The FCC is seeking comment on whether the TV Parental Guidelines rating system needs to be changed to penalize shows for transgender or nonbinary content.
The ongoing, incremental, slide toward white supremacist, patriarchal, right-wing media continues. It will be the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie 24 hours a day, or some other milquetoast production they come up with containing all white, middle class, Project 2025 approved characters and boring plot lines.
If you can't be bothered to pre-screen the content your children may consume, then don't have kids. I don't agree with parents preventing their childeen from learning about lgbtqia+ individuals, or any form of person/culture that may exist. It's clear the intent is to continue the formation of an insular nation that demeans and discriminates against anyone other than non-disabled cis-white "nuclear" families. It's mind blowing hypocrisy that they cannot be bothered to take basic measures to monitor the content their own children consume and insist upon government control of all media.
I suppose I'm talking directly about the low-effort thinkers that actually believe their kids will be turned into "us" via the TV, or social media. Lunacy.
We really need to start calling these people’s fixation upon trans folks as a perverse obsession. The Red States have already shown a marked lust for Trans Porn, as revealed by the porn industry’s latest studies.
We’re not getting enough testimony from doctors, scientists,psychologists etc.
Ohio has a few bills going now. I listened in on State House videos, featuring TERFs spewing lies, for a few minutes. Had to change the channel before my head popped off.
Where is the medical community? What can’t we fight dirty like them, with their own tactics? TV, flyers, podcasts and the like. More protests at state houses? I’ve said this before: It’s way past time for the Cis community to get off of their asses and step up. “Pastor” Click in Ohio and all his MAGA cronies need to be publicly embarrassed and held accountable for their lies.
Join a protest group, start with Indivisible. Attend statehouse meetings, speak up. This learned helplessness has got to stop. Your local LGBT community centers have resources. This splintered community has to glue itself together and get stuff moving.
The secret to success is getting STARTED!! One of my younger adopted daughters spoke out at Ohio’s statehouse. That’s how we met. We adopted each other.
She’s now studying to be a social worker, in order to help trans folks like herself. Ya gotta get bizzy, like yesterday, like NOW!!🏳️⚧️
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I appreciate it, but in a way it makes my point. Let me somewhat paraphrase the late, activist author, Saul Alinsky, who wrote: “Remember: once you organize people around something as commonly agreed upon as pollution, then an organized people is on the move.”
My point was that the community is so fragmented at present that there is nothing at an organic level that is commonly agreed upon short of a recognition that the lunatic fringe right wingers want to eliminate us, socially, politically or worse.
These people are deadly serious in their objective and very well organized and deeply funded by dark money. Standing at a wailing wall and feeling sorry for ourselves is not going to be of any help in combating these people.
I’m sorry, I’ve got old fat fingers. The issue is why can’t the transgender community as a whole get organized to fight the good fight. The lunatic fringe right wing has always played the long game politically. This is nothing new. The “Trans” community as a whole is much too fragmented and self interested to get organized. There are too many gender non-conforming segments with differing goals under our umbrella out there to combat the highly organized and deeply well funded campaign against us at the present moment.
i’m sorry, are you blaming queer people for failing to somehow overcome being treated as a scapegoat by rich pedophiles? They target us because we’re few in number and marginalized already. It’s not queer fragmentation that loses us this, it’s the fact that we’re a persecuted minority and we don’t own any billion dollar media outlets…
Staying fractured is what the bigots want. If the group doesn’t get together around the basic concept of self-preservation, the bigots win. If people continue to choose to stay fractured , they’re exhibiting their own phobias towards each other. Self-destructive behavior.
Hello, David. I agree that there is bigotry involved but these partisan fanatics are motivated by more than mere prejudice. It goes deeper than that. And while I enjoy reading many of the well written articles and essays published by Transgender authors on Substack, I do get an odd sort of “whistling past the graveyard” feeling from much of them.
