Title IX Ensures Inclusion for Transgender Youth In School and on the Field
All students deserve an equal education and to participate fully in school life. This includes the opportunity to play on school sports teams. Not only are sports beneficial for young people’s physical and mental health, but they also provide the opportunity to develop crucial skills like cooperation, leadership, confidence, and self-respect.
For the vast majority of youth, including transgender youth, school sports are about playing on a team with their friends, experiencing a sense of belonging and sportsmanship, and building confidence that comes from developing their game.
Photo by Alyssa Ledesma
Young people shouldn’t have to fight for their right to be included. But transgender youth like Sarah Huckman from New Hampshire, who loves to ski and run track, and Lane Joslin, a high schooler from Maine who loves to play soccer, have had to testify repeatedly against school sports bans in their states. They are making a difference for all transgender youth, and we’re honored to help them along the way.
Sarah HuckmanLane Joslin
While we’ve fortunately been able to stop bans on transgender youth participation in school sports in New Hampshire and Maine, sports bans have passed in 21 states across the country, and state legislatures have introduced at least 71 bills that target transgender athletes this session. The U.S. House also voted to pass a federal ban, HR734. While we expect it will fail in the Senate, the fact that such a discriminatory bill made it to Congress is alarming.
Anti-transgender sports bans harm transgender students, counter important efforts to create supportive school environments, and send a terrible message to all students. They also violate federal civil rights law.
In April of this year, the Department of Education issued a draft rule affirming that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act — our federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education — requires the inclusion of transgender students in school sports.
The rule specifically:
Prohibits policies restricting the ability of transgender students to participate in school sports in elementary and middle school and would permit such policies in high school only in rare circumstances and at highly competitive levels.
Prohibits categorical bans of transgender athletes at any level, including colleges and universities.
Presumes that any restriction on transgender students is invalid and puts a high burden on the government or school proposing the restriction to justify any exception based on specific, demonstrable, and essential educational objectives. Under the rule, the following justifications could not be used as reasons to exclude transgender students: anti-transgender bias, stereotypes, or unsupported assertions that transgender women and girls have a competitive advantage over non-transgender women and girls.
The 30-day public comment period on this proposed rule has ended, and we anticipate the Department of Education to issue the final rule by the fall. In anticipation of its release, you can read our comment and a fact sheet on the proposed rule on our website.
Many of the state laws barring transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams are already being challenged in court as violations of Title IX, and this rule strengthens those challenges. It also provides clear affirmation and guidance to states and schools that have maintained inclusive policies and will hopefully help stop further bans from being adopted. But we know it won’t make these harmful laws disappear overnight.
Our work must continue to ensure that transgender youth — and all LGBTQ+ youth — are included and can thrive in all areas of life. That’s what young people deserve, and it’s what GLAD has fought for, for decades.
Excluding one group of people because they are different sets a bad example that has no place in our schools. An educational environment is at its best when kids learn to embrace difference and create unity across identities. In an ever-diversifying country, learning how to be part of a team with different types of people is an essential life skill. We’ll keep using all the tools we have in the courts and beyond to build a system that prioritizes the well-being of all young people.
This story was originally published in the Summer 2023 GLAD Briefs newsletter. Read more.
Advocates for Youth partners with young people and their adult allies to champion youth rights to bodily autonomy and build power to transform policies, programs and systems to secure sexual health and equity for all youth.
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is New England’s largest provider of services to people living with HIV/AIDS and populations at risk of infection.
Athlete Ally educates athletic communities at all levels — sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes — to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQ people in sports and how they can build inclusive communities on their teams or within their organizations.
Big Sister Association of Greater Boston‘s mission is to ignite girls’ passion and power to succeed through positive mentoring relationships with women and enrichment programs that support girls’ healthy development.
Bisexual Resource Center works to connect the bi+ community and help its members thrive through resources, support, and celebration.
