Another tough week, not without bright spots. Let's start with a needed locker-room pep talk, from an "older lesbian" who remembers, Shaley Howard, author of Excuse Me, Sir: Memoirs of a Butch.
Do take a second:
Extract:
No matter how desperately this administration and its supporters try to keep us down, they will fail.…
I remained firmly in the closet through most of my youth and well into young adulthood....I learned to perform – to talk about boys, to act interested, to play a role that never, in a million years, fit....[F]ear was my constant companion.....But even worse was the loneliness.…
Progress may slow. Backlash may grow louder. But the direction of history has not changed, and it will not stop here.
Deep breath now
A massive siege across multiple fronts
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#WeAreAllMinneapolis
"LGBTQ+ Americans are going back in the closet, as a new survey reveals people believe queer acceptance has decreased under the second Trump administration."
www.thepinknews.com/2026/01/16/t...
— Clio2 (@clio2.bsky.social) 2026-01-18T19:56:21.659Z
And even
In Minnesota under ICE/Border Patrol siege, anti-LGBTQ animus clearly overlaps with the racism and xenophobia.
Two U.S. citizens:
ICE agents questioned them separately, and an agent asked Martin about her genitalia and if she’d had gender-confirmation surgery. She answered truthfully to avoid being groped. It occurred to them that LGBTQ+ people were being singled out for mistreatment. In the van, they discussed ICE's killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week. Valentine told Martin, “You know, I just realized that they probably knew Renee was a lesbian before they shot her.”
Reportedly Good had an LGBTQ sticker on the back of her car.
More testimony from Minneapolis: Skye, interviewed below, was merely following an ICE vehicle when arrested, car windows broken, dragged from the vehicle, crushed facedown into the pavement, beaten, cuffed so tightly as to cut off circulation, and referred to as "it."
Interviewed after release, Skye reported that an agent referred to Nicole Good as a "lesbian bitch." And implied, btw, that Good was killed for observing.
I transcribe in part:
Yeah, they're calling me a bunch of derogatory names, calling me "it."
They tried to break my ankle. When he turned my ankle all the way around, I screamed, and he said, "Yeah, I bet you fucking like that, don't you?
(snip)
They're enjoying it. They're 100% absolutely enjoying it.
They literally said in there [the Whipple building where ICE holds detainees], they said, "Have you not learned? This is why we killed that lesbian bitch."
And here -- separate incident -- but very similar behavior. Agent declares:
"You guys gotta stop obstructing us. That's why that lesbian bitch is dead."
Note: From the totality of on-ground reports, "obstructing" in the parlance of ICE/BP seems to include: watching from a distance, recording, blowing whistles, yelling, and any sort of criticism.
Btw, I want to note this exemplary post from the Bluesky member who posted Skye's interview:
Thank you, Gillian Brockell.
And in contrast, these defenders of womankind:
Once interned, the harrassment is institutional:
And the harrassment is not meant to stop with immigration detention, according to the linked article:
The Department of Justice is also working to remove rules protecting LGBTQ+ people from sexual abuse in prisons.
BUT: A legal victory or three:
Ka-POW!
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Republican South Carolina state Rep. RJ May sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison today.
5 counts of distributing child sex abuse material.
He shared hundreds of images of kids, including pictures of adults raping seven-year-olds.
Moms of Liberty had named him its Legislator of the Year.
— Denise Wheeler (@denisedwheeler.bsky.social) 2026-01-15T03:00:35.746Z
Yeah. Those Moms for Liberty who are all for protecting children from the horror of penguins with two Dads.
DOJ news release. Somebody there must still be doing actual, nonpartisan work. Good for them!
The AAP has been supportive towards trans youth.
"This is a case about whether the federal government has exercised power in a manner designed to chill public health policy debate by retaliating against a leading and generally trusted pediatrician member professional organization focused on improving the health of children,” [U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote].
Trump administration officials cited a range of reasons for the grant funding cuts, including AAP’s use of “identity-based language” and references to racial disparities and “pregnant people.”
But....all this isn't really about LGBTQ issues or DEI at all, according to reporter Greg Owen. Kennedy was actually aiming to punish the AAP for disagreeing with him in public about vaccines.
And the grants?
The seven terminated grants for AAP supported public health programs to prevent sudden unexpected infant death, strengthen pediatric care in rural communities, and help teenagers facing substance abuse and mental health challenges, among others.
It was just attempted extortion/revenge. Like so much in this administration.
(And only $12 million is temporarily restored in this decision, out of an original $18 million.)
Another small positive piece of news:
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"U.S. judge" here means only "in the United States", not a federal judge; Kathleen Ryan was merely a elected probate judge in Oakland County, Mich., which comprises a northern portion of Detroit. The probate court only deals with disputes concerning the estates of deceased persons, wills, trusts, guardianships and conservatorships.
But wow:
As reported by WXYZ Detroit, in one recording from September 2024, Ryan shared offensive viewpoints about both demographics and said she isn’t “systemically racist” but a “new racist"…
The recordings were sent to public officials, including Oakland County executive Dave Coulter, who is gay. Some of Ryan’s slurs about the community were directed at him, according to Detroit Free Press.
Ryan, who has been on paid administrative leave for 15 months, has now voluntarily resigned.
Oakland County Probate Court administrator Edward Hutton provided the recordings, claiming that he was harassed by Ryan for years and felt she wouldn’t be able to provide fair rulings.
Guess not!
WXYZ television, which first broke the story in 2024, stated that Ryan had described herself as "untouchable" and that her lawyers had called it a voluntary retirement. Took long enough.
