The Washington Blade reports that LGBTQ advocacy groups are condemning the 2024 U.S. State Department human rights report for omitting references to abuses against LGBTQI+ individuals.

Key criticisms include:

• Uganda: The report fails to mention the impact of Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Law, despite referencing forced anal examinations by authorities.
• Brazil: No mention of the country’s high rate of transgender murders.
• Hungary: Claims of no significant human rights abuses, despite ongoing anti-LGBTQ policies.
• Thailand: Ignores the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2024.
• Russia: Mentions anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws but omits prior detailed reporting on violence and discrimination.

Jessica Stern, former U.S. envoy for LGBTQ rights, calls the omissions “deliberate erasure” and criticized the Trump-Vance administration for watering down abuses against marginalized groups.

A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit has been filed to uncover whether political appointees instructed the removal of LGBTQI+ references.

See also Washington Post: Rubio recasts long-held beliefs with cuts to U.S. human rights reports (Archived here)

The History of Transgender History Month

Transgender History Month, officially recognized by California in 2023, honors the enduring legacy and contributions of transgender and nonbinary individuals throughout history.

The movement began with a mayoral proclamation in San Francisco in 2021, followed by adoption in Santa Clara and San Diego, culminating in statewide recognition, Assigned Media reports.

August was chosen as a month of celebration, reflection, and education, driven by the efforts of trans Californians and community leaders.

The month serves not only as a tribute to “trancestors” but also as a platform for current activists and educators to continue shaping a more inclusive future.

More here: The History of Trans History Month

Brazilian cis woman verbally assaulted and blocked from gym bathroom by a couple who believes she is transgender

In Recife, Brazil, personal trainer Kely Moraes was verbally assaulted and physically blocked from entering a women’s gym bathroom by a couple who wrongly assumed she was transgender.

Kely, a cisgender woman with a muscular physique, had just cleaned herself after a motorcycle accident when she was confronted by Karolaine Klecia da Silva and her boyfriend, Marcos Aurélio Mendes Leite, Bored Panda reports.

The couple insisted she use the men’s bathroom, claiming she didn’t belong in the women’s space. Kely recorded the incident and later filed a police report for unlawful coercion, assault, and threats.

“I’m ashamed, not for being compared to a trans woman, which for me is a compliment. Trans women are beautiful, and each one has her story and her wars, but shamed by shame,” Moraes said to G1.

The incident highlights broader issues in Brazil, where anti-trans legislation is on the rise, with over 77 laws restricting gender expression and access to services. Critics argue correctly that such laws fuel transphobia and violence.

Moreover, this approach also forces cis women to live up to feminine standards set up by narrow minded bigots and haters like Karolaine Klecia da Silva and Marcos Aurélio Mendes Leite. This kind of fascist policing of women, cis and trans, has to stop.

More here: Couple Convinced Cis Woman Is Trans, Physically Blocks Her From Gym Bathroom

There is an beautifully illustrated article in The New Yorker about trans families leaving the US for a safe haven in another country.

Tina and her transgender teen, J.J., lived in Maine for nearly a decade, building a life filled with friends, pets, and a garden.

But in January, an executive order from President Donald Trump—titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”—shook Tina’s sense of safety. The order targeted gender-affirming care for minors, prompting Tina to consider leaving the U.S. to protect J.J.’s well-being. The article

follows their journey as they weigh the cost of uprooting their lives against the need for legal protections and personal safety.

Read the article here.

Mariah Carey wears pro-transgender dress and jacket at Brighton Pride

Headlining the Brighton Pride festival on August 2, 2025, Mariah Carey wore a pink, blue and silver dress and matching jacket, referring to the trans flag. The jacket had the words "PROTECT THE DOLLS" embroidered on the back, Hello reports.

“Protect the Dolls” is admittedly a controversial slogan (because of the “doll” part). It is definitely an expression of support for trans women, though.

The slogan was introduced by American fashion designer Conner Ives.

Carey dedicated her song Hero to the LGBTQ+ community, BBC reports, saying it had been there for her for so long, supporting her through good and bad. She said she would always be there for community.