Boston Children’s Hospital is committed to providing comprehensive and affirming treatment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) patients and families. They are enhancing the health of LGBTQ+ patients and families by understanding and addressing the gaps in their care, while creating a welcoming hospital environment inclusive of the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Boston HIV Adolescent Provider and Peer Education Network for Services (HAPPENS) provides services to youth ages 12 to 24 years who are HIV positive or at risk for the disease and other sexually transmitted diseases. HAPPENS offers free HIV counseling and testing for young adults ages 13 and older, and free sexual transmitted infections and viral hepatitis testing for young adults ages 13 to 24.
Boston Mobilization develops and empowers teen leaders for social justice. Through popular education, community organizing and connecting across difference, our teen leaders move local communities toward justice.
Bridge provides effective and innovative services to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth, helps youth avoid a lifetime of dependency on social services, guides youth towards self-sufficiency, and enables youth to transform their lives and build fulfilling, meaningful futures.
COLAGE unites people with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and/or asexual parent into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities.
Fenway Health is committed to providing high quality, culturally competent care and services to all of our patients, including trans and gender diverse youth. They also conduct research and education and engage in advocacy to expand care for and protect the rights of trans and gender diverse youth across the United States.
GLSEN (Gay Lesbian, Straight Education Network) ensures that every member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
GSA Network is a next-generation LGBTQ racial and gender justice organization that empowers and trains queer, trans and allied youth leaders to advocate, organize, and mobilize an intersectional movement for safer schools and healthier communities.
History Unerased encourages confidence in delivering LGBT and other erased histories through the mentoring and support of educators — by educators.
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) envisions a world where every member of the LGBTQ+ family has the freedom to live their truth without fear, and with equality under the law.
Home to Hope provides targeted outreach, support, and advocacy services for unaccompanied homeless LGBTQ youth and young adults, and training to those working with youth. Using teams of peers, they connect with youth and young adults (ages 13-24) on the street and in community spaces. With a growing network of collaborators, they support homeless youth and young adults as they seek health and stability.
NAGLY is a place where youth can discuss issues of importance to them, explore their identities, build self-awareness, and learn skills for being safe and healthy. Through group building and community service opportunities, the youth and staff at NAGLY have created a strong community that promotes respect for self and for others.
It Gets Better Project uplifts, empowers, and connects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe.
LGBT National Helpline provides vital peer support, community connections, and resource information. Their services focus on sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.
LGBT National Youth Talkline provides a confidential safe space where callers of any age can speak about sexual orientation or gender identity/expression issues. This includes coming out issues, relationship concerns, family, bullying, school issues, HIV/AIDS anxiety, safer sex information, suicide, and much more.
Out Now is a LGBTQ+ youth group dedicated to promoting health & well-being, self-determination, and community building through anti-oppression organizing and peer support. They provide a safe space for queer youth & allies who are 22 and under to learn about themselves, develop lasting friendships and leadership skills, explore LGBTQ+ history, and so much more.
OUT MetroWest builds communities where LGBTQ+ youth thrive. Their free programs connect LGBTQ+ youth with supportive peers and LGBTQ+ adult role models.
PFLAG is the first and largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families.
Queer Youth Assemble is a queer youth-led nonprofit serving queer youth under 25 in the US.
Safe Homes is a program supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people, and their straight allies, between the ages of 14 and 23. The group is led by youth peer leaders, professional staff, and volunteers who offer support, resources, and opportunities for socialization in a safe and nurturing environment.
Safe Schools for All is a coalition of LGBTQ+ supporting organizations that shares information on how rights of LGBTQ+ students in schools.
SAYFTEE is a socially conscious group practice offering a range of services including family therapy, individual therapy, couple/relationship therapy, groups, workshops, training, consultation, and supervision.
Silver Lining Mentoring empowers youth in foster care to thrive through committed mentoring relationships and the development of essential life skills. We are one of only a few mentoring organizations in the country exclusively focused on youth impacted by foster care.
Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) has been committed to empowering immigrant students through advocacy, training, mobilizing, and organizing. They welcome all young people regardless of immigration status who support their mission to get involved.
The Trevor Project’s mission is to end suicide among LGBTQ young people.
