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MIT Rejects Trump’s Bid to Institute Trans Bathroom, Athletics Ban

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 21h

A much-needed precedent:

"The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has rejected the Trump Administration’s latest bid to bribe the university into compliance with its discriminatory & far-right initiatives, including an anti-trans bathroom ban…"

www.erininthemorning.com/p/mit-reject...

“A government that can reward colleges and universities for speech it favors today can punish them for speech it dislikes tomorrow.”

RFK Jr. says circumcision is linked to autism - LGBTQ Nation

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 1d

Fucking christ.

Know what else is linked to autism? Breathing. Breathing is linked to autism. Correlation is not causation.

Moron.

And what's with acting like autism is some sort of horrible, tragic scourge that needs to be stamped out, anyway?

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/rfk-...

First Tylenol, now this?

The conversion therapy case shows the right wants to talk to kids about sex but only to shame them - LGBTQ Nation

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 1d

"The same people who believe it’s 'grooming' and 'sexualizing' for a teacher to read a book to children about two male penguins raising a child now want anti-science therapists to talk to kids about what God wants them to do with their genitals…"

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/the-...

The right has said for years that talking about LGBTQ+ with kids "sexualizes" them. Now they're begging the Supreme Court to shame kids about sex.

Tearful mom pleads for Supreme Court not to end conversion therapy bans - LGBTQ Nation

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 1d

“When we taught Ryan to hate his sexuality, we were teaching him to hate himself… These programs prey on vulnerable parents, and they promise things they must know, they must know, they don’t work…”

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/tear...

She explained that she taught her son to hate himself through conversion therapy. He took his own life after years of being unable to become straight.

Hate Group Calls for Re-Labeling Transness as Mental Illness — Assigned

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

"… Rahman and Drescher agreed that it was inappropriate to view transgender identity through this framework. Genspect, however, sees the effort as part of 'restoring transgender identities to their proper place in psychiatry'…"

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

A fringe group with no expertise pushes the field of psychiatry to regress to a pre-scientific, prejudice-soaked view of trans people. It coincides with the far-right political agenda.

www.assignedmedia.org

Trump spewed lies about trans people in front of father of trans kid who sat & said nothing - LGBTQ Nation

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

Well, the federal government is stepping in on a Quebec bill to try to limit the reach of the notwithstanding clause, which could affect this as well. We'll see what happens.

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Reposted by Mercedes Allen

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

"The coward couldn’t even speak up to Trump for his own blood. If he can’t defend his own kid, he’ll never be able to defend a nation..."

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/spew...

"If he can’t defend his own kid, he’ll never be able to defend a nation."

Pew Survey: Only 31% Of Trans People Report Being Accepted By Their Parents

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

"While 58 percent reported acceptance from siblings and an equal share said the same of their friends, parental support lags dramatically behind at 31 percent. The numbers drop even further in other spheres: just 24 percent said their coworkers accept them…"

www.erininthemorning.com/p/pew-survey...

The survey comes as transgender people experience a legal assault from the far-right in the United States.

Alberta’s new policy is forcing girls—cis and trans—out of school sports | Xtra Magazine

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

“School is a place where you should be safe, but how can I keep her safe knowing that anybody at any time can accuse her of not being a female at birth & that the burden of proof is on her? … If this is… to protect our children, then why… am I scared for my child…?”

xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

Gender forms mandated by Bill 29 are forcing families into tough decisions around whether to put their daughters in sports

xtramagazine.com

Texas AG Ken Paxton Announces Undercover Operations Into "Antifa," Citing "Transgenderism"

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 2d

"Civil rights leaders, organizations, & individuals in Texas… should practice digital hygiene, use password managers, [2FA], keep apps upgraded, & use tools like Signal… avoid discussing acts that may be seen as unlawful [train]to spot provocation patterns…"

www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-ag-k...

The announcement comes after a flurry of reports that Trump would weaponize the FBI against groups supporting LGBTQ+ people.

Essay: Home is Where the Hurt is

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

"If terrorism means politically-motivated violence intended to scare us into changing the way we behave, then surely femicide is terrorism. Patriarchy is the ideology; cis men are the terrorists..."

www.feministgiant.com/p/essay-home...

