The Snapshot: March 2023
Our lens on current events in gender & sexuality
March 2023
NOTE: The item titles we use here are ours, to summarize the story, rather than the original title of the article. We then offer a brief summary and context in our own words, with a link to the full article so readers can click through to read the story in full.
In no surprise to anyone, another homophobic Republican legislative bully is found to be a basic, closeted hypocrite — Yahoo News (3/13/2023) — The Republican lieutenant governor of Tennessee, who has supported both anti-drag and anti-trans legislation, is pausing all social media activity after it was discovered that he has been engaging with “risqué photos and videos posted on Instagram by Franklin McClure, a Knoxville performer.” Nothing is more revealing of Republican and other fascistic groups’ motives than things like this. It makes one worry about what is behind the other things they are obsessed with… [Full story.]
Homophobic rant at a Starbucks in Miami is precisely the kind of unhinged attacks Republicans are seeking to instigate — NBC News (3/13/2023) — A white woman in a Miami Starbucks attacked a queer couple with a homophobic tirade that was caught on video and posted first to TikTok and later to Twitter, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and comments. It is worth noting that the attacker spewed some of the talking points from the current sociopolitical terror campaign being waged by the increasingly fascistic Republican party and other extremist organizations. [Full story.]
West Virginia Republicans join their colleagues elsewhere with a regressive, fascistic attack on trans young people — New Haven Register (3/11/2023) — Republicans in West Virginia are joining their party members nationwide in their twisted obsession with trans and gender expansive people and, as in so many Republican-controlled states, directing their cruelty at some of the most vulnerable: trans young people. The WV house approved a mental health exemption that would allow limited approved gender-related care “if they are at risk of self-harm or suicide.” The broader bill, however, is almost certain to pass into law, and will “outlaw those under 18 from being prescribed hormone therapy and fully reversible medication for suspending the physical changes of puberty.” [Full story.]
Transgender drag performers speak out about Republican proposed laws in Oklahoma — Tulsa World (3/11/2023) — This article starts with the important acknowledgment that “not all transgender people are drag artists and not all drag artists are transgender.” That said, there has long been overlap in the communities, and trans drag performers in Oklahoma are speaking out about the ways the right-wing rhetorical bullying and legislative attacks are impacting them. The article highlights some of the current bills there, and interviews two different drag performers. [Full story.]
Learn about and support six of the organizations fighting back against fascistic Republican anti-trans legislation in Tennessee and beyond — Them (3/10/2023) — Whether you are able to donate money, volunteer your time, or just stay informed in solidarity with what is happening in the places where trans and gender-expansive people are under greatest attack, this article gives a brief intro to six organizations and the current work they’re doing. [Full story.]
Republicans play tired word games to try to downplay their legislative and rhetorical violence against trans people — The New Republic (3/8/2023) — The increasingly regressive and fascistic Republican party continues their bizarre obsession with trans people, and unfortunately they also continue to translate that obsession into hundreds harmful rhetorical and legislative attacks. Stooping to ever new lows in terms of who they will invite to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (“CPAC”) in Maryland, a far-right “shock jock” said to a sparsely populated room: “For the good of society … transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely—the whole preposterous ideology, at every level.” Some Republicans tried to distance themselves from the comments or twist their meaning, essentially trotting out the hackneyed “love the sinner, but hate the sin” line, but their votes in congress make their violent intentions clear. [Full story.]
CPAC Speaker Urges Eradication of Trans Rights “There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing.” — New York Magazine (3/6/2023) — We might be inclined to disregard the rantings of a regressive bully like Michael Knowles delivered to a poorly attended session at CPAC if he didn’t have upwards to a million Twitter followers and wasn’t so well connected in regressive power circles. As Jonathan Chait points out in this New York Mag article, Knowles’ call for the “eradication” of “transgenderism” can’t be taken lightly. [Full story.]
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