SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Transgender rights advocates on April 18, 2023 threw underwear at right-wing lawmakers in Florida as they debated bills to ban gender-affirming healthcare and drag shows and to require students to use bathrooms according to their sex assigned at birth.
(Photo: @SpencerRoachFL/Twitter)
Florida Activists Drop Underwear on Heads of Anti-Trans GOP Legislators
One Democratic lawmaker accused the state GOP of denying trans people "of their legal right to be recognized as the identity they live in every day."
Apr 19, 2023
Transgender rights advocates in Florida on Tuesday chose a new method of getting their anti-bigotry message across to Florida Republicans—dropping dozens of pairs of underwear on the heads of lawmakers who were at the state House debating three bills aimed at removing transgender and nonbinary people from public life.
The underwear was emblazoned with messages including, "Leave my genitals alone" and "Fascism has no place in Florida, stop trans genocide," and was thrown into the chamber from a balcony as Republicans spoke in favor of H.B. 1421, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors; H.B. 1521, which would require transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, and S.B. 1438, which would prohibit drag performances in the presence of children.
The Republicans' support for the legislation transformed the Florida House into what Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby (D-62) called a "thunderdome of hate."
"You're... stripping [trans people] of their legal right to be recognized as the identity they live in every day," she told Republicans in the House.
Rights activists representing Women's Voices Southwest Florida demanded that the Republicans hear their message, dropping the underwear on the heads of several GOP lawmakers including state Rep. Rachel Plakon (R-36), the lead sponsor of H.B. 1521.
Rep. Spencer Roach (R-76) posted a photo of one pair of underwear that denounced "trans genocide," calling the rights advocates "radical trans-activists."
"How can this dude post this, and only be focused on the underwear?!" said one nonbinary critic. "He is literally openly saying he DOES NOT CARE about trans people killing themselves. Get this man out of office, Florida."
One study from the University of Washington showed in 2022 that gender-affirming care can reduce suicide risk for transgender and nonbinary youths by 73%.
Earlier this month, Florida Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-27) used words including "demons" and "mutants" to describe transgender people, comparing the community to "the X-Men movies or Marvel Comics."
In response, Rep. Angie Nixon (D-14) noted during the debate on Tuesday that the X-Men characters "were created as an ode to civil rights leaders that were being attacked, who wanted to fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion," and proposed an amendment to the drag show ban legislation that would exempt performers dressed as the X-Men.
The amendment was shot down by the GOP as "not worthy" of debate and, like more than a dozen amendments proposed by Democrats to the bills, was not added to the legislation.
The debate and protest took place as Republican-controlled legislatures across the country adopt bans on gender-affirming healthcare for minors as well as adults.
Ten states in the past three months have passed laws prohibiting puberty blockers, transition surgery, and hormonal treatment for people under age 18. In Missouri, an order set to take effect on April 27 will impose severe restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors as well as adults, requiring at least three years of medical documentation of gender dysphoria.
The Florida state House is set to vote on the three pieces of legislation on Wednesday.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Transgender rights advocates in Florida on Tuesday chose a new method of getting their anti-bigotry message across to Florida Republicans—dropping dozens of pairs of underwear on the heads of lawmakers who were at the state House debating three bills aimed at removing transgender and nonbinary people from public life.
The underwear was emblazoned with messages including, "Leave my genitals alone" and "Fascism has no place in Florida, stop trans genocide," and was thrown into the chamber from a balcony as Republicans spoke in favor of H.B. 1421, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors; H.B. 1521, which would require transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, and S.B. 1438, which would prohibit drag performances in the presence of children.
The Republicans' support for the legislation transformed the Florida House into what Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby (D-62) called a "thunderdome of hate."
"You're... stripping [trans people] of their legal right to be recognized as the identity they live in every day," she told Republicans in the House.
Rights activists representing Women's Voices Southwest Florida demanded that the Republicans hear their message, dropping the underwear on the heads of several GOP lawmakers including state Rep. Rachel Plakon (R-36), the lead sponsor of H.B. 1521.