And unfortunately I don’t see much, if any proactive action on the part of the “gender identity lobby” ( their words, not mine) who are supposed to be advocating on our behalf. Mara Keistling recently issued a weak rejoinder to the effect of “I guess we have to go back to educating people about us”
The constitutionality of government penalties on creative content are really very narrow. This is obviously outside those limits.
I hope this SCOTUS cares.
I recall the meme, "You might stop transgender people from being mentioned publicly, but that doesn't mean there aren't transgender people born -- it just means they become miserable people with often no idea why."
It's too late, the knowledge is out there, too well percolated into society to be completely suppressed. So yes, the reactionaries' success would mean that future trans folks would grow up miserable - but they would know why, which could be even worse.
I am expressing my concern regarding recent discussions involving the FCC and potential efforts that could expand federal oversight of television programming beyond what is intended under existing law, including the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That law has long balanced broadcast regulation with protections for competition, diversity of programming, and the role of parents in guiding what their children watch.
I am concerned about any interpretation or application of FCC authority that could be used to threaten broadcasters with revocation of licenses in a way that pressures or effectively controls editorial or programming decisions. Such actions risk shifting decision-making away from families and toward federal regulators, which could undermine established principles of parental responsibility and choice.
Additionally, I oppose any proposal that would include faith-based organizations or perspectives from participation on parental guideline or advisory bodies. Including faith-based voices in these discussions would narrow the range of viewpoints represented in shaping standards that affect families and community values.
Media regulation should remain consistent with existing law, respect the limits of regulatory authority, and ensure that parents—not government agencies—retain the primary role in guiding the content their children consume.
You know what kind of rating system I support? The one where the parents review the content and decide if it appropriate for their own child. Nobody else's.
Just be aware that you will get the response "How can I review a TV show before it's broadcast? Isn't that what the ratings system is for? So shouldn't it be expanded?"
Of course that argument becomes self-defeating because you'd either have to have ratings for every single topic that anyone at all might find offensive or concerning - which is a practical impossibility - or say it'll be up to the government to decide what topics "need parental review" and which don't and how many potentially concerned parents/guardians are necessary for the government to provide the government-determined appropriate warning.
In other words, chaos or censorship.
The problem is, most people won't get past mentally adding "to include MY concerns" to the end of my opening quote.
What's next? Shall we reexamine the parental rating system for shows that depict left-handed people? How about those with small feet? Or big hands? Or green eyes? I get it. They are trying to make the case that depicting transgender individuals somehow makes it pornographic. Since none of them have EVER interacted with one of us they don't understand that who we are has absolutely NOTHING to do with sexual orientation. They are so committed to their bigotted hatred, that they can't conceive of us as being anything other than a threat to their very existence. Their dogma teaches them that, and to accept any other view is heresy. This is a holy war for them. Facts are meaningless if those facts contradict the dogma.
It bears another reminder- even if policies like this go into effect, there 𝘪𝘴 something you can do to resist the censorship: collect all of the LGBTQ+ media you can, and back it up somewhere safe. Bring back bootlegging. Make as many copies as you can, and share the wealth with all your friends. Since they're going after children's content, focus on that for now. Grab physical copies if they're available and you can afford them. Digital media is only safe as long as it comes in a DRM-free format that can be readily copied and played/viewed without going through a proprietary media player or streaming platform. If no ordinary means exists to obtain something, don't let that deter you from finding... alternatives. VPN subscriptions cost about the same as a streaming subscription does.
The censors may be able to control what's on TV and streaming platforms, if they try hard enough, but they 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 root out every privately-held media archive; a compact SSD or flash stick can be hidden literally anywhere. The Nazis can't just chuck entire bodies of work on bonfires and be done with it anymore. It has never been easier to preserve art (or research- save copies of those trans-supportive studies, too!) than it is right now, and as long as even a single copy remains, any lost work can be brought right back again when the clouds part.
Plus, if the worst-case scenario fails to materialize, you'll still have an awesome collection of queer art to enjoy.
