Apologies for the newsletter going out so late today, but I completed and submitted my Playboy draft today in time for my deadline and I’m very excited to share it with y’all when it goes live.
In personal news, this past weekend I got to celebrate Harold Kooden’s 90th birthday, and reader, we danced. Miley just dropped Bass Persuades, a lament that the kids these days don’t want to dance. So I’m happy to report that people in their 70s, 80s, and 90s absolutely do. The eating, drinking, laughing, and busting of moves got started early; we danced fiercely, and we were home by 11 pm. Celebrating with queer elders and friends was a rejuvenating treat.
Speaking of showing up: I’ve booked my ticket and lodging for the WPATH Symposium in Mexico City this November, and I'm starting to think about my content plan for both Well Beings News and my freelance work. If you’ve been meaning to chip in, now is the time — any donation helps offset the cost so I can report live from the conference straight to y’all.
United States
Manhattan’s Mount Sinai reached a deal with Trump’s DOJ to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors, a capitulation that landed even as the department’s own case collapsed in court the same day. Connecticut lawmakers are now probing Connecticut Children’s Medical Center over its parallel agreement to end youth care, threatening subpoena power.
The pushback is mounting: twenty-one states sued to block the administration’s anti-trans under-19 Medicaid ban, and New York joined a multistate lawsuit defending trans health care after years of protest pressure.
At the Pentagon, expanded testosterone screening is tightening the squeeze on trans service members, while the department reportedly searches protected medical records to identify transgender troops.
International
The fallout from NHS Wales’s surgery suspension deepened, with up to 800 trans patients now hit by Welsh Gender Service cancellations after the clinic paused surgeries over accusations it treated too many trans patients — QueerAF has an explainer on what’s next. Also in the UK, Grindr agreed to pay £26 million to settle a lawsuit over sharing users’ HIV status with advertisers.
In Finland, growing protests reflect mounting discontent with the country’s restrictive trans health policy. A landmark official Dutch review recommended expanding trans youth care, a Bulgarian court ruled in favor of legal gender changes, and the Swiss government backed a nationwide ban on conversion therapy. Experts warned that a test set to bar trans women from women’s Olympic competition lacks scientific backing.
In South Africa, an intersex adult is seeking justice over an irreversible, nonconsensual childhood surgery.
Nine activists arrested demanding MA restore trans youth care: Organizers in Boston escalated to direct action to press the Massachusetts attorney general — a clear-eyed model of what sustained pressure on state officials looks like.
Maryland teachers refuse to out trans students: Under the banner “They Will Not Comply,” educators are refusing to enforce a district policy that shifted to align with federal pressure — a template for institutional noncompliance.
How a Colorado school district is fighting Trump’s anti-trans push: A close look at one district actively resisting federal directives, useful for anyone weighing what local institutions can actually do.
Massachusetts hospitals are teaching Trump how easily trans care can be erased — The Advocate — Analysis arguing that capitulating hospitals are handing the administration a playbook for dismantling care.
Trans leader sounds alarm about a “near complete exodus” of philanthropy — them. — A movement leader warns that funders are retreating from trans work, with direct consequences for services.
How Many Trans People Are There? — Assigned Media — Journal Club unpacks HRC’s new estimate that the trans and gender-expansive population tops eight million, roughly three times the Williams Institute’s count.
Trans people need a politics of ordinary life — Washington Blade — An essay for a trans politics rooted in daily living rather than perpetual crisis.
A Black transmasc retreat and “that brotherhood moment” — The Buckeye Flame — A feature on an annual Ohio retreat offering Black transmasculine people community and care.
In MAGA country, an Ozarks mom offers a safe haven for LGBTQ youth — Uncloseted Media — A profile of one Missouri mother sheltering queer kids in hostile territory.
What it’s like to run an LGBTQ+ summer camp in Trump’s America — LGBTQ Nation — A first-person account of keeping a youth camp running under mounting political pressure.
Young queer people are drinking less, and NYC gay bars feel it — them. — A trend piece on shifting substance-use patterns among young queer people and the strain on legacy bars.
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That's it for this week — reply anytime, and see you next Monday.
BJ Ferguson
Founder, Well Beings News
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