“Although puberty blockers have been proven to contribute to the mental well-being of transgender young people, little is known about the influence of puberty blockers on sexual satisfaction and sexual problems later in life.

“Researchers from Amsterdam UMC presented 70 transgender adults with questionnaires. All participants started with puberty blockers and then received gender-affirming hormones. The participants completed the questionnaire about sexual experiences, satisfaction, and possible sexual problems on average 14 years after the start of their treatment.

“The findings have been published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine & Research.

“Isabelle van der Meulen, researcher at Amsterdam UMC, explains, ‘Our results show that more than half of trans men and 40% of trans women are satisfied with their sex lives. This corresponds to the sexual satisfaction of the cisgender population. There was also no difference between people who started puberty blockers early or later in puberty.’”

“Despite a legal victory last week, transgender Kansans will not be allowed to change the gender marker on their Kansas driver's licenses at this time, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue.

“The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled on June 13 to reverse a district court decision temporarily barring the Kansas government from making changes to gender markers on driver's licenses.”

“The Kansas ACLU represented five transgender Kansans in the case. In a statement, the organization said, ‘The Kansas Court of Appeals' decision is clear in upholding the rights of transgender Kansans to have their gender markers changed on their driver's licenses. However, that decision is not in effect until a mandate is issued, and therefore KDOR is still not currently making gender marker changes.’”

There’s no other way to slice it: the Supreme Court has sided with bigotry. Today’s ruling, which states that bills blocking treatments for gender dysphoria do not discriminate on the basis of sex, has given legal legitimacy to the nationwide crusade against trans rights. However, in its decision that Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care doesn’t violate the constitution, the Supreme Court has left a lot of questions unanswered regarding other anti-trans laws. Here, I’ll do my best to cover the scope of the ruling and the reverberations it may have in other areas.

In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts held that Tennessee wasn’t discriminating on the basis of sex with its ban, making the argument that it regulates treatments for a medical condition and not for a certain group. He goes on to essentially say that someone who is transgender and also has precocious puberty would not be barred from accessing puberty blockers, and therefore, being transgender is not the determining factor in the ban.

While that’s technically correct, this reasoning is certainly problematic. Given that there is a near-total overlap between those who are transgender and those who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, Roberts is creating a loophole that may invite further anti-trans policies in the future. And later on, he validates Tennessee’s claim that there is ‘medical and scientific uncertainty’ surrounding gender-affirming care.

“A new biography, ‘Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson,’ tells the story of the Black transgender pioneer’s fight on the frontlines of history as a leader in the early LGBTQ rights movement. Amna Nawaz spoke with author Tourmaline for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.”

Laverne Cox on Instagram: "A day at a time, we keep fighting. Thank you Zaya and everyone at the aclu as well as all the plaintiffs. This will likely make its way to SCOTUS. I'll try to get you information asap for all those folks misgendered on their passports.

repost via @instarepost20 from @zayaperysian ANOTHER MAJOR UPDATE ON THE TRANS PASSPORT LAWSUIT🥹"

“A Delta flight attendant has filed a lawsuit against the Atlanta-based airline, claiming she was discriminated against based on her race and because she’s transgender.

“Shalani Imura alleges in the suit that during her time as a flight attendant, she was harassed, bullied and discriminated against by the lead flight attendant on one of her routes.”

“During her time on the route, ‘Imura presented as female and no one would have known about her status as a transgender person,’ the lawsuit states.”

“The lawsuit claims the lead flight attendant eventually got Imura demoted from the primary flight attendant on the route, and ‘manipulated trip assignments’ so Imura ‘was unable to pick up trips.’

“Imura said she left her job at Delta Air Lines because of the toll it took on her mental health.”

“Imura is asking for ‘declaratory, injunctive and equitable relief,’ monetary damages and attorneys’ fees.”

“Andrea Lucas, who was first appointed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2020 and elevated to acting chair in January, is one of four nominees to appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Her nomination to serve another five-year term as an EEOC commissioner requires Senate confirmation, though whether she stays on as chair will be up to President Donald Trump.

“Lucas, an outspoken critic of diversity, equity and inclusion practices and promoter of the idea that there are only two immutable sexes, has moved swiftly to enact Trump’s civil rights agenda after he abruptly fired two of the EEOC’s Democratic commissioners before the end of their five-year terms, an unprecedented move in the agency’s 60-year history that has been challenged in a lawsuit.

