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Oklahoma!But soon after, the school’s principal called Hightower’s father to inform him of a new district policy.“He said we’re instituting a new policy where only males can play males, and only females can play females,” Phillip Hightower told Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS-TV.The elder Hightower was “devastated” by the decision, noting that Max has never been treated differently because of his gender identity — until now.Aside from being absurd — cross-gender casting has been a reality in the theater world dating back centuries — the school district’s purported policy will likely prove logistically difficult if it tries to avoid cross-gender casting, in part because there’s frequently a dearth of males in high school production casting pools.Illustrating that point, the sudden policy change also reportedly cost several other cast members their roles, according to the New York Post.Max Hightower’s adult sister, Gracie, recounted the events involving her brother, writing that some female students cast as “cowboys” were told they could not participate in the play due to the school district’s decision to intervene in casting.“Many opportunities were ripped away from kids not for bad grades, not for bad behavior, not for attendance, but for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the production whatsoever,” she wrote.A group of parents, including Phillip Hightower, plan to appeal the decision to the school board. “I’m not an activist.

found on a Dallas street on the morning of May 18, 2019. She had recently spoken out about being attacked by an angry mob following a minor car accident in front of a local apartment complex.Police said they identified Lyles as the suspect in Booker’s murder while investigating the deaths of a man and a woman killed in two separate shootings in the days around Booker’s death.Lyles has also been charged in those deaths.

letter demanding that the NCAA ban transgender female athletes from competing in women’s sports.The letter’s signatories are Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Parson of Missouri, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming.All except Lombardo — who is saddled with a Democratic-led state legislature — represent states that have passed laws banning transgender participation on female-designated sports teams.The governors decry the NCAA’s current policy on transgender athletes, which allows the individual national governing body of each sport to determine criteria for eligibility.Some of those sporting bodies, including track and field and swimming, have barred transgender competitors from female events.Both bodies have also suggested holding a third “open” category in which transgender swimmers could compete at the elite or post-collegiate levels.“The NCAA has the chance to guarantee an environment where female college athletes can thrive without the concern of inequities,” the letter reads. “We trust that you also want to guarantee just such an environment.

1819 News, F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, and the pastor at First Baptist Church in Phenix City, apparently cultivated an online persona named “Brittini Blaire Summerlin,” who referred to herself as a “Transitioning Transgender Curvy Girl.”As Summerlin, Copeland frequently posted to Reddit and had a private Instagram page, where he encouraged people to follow him.

previously ruled that an Oregon school district was within its rights and did not violate federal law when it allowed a transgender student to use gender-affirming restroom and locker room facilities.The 9th Circuit also previously blocked an Idaho law barring transgender athletes from competing on female-designated sports teams on the grounds that the policy may violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.Three similar laws, from West Virginia, Arizona, and Utah, have also been temporarily blocked from being enforced by court orders.

“It is understandable to look at the state of transgender rights today and feel dismayed — I get that,” says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “But there are really incredible leaders who are fighting back.

murder of a transgender woman earlier this month.A’nee Roberson, 30, of Northwest D.C., was struck and killed by a vehicle around 4:20 a.m. on Saturday, October 14, near the intersection of U and 9th Streets NW — just steps from several prominent D.C.

an interview with GQas the league’s first nonbinary and transgender referee.A Los Angeles native who uses the pronoun “they,” Flores worked 35 games last season, and 12 games as a non-staff official during the 2021-2022 season.When Flores first became an NBA official, the league touted an announcement that two new women referees had been added to the mostly male referee corps — something Flores found alienating, knowing that, in private, they had begun to identify as transgender.“One piece I was missing for myself was that no one knew how I identified,” they said. “Being misgendered as she/her always just felt like a little jab in the gut.”But since coming out to some of their colleagues during a preseason meeting last month, Flores now feels more at ease and less constrained, even when it comes to little everyday choices like dressing in a manner that matches their gender identity.“When I started refereeing, you had to look a certain way,” Flores told GQ.

The Associated Press.Critics also alleged that party leadership attempted to impose fees on at-large diversity caucus members, including LGBTQ members, without notifying them beforehand or informing them that failure to pay would lead to their removal from the party.The Democratic National Committee has since directed the Alabama Democratic Party to pass new bylaws — with certain safeguards to ensure diversity constituencies are given an equal opportunity to elect at-large members of their choice — by February 1, 2024.

“Harry Potter” author bluntly dismissed the transgender community Tuesday on X when she posted a photo of a message — “Repeat after us: Trans Women are Women” — that was projected onto the offices of the British Ministry of Justice. “No,” Rowling, 58, bluntly wrote before expounding further in a thread. “I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex,” Rowling continued on X.

