Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
Hello all!
Yesterday was Trans Day of Remembrance, and unfortunately, it was marked by transphobia on Capitol Hill. On Monday, Rep. Nancy Mace (Republican, South Carolina) announced that she is introducing a measure to amend a House rule to prohibit transgender women from using women’s bathrooms at the Capitol.
When Mace was asked if she would speak with Sarah McBride, the Delaware Democrat who is set to become the first openly transgender member of Congress, about the matter, she said, “No, Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say.”
In response, McBride said: “This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”
As if McBride hadn’t been through enough, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called a press conference on Tuesday to affirm that he does not believe women can be transgender. “For anybody who doesn’t know my well-established record on this issue let me be unequivocally clear: A man is a man and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” Johnson, who has a history of comparing gay marriage to giving pets and pedophiles the right to marry, told reporters.
As we inch closer to a second Trump presidency, the next four years are likely going to be turbulent at best for the LGBTQ community. Uncloseted Media will continue to check power and call hate for what it is.
Check out our recent coverage and what’s next here:
The 13%: Why These LGBTQ Voters Are Thrilled About Trump’s Win
A House Republican is pushing to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms at the US Capitol, two weeks after history was made with the election of America’s first openly transgender person to Congress.
Offensive, racist texts now being sent to high-schoolers, Latinos and LGBTQ community, FBI says (NBC News)
The agency said that reports have grown since last week when Black people were targeted with messages from anonymous phone numbers.
Nex Benedict's school failed students, investigation finds (USA Today)
The public school district in Oklahoma came under scrutiny this year after an LGBTQ teen died of an overdose following targeted bullying.
Indiana ban on gender transition treatment for minors upheld by U.S. appeals court (NBC News)
The use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat children with gender dysphoria has been banned or restricted in 26 states.
Gay and bisexual people vape at significantly higher rates, surgeon general's report finds (NBC News)
Nearly 38% of gay, lesbian and bisexual U.S. adults have smoked e-cigarettes, compared with 16.5% of their straight counterparts, a new report found.
In honor of Trans Day of Remembrance, we put together a page that features all our trans coverage since our Sept. 3 launch. Take a look here.
As of yesterday, we’re on Bluesky! Give us a follow: https://bsky.app/profile/unclosetedmedia.bsky.social
This weekend, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 In the past ten years, the number of labiaplasty surgeries has exploded in popularity, increasing by more than 250% between 2013 and 2023. On Saturday, we’ll publish a piece by Sam Donndelinger that looks at the concept of the so-called “Barbie Vulva,” and its impact on body image.
🆕On Sunday, we’re pulling back the curtain into how the election has sowed division between queer people and their families. Sage, a nonbinary 23-year-old, is upset with their mom, Vickey Hoffman, because she voted for Trump. We tracked down a psychotherapist to mediate a conversation between the family dyad in an effort to get them talking ahead of the holidays. Call it experimental journalism… but being a fly on the wall for this conversation was very interesting.
Thanks for reading! And feel free to email me with questions, complaints, tips and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief
spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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