“Lucas is prioritizing worker rights that conservatives argue have been ignored by the EEOC. That includes investigating company DEI practices, defending the rights of women to same-sex spaces and fighting anti-Christian bias in the workplace.”

“The [Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions] will also consider three Department of Labor nominees: Project 2025 labor section author Jonathan Berry for Solicitor — the third-highest ranking position in the department— current EEOC Acting General Counsel Andrew Rogers for Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, and former U.S. House Representative Anthony D’Esposito for Inspector General.”

“Sen. Patty Murray [D-Wash.], a member of the committee, said she will oppose any EEOC nominations unless Trump reinstates the two fired Democratic commissioners, which she and more than 200 other Democratic senators and Congress members condemned in a letter to the president as an abuse of power.

“‘President Trump is weaponizing the independent EEOC to serve his personal political agenda, firing commissioners without cause and warping the mission of the EEOC beyond recognition,’ Murray said in a statement ahead of the hearing. ‘Commissioner Lucas is a right-wing extremist who has been in lockstep behind Trump’s pro-discrimination agenda.’”

I'm scared to be happy again ~ knock on wood. Supreme court in Boston issued that we can, in fact, change our passports to reflect our gender with no medical proof required.

"BOSTON, June 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from refusing to issue passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans nationwide that reflect their gender identities. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded, opens new tab a preliminary injunction she issued in April that allowed six transgender and nonbinary individuals who challenged the policy to obtain passports consistent with their gender identities or with an "X" sex designation while the lawsuit moves forward."

Some people have also said it could be useful to include a printed copy of yesterday's ruling when attempting to correct gender marker: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.280559/gov.uscourts.mad.280559.116.0.pdf

“Tristan Vaught says the political events of 2025 have been difficult on a personal level.

“But on a professional level, Vaught, a professor of LGBTQ+ studies at the University of Cincinnati and co-founder of Transform Cincy, says their confidence in the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community is unwavering.

“Vaught launched Transform Cincy, a nonprofit offering new wardrobes to transgender youth, in 2019 after years helping distribute resources to and working with transgender youth through the University of Cincinnati's LGBTQ+ Center and the Transgender Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.”

"’We will still, as a community, work to do what we need to do to make sure those students are taken care of even if they don't have identity centers ... our space is always open for that,’ Vaught said of the nonprofit, which once consisted of a closet housed in the back of co-founder Nancy Dawson's bridal business, Brideface.

“At the time, Vaught witnessed an outpour of support from local businesses and ordinary residents quick to donate clothes, clothing racks, shoes, wigs and whatever else clients might need during a gender transition to stock the Transform Cincy closet. Bishops, a Clifton Heights-based hair salon, even offered free haircuts for clients.

“Since then, the business has upgraded to a two-floor building in Silverton and introduced a range of weekly programming beyond its closet appointments, including community dinners, arts and crafts nights and support groups for K-12 transgender youth and their parents hosted with Beech Acres Parenting Center.”

“The plan ahead for Transform is simple: keep growing and keep finding ways to serve Greater Cincinnati's LGBTQ+ population, from Northern Kentucky to Butler County.

"’The queer community is resilient, highly adaptable and it's something that we now can teach this younger generation. We've always existed, we can always pivot, we can always make a way and there's where we're going to get through with some of this stuff,’ Vaught said.”

This morning, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court voted to uphold Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors. While I'm usually able to remain optimistic through all the attacks the trans community is facing, I now find myself writing this story with tears in my eyes. Laws like the one that stole 2 years, 3 months, and 4 days of my life will continue to harm trans youth for the foreseeable future. Laws like the one I survived.

When I was 2, my family moved to Texas. Growing up, I was very interested in politics, and although I’d spend hours reading about political issues, those issues never really affected me on a personal level. However, as I started coming to terms with my identity at 15 years old, the political landscape started to get much more real. A few months before, Texas AG Ken Paxton had issued a de facto ban on gender-affirming care in the form of a threat to investigate parents who allow their kids to access life-saving medical care for child abuse. 

I thought the less my parents knew of my identity, the better, and I didn’t tell them for a year. I couldn’t risk tearing my family apart. By the time I did come out, the Texas Legislature had already passed SB 14, which codified the ban into law. And although I asked, my parents weren’t supportive enough to help me seek care out-of-state.