The Kansas City Star as “Dave,” says he visited the Linwood Boulevard Costco on October 9 to pick up packs of 100 syringes, which are cheaper at Costco when bought in bulk compared to other retailers.Typically, Costco sells the syringes without a prescription. While they’re not solely designated for insulin injections for diabetics, that is generally their most common use.But Dave had been using the smaller, thinner insulin needles because they made his regular testosterone injections less painful.

“When I announced that I was running for public office, I called a lot of other politicians in the Middle Tennessee area, and heard the same thing from everybody,” recalls Olivia Hill, the recently sworn-in Metropolitan Nashville Council Member At-Large, who became the Volunteer State’s first out transgender officeholder. “All those politicians told me, ‘Olivia, on a campaign, you’re going to meet some really, really nice people.

paid partnership with Bud Light — appears in a feathery white shoulderless gown and braided hair crown on the pink cover of the magazine’s awards issue.The TikToker also took to the stage Wednesday to accept her award at the mag’s ceremony, wearing two outfits on the night, including a wispy bejeweled ball grown and a near-see-through black dress.“Some see me as woman of the year — some see me as a woman of a year and some change,” she quipped, noting that she “only publicly come out online 560 days ago.”“And some people don’t see me as a woman at all,” she said of her haters.“No matter how hard I try, or what I wear, or what I say, or what surgeries I get, I will never reach an acceptable version of womanhood by those hateful people’s standards,” she said.“But as long as the queer community sees me for my truth, I’m going to be OK.”The content creator also briefly mentioned her explosive Bud Light campaign, which sparked a huge boycott of the beer company that lost tens of millions in the fallout.Mulvaney said London became her “safe space” while traveling to avoid the scandal back home, saying that she “didn’t feel that baggage that she was carrying back in the US.” “I didn’t feel like the trans beer girl,” said the TikToker, who became popular due to her Days of Girlhood series. “I didn’t walk into rooms and wonder: ‘Oh, does that person hate me?’ I was just another gal walking around in a Burberry trench coat on her way to a West End musical.” Mulvaney said that the previous year “feels like a “Black Mirror” episode, referring to the surreal Netflix show — something shared by critics aghast at the new honor.“Unbelievable.

letter accompanying his veto of Assembly Bill 957, sponsored by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), Newsom said that while he appreciated the “passion and values” that led Wilson to propose the bill, he could not sign the bill.“I share a deep commitment to advancing the rights of transgender Californians, an effort that has guided my decisions through many decades in public office,” Newsom said in the statement.“That said, I urge caution when the Executive and Legislative branches of state government attempt to dictate — in prescriptive terms that single out one characteristic — legal standards for the Judicial branch to apply. Other-minded elected officials, in California and other states, could very well use this strategy to diminish the civil rights of vulnerable communities.”Newsom added that courts are already required to consider a child’s health, safety, and welfare when determining the best interests of a child, including whether a parent affirms their child’s gender identity.

nonbinary and uses they/he/she pronouns, would discuss their own podcast, “Getting Curious.”But became tense when Shepard said it was “insane” that President Joe Biden is the country’s “best option.”Then, the duo clashed over whether The New York Times should be considered a left-leaning newspaper.Van Ness argued it’s not because of recent articles about gender-affirming care that some readers interpreted as “anti-trans.” Shepard, however, used conservative talking points, claiming The Times was merely “challenging” and asking “questions” about issues, such as teens taking puberty blockers and hormones.The Post has contacted reps for Van Ness and Shepard for comment. “Some people are very uncomfortable about teenagers transitioning,” Shepard said.

posted Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter). The Post reached out to Roberts and FX for comment.

sued the state in 2021, alleging she had been discriminated against based on her gender identity, and had suffered “ongoing harassment” by staff and fellow prisoners at both the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem and at the Two Rivers Correctional Facility in Umatilla, due to her gender presentation. Zombie has claimed that the state Department of Corrections did not take significant action to stop the harassment and harm to which she was subjected.

News 5 Cleveland.This has raised questions about whether such a provision relies too heavily on gender stereotypes about clothing and behavior that could also impact non-LGBTQ students. The policy prohibits students from transitioning genders or using gender-affirming pronouns, bars same-sex couples at school events, and prohibits students from “advocat[ing] or celebrat[ing]” the LGBTQ community, including displays of the Pride flag or rainbows.A student’s biological sex will determine bathroom usage and membership on single-sex school-sponsored sports teams, although girls may join boys’ teams “when deemed appropriate.” Parents will also be notified if their child is believed to be gender-nonconforming.The new policy has been criticized by some who have claimed it appears to conflict with more welcoming remarks by Pope Francis regarding the inclusion of members of the LGBTQ community within the Church.The diocese has defended the policy as a request from church and school leaders, emphasizing the importance of training and education youth in Church teaching — even as it continues to claim that “each and every person is welcome and invited to be a part of the Church,” according to The Hill.DignityUSA, a group for LGBTQ Catholics and their families, and the organization’s Northeast Ohio chapter, have said the diocese’s policy appears to “betray the essence of Catholicism.”“The policies that our bishop has recently released send a clear message that welcome in our schools and churches is conditional,” Susan Russell, the President of Dignity Northeast Ohio, said in a statement.