OMG, I am so up to here with every rich, pasty-faced, balding a-hole in a suit attempting to impose its value-of-the-week on everyone else. I'd call him two-faced, but--as my beloved mother used to say: "If you actually were two-faced, you certainly wouldn't be wearing that one."
Oh, for the days when Erica Kane's lesbian daughter, Bianca, was given a beautiful storyline with Zarf/Zoe, the first trans character on American soaps. That was 2006--ABC pre-Disney. I can bet that there are folks today who were helped by seeing the compassionate portrayal of a trans person on TV. It boggles the mind that--20 years later--there are systematic attempts to suppress and erase humanity in its multiple and perfectly designed forms. Regression at its most insidious.
If we are discussing controversial themes that may or may not be appropriate for children, for fear that it may influence them, should we also change the ratings to penalize shows that contain any religious character or theme, then? Surely a kid is too young to take an informed decision about religion, right?
It’s never going to stop until we stop talking and start doing! Months of protests have stung them but it’s still not enough! The MAGAT cult has no future, and they are finding it harder to keep their lies going! They must be pressed by protests not monthly but daily!! We must keep the truth coming out and fight their agenda and propaganda harder and louder than they ever have been! They have no free will or conscience anymore and they have no shame or empathy whatsoever for anyone who doesn’t look or think like “THEM!” They are all enemies of the Real American people and Democracy! And We Will NEVER BE ERASED BY THE BASTARDIZED GOVERNMENT OF FASCISM AND TRUMPISTAN! 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🌈🦄
FFS, even mentioning us is coming with penalties. It appears that our genocide has progressed even further.
The ongoing, incremental, slide toward white supremacist, patriarchal, right-wing media continues. It will be the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie 24 hours a day, or some other milquetoast production they come up with containing all white, middle class, Project 2025 approved characters and boring plot lines.
Like most of CBS/Paramount shows.
If you can't be bothered to pre-screen the content your children may consume, then don't have kids. I don't agree with parents preventing their childeen from learning about lgbtqia+ individuals, or any form of person/culture that may exist. It's clear the intent is to continue the formation of an insular nation that demeans and discriminates against anyone other than non-disabled cis-white "nuclear" families. It's mind blowing hypocrisy that they cannot be bothered to take basic measures to monitor the content their own children consume and insist upon government control of all media.
I suppose I'm talking directly about the low-effort thinkers that actually believe their kids will be turned into "us" via the TV, or social media. Lunacy.
We really need to start calling these people’s fixation upon trans folks as a perverse obsession. The Red States have already shown a marked lust for Trans Porn, as revealed by the porn industry’s latest studies.
We’re not getting enough testimony from doctors, scientists,psychologists etc.
Ohio has a few bills going now. I listened in on State House videos, featuring TERFs spewing lies, for a few minutes. Had to change the channel before my head popped off.
Where is the medical community? What can’t we fight dirty like them, with their own tactics? TV, flyers, podcasts and the like. More protests at state houses? I’ve said this before: It’s way past time for the Cis community to get off of their asses and step up. “Pastor” Click in Ohio and all his MAGA cronies need to be publicly embarrassed and held accountable for their lies.
I'm starting to think that these people think (obsess) about trans issues more than I, a transgender woman, do.
Join a protest group, start with Indivisible. Attend statehouse meetings, speak up. This learned helplessness has got to stop. Your local LGBT community centers have resources. This splintered community has to glue itself together and get stuff moving.
The secret to success is getting STARTED!! One of my younger adopted daughters spoke out at Ohio’s statehouse. That’s how we met. We adopted each other.
She’s now studying to be a social worker, in order to help trans folks like herself. Ya gotta get bizzy, like yesterday, like NOW!!🏳️⚧️
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I appreciate it, but in a way it makes my point. Let me somewhat paraphrase the late, activist author, Saul Alinsky, who wrote: “Remember: once you organize people around something as commonly agreed upon as pollution, then an organized people is on the move.”
My point was that the community is so fragmented at present that there is nothing at an organic level that is commonly agreed upon short of a recognition that the lunatic fringe right wingers want to eliminate us, socially, politically or worse.