A bigger thing: Supreme Court hears arguments on trans girls in sports.
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On my way to the Supreme Court where I'll be proud to support 15-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, West Virginia's only transgender athlete, as she opposes the state's effort to ban her from playing as herself.
Win or lose, Becky and her family are heroes for standing up for what's right
— Gillian Branstetter (@gbbranstetter.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T12:10:09.531Z
And outside:
Unfortunately…
While another federal lawsuit starts up:
Are we tired yet?
Maybe but not quitting!
Let's take a minute to talk about books!
Who? Who is that issuing a heartfelt public apology for causing trans people pain and is now trying to make amends?
This person.
Congratulations and warm thoughts to her and all who may follow the same path.
More about books.
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Imagine a world without Dracula or the Picture of Dorian Gray, Orlando, Cabaret**, Rubyfruit Jungle, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, the Line of Beauty, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women & Feminism; And the Band Played On; & Howl & Other Poems*.
A stolen world:
— Dr Robert Bohan (@robertbohan.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T20:05:44.319Z
Ow. Next week here, we're going to be about books that have influenced us, whether specifically LGBTQ or not.
Meanwhile, this following post is basically an ad for this magazine...but the point about physical zines is well taken.
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"If the government gets crazy, Instagram can disappear tomorrow, but a physical zine can't be censored in the same way." NYC collective Dykes and Dolls share why grassroots community is so vital. 📸 by AJ Jordan. Read more in GCN's December issue 👉 bit.ly/gcndec25
— Gay Community News (@gcnmag.bsky.social) 2026-01-14T12:00:11.855Z
To return to the law, ugh:
Chiles v. Salazar, argued before the Supreme Court last October, is still pending decision. This one is about whether a Colorado state law against gay "conversion therapy" violates the First Amendment.
People thought the oral arguments didn't look good.
Something more about that:
A Texas judge has decided drag shows aren't protected speech.
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Judge Kacsmaryk rejects challenge by West Texas A&M University's LGBQT club to drag show ban, saying the First Amendment doesn't protect "self-expression in all forms, and certainly not the libertine 'expressive conduct' absolutism envisioned" by the group. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Nate Raymond (@nateraymond.bsky.social) 2026-01-18T02:51:27.503Z
A commenter who doesn't want their posts embedded elsewhere wrote:
"This was a case brought by FIRE. In case people wondered why I was suspicious they'd bring this case in front of THAT judge. I'm sure they can't wait for the 5th to affirm so LGBTQ people are pushed out of academia.....Filing in Amarillo is basically a 100% chance to get Kacsmaryk. Sure, West Texas A&M is based just outside of there but any serious litigator would take forum and judge assignments into account and there's no worse judge in the entire federal judiciary for LGBTQ related claims than Kascmaryk."
and
"There's a reason why the ACLU basically brings all LGBTQ related claims in Texas in state court. Now if they appeal, the 5th circuit has an opportunity to set precedent that drag is not protected by the 1st Amendment on a merits case."
This is FIRE, btw.
On the other side, a one-year anniversary for this group:
Another potential suit, incoming?
While:
And another study, in the UK;
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UK
"...suicide was the leading cause of death...in the younger age groups...but ...higher in those identifying as LGB+: 45.3% of those aged 16 to 24 years identifying as LGB+, compared with 26.6% identifying as straight or heterosexual...."
www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/deep...
— Clio2 (@clio2.bsky.social) 2026-01-18T19:33:54.766Z
Snark:
In other news, Gov. Newsom is apparently still transphobic
I have not had time to watch this but Bluesky is frothing, click to access the thread
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good news! if you need or want to know what transphobic shit gavin newsom got up to with ben shapiro today but you don't hate yourself enough to go through his podcast, i do!
🏳️⚧️🧵here is a thread of clips for your immiseration
— Corinne Green (@ket.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T04:27:51.572Z
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Read it. JBE knew trans people. He'd had us in his committee rooms, on his campaign, in his administration. And he had principles. Can you tell? It's not a third rail, it's not complicated, it's not unclear. Blue state pols pretending otherwise are clowns.
PDF: legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDo...
— Corinne Green (@ket.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T10:18:02.835Z
..
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LA Gov. John Bel Edwards' veto of HB 648, our 2023 healthcare ban, begins: "The bill is entitled the Stop Harming Our Kids Act, which is ironic because that is precisely what it does."
He wrote he'd "never issued a veto with the degree of detail that I am providing here."
It's 6 pages. 1/2
— Corinne Green (@ket.bsky.social) 2026-01-16T10:18:02.834Z
People over there are still incensed about his attitude to the unhoused, and now
Alarm bells:
International
UK
Ireland
www.newsletter.co.uk/...
Irish junior health care minister visits Iceland, said to have trans child
archive.is/...
Finally
Finally, a wander in forgotten history (or to most of us unknown...a survivor)
Dial back to the 1980s....and what??? My mind is still boggling...Epstein?
His words linger as he reflects: “There were a lot of things against me, and no one came out to support me”.…
Harvey has had better years as of late, and he briefly brightens up as he shares that he and his partner of 52 years recently became civil partners.
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History
"Harvey....thought the individual involved was over 21. However...the defence applied only in the heterosexual cases....the age of consent for same-sex relationships was 21, while the age...for heterosexual relationships was 16."
And... ...EPSTEIN ????
www.thepinknews.com/2026/01/13/i...
— Clio2 (@clio2.bsky.social) 2026-01-18T20:08:32.041Z
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I hope we will all have good things to think about...soon.
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One great day for a church lady at a Pride event, Virginia, 2024. The Episcopalians were very welcoming.
