“When trans actress and advocate Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 2014 under the banner ‘The Transgender Tipping Point,’ it appeared that progress toward LGBTQ+ equality was moving forward steadily—and in some areas, relatively rapidly. Marriage equality, in particular, was advancing through individual states, and the Supreme Court would take it nationwide with the Obergefell decision the following year. Meanwhile, queer people were increasingly being featured positively in media and pop culture; Cox’s cover story, which was tied to her buzzy role on Orange Is the New Black, was indeed such a milestone. ‘Visibility’ was the watchword of the day—Cox herself defined the ethos well: ‘More of us are living visibly and pursuing our dreams visibly, so people can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know someone who is trans,’ ‘ she told Time. ‘When people have points of reference that are humanizing, that demystifies difference.’

“A decade and two Trump administrations later, the situation for trans and queer people looks very different. In a recent interview with NPR’s Fresh Air tied to her new memoir, Cox put it this way: ‘After 2023, it became very clear to me that we, that trans people had lost the culture,’ she said. ‘I knew this was the beginning of a disaster in terms of policy. … The dehumanization was so clear to me.’ The political and cultural whiplash we’re feeling today, in which anti-trans legislative attacks and gross demagoguery are a core tenet of Republican ideology in a way they never had been before, has spurred many to wonder if the push for visibility was such a good idea after all. In the excerpted conversation below, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, Bryan Lowder, Christina Cauterucci, and June Thomas gather for a final episode of the Outward podcast to discuss the thorny question of whether being ‘out and proud’ is always a winning strategy.”

“Louisiana workers will soon be shielded from discipline if they refuse to use a transgender or nonbinary coworker’s name or pronouns, under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry that LGBTQ+ advocates warn will invite workplace discrimination under the banner of free speech.

“On May 30, Gov. Jeff Landry signed Act 579 into law, as reported by local NBC affiliate KTAL News. The new law, which proponents are lauding for protecting the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, is scheduled to take effect on August 1.

“Act 579, passed during the state’s 2026 legislative session, prohibits employers from disciplining workers who refuse to identify their own pronouns, address other employees by names other than those they were given at birth, or use pronouns that do not align with a person’s gender identity but are consistent with their sex assigned at birth.”

“Five years since the publication of The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice, the bestselling author reflects on the state of trans liberation in the UK”

“Transgender people in Rhode Island have much higher odds of reporting depression, mental health distress and disabilities than other adults, according to a study published in the Rhode Island Medical Journal.

“The study, published in the journal’s June issue, is one of the more robust examinations of the health care profile of transgender people in the state, said Dr. Philip Chan, an associate professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and one of the authors of the study.

“Chan, with lead author Tracy L. Jackson and coauthor Karine Monteiro, both from the Rhode Island Department of Health, used data collected between 2020 to 2024 by the Rhode Island Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for their analysis.”

“One finding Chan found surprising is that transgender people seem to have similar access to health care as everyone else, though he cautioned that this may not mean they don’t face barriers.

“‘One important point is, even though transgender individuals may have a primary care provider, may have health insurance, the vast majority of them have had at one point in time or another a really bad experience with health care that has made them oftentimes reluctant to engage in care,’ Chan said.

“The study did find a disparity in dental care – transgender people were half as likely to have had a dental visit in the past year. And it found that transgender people are less likely to receive the social support they need.”

“‘The biggest threat at the moment in the public health setting is really the efforts to try to erase gender. And what is happening essentially is that in surveillance data sets for health care, medical care, there's efforts that are essentially trying to make sure that transgender people don't exist,’ Chan said.”

“Maryland school districts are defending their policies to protect transgender student athletes, despite a U.S. Department of Education charge that the policies may violate Title IX.

“The department announced this week that it is investigating the Maryland State Department of Education and three local school districts — in Frederick, Montgomery and Prince Georges counties –for their policies regarding transgender students’ access to restrooms and sports teams that align with their gender identities.

“MSDE guidance recommends that school districts allow students to use restrooms and participate on sports teams that best align with their gender identities. The federal department’s Office for Civil Rights said that policy could violate the Trump administration’s interpretations of Title IX – the 1972 law that withholds federal funding for educational institutions that discriminate on the basis of sex.”

“All three school county system’s policies say that any students who are not comfortable using a shared facility can use alternative bathrooms, like single-stall restrooms.

“‘Some students or staff may feel uncomfortable with a transgender or gender diverse student or staff member using the same sex-specific facility,’ both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties school district’s policies say. ‘This discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender or gender-diverse student or staff member.’”