Thrive at CIGSYA (The Cape & Islands Gay & Straight Youth Alliance) is a community-based alliance of young people from fourteen to twenty-two that exists to improve the lives of LGBTIQQS (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning and straight) youth on Cape Cod and the Islands by addressing key risk factors such as the self hate, isolation and fear, which are often prevalent in their lives.
Trans Athlete is a resource for students, athletes, coaches, and administrators to find information about trans inclusion in athletics at various levels of play.
Trans Lifeline connects trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive.
Voices of Liberation is dedicated to empowering youth to change their lives and the conditions of their communities through education, coalition building, organizing and direct action.
Waltham House – The Home for Little Wanderers is the first residential group home in New England designed specifically for LGBTQ+ youth, and was among the first of its kind in the nation when it opened in 2002. Its founding principles are that every child deserves to live in an environment in which they feel safe, respected, supported and cared for by those around them.
Youth Pride, Inc.‘s mission is to meet the unique, ongoing needs of LGBTQ+ youth and young adults through direct service, support, advocacy, and education.
On LGBTQ Families Day a New Report Calls for Updating State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and LGBTQ Families
Especially as LGBTQ families face growing threats across the country, we urgently need more states to pass comprehensive parentage reform to recognize contemporary families and protect all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.
– Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
The report details how the current patchwork of parentage laws across the country – many of which haven’t been updated in decades – leaves LGBTQ parents and their children vulnerable. Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are raising children under the age of 18, many of them in states that still have outdated laws. This means that far too many children in LGBTQ families are potentially at risk.
Why Parentage Is So Important to Children and LGBTQ Families
Parentage is the legal relationship between a child and their parents, which is essential to children’s security and well-being. Parentage is crucial so that parents can make critical healthcare and education decisions for their children, and so that children have access to important benefits including insurance coverage, social security survivor benefits, and inheritance. Legal parentage also ensures a child does not lose their important connection to a parent in circumstances such as the death of one parent or the end of the parents’ relationship.
“All children, regardless of who their parents are, should be able to establish a secure legal tie to the parents who love and care for them. Yet, many states’ parentage laws are more than 40 years out of date. This leaves too many LGBTQ families navigating complicated and costly systems to safeguard their connections to their children,” said Naomi Goldberg, Deputy Director of MAP and the lead author of the report.
State-By-State Examination of Parentage Laws Shows Many Are Out of Date and Out of Step with How Families Form
The report reviews the ways in which legal parentage may be established, which states have updated their laws, and in which states LGBTQ families remain at risk. Families form in many different ways. Yet despite the increasing number of LGBTQ families and the increasing number of all families formed through assisted reproduction, to date fewer than a dozen states have comprehensively updated their parentage laws to reflect the diverse ways today’s families form.
More than half of states lack clear, accessible, and equitable pathways for LGBTQ parents to establish parentage. As a result, many families face complicated, time-consuming, and costly processes to establish legal ties between parents and children. LGBTQ parents in many states must still undergo demeaning and unnecessary “home studies” to adopt their own children and spend thousands in legal costs to secure their parentage. And for many parents that cost, and access to the courts, is completely out of reach, leaving them at tremendous risk because their state has not updated its parentage laws. In the most heart-wrenching cases, children have been pulled into the child welfare system because a parent who loves and cares for them wasn’t recognized as a legal parent, and non-birth parents who planned for and raised their kids have been stripped of their parental rights because a court relied on outdated laws that fail to acknowledge the existence of same-gender parents.
“LGBTQ families are a part of every community across the country, yet many LGBTQ families still face expensive and demeaning barriers to providing legal security for their children,” said Stacey Stevenson, CEO of Family Equality. “Parents shouldn’t have to navigate a complicated legal system just to ensure their kids are protected.”
“LGBTQ families form through love, intention and care and children of LGBTQ parents, like all children, need and deserve to know their families are secure. Our laws should protect families, not create barriers to their stability,” said Jordan Budd, Executive Director of COLAGE.
