The Rainbow Times' Sept. 2022 Issue

Unhinged and Dangerous: Far-Right radicals target trans children, doctors

GOP extremists turn GOP into a circus act that aims to take down the LGBTQ+ community and others

By: Nicole Lashomb* TRT Editor-in-Chief

Targeting children might seem out of bounds for many, but not right-wing radicals. They have their eyes set on something bigger, something national and the queer community is the direct target, especially the trans community and those that affirm and support trans lives. It has gotten to a level of full-blown insanity — insanity that we may have heard of in isolated incidents before — but this is more than an individual or two that clearly need psychiatric attention. This is a movement of right-wing radicals who are united in their quest to dehumanize others, to intentionally harm people, to dominate control over other lives. They will use any means necessary—physical or otherwise — to get what they want in their convoluted mind of fantasy where conspiracy theories thrive and the most sociopathlike behaviors are gospel truth. That is a part of “the matrix” where we find ourselves today.

Two children’s hospitals along with child patients, family members and doctors providing gender-affirming medical care have been under siege by such domestic terrorists and have faced bomb threats and death threats, prompting the medical institutions to ramp up their security to counter such lunacy.

This onslaught was allegedly prompted by a far-right anti-LGBTQ Twitter account by the name of “Libs of TikTok” (https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok). According to LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/3e5yTnq), Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. was targeted with “bomb and death threats after … “Libs of TikTok” falsely claimed that the hospital was performing hysterectomies (the removal of the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and sometimes ovaries) on transgender children.”

Truth from the medical experts

Not only do we know this to be false, that is also not the current medical standard by which to medically treat transgender children. As this publication has covered in the past via countless articles and in-depth profiles, “The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, WPATH, has said that hysterectomies shouldn’t be performed on minors,” as also reported by LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/3e5yTnq), amongst many other media outlets.

The hospital’s spokeswoman, Ariana Ahmadi Perez said “We do not and have never performed gender-affirming hysterectomies for anyone under the age of 18.”

Boston Children’s Hospital

Backtrack to Boston Children’s Hospital.

On August 11, “Libs of TikTok”

founder Chaya Raichik published approximately 13 tweets in an alleged “exposé” that claimed Boston Children’s Hospital, BCH, was performing gender-affirming surgery on toddlers. These tweets amplified the voice of anti-trans activist Chris Elston — best known for traveling across Canada harassinghospitals and their staff over gender-affirming policies for trans youth, according to Media Matters For America (https://bit.ly/3fGXIWX).

Once that false allegation was put out into the social stratosphere of her 1.3 million Twitter followers, bomb threats came into the hospital, and death threats to patients, families and doctors.

“Physicians at the hospitals received so many death threats, harassing calls, and e-mails that the hospital had to hire extra security and give doctors new guidance on responding to threats,” according to LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/3e5yTnq).

Once I visited “Libs of TikTok”’s Twitter page, I was appalled but not surprised at what I found: outwardly lies and conspiracy theories where Raichik clearly assaults communities guised under “free speech.” But, what happens when that “free speech” has tangible reactions and consequences, inciting others to commit assault, physical and otherwise, on countless others? Such speech, quite literally, kills.

It is difficult not to notice a pattern to many of Raichik’s accusations. She manipulates circumstance that provides an angle to her outlandish claims. In the case of the Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C., there was an obvious typo on the hospital’s website that said gender-affirming hysterectomy was available to patients “between the ages of 0-21.”

She took that mistake, without calling the hospital to inquire first, and exploited it. That tactic seems to be a common strategy throughout much of what was displayed on the Twitter handle. There is intent behind it. It was glaringly obvious.

What continues to baffle me is the endgame. What is it? What does someone like Raichik, and others, get from preying on vulnerable communities?

Trans Rights

In 2021, lawmakers from 33 state legislatures and assemblies representing every region of the country filed 98 bills that sought to restrict the ability of transgender and gender diverse

Maura Healey clinches Democratic nomination for Governor; Driscoll for Lieutenant Governor

BOSTON—Massachusetts Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate

Maura Healey won the Democratic primary along with seasoned Salem mayor, Kimberley Driscoll, who, herself, dominated the Lieutenant Governor race. The all-women Democratic ticket is now working on making history once again in the Bay state.

