‘is unable to comment on pending investigations’” (The Press Enterprise)

Apr 11: Federal appeals court hears arguments on nation’s first ban on transgender care for minors—The 2021 Arkansas law would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18. (NBC News)

Apr 11: What to know about Alaska's latest transgender bills vs. anti-discrimination lawsuit “There are several bills currently under consideration by Alaska lawmakers that would limit the rights of transgender youth - all part of a broader national trend - but that’s just part of the issue. The Last Frontier and 19 other states are also involved in a constitutional lawsuit that has been ongoing since July 2022 over whether the federal government and the U.S. Department of Education have overreached their authority regarding anti-discrimination laws. At the center of the debate is how the federal courts consider sexual discrimination with respect to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.”

Apr 11: Tennessee GOP senators OK criminalizing helping minors get transgender care, mimicking abortion bill (Ottawa City News)

Apr 11: Low Uptake & High Discontinuation: Characterizing PrEP Use Among Transgender Women(Physicians weekly) 

Apr 11: NH Senate Tables Bill That Would Have Rolled Back Some Transgender Nondiscrimination Protections (Glaad.org)

Apr 11: LPS Superintendent Addresses Concerns Over Obscene Books, Transgender Policy “National political discourse surrounding transgender youth participation in school sports, designations for trans-student restrooms/locker rooms, and so-called “obscene materials” in school libraries, trickled down to Nebraska’s Unicameral legislature this year.

State lawmakers took up and ardently debated a couple bills in 2024 that sought to address and regulate these subjects.” (KLIN)

Apr 11: Right-wing extremists confront transgender people in Florida bathrooms (The Advocate)

Apr 11: Grant applications now open to support reporting on transgender issues

—The Gill Foundation has partnered with Poynter’s Beat Academy to train local journalists to serve as accurate, authoritative voices (Poynter)

Apr 11: Transgender sportswomen ‘at a disadvantage’ study claims—Exclusive: Researchers urge individual sports to assess whether they should implement blanket bans on transwomen in female categories “Transgender female athletes are at a physical disadvantage compared to cisgender women in several key metrics, research funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has found. The landmark study reported that physically active transgender women performed worse in certain cardiovascular tests and had less lower-body strength than their cisgender females. Researchers at the University of Brighton also found that, contrary to previous claims, transgender women's bone density was equivalent to cisgender females. Bone density is linked to muscle strength. The research paper, which has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, could have a significant effect on the debate around gender-inclusion in sport.” (The Telegraph)

Apr 11: Britain’s first transgender judge Master McCloud signs off “The UK’s only transgender judge yesterday told those gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice ‘you are all my learned friends and always will be’ in her valedictory speech. Master Victoria McCloud, who was the youngest person to be appointed to the King’s Bench in 2010 aged 40, announced earlier this year that she would be standing down over fears about politicising the judiciary.” (The Law Society Gazette).

Apr 11: His trans daughter was suspended for using the girls’ bathroom. A father then realised his prejudice—More than 10 states have enacted laws over bathroom use, Missouri is not one of them (The Independent)

Apr 11: Immigrant rights groups allege abuse, harassment of transgender detainees at Aurora ICE facility—Complaint describes racism, overuse of solitary confinement, discrimination and violence against people held at facility run by private contractor (The Colorado Sun)

Apr 11: Transgender boxer releases defiant statement after being knocked out in 21 seconds—Transgender boxer Patricio Manuel has pledged to continue in the sport. “Transgender boxer Patricio Manuel has released a statement confirming that he will continue boxing, despite suffering the first loss of his professional career. Manuel was a five-time US Women’s amateur champion before undergoing gender reassignment surgery nearly a decade ago and suffered a surprise defeat to Joshua Brian Reyes.” (The Daily Express)

Apr 11: Column: California’s transgender sanctuary law survives a challenge as judge ridicules plaintiff’s claims “Unsurprisingly, SB 107 became the target of right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ activists in California. On Tuesday, federal Judge Dale A. Drozd of Sacramento dismissed an effort to declare the law unconstitutional. It was the third attempt by the plaintiff, a nonprofit affiliated with a conservative Christian church in Temecula that says its mission is to “restore Christian-Judeo values in government and education,” to win Drozd’s approval for its lawsuit. This time, Drozd, plainly fed his up with the plaintiff’s serial inability to make its case, forbade it to try again because any further filing would be, as he wrote, “futile under the circumstances.” (Los Angeles Times)

April 11: Transgender inmate at Kansas women's prison didn't convince judge of discrimination claim “A transgender inmate at the Kansas women's prison in Topeka has so far failed to convince a federal judge she is being discriminated against.