“We are seeing far too many heart-breaking examples of the discrimination that LGBTQ+ parents continue to face in the United States. When states and courts refuse to give LGBTQ families the same protections as other families, it leaves parents at risk of being shut out of their child’s life and children at risk of losing a parent who loves and cares for them,” said Nesta Johnson, NCLR Family Law Staff Attorney.
Progress is Happening Across the Country to Update State Parentage Laws and to Protect LGBTQ Families
While detailing the importance of legal parentage and outlining the risks to LGBTQ families, the report also shows the path forward. It highlights states that have taken crucial steps to update their parentage laws in recent years, including Colorado, Connecticut, and Rhode Island–and states like Massachusetts, which has the opportunity right now to protect LGBTQ families.
“Families form in many ways and our laws must reflect that so children have equality and security. States like Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Colorado have led the way by updating their laws to ensure child-centered, equal, and accessible paths to legal parentage for all families, including LGBTQ families. Especially as LGBTQ families face growing threats across the country, we urgently need more states to pass comprehensive parentage reform to recognize contemporary families and protect all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth,” said Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).
Story spotlight: parents should not be at the mercy of chance
Outdated parentage laws can mean children don’t have their parents when they need them most, like during a medical crisis, as happened to parents Moira and Hillary.
When Moira underwent an emergency c-section and their daughter June was immediately rushed to the NICU, Hillary had no legal standing as a parent because their second-parent adoption was still pending. With Moira incapacitated and Hillary’s parental status unclear, neither parent was able to make medical decisions for June and the NICU staff were left to do what they thought was best. Thankfully they were kind enough to let Hillary be with June, but she knows that was not guaranteed.
“Had we been at a different hospital, or had we interacted with different staff,” Hillary says,” I might have been shut out entirely. Even though things worked out, parents like us should not be at the mercy of chance.”
Moira, Hillary and June’s story helped encourage the Rhode Island legislature to update their state parentage laws in 2020 to ensure other families don’t face that same uncertainty at a time of crisis.
About the Report
The report was authored by the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with COLAGE, Family Equality, GLAD, and NCLR, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is available online at: www.mapresearch.org/2023-parentage-report
Today, at the start of Pride month, we celebrate our families in all the beautiful, diverse ways they are formed.
GLAD’s longstanding commitment to ensuring our relationships and families are equal under the law has led to pivotal advances in family equality – and as LGBTQ+ families face heightened bias and discrimination, our work to protect our rights and provide legal security is as urgent as ever.
We have led the way in updating outdated laws that leave children of LGBTQ+ families vulnerable across New England based on the model legislation, the Uniform Parentage Act.
Connecticut: On June 1, 2021, we celebrated the signing of the Connecticut Parentage Act – the most comprehensive updates to parentage law to date! We now continue to innovate in the Constitution state with advocacy for a bill to ensure insurance coverage for fertility care includes LGBTQ+ and single people, and that HUSKY Health covers fertility care.
Massachusetts: We are working with a powerful coalition of families and organizations to pass the Massachusetts Parentage Act (HD 1713/SD 947). The bill updates the state’s parentage law so that it is clear, equitable, and provides legal protection for all families, including LGBTQ+ families. Take action to pass this critical legislation.
Maine: We advocated for the Maine Parentage Act of 2016 and advanced protections in Maine last year by expanding access to a simple, accessible form called a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage – a powerful, inclusive way for a parent to affirm their relationship when their child is born. That work continues this year with a bill that would streamline confirmatory adoptions, making it easier, quicker, and less expensive for LGBTQ+ parents to confirm their legal parentage so that they and their children are protected wherever their families move or travel. LD 1906 was just voted favorably out of committee earlier this week.
New Hampshire: We championed efforts to update laws that recognize parents through streamlined adoption processes. In 2020, we advocated for a bill that fills significant legal gaps and makes the security of parentage accessible to more children and families. Confirmatory adoption creates a straightforward way for parents to adopt their own children without lengthy, expensive, and invasive home visits and outdated adoption practices.