These people are deadly serious in their objective and very well organized and deeply funded by dark money. Standing at a wailing wall and feeling sorry for ourselves is not going to be of any help in combating these people.
David, the issue is not why can’t we fight dirty
I’m sorry, I’ve got old fat fingers. The issue is why can’t the transgender community as a whole get organized to fight the good fight. The lunatic fringe right wing has always played the long game politically. This is nothing new. The “Trans” community as a whole is much too fragmented and self interested to get organized. There are too many gender non-conforming segments with differing goals under our umbrella out there to combat the highly organized and deeply well funded campaign against us at the present moment.
i’m sorry, are you blaming queer people for failing to somehow overcome being treated as a scapegoat by rich pedophiles? They target us because we’re few in number and marginalized already. It’s not queer fragmentation that loses us this, it’s the fact that we’re a persecuted minority and we don’t own any billion dollar media outlets…
Staying fractured is what the bigots want. If the group doesn’t get together around the basic concept of self-preservation, the bigots win. If people continue to choose to stay fractured , they’re exhibiting their own phobias towards each other. Self-destructive behavior.
Hello, David. I agree that there is bigotry involved but these partisan fanatics are motivated by more than mere prejudice. It goes deeper than that. And while I enjoy reading many of the well written articles and essays published by Transgender authors on Substack, I do get an odd sort of “whistling past the graveyard” feeling from much of them.
And unfortunately I don’t see much, if any proactive action on the part of the “gender identity lobby” ( their words, not mine) who are supposed to be advocating on our behalf. Mara Keistling recently issued a weak rejoinder to the effect of “I guess we have to go back to educating people about us”
The constitutionality of government penalties on creative content are really very narrow. This is obviously outside those limits.
I hope this SCOTUS cares.
I recall the meme, "You might stop transgender people from being mentioned publicly, but that doesn't mean there aren't transgender people born -- it just means they become miserable people with often no idea why."
Thank you for letting us know, Erin.
This appears to be the goal.
The goal meeting the definition of genocide quite well -- only so far short of organized mass murder.
Pink Pistols folks. Just like the Scouts say, Be Prepared!
[practiced with armaments are far from the only way to be prepared, they are a part of it!]
I'll just say I already bought a larger handbag with an easy access side pocket for... Reasons.
G19 reasons, to be precise.
I think we all guessed - except for the specific model, of course. :-)
FK7.5 BRNO PSD for me, same reasons. And the other three calibers it fires at trivial extra cost. A jewel of human manufacturing.
It's too late, the knowledge is out there, too well percolated into society to be completely suppressed. So yes, the reactionaries' success would mean that future trans folks would grow up miserable - but they would know why, which could be even worse.
These are the most fragile, scared, and pathetic people I have ever heard of. F*** the FCC. We aren't going anywhere.
Send the following submission:
I am expressing my concern regarding recent discussions involving the FCC and potential efforts that could expand federal oversight of television programming beyond what is intended under existing law, including the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That law has long balanced broadcast regulation with protections for competition, diversity of programming, and the role of parents in guiding what their children watch.
I am concerned about any interpretation or application of FCC authority that could be used to threaten broadcasters with revocation of licenses in a way that pressures or effectively controls editorial or programming decisions. Such actions risk shifting decision-making away from families and toward federal regulators, which could undermine established principles of parental responsibility and choice.
Additionally, I oppose any proposal that would include faith-based organizations or perspectives from participation on parental guideline or advisory bodies. Including faith-based voices in these discussions would narrow the range of viewpoints represented in shaping standards that affect families and community values.
Media regulation should remain consistent with existing law, respect the limits of regulatory authority, and ensure that parents—not government agencies—retain the primary role in guiding the content their children consume.
So well constructed, using their own frames and language against them. Bravo.
Well done. Thank you.
You know what kind of rating system I support? The one where the parents review the content and decide if it appropriate for their own child. Nobody else's.
Just be aware that you will get the response "How can I review a TV show before it's broadcast? Isn't that what the ratings system is for? So shouldn't it be expanded?"