Dylan Martinez | Credit: REUTERS

www.feministgiant.com

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

"When white people say, ‘This isn’t who we are,’ what they really mean is: ‘This isn’t the America I thought I lived in.’

"But that version of America—the one where everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—has always been fiction…"

rewirenewsgroup.com/2025/10/08/w...

White People’s Performative Ignorance Is Exhausting—Opinion

Disbelief over authoritarianism in America isn’t a cutesy personality trait. It’s a confession: You haven’t been paying attention.

rewirenewsgroup.com

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

... is a department that is at once being said to be dismantled and shut down, yet also using the full force of government to influence teaching (LGBTQ topics, US history, religion). It's not a contradiction, it's a push/pull of interest groups.

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

... - mostly-religious groups concerned about what everyone is taught - from unilaterally achieving everything they want. Neolib orgs brought massive amounts of funding, but religious groups turned it into a mass movement, so both feel entitled to getting their way. What you end up with...

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

What we have now is a coalition that exceeded its original mandate.

We're at the point where part of the MAGA coalition - neoliberal orgs that want to phase out public education in favour of private - stands in a position to do it all unilaterally, but that would impede the other coalition partner…

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

NEW: Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools.

It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.

www.propublica.org

'Audible groans' as Christian nationalist org’s late-night comedy show bombs

Reposted by Mercedes Allen

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

#WarRavagedPortland

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

omg it's worse than I'd imagined: the mascots are tunning amok!

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

They looked among themselves to see who was funniest to head up a late night talk show, and came up with Eric Metaxas.

"The Guardian reported 'audible groans' from the audience..."

www.alternet.org/jimmy-kimmel...

The Guardian reports a group of conservative donors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a right-wing version of late-night talk shows.Seeking to compete with the “Tonight Show” and the “La...

www.alternet.org

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

"… both the conservative lawyers and justices pointedly ignored the influence of church and parental pressure on struggling queer youth. Instead, they treated the desire to straight-ify themselves as something that kids are coming up with all on their own…"

www.salon.com/2025/10/08/s...

SCOTUS erases the role of parents in conversion therapy case

Conservative justices seem to believe queer kids are born hating themselves

www.salon.com

New Poll: Voters Prefer Spanberger For Virginia Governor On Transgender Issues By Wide Margin, Despite Anti-Trans Ads

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

"A poll last week showed Spanberger pulling ahead as voters dismissed transgender issues as a low priority. Now, a new survey of likely voters goes even further: … voters actually prefer Spanberger’s stance on transgender rights by a wide margin…"

www.erininthemorning.com/p/new-poll-v...

The issue also ranked lowest among issues polled. The CNU poll is the second poll showing Spanberger pulling ahead.

'I felt for a long time': Donald Trump says the only reason to be good is to get into heaven | The Mary Sue

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

Trump: only reason to be good is to get present from Santa

"In other news, Donald Trump might have mentioned that he may consider pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, a close aide to disgraced financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, during the same conference…"

www.themarysue.com/i-felt-for-a...

On most occasions, United States President Donald Trump has taken God's name when he is feeling vulnerable. At other times, he has remembered him while

www.themarysue.com

Stonewall Veteran Miss Major Griffin-Gracy Has Entered Hospice Care

Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 3d

"The activist has experienced multiple health issues over the last 20 years…

"… Still, Griffin-Gracy has continued her work. In 2023, she went on a tour to call trans people to action, largely traveling in her motorized scooter and in a wheelchair…"

www.them.us/story/miss-m...

The transgender rights activist had previously been hospitalized for more than 10 days.

www.them.us

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Mercedes Allen @mercedesallen.bsky.social · 4d

"This left Doyle with an interesting quandary—how could he continue to explore feminist subjects now that he was entering the social space of those who oppress women in a patriarchy...?"

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

Jude Doyle On Manhood After Patriarchy — Assigned

Assigned Media interviews transmasc feminist author Jude Doyle.

www.assignedmedia.org