#PinkNews

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A new landmark study has found that access to gender-affirming healthcare significantly reduces rates of depression, gender dysphoria, and suicidality among transgender people.

While it’s no secret that providing gender-affirming care to transgender individuals who ask for it can greatly benefit their well-being, an increase in transphobic rhetoric and bans on gender-affirming healthcare has prompted thorough medical studies into the impact of such care.

Now, brand new research conducted in Melbourne, Australia, has found that allowing transgender people to access the care they’re after can reduce suicidality by a stunning 55%.

As part of the first-ever randomized controlled trial (RCT) on gender-affirming care, researchers took 64 transgender and gender-diverse adults who had been looking to start testosterone therapy and randomly split them into a treatment group and a control group.

While the treatment group was allowed to begin hormone therapy that week, the control group waited three months for their treatment to begin.

Before the study began, both groups were evaluated on depression, gender dysphoria, and suicidality. Three months later, the two groups were evaluated again.

RCTs for medical care can often be hard to conduct due to practical and ethical concerns. However, researchers of this study found a way to hold an RCT for this study by incorporating a shorter follow-up period. Rather than giving the control group a placebo drug, or no treatment at all, they were simply given a longer wait time.

The results showed a notable decrease in gender dysphoria, depression, and – most significantly – suicidality.

The group that received gender-affirming care right away saw a 55% reduction in suicidality compared to a 5% drop within the control group.

Depression scores in the treatment group decreased by half, while gender dysphoria rates also significantly decreased.

Breaking down their findings, researchers Brendan J. Nolan MBBS, Sav Zwickl, PhD, and Peter Locke wrote: “There was a statistically significant decrease in gender dysphoria in individuals with immediate [access to gender-affirming care] compared with delayed initiation of testosterone therapy.”

“A clinically significant decrease in depression and a decrease in suicidality also occurred with immediate testosterone therapy.”

“The findings of this trial suggest that testosterone therapy significantly decreases gender dysphoria, depression, and suicidality in transgender and gender-diverse individuals desiring testosterone therapy.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that research has shown significant drops in depression and suicide rates among transgender individuals who receive gender-affirming care.

A 2022 medical study showed that young transgender people who have access to puberty blockers are 73% less at risk of suicide and report improved well-being.

But, as anti-trans activists advocate for further bans on gender-affirming care, one of the key arguments is that the evidence in support of the care isn’t up to scratch with GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) standards.

So research like this landmark RCT is so significant to the transgender community and its allies as the fight for their healthcare rights rumbles on.

[frameacloud]

Maria Morava (March 31, 2023). "Most anti-trans adults don’t actually know a trans person in real life, new study reveals." PinkNews. https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/31/trans-day-visibility-report-just-like-us/

tl;dr: Some of the things that a large study by the UK charity Just Like Us found: most adults who don't support transgender people don't know any. Meanwhile, "personally knowing a trans person doubles the likelihood of trans allyship." Lesbians have the greatest tendency to do so of all LGBTQ people. Nearly all lesbians know and are supportive of transgender people.

[queerliblib]

“This year has seen countless attempted book bans across the US, and many banned titles come from authors dealing with LGBTQ+ themes, with activists explaining that pushes to ban books is “harmful to students from historically marginalised backgrounds”.  One project, the Queer Liberation Library (QLL), is now aiming to combat this, launching in October with an entirely online catalogue that can be accessed anywhere in the country – even in states enacting bans on certain titles."

-How this online library is fighting back against US book bans, by Emily Chudy, PinkNews

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Fascists wanting to "protect families" by stabbing families in the back

[archivlibrarianist]

Gaines is creating a big stink about this article, too. So you definitely shouldn't read it.

[invertedaquariumperson]

love this image of the what to buy section of the pinknews site.

like. what a bizzare collection of artists to think are like, specifically gay people artists. here's my guess of how each of these happened:

aespa: people saw that KPOP has a big deep passionate fanbase full of young people and assumed it was a gay thing, & picked the first artist that came up alphabetically ATEEZ: picked the second artist that came up alphabetically Billy Joel: "oh yeah, that one artist from the seventies whos been out for almost fifty years and wrote I'm still standing & Rocket Man. Billy Joel i think it was" Coldplay: listened to Coldplay and simply decided that it HAD to be gay music

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A federal court judge has ruled that parents in Ohio don’t have the right to challenge a trans-inclusive school bathroom policy.