Rhode Island: In July 2020, we celebrated the momentous signing of the Rhode Island Uniform Parentage Act as part of a coalition of local families and organizations. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we updated parentage laws that were over 40 years old. That work continues this year with a bill that would streamline confirmatory adoptions, making it easier, quicker, and less expensive for LGBTQ+ parents to confirm their legal parentage so that they and their children are protected wherever their families move or travel. The state senate passed S0121 last month, and the House is currently considering its counterpart, H 5226.
Vermont: We spearheaded updates to Vermont’s outdated laws with the Vermont Parentage Act of 2017. This year, Vermont also passed two shield laws, HB 89 and SB 37, which create the most comprehensive protections to date for both providers and seekers of transgender healthcare, as well as reproductive care.
We have made powerful progress toward equality, but LGBTQ+ families around the country are facing increasing risks. Extremists have filed hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and recent state court actions combined with outdated parentage laws are creating serious hardships for LGBTQ+ parents and their kids. We must continue the work to ensure that our families can not only be safe and protected – but thrive.
That’s why we worked with the Movement Advancement Project in collaboration with COLAGE, Family Equality, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights to release a new report today – on LGBTQ Families Day – on the state of parentage laws across the country.
This report shows how our current patchwork of parentage laws—many of which haven’t been updated in decades—leaves LGBTQ+ parents and their children vulnerable. But it also offers a path forward, highlighting states that have taken crucial steps to update their parentage laws in recent years, like Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and highlights states – like Massachusetts – where legislation is currently pending.
We are also proud to join with Mombian, the founder of LGBTQ Families Day, to launch a new resource to help LGBTQ+ parents navigate paths to ensuring legal protections for their families: LGBTQ Paths to Parentage Security.
In the face of current threats to equality, we will fiercely defend our community, tirelessly advocate for legislation that protects our relationships, and celebrate our beautiful families with Pride.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and The Trevor Project – along with the National Education Association and more than a dozen other organizations – have submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education supporting its proposed rule requiring equal treatment of transgender students in school sports under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In addition to the National Education Association, the coalition of organizations includes Family Equality, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and SAGE.
The comments commend the Department for affirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination against transgender students in school sports, noting the urgency of creating clear federal policy in the face of the unlawful bans proliferating in many states. The proposed rule states that any policy that categorically bans transgender girls or women from playing on girls’ or women’s sports teams, or that prohibits transgender boys or men from playing on boys or men’s sports teams, is prohibited.
“We applaud the Department of Education for drafting a rule that protects transgender students from discrimination and ensures their equal inclusion in school sports,” said NCLR Federal Policy Director Juliana S. Gonen.
“With so many states adopting policies that exclude transgender athletes in violation of Title IX, it is urgent the Department of Education finalizes its rule that makes clear transgender students must be given full and equal inclusion in school sports programs,” said GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi.
“Following the wave of anti-transgender state laws we’ve witnessed that prohibit trans young people from participating in school sports, it is crucial that the Department of Education reject these discriminatory policies and stand firmly in support of trans students with this rule. No young person should be denied the opportunity to be part of a team simply because of who they are,” said Kasey Suffredini (he/him), Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project.
Earlier this year, NCLR and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defender (GLAD) jointly produced a fact sheet explaining the proposed rule and its protection of transgender students in school sports under Title IX.
NCLR has filed lawsuits challenging state laws banning transgender students from school sports in Utah and Arizona.
NCLR, GLAD, and Coalition of Organizations Support Biden Administration’s Inclusive Title IX Athletics Rule
The National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD, along with the National Education Association and more than a dozen other organizations, have submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education supporting its proposed rule requiring equal treatment of transgender students in school sports under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In addition to the National Education Association, the coalition of organizations includes Family Equality, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, SAGE, and the Trevor Project.
The comments commend the Department for affirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination against transgender students in school sports, noting the urgency of creating clear federal policy in the face of the unlawful bans proliferating in many states. The proposed rule states that any policy that categorically bans transgender girls or women from playing on girls’ or women’s sports teams, or that prohibits transgender boys or men from playing on boys or men’s sports teams, is prohibited.
