Good afternoon, friends and subscribers!

Some of what's kept me busiest this week has been close to home. Here in Oaxaca, I've been helping get two support groups going at the Oaxaca Lending Library: one for people living with HIV/AIDS, and one for the parents, family, and friends of LGBTQ+ people.

They're small, in-person, low-barrier spaces — the kind that do quiet, durable work. A room where someone living with HIV doesn't have to explain themselves, and a room where families trying to figure out how to show up for someone they love can do that alongside others doing the same. So much of what I cover here is systemic and far away; this is the part I get to touch with my hands. If you're in Oaxaca and either of these is for you, or you know someone it's for, come find me.

Before we get to the news: the Provider Needs Survey is still open, and your answers shape what I chase next. If you work with trans patients in any health or wellness capacity, it takes a few minutes, and everyone who completes it gets a heavily discounted Professional membership trial: $5 for the first three months.

What that gets you: original reporting I'm working on now about building gender-affirming care networks, a myth-busting look at detransition, and an explainer on what "DIY HRT" actually means clinically and why patients turn to it. Upgrade to a Professional membership for full access.

Now, the news.

The same Pentagon that spent a year and a half insisting medically transitioning troops can't serve is now offering cisgender troops testosterone, preparing to screen service members for low levels and cover the replacement therapy it branded an unnecessary expense for trans people. The FTC's lawsuit against WPATH grinds on, and what it means for hormones is stark: a win for the agency could strip access for trans people outside the handful of states with legal protections. In Congress, House Judiciary advanced the Chloe Cole Act, which would let patients sue the clinicians who provided them gender-affirming care as minors.

The Justice Department told an appeals court it will ask the Supreme Court to undo the block on the administration's military ban. The Heritage Foundation, having secured its athlete bans, is now going after Title IX itself, arguing rollbacks are needed to protect girls' "fertility." And RFK Jr.'s HHS stripped protections for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, removing a rule that shielded them from placement with hostile families. A year after the administration cut the 988 line's LGBTQ+ youth service, that specialized hotline still hasn't been restored, and may not return until the end of 2026 despite funding Congress already approved.

Two developments cut the other way. A flood of public opposition forced the administration to abandon a rule that would have compelled hospitals nationwide to drop gender-affirming care for trans youth, and HHS quietly shelved its plan to make its blocks on trans youth healthcare official, at least for now.

International

In the UK, QueerAF reports that mainstream coverage of the BMA's Cass Review critique was factually wrong, again distorting what the doctors' union actually said about trans healthcare. In Ireland, the head of HSE gender healthcare will step down at year's end after drafting a new model of care.

In South Africa, experts warn that HIV and LGBT+ services remain at risk after funding cuts, even as an anti-rights "family values" conference heads to Cape Town that organizers fear could threaten LGBTQ+ equality across the continent. From Nigeria, an opinion piece argues the country's anti-gay laws fuel violence, abuse, and impunity. In Australia, Dementia Australia and ACON launched a dedicated LGBT+ hub for people affected by dementia and their carers — a rare bright spot beside a harder story, as Children's Health Queensland settled its dispute with Dr Jillian Spencer, the psychiatrist who boasted of pulling down trans pride flags and campaigned against youth gender care, clearing her of wrongdoing amid the state's ban on puberty blockers and hormones for minors.

Debunk the testosterone hype: Assigned Media lays out the actual science on aging and testosterone that Hegseth and the manosphere leave out — useful when patients arrive quoting them.

Lead with PrEP awareness: This National HIV Prevention Day essay argues the real barrier to prevention isn't willingness but awareness, a gap providers are positioned to close.

Share this changemaker story: The SafePlace Dream Academy shows LGBTQ+ graduates across Southern Africa turning trauma into community leadership — inspiration worth passing on.

Trump ended the LGBTQ+ youth suicide lifeline. One year later, the damage remains — The Advocate — The human toll a year after the 988 youth service was terminated.
In the Middle of the Bible Belt, a Summer Camp Lets Trans Kids Exhale — Uncloseted Media — Inside a camp where trans youth get to be understood, questions welcomed, adulthood imaginable.
Idaho pushed anti-trans laws for years. Then a teen died. — NBC News — Traces the state's years of anti-trans lawmaking against the death of a trans teenager.
Whitman-Walker to host legal services workshop — Washington Blade — A virtual and in-person legal-services workshop at the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center.
Safe States Don't Make People Safer — The Needle News — Why legislative risk and lethal risk aren't the same for trans women, and why the numbers we have tell only part of the story.
Just like me – How t4t love is helping trans people heal what the world keeps breaking — QueerAF — A trans Italian screenwriter on t4t love as repair.
Having a Trans Child Doesn't Make You Immune to Transphobia — TransVitae — Passing privilege, internalized bias, and what authentic allyship actually asks.
The Truth Behind the Transgender Bathroom Selfie Debate — TransVitae — Why the bathroom selfie reads as trans joy, and how it gets weaponized.