Rep. Spencer Roach (R-76) posted a photo of one pair of underwear that denounced "trans genocide," calling the rights advocates "radical trans-activists."
"How can this dude post this, and only be focused on the underwear?!" said one nonbinary critic. "He is literally openly saying he DOES NOT CARE about trans people killing themselves. Get this man out of office, Florida."
One study from the University of Washington showed in 2022 that gender-affirming care can reduce suicide risk for transgender and nonbinary youths by 73%.
Earlier this month, Florida Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-27) used words including "demons" and "mutants" to describe transgender people, comparing the community to "the X-Men movies or Marvel Comics."
In response, Rep. Angie Nixon (D-14) noted during the debate on Tuesday that the X-Men characters "were created as an ode to civil rights leaders that were being attacked, who wanted to fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion," and proposed an amendment to the drag show ban legislation that would exempt performers dressed as the X-Men.
The amendment was shot down by the GOP as "not worthy" of debate and, like more than a dozen amendments proposed by Democrats to the bills, was not added to the legislation.
The debate and protest took place as Republican-controlled legislatures across the country adopt bans on gender-affirming healthcare for minors as well as adults.
Ten states in the past three months have passed laws prohibiting puberty blockers, transition surgery, and hormonal treatment for people under age 18. In Missouri, an order set to take effect on April 27 will impose severe restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors as well as adults, requiring at least three years of medical documentation of gender dysphoria.
The Florida state House is set to vote on the three pieces of legislation on Wednesday.
Transgender rights advocates in Florida on Tuesday chose a new method of getting their anti-bigotry message across to Florida Republicans—dropping dozens of pairs of underwear on the heads of lawmakers who were at the state House debating three bills aimed at removing transgender and nonbinary people from public life.
The underwear was emblazoned with messages including, "Leave my genitals alone" and "Fascism has no place in Florida, stop trans genocide," and was thrown into the chamber from a balcony as Republicans spoke in favor of H.B. 1421, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors; H.B. 1521, which would require transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, and S.B. 1438, which would prohibit drag performances in the presence of children.
The Republicans' support for the legislation transformed the Florida House into what Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby (D-62) called a "thunderdome of hate."
"You're... stripping [trans people] of their legal right to be recognized as the identity they live in every day," she told Republicans in the House.
Rights activists representing Women's Voices Southwest Florida demanded that the Republicans hear their message, dropping the underwear on the heads of several GOP lawmakers including state Rep. Rachel Plakon (R-36), the lead sponsor of H.B. 1521.
Rep. Spencer Roach (R-76) posted a photo of one pair of underwear that denounced "trans genocide," calling the rights advocates "radical trans-activists."
"How can this dude post this, and only be focused on the underwear?!" said one nonbinary critic. "He is literally openly saying he DOES NOT CARE about trans people killing themselves. Get this man out of office, Florida."
One study from the University of Washington showed in 2022 that gender-affirming care can reduce suicide risk for transgender and nonbinary youths by 73%.
Earlier this month, Florida Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-27) used words including "demons" and "mutants" to describe transgender people, comparing the community to "the X-Men movies or Marvel Comics."
In response, Rep. Angie Nixon (D-14) noted during the debate on Tuesday that the X-Men characters "were created as an ode to civil rights leaders that were being attacked, who wanted to fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion," and proposed an amendment to the drag show ban legislation that would exempt performers dressed as the X-Men.
The amendment was shot down by the GOP as "not worthy" of debate and, like more than a dozen amendments proposed by Democrats to the bills, was not added to the legislation.
The debate and protest took place as Republican-controlled legislatures across the country adopt bans on gender-affirming healthcare for minors as well as adults.
Ten states in the past three months have passed laws prohibiting puberty blockers, transition surgery, and hormonal treatment for people under age 18. In Missouri, an order set to take effect on April 27 will impose severe restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors as well as adults, requiring at least three years of medical documentation of gender dysphoria.
The Florida state House is set to vote on the three pieces of legislation on Wednesday.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.