A flight attendant was celebrating his 32nd birthday in a Qatari hotel. Then the police came...

> > > Dwyane Wade has high praise for Marlon Wayans after the comedian opened up about supporting his transgender child. > > > > Wade is also the parent of a transgender child – something he has been very outspoken about since his daughter Zaya began her transition. > > > > The NBA legend and his wife Gabrielle Union are among the many celebrity parents who have used their platform to promote transgender rights after being inspired by their children. > > > > Now, Wade would like to welcome Wayans to the club, after the White Chicks actor spoke publicly about his son’s transition, and how he has dealt with that transition as a parent. > > > > Speaking to Variety during last week’s GQ Men of the Year party, Wade “saluted” Wayans, and any other father who can openly support their child, no matter what their gender identity may be. > > > > “I think unconditional love allows us to step in and listen and learn of what we do not know and what we were not taught, especially in the Black community,” he told the publication. > > > > “I salute Marlon for speaking out and speaking up about this experience with his child just the same way as I’ve done. > > > > “We’re just the voices that are speaking for our kids right now before they get an opportunity to grab that microphone and speak for themselves. I salute him.” > > > > The basketball star added: “This is his experience and what he’s dealing with. He’s coming out selling it from his point of view. It’s great for fathers especially to speak on them from their point of view and how they had to handle it and deal with it.” > > > > Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya was 12 when she came out to him as a transgender. > > > > Since then, he and Union have gone to great lengths to protect the now-16-year-old from anti-trans rhetoric, moving out of Florida and publicly speaking out against “hateful” political figures like Ron DeSantis. > > > > Thanks to their love and support, Zaya has been thriving, making her runway debut at Paris Fashion Week and working with brands like Tiffany & Co. and Puma. > > > > Meanwhile, Wayans is a little bit newer to the journey, admitting during a recent interview with The Breakfast Club that he’s still getting used to his son Kai’s transition. > > > > The Scary Movie actor explained that his next comedy special will centre around the transition. > > > > “Not his… their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance,” he clarified. > > > > “I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need that message and I know I’m dealing with it. It was a very painful situation for me but, man, it’s one of the best hours I could ever imagine.” > > > > Making it crystal clear that he’s doing everything in his power to support Kai on his journey, Wayans added: “I gotta respect their wishes and as a parent I just want my kids to be free – free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves. > > > > “The more you know yourself, the more you live your truth, the happier your existence. So if they can’t get that in a household with their father and their mother, how the f\\\* do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence? > > > > “I’m just so proud of them for being them – but that don’t mean that I ain’t got jokes.” > >

“It is vital that Congress ensures there are guardrails in place that protect American workers, especially workers of color,” Senator Chuck Schumer tells theGrio.

Over 200,000 people showed up for Orlando Pride over the weekend, as an 11-year-old transgender girl led the parade as Grand Marshal.

The event was seen as a way to push back against Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ (R) ongoing campaign of discrimination and persecution of the LGBTQ+ community.

In June, Arkansas became the first state to see its ban on gender-affirming care for minors blocked by the courts. In September, a district court judge temporarily blocked Montana’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, which was set to take effect on October 1.

Those two victories have inspired plaintiffs in North Carolina and Montana to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed by Republican-led legislatures.

In North Carolina last week, the family of a trans boy and a medical doctor filed suit with PFLAG and Lambda Legal against officials in the state, arguing the state’s law banning gender-affirming health care for transgender minors discriminates on the basis of gender identity and infringes on parental rights to make medical decisions on behalf of their own children.

The next day, a group of intersex, Two-spirit, and trans plaintiffs filed suit in Montana, challenging a law that went into effect in May that amends the state code to declare “male” and “female” are the only two sexes. They assert the law is unconstitutional and amounts to sex-based discrimination.

Plaintiffs in North Carolina say that House Bill 808, which Republicans passed with a super-majority after Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the legislation in August, violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The law prohibits doctors from prescribing hormone therapy or puberty blockers to minors and outlaws gender-affirming surgery for anyone under 18 (though such surgeries are rarely, if ever, performed on minors).

“Gender-affirming medical care is safe and effective, it is evidence-based, and it is widely accepted,” said Lambda Legal counsel and health care strategist Omar Gonzalez-Pagan at a press conference announcing the suit. He called the plaintiffs “courageous” for taking their fight public.

The challenge to Montana’s Senate Bill 458 is notable for including intersex people among the plaintiffs, with three trans people, two intersex people, and the Montana Two-Spirit Society named in the suit.

The Montana plaintiffs challenge the idea that there are only two biological sexes, arguing that the gender binary classification is a form of “colonization” meant to “eradicate Two-Spirit culture.”

The gender binary also perpetuates the mutilation of intersex children.

Laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors in Texas and Florida carve out exceptions to their surgery bans that permit procedures on infants born with “ambiguous genitalia.” Those procedures are conducted more often in pursuit of “normalizing” children’s genitals than for any medically necessary reason. Intersex activists seek to make such surgeries illegal, preferring to wait until intersex individuals can provide informed consent before receiving any surgical procedures.

“S.B. 458 is motivated by animus and a bare desire to harm,” the Montana lawsuit states, while it violates the 14th Amendment and the plaintiffs’ right to privacy and free speech.

The plaintiffs also claim the law violates the Montana constitution’s “dignity clause,” an article that outlaws “treatment which deliberately reduces the value of persons.”

That clause was cited in the decision blocking the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in September.

Comedian Sophie Duker delivered a powerful message against the haters after landing Entertainer of the Year at PinkNews Awards 2023.

In an exclusive interview with PinkNews after picking up her award, Duker had a clear message to comedians such as Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle who have used their platform to mock and belittle vulnerable minority groups such as the trans community.

Vandals have drawn swastikas on the apartment building of Maryland State Del. Joe Vogel (D), an out gay and Jewish lawmaker. While it’s unclear whether the vandals have deliberately targeted him, the symbols have appeared at least three times on his Gaithersburg city apartment building over the past few months.

SFF provides a way of re-envisioning disability, challenging ableism head-on and creating new stories. Here are some to get you started.

Happy Disability Pride month!

There's a few users I've been keeping an eye on after seeing them post misinformation and hate speech. Just keeping a list for now because I don't know how to report them. Where should I go to do this?

How should I index myself so that you can retrieve & cut me . . .