video, published by the conservative Family Policy Alliance, emerged of her telling an interviewer, back in March, that “protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture” should be among conservative lawmakers’ top priorities.In the video, Blackburn quickly shifts to speaking about KOSA as a way to stop children from being “indoctrinated,” blaming social media platforms for “inundating” minors with information that “they are, emotionally, not mature enough to handle.”The bill, which has been endorsed by President Joe Biden, would allow parents to sue social media companies and online platforms that do not sufficiently shield children from under 13 from “harmful” content.But Blackburn’s comments in the video, coming so soon after railing against transgender visibility, have led some LGBTQ advocates to fear that Republicans will attempt to hijack the bill to censor all LGBTQ-related information online and block access to LGBTQ resources, from suicide prevention hotlines to LGBTQ resource groups to academic sites with even generic information, by deeming them “harmful,” reports NBC News.In response to that speculation, Blackburn’s legislative director, Jamie Susskind, claimed in a post on X that opponents were conflating the two issues and spreading misinformation about the bill. Citing an article titled, “U.S.

The Associated Press.Actions to achieve that vision include reducing the scope of government, stripping away powers under the purview of Congress while endowing the president with absolute power to do whatever he wishes, and firing tens of thousands of federal workers, replacing them with political appointees willing to cater to the whims of a hypothetical Republican president elected in 2024 — whether that is former President Donald Trump or someone with similar views.As laid out in Heritage’s 920-page blueprint, “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” the next Republican president is expected to engage in culture-war battles, taking the offensive in a war on “wokeness.”The blueprint calls for erasing any mention of sexual orientation and gender identity from all existing federal laws, agency rules, and regulations, as well as mentions of “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, gender, gender equality, gender equity, reproductive rights, and “any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights.”“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare,” the document reads.“It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women.

New York Post.Based on records of in-patient and out-patient procedures obtained from two national surgery databases, around 4,550 Americans sought transition-related surgical procedures in 2016, with that number more than tripling to 13,000 by 2019, according to the study, published in JAMA Network Open.The study’s authors attribute the rise in surgical procedures to federal and state laws approved during the Obama administration requiring coverage for medically necessary care, including treatments for gender dysphoria. The study only looked at surgical procedures in the years prior to 2020, and not hormonal interventions intended to assist in a gender transition.In total, about 48,00 individuals underwent surgical procedures from 2016 to 2020, while the overall number of “health system encounters for gender identity disorder” tripled during that same time.“The rapid rise [in gender dysphoria diagnoses] suggests that there will be a greater need for clinicians knowledgeable in the care of transgender individuals and with the requisite expertise to perform [gender confirmation surgery] procedures,” the report says.Following an 11th U.S.

model policies” for the treatment of transgender students.The policies, which have rankled many LGBTQ advocates and allies, are expected to serve as guidelines for how local school districts deal with students who are transgender or gender-nonconforming. Under the policies, students are barred from using school facilities or participating in extracurricular activities that don’t match the sex listed on their official school record.Changes to that gender marker require parents to submit legal documentation, such as a birth certificate or passport, to schools.Parents must provide written permission in order for students to go by a different name or pronouns; however, individual teachers and administrators can ignore parents’ requests even in cases where permission has been granted.Miyares’s advisory opinion, which is not legally binding, asserts that the model policies are perfectly compliant with federal and state nondiscrimination laws, and asserts that school boards must adopt policies in line with them — although state law is silent on how the state can compel school boards into compliance, reports NBC Washington.Additionally, several conservative districts refused to adopt pro-transgender policies put forth by former Democratic Gov.

Sacramento Bee, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Tom Garza issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Chino Valley Unified School District from enforcing the policy, which is one of six school districts in the state to have adopted policies requiring parental notification when a student doesn’t conform to gender norms or stereotypes.The Chino Valley policy was challenged by Attorney General Rob Bonta, who argued that the policy violates the privacy rights of LGBTQ students, and endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students.The Orange Unified School District was the most recent to adopt a policy similar to Chino Valley’s — coming after Bonta’s lawsuit was filed — with school boards in Murietta, Temecula, the Anderson Union High School District in Shasta County, in the northern part of the state, and the Rocklin School District, northeast of Sacramento.The policies are increasingly being adopted in conservative enclaves throughout the state as part of a larger societal backlash against transgender visibility — which has been encouraged by conservative influencers and Republican Party leaders.A group of activists recently filed a ballot initiative — one of three targeting transgender youth visibility — that would impose similar parental notification policies on districts throughout the state.The Alaska State Board of Education recently approved a proposed regulation barring transgender girls from competing on female-designated high school sports teams for any districts that are part of the Alaska School Activities Association.