“We applaud the Department of Education for drafting a rule that protects transgender students from discrimination and ensures their equal inclusion in school sports,” said NCLR Federal Policy Director Juliana S. Gonen.
“With so many states adopting policies that exclude transgender athletes in violation of Title IX, it is urgent the Department of Education finalizes its rule that makes clear transgender students must be given full and equal inclusion in school sports programs,” said GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi.
Earlier this year, NCLR and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defender (GLAD) jointly produced a fact sheet explaining the proposed rule and its protection of transgender students in school sports under Title IX.
NCLR has filed lawsuits challenging state laws banning transgender students from school sports in Utah and Arizona.
Proposed Rule Affirms Nondiscrimination Protections for Transgender Students in Sports
Proposed Rule Affirms Nondiscrimination Protections for Transgender Students in Sports
Update: In April of 2024, the U.S. Department of Education released a final rule that affirms that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, transgender status, and other sex-based characteristics and stereotypes. Learn more about the final rule.
On April 13, 2023, the Department of Education’s proposed a regulatory standard under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) governing the inclusion of transgender athletes (Proposed Athletics Rule). The proposed rule protects the ability of transgender students to participate in sports.
Earlier this year, GLAD and the National Center for Lesbian Rights jointly produced a fact sheet explaining the proposed rule and its protection of transgender students in school sports under Title IX.
While we strongly support the proposed rule, we urge the Department of Education to provide more clarity around enforcement to prevent misinterpretation and misapplication of the rule.
On May 13, GLAD and NCLR, along with several other LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, submitted a public comment in support of the proposed rule.Read the public comment.
Thursday, June 1, 2023, is the 18th annual LGBTQ Families Day, a time to celebrate the many families in every state and almost every county of the U.S. that have LGBTQ+ people in them.
This event aims to raise awareness of the diversity, challenges, and joys of all LGBTQ+ families—found, formed, and chosen—who exist throughout our society.
How to Participate
Anyone who supports LGBTQ families is welcome to participate by:
Posting, tweeting, or sharing on any social media channel in celebration and support of LGBTQ families on June 1, 2023, and including the hashtag #LGBTQFamiliesDay.
Following the hashtag #LGBTQFamiliesDay throughout the day and sharing the stories, images, and thoughts from other participants.
Celebrating in your community in whatever way uplifts the voices and experiences of LGBTQ families.
Share these graphics to help spread the word—or use an image of your own family.
Background
LGBTQ Families Day was developed by the award-winning LGBTQ-parenting site Mombian and is sponsored by Family Equality, PFLAG National, GLAAD, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), and COLAGE. Since 2006, the day has engaged parents across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, parents of LGBTQ+ children, LGBTQ+ individuals, children of LGBTQ+ parents, and non-LGBTQ+ family members and allies. The event is held at the start of June, between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, in order to honor all parents but also to highlight that not all families fit into the traditional structure of one mother and one father. Additionally, June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Seven Florida families will add a challenge to SB 254 to their pending lawsuit against the bans issued by the state’s Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine
Seven Florida parents who are currently challenging state Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine rules banning established medical care for their children and other transgender adolescents will also ask a federal court to block provisions in SB 254, passed by the Florida legislature today, that would codify into state law the current Boards of Medicine bans and create additional barriers for families with transgender adolescents.
The families are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign, which issued the following statement:
Today the state of Florida has doubled down on denying science, intruding on family privacy and parental decision-making, and trampling on the rights and wellbeing of transgender adolescents. The bill passed by the legislature today interferes even further with families, deliberately provoking conflict by inviting challenges to established custody orders. This exacerbates the state of emergency for parents who are already being forced to watch their kids suffer rather than get them the effective healthcare they need and that will allow them to thrive. We will take swift action to ask the federal court to block the ban on access to essential healthcare in SB 254, as well as the Boards of Medicine bans, to stop further harm to transgender youth and their families while the plaintiffs’ case continues.