Of course that argument becomes self-defeating because you'd either have to have ratings for every single topic that anyone at all might find offensive or concerning - which is a practical impossibility - or say it'll be up to the government to decide what topics "need parental review" and which don't and how many potentially concerned parents/guardians are necessary for the government to provide the government-determined appropriate warning.
In other words, chaos or censorship.
The problem is, most people won't get past mentally adding "to include MY concerns" to the end of my opening quote.
Bingo.
What's next? Shall we reexamine the parental rating system for shows that depict left-handed people? How about those with small feet? Or big hands? Or green eyes? I get it. They are trying to make the case that depicting transgender individuals somehow makes it pornographic. Since none of them have EVER interacted with one of us they don't understand that who we are has absolutely NOTHING to do with sexual orientation. They are so committed to their bigotted hatred, that they can't conceive of us as being anything other than a threat to their very existence. Their dogma teaches them that, and to accept any other view is heresy. This is a holy war for them. Facts are meaningless if those facts contradict the dogma.
It bears another reminder- even if policies like this go into effect, there 𝘪𝘴 something you can do to resist the censorship: collect all of the LGBTQ+ media you can, and back it up somewhere safe. Bring back bootlegging. Make as many copies as you can, and share the wealth with all your friends. Since they're going after children's content, focus on that for now. Grab physical copies if they're available and you can afford them. Digital media is only safe as long as it comes in a DRM-free format that can be readily copied and played/viewed without going through a proprietary media player or streaming platform. If no ordinary means exists to obtain something, don't let that deter you from finding... alternatives. VPN subscriptions cost about the same as a streaming subscription does.
The censors may be able to control what's on TV and streaming platforms, if they try hard enough, but they 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 root out every privately-held media archive; a compact SSD or flash stick can be hidden literally anywhere. The Nazis can't just chuck entire bodies of work on bonfires and be done with it anymore. It has never been easier to preserve art (or research- save copies of those trans-supportive studies, too!) than it is right now, and as long as even a single copy remains, any lost work can be brought right back again when the clouds part.
Plus, if the worst-case scenario fails to materialize, you'll still have an awesome collection of queer art to enjoy.
Says the man who used to rail against gov censorship https://reason.com/2025/02/05/how-the-fccs-warrior-for-free-speech-became-our-censor-in-chief/
OMG, I am so up to here with every rich, pasty-faced, balding a-hole in a suit attempting to impose its value-of-the-week on everyone else. I'd call him two-faced, but--as my beloved mother used to say: "If you actually were two-faced, you certainly wouldn't be wearing that one."
Oh, for the days when Erica Kane's lesbian daughter, Bianca, was given a beautiful storyline with Zarf/Zoe, the first trans character on American soaps. That was 2006--ABC pre-Disney. I can bet that there are folks today who were helped by seeing the compassionate portrayal of a trans person on TV. It boggles the mind that--20 years later--there are systematic attempts to suppress and erase humanity in its multiple and perfectly designed forms. Regression at its most insidious.
People's existance isn't chuld inappropriate.
If we are discussing controversial themes that may or may not be appropriate for children, for fear that it may influence them, should we also change the ratings to penalize shows that contain any religious character or theme, then? Surely a kid is too young to take an informed decision about religion, right?
I rate Erin In The Morning an A+ and Brendan Carr at the FCC an F.
It’s never going to stop until we stop talking and start doing! Months of protests have stung them but it’s still not enough! The MAGAT cult has no future, and they are finding it harder to keep their lies going! They must be pressed by protests not monthly but daily!! We must keep the truth coming out and fight their agenda and propaganda harder and louder than they ever have been! They have no free will or conscience anymore and they have no shame or empathy whatsoever for anyone who doesn’t look or think like “THEM!” They are all enemies of the Real American people and Democracy! And We Will NEVER BE ERASED BY THE BASTARDIZED GOVERNMENT OF FASCISM AND TRUMPISTAN! 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🌈🦄