Trans Women

When Protecting Girls Is Twisted Into Attacking Trans Youth: FGM/C Survivors Fight Back Against Transphobic Right-Wing Narratives

Efforts are underway around the world to ban female genital mutilation/cutting, and 41 U.S. states have laws on the books to address it. 

But the efforts of survivors and activists—and I’m both—have been hamstrung by the current wave of conservative opposition to medical care for trans youth, yet another ugly consequence of the crackdown on rights for transgender Americans. As we try to make sure that girls who are at risk of FGM/C, or who are dealing with the consequences of it, have the protections they need, those who oppose rights for trans people are weaponizing the laws we advocated for to deny trans youth the gender-affirming care they need.

Keeping Score: Women Stockpile Plan B Post-Election; Feminists React to Trump’s Cabinet Picks; Harriet Tubman Finally Recognized for Military Service

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Women stockpile emergency contraception and medication abortion after the election; one in five Americans gets news from social media influencers; House Republicans Nancy Mace and Speaker Mike Johnson harass incoming trans Representative Sarah McBride; Michelle Obama explains the double standards Kamala Harris faced; childcare costs more than rent for many families; Trump’s Cabinet picks spread sexist messages; Rep. Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas) became the 95th member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus after winning a special election to replace her late mother Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; acknowledging Native Women’s Equal Pay Day; Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was finally recognized for her military service; Trump’s margin over Harris will be about 1.5 points, the fifth-smallest gap since 1900; and more.

Speaker Johnson Announces Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban Throughout U.S. Capitol

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday issued a statement purporting to ban transgender women from women’s restrooms and transgender men from men’s restrooms throughout the Capitol and House office buildings. 

The policy announcement from the Republican House leader was the latest move in a multi-day attack on Sarah McBride, a Democrat elected to represent Delaware in the House who will be the first out transgender member of Congress. The move also comes in the midst of attacks on transgender people more broadly—in legislation and campaigns, and elsewhere—and just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is due to hear a major case over the constitutionality of anti-trans laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors.

Sarah McBride Makes History as First Transgender Member of Congress

Sarah McBride won Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat, after she campaigned on expanding Delawareans’ access to healthcare—an effort on which she has focused her career in the state’s 1st Senate district. In January, McBride will be sworn in as the first out transgender member of Congress. 

McBride’s ascension marks yet another milestone for the millennial state legislator. As the country’s first out transgender state senator, the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention and the first out trans woman to intern at the White House, McBride has repeatedly broken barriers in politics and proven that voters are ready to elect transgender candidates into elected office.  

How Trans Teens Are Finding Joy and Living Their Lives in Increasingly Hostile Times: The Ms. Q&A With Nico Lang

Nico Lang’s American Teenager spans states and perspectives, interviewing transgender teenagers from all walks of life—a girl in Florida who’s trying to figure out who she is while helping support her family financially; a boy in Chicago who’s excitedly planning for his first year of college in a city far away; kids who’ve been advocates since the were in diapers; and kids who just want to live their lives, away from the limelight.

Ms. spoke with Lang about the current state of the anti-trans movement, why children are an oppressed class, and what it means to foreground trans joy in a moment when institutionalized anti-trans hate is at an all-time high.

Transphobia in Women’s Sports Is Dangerous for All Women

Olympic athlete and women’s boxing gold medalist Imane Khelif recently became a target for anti-trans activists and know-it-all couch potatoes. They decided Khelif was a man based on her perceived appearance and strength, rather than actual facts. So hyped are the anti-trans police that any woman who doesn’t seem to conform to gender norms is suspect and fair game, particularly if she’s public and successful. This is dangerous for all women, no matter their gender identity, and especially women of color.

If we accept transphobes’ arguments against all trans women in all sports, we inevitably accept a set of assumptions that harm women, trans and cis alike.

Democratic Party Platform Centers Women’s Rights

At the DNC in Chicago, party leaders approved the 2024 Democratic party platform Monday evening, promising to protect and strengthen women’s rights. The 91-page document is a stark contrast to the Republican platform, which promises to continue the dismantling of women’s rights started during Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Here are some of the parts of the Democratic party platform focused on women’s rights—including restoring abortion access, protecting contraception access, and making the Equal Rights Amendment the law of the land.

Chromosome Count: Who Gets to Decide Which Athletes Are ‘Feminine Enough’ to Compete?

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a right-wing media firestorm spread disinformation that Imane Khelif of Algeria was transgender. As this article from the October 1988 issue of Ms. reminds us, sex testing in women’s sports is nothing new—and its origins are blatantly unscientific.

“Sports are not democratic. They’re elitist. The tallest play basketball. The shortest are jockeys. The ultimate would be to break the Olympics into biological classes and run them like the Westminster Dog Show.”

Title IX: Upholding Justice for Student Survivors in a Historic Election Year

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of Title IX, a landmark civil rights law that has transformed the landscape of U.S. education. The Biden-Harris administration’s new Title IX regulations, set to take effect Aug. 1, represent a significant step toward acknowledging and addressing the unique challenges faced by student who face discrimination and sexual violence, especially female, LGBTQ+ and pregnant or parenting students. But Republicans hope to block these Title IX revisions and revert them back to the restrictive Trump-era Title IX guidelines.

In this historic election year, with President Biden stepping down from the presidential campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris stepping up as the new candidate, the stakes are even higher.