Similar bans on established medical care for transgender youth have been blocked by federal judges in Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is a time to highlight the significant role of LGBTQ+ people in the AAPI community and to reflect on the progress made as well as the work that remains to be done in advocating for equality and inclusivity. Join us as we explore the diverse identities and narratives of LGBTQ+ people of Asian and Pacific Island descent and celebrate their remarkable journeys during this month of recognition and appreciation.
Nellie Wong, Kitty Tsui, Merle Woo, and the Unbound Feet
Born into the
skin of yellow women
we are born
into the armor of warriors.
– Kitty Tsui- Tsui, K. (1989). Chinatown Talking Story. In Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings by and about Asian American Women.
Art has always been crucial in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, as Nellie Wong, Kitty Tsui, and Merle Woo demonstrated. Kitty Tsui was born in Hong Kong, Nellie Wong was born in Oakland to Chinese immigrant parents, and Merle Woo was born in SanFrancisco to Chinese and Korean parents. These three formed the feminist performance group Unbound Feet in 1979. The group gave Asian American and LGBTQ-identifying people a safe space to share, support one another, and connect.
Because of their work, during this time in San Francisco’s Chinatown, queer women of Chinese ancestry began to metaphorically “unbind” their feet. This marked a pivotal shift towards self-discovery, empowerment, and liberation.
Unbound Feet’s work culminated in participating in the first National Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference held in Washington, D.C. in 1979. Their groundbreaking efforts in raising awareness, promoting inclusivity, and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights have left a lasting legacy, inspiring and empowering queer Asians in their fight for visibility, acceptance, and equality.
Alok Vaid-Menon
Alok Vaid-Menon is a performance artist, writer, and advocate who has spoken out about the intersection of their identities as a gender non-conforming person and a person of South Asian descent. Alok is vocal about the unique challenges and discrimination that LGBTQ+ people who are also part of marginalized racial and ethnic communities face. They have advocated for intersectional approaches to social justice and activism.
As a performance artist, Alok uses their art and creativity to challenge societal norms and expectations around gender and identity. They have performed on stages, in galleries, and on social media using fashion, poetry, and other art forms to express their gender identity and promote self-acceptance and self-expression for others. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), and Your Wound/My Garden (2021); they are also the creator of #DeGenderFashion, a social media-led initiative to degender fashion and beauty industries.
In recognition of their work, Alok has been honored as the inaugural LGBTQ Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania and awarded a GLAAD Media Award and Stonewall Foundation Visionary Award.
Alok Vaid-Menon
Kaumakiwa Kanaka’ole
Learning hula and Hawaiian music at a young age under the guidance of her mother, Kekuhi Kanahele, and her grandmother, the late Edith Kanaka’ole, Kaumakiwa Kanaka’ole is a renowned Hawaiian musician, hula dancer, and cultural practitioner. Kaumakaiwa creates some of the most original work to emerge in contemporary Hawaiian music, drawing from ancestral memory, hula practice, and melodic chants. Kaumakaiwa seamlessly melds Hawaiian culture and modern sensibilities in compelling music.
In addition to her music and dance work, Kaumakiwa is also a cultural practitioner and advocate for preserving Hawaiian culture. She has worked to promote Hawaiian language and traditional practices and has been involved in efforts to protect Hawaiian land and natural resources.
Kaumakiwa said, “The trans community has always been [in Hawaii]. The third gender is not an uncommon theme in most indigenous and aboriginal cultures. Polynesia is no exception, particularly in Hawaii. Ancient indigenous people embrace all facets and mediums of gender while still trying to balance the juxtaposition of colonialism or Western religious oppression.”
Kaumakiwa Kanaka’ole
Rose Bamberger
In 1965, eight women met secretly to form the Daughters of Bilitis. This group aimed to provide support, advocacy, and community for lesbians at a time when homosexuality was highly stigmatized and illegal in many parts of the United States. The organization held social events, published a monthly magazine called “The Ladder,” and engaged in activism to promote lesbian rights and visibility.