“ … we won big. Here in Massachusetts, we are a home of firsts. ... We will have the first governor and lieutenant governor on an all-woman ticket,” said Driscoll with enthusiasm to all her supporters at Rockafellas in downtown Salem.

Healey issued a statement also praising her supporters.

“I got into this race because I believe in Massachusetts. We have the best people, innovation and know-how in the world,” Healey’s statement read.

“As Governor, I want to harness that potential, bring people together and build a state where every person and

every business can thrive.

“Thank you to every voter who believed in that vision and made their voices heard in the primary. Thank you to every volunteer and supporter who put in the hard work to get us on this path to making history. We’re going to spend the next two months getting after it to earn every vote. This is a campaign for everyone.”

Healey is also poised to make history as the first openly out member of the LGBTQ+ community to win the primary and run for such an office.

A video of Maura Healey’s speech can be found here (https://bit.ly/3fyVwRz).

Salem Proud Salem, Mass. mayor and candidate for lieutenant governor Kimberley Driscoll was declared the winner of the Democratic primary nomination for

youth (TGD) to access health care, school facilities, and school athletics, The Rainbow Times reported (https://bit.ly/3M3OnVf) at the time. Still, countless bills continue to target trans kids and teens.

“Without exception, these bills are based on bad science, and ignore the consensus of experts in medicine—including endocrinology, psychiatry, and psychology — in support of gender-affirming medical care,” said Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at Fenway Health.

A doctor & patient, or their parents

No one has the right to insert themselves into the healthcare of anyone — ever. It is between medical professionals, parents and their children.

“Anti-LGBTQ politicians and activists have falsely claimed that medical providers are giving ‘irreversible’ treatments to trans ‘children,’”

Read the rest of this story at TheRainbowTimesMass.com

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The Rainbow Times is published monthly by The Rainbow Times, LLC. TRT is an award-winning publication that started printing in late 2006. The 1st print issue was published in Feb. 2007. The articles written by the writers, columnists, and correspondents solely express their opinion, and do not represent the endorsement or opinion of The Rainbow Times, LLC or its owners.

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Delayed vote on Respect for Marriage Act

GOP Senators play it safe, vote after midterm elections

By: Audrey Cole TRT Reporter

Senate Democrats in mid-September decided to postpone a vote on legislation to secure marriage equality for millions of Americans until after the midterm elections to garner more support from key Senate Republicans. The GOP Senators did not want to cast their votes to avoid losing their conservative voters’ support.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D- Wisconsin), the lead sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, H.R.8404, (https://bit.ly/3dYkclN), said to The New York Times (NYT; https://nyti.ms/3SI3aHA) that delaying the vote would increase its prospects to pass in the evenly split Senate, where 60 votes would be necessary to move it forward.

However, the postponement angered other Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), who expressed that everyone should go on record about it, without the use of political strategies.

“We need to vote on equal marriage today,” said the Bay state Senator to the NYT. “Every single member of Congress should be willing to go on the record. And if there are Republicans who don’t want to vote on that before the election, I assume it is because they are on the wrong side of history.”

Agreeing with Warren, GLBTQ

Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Executive Director Janson Wu issued a statement denouncing the postponement.

“We are deeply frustrated and disappointed by the decision not to hold a vote next week on the Respect for Marriage Act and instead to wait until after the midterm elections,” said Wu of the postponement. “Americans should not have to fear for another minute that their marriage and their family won’t be protected and respected.

“The Respect for Marriage Act is a no-brainer that codifies the status quo of respect by states and the federal government for validly celebrated marriages without regard to the sex, race,

WH to

host

summit to combat extremist violence; HRC commends decision

By: Chris Gilmore TRT Reporter

Recently, the White House announced it would host the “United We Stand Summit,” an event to combat the spread of radical violence and misinformation from hate groups and individuals. Hate-driven violence against people of color and LGBTQ+ people is on the rise, according to the Human Rights Campaign, HRC.

“We are living in a time of polarization and extremism, with dangerous, extremist rhetoric on the rise,” read Joni Madison’s statement, HRC’s Interim President. “We have seen a marked increase in online vitriol against LGBTQ+ people that has led to acts of intimidation and violence in real life – not to mention an increase in state legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community.”