Michelle Renee Lamb in November sued Gov. Laura Kelly plus the warden and other staff of Topeka Correctional Facility and the Kansas Department of Corrections, primarily seeking to be transferred to general population.” (The Topica Capital Journal)

Apr 9: Community speaks out on RPS transgender guideline “A guideline from the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) says ‘all students have a right to privacy, including the right to keep private one’s transgender or gender expansive status at school.‘ ‘In an attempt to not exclude one group you, actually alienate another,’ Karin Charron said, who spoke at Tuesday night’s Rochester Public School’s board meeting.” (6 News Minnesota)

DrPhil: https://x.com/drphil/status/1777864294442455162?s=46

JK Rowling is wasting police time with hate law ‘provocations’, suggests SNP (Free Speech Union)

Apr 10: Thailand’s transgender community struggles to find health care—Trans people cannot legally change gender identity on ID cards, forms (The Washington Blade)

Apr 10: A California border town's first transgender mayor faces recall. Is gender the reason? “The LGBTQ+ pride flag had just been hoisted outside Calexico City Hall when a woman in overalls pushed past a police officer, charged through the cheering crowd and lunged at the mayor. Raúl Ureña, the first out transgender City Council member in the struggling little town on the U.S.-Mexico border, stood quietly as three police officers pulled the profanity-spewing woman away. She screamed: ‘He's not a woman! He's not a woman!’ Then she kicked the mayor's dad.” (Yahoo News, originally from the LA Times)

Apr 9: New Practice submits plans for national Transgender Monument—New Practice has unveiled its design for a national Transgender Monument to be built in the heart of Manchester’s Gay Village “The plans were submitted yesterday (9 April) to Manchester City Council following a two-year consultation and design process. The public artwork is earmarked for Sackville Gardens, a green space opposite the city’s Canal Street, the heart of Manchester’s LGBTQIA+ community. It incorporates four stand-alone pillars made from Corten steel.” (Architects Journal UK)

Apr 9: Transgender medicine – and lawsuits waiting to happen  “But some members of my profession are coining money by convincing confused children and adolescents – many with other psychiatric issues – that they are males instead of females or females instead of males. They are using hormone treatments to chemically castrate them and, in some instances, subjecting them to brutal surgical treatments that remove or add breasts and destroy and rearrange parts of their genitalia. This sometimes results in infertility and sexual dysfunction for the rest of their lives.”  (CT Mirror)

Apr 10: “Labour is avoiding the transgender debate: the Right now covers it uncontested”Mila Edensor analyses contemporary rhetoric surrounding transness, arguing the necessity for left wing voices as the debate spirals into dangerous territory. (The Cambridge Student)

Apr 9: EDITORIAL | Free Speech Threatened by Hostility to Transgender Book—Critics' threats of violence against the publisher and sellers of "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" stifle free speech. (Japan Forward)

Apr 10: Mental health disparities growing among transgender adults: Study “In the U.S., transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals represent a historically marginalized segment of society. They often report unfavorable outcomes in terms of both physical and mental health compared to their cisgender counterparts. Despite advancement in psychological and physical health care provisions for TGNC individuals over the years, they face significant barriers that hinder access to crucial services, including but not limited to lengthy waiting lists, inconvenient travel requirements and a lack of insurance coverage.” (Medical Express)

Study: Temporal Trends in Mental Health in the United States by Gender Identity, 2014–2021 (American Journal of Public Health, January 2024)

Apr 10: Transgender bathroom bill passes Ohio House committee (Local 12)

Apr 10: The Politics of Banning Transgender Athletes in Colleges | Opinion (Newsweek)

Apr 10: California Attorney General Commends District Court’s Decision Upholding Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Individuals “California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement following the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California’s order granting the California Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss the second amended complaint challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 107 (SB 107), also referred to as California’s Transgender Sanctuary State Law. Authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), SB 107 provides legal protections for families who come to California to obtain gender-affirming care that is inaccessible where they live, as well as doctors and staff providing such care in California. It implements various safeguards against the enforcement of other states’ laws that would penalize people for obtaining medically necessary care that is legal in California.” (Sierra Sun Times) 

Apr 10: Hairy-chested transgender mayor Raul Ureña who favors low-cut dresses faces recall after pride flag-raising ceremony where woman screamed 'He's not a woman!' (The Daily Mail)

Apr 10: There’s no debate: Transgender athletes have an unfair advantage—When it comes to competitive sport, gender identity is irrelevant.

Apr 10: As his trans daughter struggles, a father pushes past his prejudice. ‘It was like a wake-up’ (AP News)

Apr 11: Maine House backs abortion and transgender ‘shield’ law after charged debate (Bangor Daily News)

Apr 10: Woke Dems have lied about transgender suicide — but there is hope (The New York Post)

Apr 11: Chris Peterson: Sports belong to everyone, including transgender athletes (Independent Record)

Apr 11: Streeting admits he was wrong to say transgender women are women MP Rosie Duffield and author Julie Bindel have called out shadow health secretary over failureto listen to gender-critical women ‘Wes Streeting last night admitted he had been wrong to say that "trans women are women’ amid a major Labour row over the Cass review into NHS gender care. The shadow health secretary said the controversial LGBT rights group Stonewall - where he used to work - had got it wrong with its slogan. In a major about-turn for the party, he told The Sun that he now admitted ‘there are lots of complexities’ on the trans issue but that he was prepared to take criticism ‘on the chin’. It came as Labour became embroiled in another trans row after Mr Streeting welcomed the review and pledged to implement it in full.” (The Telegraph)

