Discussions on trans rights and perceived gender non-conformity.
They deny proven geoscience techniques, but only when applied to paleoclimatology because it shows climate change exists. They don’t question that same science when it finds the oil with which to fuel their cars or the metals to manufacture their phone.
They oppose puberty blockers, but only for trans youth. They didn’t even know cisgender minors receive identical medicine, but now that they do, they’re okay with cis kids getting it. Not trans kids though.
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Ipsos released the results of a poll that queried Canadians on their attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities. Overall, Canadians are less accepting compared to 2021. This drop was mirrored in Angus Reid polling data about Canadian attitudes to trans people as well.
Given the success of the moral panic conservatives have manufactured around the visibility of gender non-conformity, the numbers are disappointing but unsurprising. The data didn’t look at political affiliations, but I suspect that the drop is disproportionately from those who consume right-wing media.
LGBT people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity
49% of Canadians are okay with LGBT people being out of the closet, a 12% drop from 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is lesbian/gay/homosexual
52% of Canadians said yes, an 8% drop since 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is transgender
18% of Canadians said yes, the same number as in 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is non-binary, gender non-conforming or gender-fluid
18% of Canadians said yes, a 2% increase from 2021
Are you any of: lesbian, gay, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, gender non-
conforming, gender-fluid, other than male or female
13% of Canadians said yes
Have you ever attended the wedding of a same-sex couple
13% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
Have you ever attended a public event in support of LGBT people (e.g., a Pride march)
18% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
Have you ever visited a bar or a night-club that caters primarily to LGBT people
24% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
LGBT people displaying affection in public (e.g., kissing or holding hands)
40% of Canadians are okay with it, an 8% drop from 2021
Laws banning discrimination against LGBT people when it comes to employment, access to education, housing and social services, etc.
54% of Canadians are in support, a 9% drop from 2021
Lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes in sports teams
50% Canadians are in support, an 11% drop from 2021
Transgender athletes competing based on the gender they identify with rather the sex they were assigned at birth
21% of Canadians are in support, a 12% drop from 2021
More LGBT characters on TV, in films and in advertising
34% Canadians are in support, a 10% drop from 2021
Same-sex marriage or legal recognition
75% of Canadians support the right to marry / oppose a right to marry but support some kind of legal recognition, a 7% drop from 2021
Same-sex couples should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexual couples do
70% of Canadians agree, an 11% drop from 2021
Same-sex couples are just as likely as other parents to successfully raise children
71% of Canadians agree, a 13% drop from 2021
Transgender people should be allowed to use single-sex facilities (e.g., public restrooms) that correspond to the gender they identify with
45% of Canadians agree, a 6% drop since 2023
Health insurance systems should cover the costs of gender transition no differently than the costs of other medical procedures
36% of Canadians agree, a 4% drop since 2023
With parental consent, transgender teenagers should be allowed to receive gender-affirming care (e.g., counselling and hormone replacement treatment)
48% of Canadians agree, a 10% drop since 2023
Government-issued documents such as passports should include an option other than “male” and “female” for people who do not identify as either
40% of Canadians agree, a 9% drop since 2023
On May 10, the Canadian Blood Service offered an apology for the ban on blood donations from gay men and trans women. For most of my life, the CBS treated my blood as filthy. Even though I’ve only had sex a handful of times in my life and was regularly tested, my blood was considered a threat to the supply while that of straight people engaging in far riskier sexual activity with no testing faced no such degrading assessment. All because of who I was not what I did.
The policy was put in place with the intent to protect patient safety after the Canadian blood system crisis of the 1980s. We regret that for many years the former policy also contributed to discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and HIV stigma within society.
Canadian Blood Services apology letter
The policy targeting gay men was introduced in the mid-80’s at a time when the Canadian government was openly purging gay and lesbian workers from its ranks. The response to the HIV virus, the scapegoating for the tainted blood scandal, and the blanket blood ban is inextricable from this homophobia. The ban was later explicitly extended from men who have sex with men to trans women. Whether through indifference or cowardice, the prohibition continued until 2022. With no credible science justifying such a policy into the new millennium, the CBS turned to absurd claims such as that between a quarter and a third of all trans women had HIV in Canada. I dug into the origins of this particular assertion about trans women in 2020.
Instead of admitting that the science didn’t justify this ban, the CBS upheld demonstrably false claims at the expense of people like me who were presented as a threat. They did so up until two years ago, and that is so recent that it makes it hard for me to accept this apology as authentic. Especially as the CBS doesn’t acknowledge these actions at all.
Canadian Blood Services apologizes to gay, bi, and queer men, trans people and queer people more broadly, for the impact of the former deferral policy. We acknowledge how this policy reinforced the harmful public perception that someone’s blood is somehow less safe, because of their sexual orientation.
Canadian Blood Services apology letter
I do support the agency releasing their statement. If it brings relief to a single person who was hurt by their actions, then that’s reason enough. I am however simultaneously deeply frustrated and skeptical.
My anger is to do with a larger pattern in Canadian institutions: cis and straight people in positions of power can hurt gender and sexual minorities with impunity for years, including those working for them. Then when it becomes profitable to do so, or untenable not to, they change tack and walk away without consequence. Meanwhile, endured years of substandard living or worse because of the rejection they faced in all aspects of their life. Though small, the blood ban and the associated intellectually dishonest claims were a contributor to that hostility. The reversal of homophobic and transphobic stances across various organizations, of which again the CBS was only one, doesn’t reverse the fortunes of those who were most impacted. If only it that could be solved by publishing a letter.
To assuage my skepticism, I need proof that there was a fundamental shift in values that transcend gender identity and sexual orientation. Show me what individuals within the organization will do to act differently, because an apology written by committee is hardly an indicator of personal contrition. Demonstrate to me how the next oft-maligned minority will be spared this humiliating treatment. I want to know that this change in trajectory wasn’t for reasons far shallower and self-interested, and that they won’t reverse it when the sociopolitical winds change.
I will nonetheless donate blood. The blood supply is dwindling. I will also remain bitter; that’s to be expected when the entity collecting it have stigmatized me and those I love for nearly the entirety of my adult life.
Following the failure to portray gay people as an existential threat, conservatives have shifted to trans people’s increasing acceptance as the latest wedge issue. Supported by an ecosystem of American conservative television, British tabloids, reactionary content creators, and a long-standing history of homophobia and transphobia domestically, these forces have resulted in the biggest rallies against gender and sexual minorities in Canadian history. These actions are enabled by legacy media and public institutions that overlook the unhinged bigotry of its organizers, the bomb threats and physical intimidation of its adherents, and sanitizes the genocidal views expressed while depicting them as mere opinion.
Polling and political trends suggests that the virulent transphobia being observed will only get worse.
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The International Chess Federation, FIDE, has banned trans women from participating in women’s events in a new policy:
In the event that the gender was changed from a male to a female the player has no right to participate in official FIDE events for women until further FIDE’s decision is made. Such decision should be based on further analysis and shall be taken by the FIDE Council at the earliest possible time, but not longer than within 2 (two) years period.
Trans men meanwhile risk demotion:
If a player holds any of the women titles, but the gender has been changed to a man, the women titles are to be abolished. Those can be renewed if the person changes the gender back to a woman and can prove the ownership of the respective FIDE ID that holds the title. The abolished women title may be transferred into a general title of the same or lower level (e.g., WGM may be transferred into FM, WIM into CM, etc.).
If a player has changed the gender from a man into a woman, all the previous titles remain eligible.
The implication from these two policies is that women are less intelligent than men, and their titles are worth less. There’s an absurdity to this.
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