In just the last few months, almost a dozen Black people were killed at a shooting in Buffalo, New York (https://n.pr/3UUTXxp); Proud Boys crashed Drag Queen (https://cnn.it/3E96uHy) story hour at a local library in California to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs; and Boston Children’s Hospital’s (BCH; https://bit.ly/3CoGBSU) patients and providers were the targets of violent threats following a campaign of anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation on Twitter.

The BCH incidents were worsened in August, when anti-trans activist

(https://bit.ly/3CsIZYX) Chris Elston — who travels across Canada harassing hospitals and their staff over gender-affirming policies for trans youth — tweeted out a video from Boston Children’s Hospital to falsely claim it was performing hysterectomies and genital surgeries on minors. The targeting of Boston Children’s Hospital escalated when Chaya Raichik, who operates the social media account “Libs of TikTok,” shared the misinformation video with her 1.3 million Twitter followers making equally false claims as Elston.

However, their information is fabrications, experts assert.

PolitiFact (https://bit.ly/3rl3jFf), for instance, found that minors are not having any surgeries as the misleading information mentioned. Indeed, Politifact asserted, “patients must be 18 or older and have a letter from a medical doctor stating they have ‘persistent, well-documented, gender dysphoria’” in order to qualify for the procedure.

“The hospital adheres to medical guidelines developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (https://bit.ly/2Qfw2Lx), or WPATH, which doesn't recommend surgical treatment for children,” read Politifact’s other findings on the hospital’s methods.

HRC’s Madison said that hatred and extremism, being used by those misinforming the masses, has consequences.

“The rise of this online hate does not have only political implications; violent rhetoric leads to stigma, radicalization, and ultimately violent actions,” Madison added. “Nearly onein-five of any type of hate crime is now motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias, and the last two years have been the deadliest for transgender people, particularly Black transgender women.”

The Facts

Currently, two of the states with the highest amount of transgender children are Texas and Florida. Yet, according to Scientific American, lawmakers in each state (and others) have sought to exclude the “tens of thousands (https://bit.ly/3e77jpA) of transgender children and teenagers currently living in these states (https://bit.ly/3rnfVvg)

“United We Stand Summit” goes beyong LGBTQ+ comm.

Youth that identify as transgender in the U.S. in 2016. Graphic: Williams Institute

PHOTO: NICK KARVOUNIS / UNSPLASH

By: Audrey Cole TRT Reporter

BOSTON—The monkeypox virus has been thrust to the forefront of the latest public health emergencies in the U.S., with clusters of outbreaks found predominantly within the gay population. Such findings have prompted widespread stigmatization and violence against members of the queer community, according to recent media reports.

“I’ve actually had more experiences of homophobia the past couple of months than I have ever before, just this summer alone,” said Robert*, 25 of Washington, D.C.

THE LIMELIGHT Sorting out fact from fiction of polarizing virus

Robert, along with his partner were attacked by a group of teens shouting and citing homophobic expletives, such as “monkeypox f****ts,” LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/3E8KZqr) reported.

That was not the first time he has been preyed on by others since monkeypox made headlines.

“A few months ago, a friend of mine and I were on the Metro … and some guy told us … where he was from, they ‘kill gay people’ or something along those lines,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Boston, others have likened public opinion to the treatment and stigmatization of the gay community seen during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

Lloyd*, 58, a self-proclaimed “proud

Southie,” said he has faced many comments, overt and subliminal, about monkeypox and gay men from his own family members.

“My own father told me to make sure I wasn’t carrying the disease before going over to visit him at his long-term care facility,” Lloyd said. “It reminded me of the AIDS crisis all over again.”

These two commonly told stories and themes are shaping up around the nation — online and in person — as misinformation and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination runs amuck. Such distortion about the virus has been mishandled and gaslighted especially by those holding powerful positions within the U.S. government such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) who has called on the public to “laugh at” the virus because it only affects “some people,” LGBTQ Nation reported (https://bit.ly/3EaMOmF).

The virus has primarily affected men who have sex with men (MSM) so far, but there seems to be a reason for that, according to the doctors.

Setting the record straight

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), 98 percent of monkeypox infections are amongst MSM. However, local medical experts stressed the importance to not stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community nor buy into misinformation about the virus.

“It is important to not stigmatize people, since there is nothing about being LGBTQ+ that makes one uniquely susceptible to Monkeypox,

See Monkeypox On Page 7

“Boy with the Bullhorn: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York”

By: Terri Schlichenmeyer* Special to TRT

The sign above your head shows what’s going on inside it.