A case brought by parents and students in the Bethel Local School District (BLSD) in November sought to prohibit trans and non-binary students in the region from using toilets and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

But, in a ruling issued on Monday (7 August), Judge Michael Newman decreed that the accusations brought by the group did not “pass legal muster” to warrant further consideration.

“Not every contentious debate concerning matters of public importance presents a cognisable federal lawsuit,” Newman wrote in his ruling opinion.

During a school board meeting in January 2022, BLSD announced it had implemented policies allowing transgender students to use communal toilets consistent with their gender identity.

Several months later, a group of parents filed a legal challenge, arguing that their parental rights were being infringed upon by not having a public meeting to discuss the matter.

They further argued that a previous policy, which had no protections for trans students, did not violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which states that no person in the US shall exclude or discriminate against students on the basis of sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing for the Title IX claim and that citing parental rights did not immediately require the school to adhere to the group’s demands.

Dismissing the case, Newman wrote that parents do not have a “constitutional right” to revoke school policies on toilet usage.

ACLU Ohio deputy legal director, David Carey, said the ruling reaffirmed that the Constitution is not a vehicle to “compel discrimination.”

He explained: “Nothing in the constitutional guarantees of parenting rights, equal protection or free exercise of religion, mandates that transgender students be excluded from gender-appropriate communal restrooms on the basis of their classmates’ beliefs and values.”

“For public schools to function, one student’s or family’s religious beliefs cannot provide a basis to exclude another student from full participation in the school environment.”

In its legal intervention arguments, the ACLU wrote that it believed the public has a “strong interest” in advancing policies that affirmatively protect transgender students and create inclusive school environments.

The LGBTQ & HIV Project staff attorney at the ACLU, Malita Picasso, said the court’s decision made it “resoundingly clear” that the rights of trans students are “not in conflict” with the rights of their peers.

“No student should have to fear discriminatory treatment every morning they walk into school, and this ruling brings us closer to the day no transgender student has to,” she added.

[churchhouseconf]

Celebrate Diversity at the PinkNews Awards

Join the vibrant celebration of inclusion and equality at the PinkNews Awards! Hosted at the elegant Church House, this prestigious event honors trailblazers championing LGBTQ+ rights. Experience a night of inspiration, recognition, and unforgettable moments. Be part of a movement making a difference! Visit Church House for details.

[pandabara]

Sounds about like Chaiya Raichik

Moms for Liberty organiser exposed as convicted sex offender

[settlercolonialismisbad]

As a trans person, I actually don't feel like the way that Rufus Wainright framed his support in this interview was helpful or supportive.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Stay strong and bring it through parliament, despite the backlash!

[kiramoore626]

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak caused ‘serious damage’ to LGBTQ+ rights in UK, damning report finds

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak caused ‘serious damage’ to LGBTQ+ rights in UK, damning report finds An annual report on the state of queer rights across Europe has found that 2022 was the most violent year for LGBTI people across the region in the past decade – and the rise in hate speech is to blame.

[serennn17]

PinkNews also published another article about us on Saturday!

The Pink News just posted this (January 15th). Keep going!!

[frameacloud]

Gabriella Ferlita (February 23, 2024). "A third of trans men can ovulate after undergoing gender-affirming treatment, study finds." PinkNews. https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/02/23/do-trans-men-on-testosterone-ovulate/

tl;dr: This is about transgender men and other transmasculine people who had been on T for at least a year, and had stopped having a period. A third of these people continue to ovulate while they are on T, even though they don't have a period. The type or amount of T doesn't matter, so we don't know why this happens for some people and not others. It's more proof that being on T doesn't protect someone from getting pregnant. People who don't want to get pregnant need to use actual birth control or other methods of contraception.

Here's the full text of the study that the news article is about:

Joyce D. Asseler, Julieta S. del Valle, Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes, Marieke O. Verhoeven, Mariette Goddijn, Judith A.F. Huirne, Norah M. van Mello (February 22, 2024). "One-third of amenorrheic transmasculine people on testosterone ovulate." Cell Reports Medicine 5, 101440. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101440 https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(24)00063-6

[antiqua-lugar]

Just heard about the Netflix's Dorian Gray adaptation and yes I know it's the usual "bullshit with a tie-in to an existing property because money" but it still makes me mad, if nothing else because it's extremely annoying to have Oscar Wilde write in big letters "BASIL WAS IN LOVE WITH DORIAN AND HIS LOVE COULD HAVE SAVED HIM" only for big modern adaptations to disregard all of that.

And also because c'mon.

Shout out to PinkNews for going "Well it could still be gay, have you seen Games of Thrones"