Interested in a safe space to dance and meet new people, Filipina Rose Bamberger and her wife, Rosemary Sliepen, hosted a meeting that formally became the Daughters of Bilitis. Bamberger played a crucial role in gathering a handful of women, including Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who would later become known as the founders. Despite not being a member for long, her contribution to the organization was forever recognized.
Bamberger had valid concerns about protecting herself due to the potential ramifications that could stem from public knowledge of her sexuality. She experienced frequent job changes during the 1950s, working as a machine operator, brush maker, or factory worker, forcing her to change residences at least five times. Like so many women in her time, Bamberger feared the consequences of coming out and vowed to create a safe space for women of all alike. Rose Bamberger was a founder of Daughters of Bilitis though she didn’t stay in the group long. She is one of many women of color involved in the LGBTQ+ rights movement but has been overlooked or erased from this history.
Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee is an American LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist. He is best known for his work in advocacy, education, and community organizing related to LGBTQ+ rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, and social justice issues. Chris Lee was an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights within communities of color.
Christopher Lee was instrumental in the passing of the “Respect After Death Act,” also known as AB 1577, in California in 2014. The Respect After Death Act requires that death certificates accurately reflect a person’s gender identity if it is different from the sex that was originally listed on the birth certificate. The passing of this act helps ensure the dignity and identity of transgender and gender non-conforming folks are respected after their death. Christopher Lee was a prominent advocate for this legislation and worked with California state lawmakers to help bring it to fruition.
Christopher Lee
Tak Yamamoto
As the co-founder of Asian Pacific Lesbian & Gays, the first formal organization created to meet the specific needs of queer Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Takenori “Tak” Yamamoto was a significant figure in LGBTQ+ history.
Growing up in a large family, Yamamoto was among the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly removed from the West Coast due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. Yamamoto’s family was sent to Poston, Arizona, one of ten American concentration camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. His family spent three years in the Arizona desert behind barbed wire. After the war, Yamamoto left Poston and returned to Los Angeles. After completing high school, he joined the United States Army and served in Germany.
He was the first openly gay president of any chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), a national organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Japanese American heritage and civil rights. His election to this position in the Seattle chapter of the JACL in 1985 was a significant milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in the Japanese American community.
Tak Yamamoto
Amao Leota Lu
Amao Leota Lu was born in 1971 in Auckland, New Zealand. She then immigrated with some of her Samoan diaspora family to Sydney in the 1980s. Through traveling in her early twenties, she came to terms with her gender identity as a woman and a fa’afafine. Faʻafafine have a third gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa, and the Samoan diaspora. She uses performances to advocate for fa’afafine identity, particularly in Western LGBTQ+ spaces. These performances combine the ideas of gender identity and Pacific culture.
As the very first queer Pacific event at Midsumma Festival in Melbourne, she performed a piece entitled Pacific Essence: Tales of a Migrant Plantation, which was staged at the Immigration Museum.
Her performances are part of a “cult phenomenon” where queer perspectives are combined with “Indigenous knowledge-making.” Leota Lu is also outspoken about the discrimination that gender-diverse members of Pacific Islander communities still face. Former occupations have included community support workers.
Amao Leota Lu
Trung le Nguyen
Trung le Nguyen, a.k.a. @Trungles, is a graphic novelist and illustrator.
Trung was born in a refugee camp in the Philippine province of Palawan and raised in Minnesota. He started making comics in middle school but stopped doing it in college. In 2012, he earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art with a minor in art history from Hamline University.
The use of traditional inking and penciling, as well as references to Vietnamese imagery, shojo manga, and well-known children’s literature, distinguish Trung’s work. He lists Harry Clarke, Heinrich Lefler, and Rose O’Neill as influences. The Magic Fish, Trung’s debut original graphic novel, was released on October 13, 2020, by Random House Graphic, a Penguin Random House brand.
Trung has received two Harvey Awards, a Romics (Italy), a prize from Angoulême (France), a GLAAD nomination, and an Eisner nomination.
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