Happy Monday. Three quick asks before we get into it.

First: last week I put out a call for a piece I'm reporting for Playboy on the worn-out myth that testosterone breeds aggression. I'm still looking to talk with transmasculine folks who've spent time on T. If that's you, just reply to this email — and if it's someone you know, forward this their way.

Second: I'm taking on more freelance reporting right now, which means I want your story tips. If something in queer and trans health isn't getting the coverage it deserves, send it to me — a link, a paragraph, a hunch, whatever you've got.

And third, for the providers reading: my Provider Needs survey is still open. It's a few minutes, and your answers are directly shaping the new Professional-tier resources I'm building — fill it out, and you'll have a hand in what comes next, plus a heavily discounted Professional trial membership.

Now, the news this week.

Connecticut Children's Medical Center became the latest hospital to halt gender-affirming care for minors under Trump DOJ pressure, the third clinic to settle with the department in recent weeks. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton bragged about having extracted $10 million from Texas Children's Hospital and forced it to stand up a "detransition" clinic.

New York lawmakers moved to finally repeal a 40-year bathhouse ban enacted during the AIDS epidemic, swapping reactionary policy for modern public-health regulation. Upstate, a Chester physical therapy office faces scrutiny after a patient recorded anti-gay remarks among staff, and in Manhattan police arrested a psychotherapist accused of raping a transgender boy during a session, warning there may be more victims.

And in Washington state, a November ballot measure would mandate genital inspections for student athletes, forcing girls from kindergarten up to verify birth sex to compete. And bodily surveillance continues to spread with anti-trans panic, as the WTA begins mandatory genetic testing of players in Cincinnati.

At the federal level, the Human Rights Campaign filed a class action over the coverage ban on gender-affirming care, part of mounting litigation as federal workers sue over healthcare discrimination they call unconstitutional. HRC also condemned the Department of Education for stripping LGBTQ bullying data from a federal youth survey, erasing the evidence of rising harm.

International News

A new statutory code across England, Scotland, and Wales now bars trans people from bathrooms matching their gender, even as a fresh judicial review argues the EHRC code misstates the law.

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Rob Jetten used a World Pride panel to argue governments must do more to defend trans rights.

In France, 141 LGBTIQ+ groups warned against a UN resolution on decriminalisation, fearing it could trigger backlash where queerness is still criminalised.

And in South Africa, a national Pride Flag Tour launched in Limpopo to push stigma-free healthcare for LGBTIQ+ people.

Follow the money — and support trans journalism. The Needle News obtained internal communications showing anti-trans hate group SEGM paid McMaster University over CA$300,000 to shape its research output.

Know the opposition — Uncloseted Media maps Alliance Defending Freedom's decades-long campaign to dismantle queer rights since the early 1990s.

Expecting "Wellness" from Oppressed People Is An Extension of Oppression — Sebastian Barr — A psychologist argues that therapy aiming only to make trans people "functional" under oppression becomes a tool of it.
Trans People in Sports Don't Hurt Anybody. But Kicking Them Out Does. — Assigned Media — Journal Club digs into a 2024 paper quantifying the harm of excluding trans people from sport.
The fight for trans athletes isn't about fairness — The Advocate — Rose Montoya's op-ed reframes sports bans as a question of who gets to belong.
Questions No One Asks About Trans Girls and Women in Sports — Thalia Vacha — A trans writer poses the questions the sports-ban debate keeps avoiding.
Michelle Visage's PrEP Ad Doesn't Mention Gay People or HIV — them. — A conservative watchdog group is furious anyway over the drag star's TV Land spot.
The transgender refugees finding sanctuary in the North of England — QueerAF — Adrian Collins reports from Bradford on life at the intersection of being Trans+ and a migrant.
TWIBS: Amy Acton is a Disappointing Look at the Future — Assigned Media — A Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner throws trans Ohioans under the bus.
How to Heal Anal Fissures and Hemorrhoids? Try Bottoming — Out — Anal health experts explain when bottoming can treat, rather than worsen, fissures and hemorrhoids.