Amid the Trump administration’s termination of the 988 LGBTQ+ crisis line, Michigan nonprofit Stand With Trans has launched a new support hotline for transgender youth and their families.

Founded by Roz Gould Keith, the organization’s Ally Parents Hotline connects callers with volunteer parents of trans children who provide empathy, guidance, and essential resources—though it is not a crisis line, Michigan Advance reports.

The initiative evolved from “Ally Moms,” a response to the death of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen who died by suicide in 2014.

Now revamped with grant funding, the service allows texting or calling a toll-free number, offering privacy and accessibility.

With 30 active parent volunteers and growing, the hotline fills a crucial gap in support as other national resources are defunded, offering a compassionate lifeline to LGBTQ+ individuals and their caregivers.

StandWithTrans writes:

This is not crisis line, but our Ally Parents are trained, background-checked volunteers who are here to listen, text, or talk. Text or call 833-435-7798 to connect with an Ally Parent today.

The American Midwest is becoming increasingly dangerous for queer and trans people

A newly released LGBTQ+ equality map by Equaldex ranks U.S. states based on legal protections, revealing stark regional differences.

Eastern and Western states like Washington DC, Massachusetts, and California top the list with scores above 90, while Southern and Midwestern states, including Texas and Tennessee, score significantly lower—at 58, the lowest.

The map uses a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger legal rights for LGBTQ+ people.

Over the past few years, lawmakers in various states have proposed a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ bills - 598 in 2025 alone - targeting issues like gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ representation. As a result, more than 40% of U.S. trans youth aged 13–17 now live in states that ban such care.

It is the time for the good people of America to take a stand against this evil.

Source: Pink News.
See also: United States LGBT Equality Index

LinkedIn removes misgendering and deadnaming from code of conduct

LinkedIn recently altered its Professional Community Policies, quietly removing specific protections for transgender and nonwhite users, Advocate reports.

The “Hateful and Derogatory Content” section previously banned misgendering and deadnaming—terms referring to the deliberate misuse of names or pronouns for trans individuals—but this language has now been deleted.

While the site still prohibits content attacking individuals based on traits like gender identity, these terms are no longer mentioned explicitly.

Similarly, the “Harassment and Abusive Content” section now omits direct references to race and gender identity, using broader language like “inherent traits” without clear definition. Though new terms like “perceived gender” have appeared, the revisions makes enforcement against targeted hate much harder.

That being said, a LinkedIn representative tells Advocate that:

“Personal attacks or intimidation toward anyone based on their identity, including misgendering, violates our harassment policy and is not allowed on our platform.”

If that is the case, why remove the terms from the rules of conduct?

More here.

CNN reports that as of July 2025, 27 states have passed laws limiting access to gender-affirming care for minors, affecting roughly 40% of trans youth aged 13–17.

While some bans remain blocked by courts (e.g., in Arkansas and Montana), others are actively enforced or bolstered through legislative action.

CNN highlights a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year—nearly 600—surpassing previous years. These proposals target healthcare, education, and public accommodations, like bathroom and sports access. Texas leads with 88 bills, four of which have become law.

Meanwhile, Democratic-led states are pushing back, with governors using executive orders to preserve care. CNN warns that these polarized legal battles will continue as more trans-related cases head to the Supreme Court this October.

More here.

The scientists Ken Pang and Anja Ravine challenge the “social contagion” theory suggesting an overrepresentation of trans boys in gender clinics over at The Conversation.

Using referral data from clinics in Melbourne and Amsterdam between 2016–2019, researchers found adolescents assigned female at birth were more likely to seek care, but this trend reversed in adulthood.

Among adults, especially those in their 50s and older, most referrals were from individuals assigned male at birth. The findings suggest referral patterns align with lifetime gender identity demographics, not social influence.

The study also explores the role of trans misogyny, explaining that trans girls often face heightened discrimination, which may delay their access to care.

Legislative crackdowns in places like the U.S., UK, and Australia have further restricted gender-affirming healthcare for minors, despite evidence showing the adverse mental health effects of such policies.

The study can be found here: Effect of assigned sex on the age at which individuals seek specialist gender affirming care