Last night, you made the sign with a slogan, firm words, a poke to authority –and now you carry it high, yelling, marching, demanding that someone pay attention. Now. Urgently. As in the new book, “Boy with the Bullhorn” by Ron Goldberg, change is acoming.

He’d never done anything like it before.

Monkeypox declared health emergency, MSM community is most impacted now THE BOOKWORM

But how could he not get involved? Ron Goldberg had read something about ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, and he heard they were holding a rally near his workplace. It was 1987, he’d never participated in anything like

that before, but whispers were everywhere. He and his friends were “living under a pervasive cloud of dread.”

He “was twenty-eight years old ... scared, angry, and more than a little freaked out” about AIDS, he says. Couldn’t he at least go down and hold a sign?

That first rally led Goldberg to attend a meeting, which like most, as he came to realize, were raucous and loud and “electric.” Because he was “living fully ‘out and proud’,” and because he realized that this was an issue “worth fighting for,” he became even more involved with ACT UP by attending larger rallies and helping with organizing and getting his fellow activists fired up. He observed as women became involved in ACT UP, too. Monday night meetings became, for Goldberg, “the most exciting place in town.”

Country music star goes to the mat for trans youth

Maren Morris turns discrimination into funding for LGBTQ+ community

By: Audrey Cole TRT Reporter

Turning the tables on anti-trans personalities, Country music star Maren Morris has raised more than $100,000 for trans youth.

“Morris was called a ‘lunatic country music person’ by Fox News host Tucker Carlson after she responded to anti-trans comments from Brittany Aldean, wife of country singer Jason Aldean,” the Advocate reported (https://bit.ly/3CtT3kf).

“Brittany Aldean had posted August 23 on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3CtSTt0), ‘I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.’”

In addition to others objecting to Aldean’s post, Morris punched back.

“It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human?” wrote Morris via Twitter (https://bit.ly/3SL14qw). ‘Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”

Morris’ response alluded to a piece of Aldean’s merchandise that was made to apparently monetize Aldean’s transphobic comments. The T-Shirt and sweatshirt collection was imprinted with “Don’t tread on our kids,” a new “Barbie inspired line,” Aldean wrote on her social media platform.

The expression “Don’t tread on me” dates back to the American Revolution and is commonly used amongst Donald Trump supporters, including the insurrectionists that stormed the U.S.

Capitol on January 6. Allegedly, the Aldeans circulate within the Trumpsphere and have spent holidays like New Year’s Eve with him at Mar-ALago, The Tennessean reported (https://bit.ly/3SNWtnT).

Aldean continued to double down on her controversial comments, despite comments such as hers being debunked by countless medical professionals on a national and international level. "The genital mutilation of chil-

#WorkFair

2022, themed Working

With Pride, will help LGBTQ+ candidates to connect with inclusive employers. Returning on October 19, the world’s largest virtual careers fair for LGBTQ+ professionals and graduates will once again help to match diverse talent with roles at progressive and inclusive companies from all over the world.

With many more LGBTQ+ professionals now searching for jobs with inclusive employers, #WorkFair 2022 is the only free global virtual event providing direct access to inclusive employers across all industries who are ready and waiting to hire. Job seekers will get the opportunity to connect live with recruitment teams to chat about existing opportunities and even book interviews with participating companies they want to join. They can also attend several free webinars and workshops throughout the day to help them hone their job search and interviewing skills. Experts will provide candidates with meaningful life skills such as finding their purpose, bringing their whole self to work, and how to get ahead in the workplace.

Ahead of this year’s event, myGwork will release the findings of its inaugural LGBTQ+ student graduate survey, revealing factors that are likely to help attract and retain them. Additionally, myGwork will launch a new campaign, created with Enactus, featuring students sharing what Working with Pride means to them.

To date, myGwork has helped hun-

dreds of inclusive employers to attract and retain diverse talent, thanks to its increasing offering of online events, content, diversity and inclusion training, and recruitment events, such as #WorkFair and WorkPride. FTSE 100 companies and household brand names, such as State Street, Netflix, Willis Towers Watson, PepsiCo, Capgemini, Synechron, Clyde and Co, Reed Smith LLP, Criteo, Clifford Chance, Ab InBev, Capco, Pimco, Pearson, Omnicom Media Group and many more already use the platform with huge success.