Apr 10: ‘What is a woman?’: court asked to rule on definition in transgender woman’s case against Giggle for Girls platform Roxanne Tickle’s lawyer says women-only app has ‘modus operandi of treating transgender women as men’ (The Guardian)

Transgender German man reflects on his transition ahead of parliament debate on easing gender change (Yahoo News, originally from The Canadian Press)

Apr 11: UK report will influence policy on healthcare for transgender children here Cass Review found young people have been let down by ‘weak evidence’ (Irish News)

Apr 11: What the trans care recommendations from the NHS England report mean—The report calls for more research on puberty blockers and hormone therapies. (ABC News)

Apr 10: ‘Watershed moment’: Rita Panahi dissects bombshell report into UK transgender medicine (Sky News Australia)

Apr 10: Vic Libertarian MP calling for review into transgender medicine for kid “Victorian Libertarian MP David Limbrick is calling on the Albanese government to conduct a review into puberty blockers and transgender medicine for children. His remarks follow the release of the Cass Review, a bombshell report in the UK which looked into transgender medicine and gender-affirming treatments for children.” (Sky News Australia)

Apr 10: Sandyford gender clinic facing demands to close after Cass report—Scottish government considering findings of review that found ‘remarkably weak evidence’ for prescribing hormones to children (The London Times) 

Apr 9: Gender medicine for children and young people is built on shaky foundations. Here is how we strengthen services (BMJ)

Apr 10: Nine key findings from the Cass report into gender transition—The review should be the final nail in the coffin of Gids, the clinic that told thousands of children they were transgender (The London Times) 

Apr 10: America should follow England’s lead on transgender care for kids—Its approach is neither as harsh as in red states nor as lax as in blue states (The Economist)

Apr 10: Adult transgender clinics in England face inquiry into patient care—NHS England to review seven specialist services after staff share misgivings privately (The Telegraph)

Apr 10: NHS bosses ordered to reveal fate of 9,000 young transgender Tavistock patients—Health Secretary demands full co-operation from trusts that refused to give information to Cass Review (The Telegraph)

Apr 10: What Cass review says about surge in children seeking gender services—Report finds particularly complex factors may explain surge in birth-registered females referred to NHS Gids (The Guardian)

Apr 9: Review of gender services has major implications for mental health services

—Cass report calls for move away from mainly medical treatment as part of dramatic shift in approach to gender dysphoria (Th Guardian)

Apr 10: Private trans clinics do not assess children to high enough standard, fears Dr Hilary Cass—Landmark review into treatment of children looking to transition tells NHS to advise parents who want to use private care (The Telegraph)

Apr 9: What are the key findings of the NHS gender identity review?—Report by Dr Hilary Cass finds young people being let down by lack of research and evidence on medical interventions (The Guardian)

Apr 9: Parents, campaigners and former child patients hail bombshell report that dismantles NHS's transgender treatment model (The Daily Mail)

Apr 10: Scottish Government respond to 'Cass Review' on trans healthcare in NHS (Yahoo News)

Apr 9: The Times view on the NHS gender identity scandal: Prescription for Disaster—A review of the NHS gender identity service has exposed the recklessness of those who administered life-changing drugs to troubled children (The London Times)

Opinion Pieces/Studies

Apr 7: “Wait Until You’re Older”—I write books for trans teens and their parents. It’s becoming harder and harder to imagine a future for them that’s not riven with strife. (Slate)

Apr 5: Physician Forum: Pediatricians Discuss Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (Endocrinology Advisor)

Apr 8: Study from Netherlands: Most children outgrow transgender inclinations (Catholic News Agency)

Apr 8: Survey: Advancing Transgender Justice – Illuminating Trans Lives Behind and Beyond Bars (Davis Vanguard) (National Review)

Journal article: Puberty Suppression for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria and the Child’s Right to an Open Future from the abstract: In this essay, we consider the clinical and ethical implications of puberty blockers for pediatric gender dysphoria through the lens of “the child’s right to an open future,” which refers to rights that children do not have the capacity to exercise as minors, but that must be protected, so they can exercise them in the future as autonomous adults. (Achives of sexual Behavior, April 2024)

Apr 8: Sex and gender: The medical establishment’s reluctance to speak honestly about biological reality—It is never justified to distort the facts in the service of a social or political cause, no matter how just. (The Boston Globe)

Apr 4: Believe data, not activists: Transgenderism among kids is mostly a fad (New York Post)

Apr 5: Bone health appears normal in transgender youth on hormone therapy (Aunt Minnie) 

Apr 4: The reckoning over puberty blockers has arrived (The Hill)

Apr 6: What Comes after Transgender? Doctor Amputates Man’s Healthy Fingers (National Review)

Apr 9: Transgender inclusion? World's major religions take varying stances on policies toward trans people (The Detroit News)