executive order that defines a person’s gender as based on their biological sex and unable to be changed under state law.Dubbed the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” the order seeks to effectively erase the existence of transgender identity from law, directing all state agencies, boards, and commissions to only recognize a person’s male or female assigned sex at birth for legal and statistical purposes.Under the executive order, state agencies would be barred from recognizing a person — even one who had undergone surgical transition, or one who had had their name and gender legally changed by a court order — according to their gender identity.The order defines a “female” as a “person whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova” and a “male” as a “person whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.” The order also defines several gender-specific terms, including “woman,” “girl,” “man,” “boy,” “mother,” and “father.”Pillen has claimed the executive order is needed to ensure that women can succeed and thrive in single-sex activities or spaces and to protect the “safety” and bodily autonomy of women in multi-user public facilities where they have the expectation of privacy.“It is common sense that men do not belong in women’s only spaces,” Pillen said in a statement. “As Governor, it is my duty to protect our kids and women’s athletics, which means providing single-sex spaces for women’s sports, bathrooms, and changing rooms.”Pillen’s order is nearly identical to a similar executive order signed by Oklahoma Republican Gov.

Texas Tribune.The law was challenged by a group of plaintiffs, including five families with transgender children, three doctors specializing in transgender care, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization, and an organization for LGBTQ health professionals. The plaintiffs argued that the ban on gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender youth, infringes on parents’ right to make medical decisions they believe are in their children’s best interests, and violates doctors’ freedom to practice medicine.In her ruling, Cantú Hexsel agreed with the plaintiffs, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving the law “interferes with Texas families’ private decisions and strips Texas parents … of the right to seek, direct, and provide medical care for their children.”“The evidence before the Court does not support the conclusion the Act protects the health or wellbeing of minors,” Cantú Hexsel wrote.

barring transgender students from gender-affirming facilities is discriminatory and unconstitutional. It remains unclear what will happen if a district’s school restroom access policies are found to violate existing legal precedent.When the policies were first introduced last year, thousands of high school and middle school-aged students across the state held walkouts in protest.While no school district is required to fully adopt the “model policies” guidance — just as many conservative districts refused to adopt transgender-friendly policies in 2021 under former Democratic Gov.

Reuters.Under the policy, school staff is expected to create a plan governing a student’s preferred names, pronouns, participation in athletics or school extracurricular activities, and the restroom and locker room facilities they are allowed to access.The policy also requires teachers and counselors to gauge the level of support a student “receives or anticipates receiving” from their parent if such information is disclosed.While ideally, the gender support plans work “toward inclusion of the family,” school staff may choose to withhold information about the plans if a student’s family would not support their coming out or socially transitioning. In response to the policy, three parents, backed by the National Legal Foundation, a conservative Christian group, sued.They argued that the policy violates their due process rights under the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which protects the right of parents to direct the care of their children as they see fit.But two appointees of former President Donald Trump — U.S.

issued the injunction last month to block the state from enforcing its prohibitions on transgender females who seek to compete on female-designated sports teams while a lawsuit challenging those restrictions moves forward.Under the law, known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, transgender females are prohibited from competing on sex-segregated sports teams that align with their gender identity, and cisgender students who believe they lost out on athletic opportunities due to the presence of a transgender athlete can sue for damages.The law also allows for female athletes — both transgender and cisgender, particularly if a cisgender athlete does not conform to traditional stereotypes of femininity — to be subjected to genetic testing to “prove” their gender identity matches assigned sex at birth.But Zipps found that the law is “overly broad” and may be unconstitutional, violating not only female athletes’ right to equal protection, but Title IX, the federal law that bars discrimination based on sex in educational settings. As such, allowing the policy to be enforced before a final decision on the law’s constitutionality was reached would “irreparably harm” the transgender plaintiffs.Zipps also found that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that pre-pubertal athletes assigned male at birth hold a significant physiological or competitive advantage over cisgender females, as they have not yet developed secondary sex characteristics.

KESQ. “And then the other two girls that were with her came and they were like basically jumping me and tore my clothes. I was in disbelief and a rage that I got hit for simply existing.”Perez, who had been stripped down to her undergarments, spat at the women, only to be sucker-punched by an unidentified man.

intervened in the case, representing Anne and her parents, praised the dismissal of the lawsuit.“Today’s ruling reaffirms that the Constitution is not a vehicle to compel discrimination,” David Carey, the group’s deputy legal director, said in a statement.