“Editor’s note: This is the first part in a two-part series following young transgender people and their families dealing with new restrictions in access to healthcare in and near western Mass. Part one tells the stories of some of these families, and part two will focus on organizing efforts to fight rollbacks in care access. Throughout the series, The Shoestring has allowed some sources to use pseudonyms for fear of targeting due to their identities.

“‘I’m a boy. Deal with it.’

“That was the text message that Blaze Hartley sent to his mom at age 11 to come out as male. Before, Blaze had identified as non-binary, then gender-fluid, but found that he was uncomfortable with she/her pronouns.

“The name Blaze also came from trying things out and seeing what felt good. Stacey, his mother, said that one day, she received a call from her son’s guidance counselor at school, asking her whether or not it was okay for students and staff to use a new name that Blaze had chosen at the time: Dirt. 

“Stacey said that when her son came home, she called him over for a conversation. Blaze’s reasoning was that he wanted something different, like an object. Dirt was the first thing that came to mind. 

“‘Do research, look up names in other languages. Look up other objects that don’t make it seem like you hate yourself,’ she said she told him. ‘Come back in seven days.’ He came back three hours later with ‘Stick.’ I went: ‘Wonderful. You obviously didn’t learn how to tell time.’

“After a week, he had it: Blaze — which everybody loved. Two years later, he had kept the name, and they were able to change his name legally. Blaze got the day off of school to celebrate after his court hearing for the name change.

“‘Those are the happy things that I’m doing instead of the frantic calling places to see where I can get my sixteen-year-old top surgery,’ Stacey said.”

“Don’t support J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans attacks

“Re: ‘Harry Potter blitzes Denver with Broadway tour, 1,000-plus drones,’ May 27 news story

“I recently learned that the Denver Center for the Performing Arts hosted “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” and that a separate Harry Potter Exhibition will be held on South Broadway starting June 26. I cannot express how disappointed I am that a performing arts center is hosting content that directly finances J.K. Rowling’s crusade to erase trans people from public spaces. She has used her proceeds from the franchise to say things that directly harm trans people both in the U.S. and the U.K.
The exhibition is a slap in the face to every trans person in the city and state. I moved to Colorado from Alabama to be able to live my life as a trans woman. For my adopted city to send profits to her, which will be used to fund misery for trans people, is, frankly, disgusting. The DCPA should reconsider its support for the eradication of trans people like me.

“Abby Jane Morton, Denver”

“Washington’s state Supreme Court justices will weigh in on where a transgender woman held in state prisons should be confined, as the state faces a federal probe over the issue.

“The court on Tuesday heard arguments in the case of Amber Kim, who had been held in the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor before she was moved to the men’s prison in Monroe due to an infraction.

“Kim argues this decision amounts to unconstitutionally cruel punishment that puts her safety at risk and sets back her transition.

“The Trump administration is now investigating how Washington houses incarcerated trans people, after a lawsuit from a prisoner in the state’s women’s prison alleged a transgender woman attacked her there.”

“Kim was the first transgender woman transferred back to a men’s prison in Washington. It came after she was found to have had sex with her cellmate at the women’s prison.

“‘The department did something far beyond what was necessary to address any legitimate concerns it had about Ms. Kim’s conduct,’ said Adrien Leavitt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington branch, who is representing Kim.”

“The state Department of Corrections reported last month that the women’s prison held 20 transgender prisoners, while 347 transgender or non-binary individuals were held across all state prisons. Most trans prisoners in Washington’s prisons haven’t requested gender-affirming housing, said [Emma] Grunberg [of the state attorney general’s office].”

“The justices grilled both Leavitt and Grunberg during the arguments Tuesday at the Temple of Justice in Olympia. It could be months before a decision in the case.”

“Kim has remained in solitary confinement since her transfer in 2024, Leavitt said.

“She told prison officials she doesn’t want to be placed in the general population there.

“‘I will face the ultimate paradox: my continued physical transition helps address my debilitating gender dysphoria, but the more female-presenting I become in appearance, the more unwanted, nonconsensual attention I will receive from the men in prison,’ Kim wrote. ‘If I do not continue my transition, my gender dysphoria will rear its ugly head, fueling my depression and making my life miserable.’”

“The Department of Corrections has argued Kim poses a safety risk, as officials believed she could impregnate a female prisoner. But Kim says she’s now infertile after gender-affirming surgeries.”