“In the first 12 months of the partnership, we recruited 692 wonderful colleagues across the globe – from the USA, UK, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific to the Middle East ...” said Pearson’s Senior HR Manager, Kevin Lyons.”

Graduates, students and professionals can register to attend WorkFair completely free of charge here (https://bit.ly/3SNzatC).

#WorkFair 2022: Matching top LGBTQ+ talent with progressive & inclusive employers, Oct. 19

PHOTO: GLENN FRANCIS / PacificProDigital.com

but having one or more new partners who may have frequented a high risk venue can increase risk,” said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, MD, Medical Research Director, Fenway Health. “We want to be able to tell people to be cautious with a new epidemic, and to take sensible precautions, but not to make broad and unwarranted and harmful generalizations.”

Mayer noted that the stigma attached to monkeypox is more deeply rooted in discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community rather than science.

“ … We have vaccines and treatments for monkeypox, which we did not have in the early days of AIDS (and still don’t have an effective AIDS vaccine), and we know more about viruses and biology now compared to 40 years ago, so we need [to] realize that much of the stigma reflects continued homophobia and transphobia, and sex phobia more broadly,” he said.

Dr. Kevin Ard, Director of the Sexual Health Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital explained how the virus is transmitted.

“Monkeypox can spread in a variety of ways, including skin-to-skin contact, contact with respiratory secretions (such as might occur in a prolonged face-to-face interaction even without physical touch), and contact with objects handled by a person with monkeypox,” he said. “It is important for us to keep in mind the various ways monkeypox can be spread; not doing so risks contributing to stigma. For ex-

ample, beliefs that monkeypox is spread by sex alone, that all LGBTQ+ people harbor monkeypox, or that it can only affect LGBTQ+ people are untrue and damaging.”

False sense of security

Focusing solely on MSM also provides a false sense of security for others who are also susceptible to the virus.

“Misinformation is always dangerous, especially around medical issues and epidemics (as we saw with COVID),” said Dr. Joanne Levin, MD, Medical Director, Infection Prevention, Cooley Dickinson Hospital. “If people hear only ‘MSM’ and don’t hear the truth about how MPV [monkey pox virus] is spread … it deprive[s] others from understanding their own risks.”

Dr. Ard said he sees the messaging around the virus to be less stigmatizing by the general public and medical experts when compared to the AIDS epidemic.

“I think the way monkeypox is being discussed publicly is different from how HIV was discussed in the 1980s, although the risks for stigma remain,” he said. “Public health officials have largely tried to avoid discussing monkeypox in stigmatizing language.”

At the same time, Ard, who is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School noted the significance of informing the community that is most susceptible of contracting

Mic Drop: Stewart Taylor gets the last word

By: Paul Hutnick Special to TRT

“My ex and I argued over anything and everything,” recalls Stewart Taylor from his LA home. “If there was a boundary that I set, he would cross it every time. I’m not saying he was a bad person. I did things, too, that hurt the relationship. It’s just that we all have our demons. I didn’t respond well to his and he didn’t respond well to mine. Some people simply shouldn’t be together.”

Stewart Taylor sings about the experience in “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk,” his catchy true-to-life pop tune about breaking ties with an ex-lover.

“It can be extremely difficult to move on from someone you love,” he continues, “even when you know they’re bad for you. Sometimes the only thing you can do to stop the unhealthy cycles of a toxic relationship is to stop talking altogether.”

The video for “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk” reflects on his past struggles. Directed by Benjamin Farren and filmed primarily at Vasquez Rocks National Park in California, the video includes scenes of two lovers chasing one another, battling it out and then passionately making up, all in front of a fantastical canyon backdrop. Taylor made sure to include a game of tug of

war in the video to depict the constant push and pull he experienced.

He admits he took some creative license.

“Did my ex and I ever fight and chase each other through a desert? No. But it’s more interesting to recreate our dynamic through the lens of fantasy and set it against that backdrop because the desolate wasteland represents how it felt for me emotionally.”

Jake Dean Taylor plays the role of the ex-boyfriend in “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk.” Australian Actor Stephen Multari and up and coming pop artist Kelechi are also prominently

PHOTO: SHAUN VADELLA