Week In Trans: Jon Stewart Goes Off, Ohio Board Of Education, Gen Z Is Gay, HRC LGBTQ+ Teen Survey!

So much happened in the last week, and it feels like we have achieved some victories. Let's get ready for bigger fights ahead!

Jon Stewart’s Episode of “The Problem With Jon Stewart”

If you somehow missed it, this week Jon Stewart released one of the most powerful defenses of transgender rights a cisgender ally has ever put forward. It began with a comedic monologue reminiscent of his old school Daily Show content, in which he hit back against things like biological reductivism and Matt Walsh’s “What Is A Woman” question - at times using things like the Bible and old English law to contradict the idea that gender is a simple concept. He moved forward to an interview with a panel of the parents of trans kids as well as transgender rights lawyer Chase Strangio. It is the ending that is catching the most attention, however.

Jon Stewart delivered a brutal takedown of one of the most anti-trans attorneys general in the United States, AG Leslie Rutledge, in an incredible interview. Arkansas was one of the first states (and remains one of the only states) to pass a law medically detransitioning all transgender teenagers in the state - that law is currently stayed in court and being argued before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Brandt v Rutledge.

His questions were fair and pointed and he managed to cut to the humanity of the issue of trans kids in a way those of us who watched him growing up would recognize as familiar. As of October 9th, 2022, videos on his interview with Rutledge have been seen over 20,000,000 times across platforms not counting those who watched the show itself. You can watch it for free at AppleTV+, no subscription required. Here is a transcript of one of the more powerful moments:

Rutledge: “We’re going to allow these children to be children, and as they… we want again to encourage them to have access to the mental health care because none of us can imagine whether its my daughter or your daughter or your son because…”

Stewart: “If my daughter or my son came to me in agony and I knew there was a program that I could get them into that had positive effects on their mental health, I would swim across rivers, climb mountains, and tunnel through whatever I needed to get to to save that childs life, and my guess is you’d do the same… and I truly hope you are never faced with that decision, because I imagine its agonizing for the parent…”

Rutledge: “..yes..”

Stewart: “and it’s agonizing for the child, but the fact that you’ve removed that option for people seems antithetical to the values you’ve professed to espouse.” (Audience wooo reactions)

Ohio Board of Education

This week on Wednesday, the Ohio Board of Education will meet to consider a motion to ban trans youth from bathrooms throughout Ohio, ban the use of their pronouns without parental consent, and to force teachers to deadname and misgender their students. The policy proposal also seeks to ban schools from applying title IX to their transgender students. This is one of the most extreme anti-trans proposals I have seen all over the United States, and I worry greatly for transgender kids in Ohio. I have personally spoken with activists on the ground and they are gearing up for a huge fight.

States continue to try to use executive action because they are unable to pass these policies through the legislature. Every time these policies have come up for a vote, they have been shot down - even in heavily red states. Only Oklahoma and Alabama have passed laws to the effect of what Ohio is proposing, and both states have had those laws stayed in court. If you live in Ohio, please show up to the Board of Education on Wednesday morning in Columbus, Ohio - details are here. Last time, we got one of the most amazing and moving defenses from a teacher in Ohio - watch their testimony:

Erin Reed @ErinInTheMorn

May every LGBTQ+ student have as fierce an advocate as Dawn Riggs, who testified against a policy in Ohio that would ban trans students pronouns, out them, ban them from bathrooms. “They knew they would be safe for at least a little while each day” in her class.

Gen Z Is Gay!

Generation Z, according to a new survey, is the gayest generation. Only roughly half of Gen Z identifies as exclusively attracted to the opposite sex, according to a new Stonewall/Ipsos poll. It is important to note that we have seen movement across all generations in terms of self-acceptance of sexuality. Only 61% of Millennials are exclusively attracted to the opposite sex. Even among Boomers, only 77% are exclusively attracted to the opposite sex.

This represents a sea change in LGBT+ identification. Previous years, only 4-5% of people identified as LGBTQ+. The world is becoming a more accepting place for queer people, and as such, people are feeling freer to admit and live their own queerness. The rapid acceptance of queer people presents a cultural challenge to Republicans seeking to discriminate against us - even though they may pass laws, it is the equivalent of plugging their fingers in the dam. Eventually, cultural attitudes will overwhelm any legal blockades they hastily try to put up.

HRC/UConn study of LGBTQ+ teens

I want to let everyone know that HRC/UConn is recruiting for its study they put out every 5 years on LGBTQ+ teens - you can see a news story on the last one here. The HRC/UConn survey has been enormously influential in LGBTQ+ legislation and rights, and they are recruiting 13-18 year olds for this years study. If you are a LGBTQ+ teenager or are the parent of one, the survey link is here - please go and take it, they also pay a small $5 gift card for your time!