Offline, there has been a surge of reported hate crimes and book bans, alongside a wave of government and legislative actions targeting LGBTQ+ rights (with a focus on trans people). Online, LGBTQ+ individuals face coordinated harassment campaigns, a rollback of digital protections, and systematic erasure from AI training data and moderation.
➡️ Another Republican got busted for sending racist and Nazi-liking texts to colleagues - this time Trump's nominee for the Office of Special Counsel. Meanwhile, a bar in Alabama had its liquor license denied after advertising a drag show, and LGBTQ+ college students in Texas are reporting more harassment and mistreatment under Gov. Greg Abbott's policies. Independent journalist Erin Reed reports on a federal judge ruling in favor of public schools refusing to comply with Trump's trans ban; and we spoke to transgender entertainer Ts Madison who says that the Trump administration should "pack it up."
"As Minister for Women and Equalities, I set out the policies responding to the Supreme Court judgement. The Supreme Court were clear that, uh, for the purposes of the Equality Act, sex is biological sex. What's now happening is the Equality and Human Rights Commission have, uh, have consulted on a code of practice to me as the minister. I'll then be going through that line by line to make sure we get that right. It's a 300-page document so it will take some time."
As millions took to the streets for the No Kings protests this weekend, a wealth of concerns were voiced, from Trump's authoritarian rule, repeated ICE raids, the loss of abortion access and more. Repeatedly, LGBTQ+ rights (and especially trans rights) were a key part of those protests. While a lot of issues are covered by the No Kings protests, they come at a time when the political pressure on LGBTQ+ people is high.
The internet has long been a source of information and support for transgender people. Now, trans rights and the internet itself are in a moment of crisis. What happens next? People who have documented their lives online are discovering the dark side of digital permanence. The internet once helped trans people connect and organize. Now it's a dangerous liability. What comes next? How do resources on transitioning survive the era of surveillance and AI slop? The anonymity granted by the internet is a lifeline to many trans people. What happens when that privacy disappears?
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
It's going to take them a long time on the National Health Service to get rid of it but that's another problem. I think we'll leave it on a woman can have a penis.
I was not aware of that, no. I'm very sorry. You know, I think we're all living in a period of time right now where we're all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren't we? And we've all got very different opinions.
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The Trump administration can try to blackmail us, they can try to starve our schools of funding, but we will not cower or bend before them, said Councilmember Tiffany Caban, who co-chairs the LGBTQIA+ Caucus. The Trump administration sent letters demanding that New York City and other school districts rescind policies protecting transgender individuals by Sept. 23. When that deadline came and went, the White House said it would cut about $36 million in total funding for Magnet Schools Assistance Program funding in New York City alone, though cuts were also made to school districts in Chicago, Illinois, and Fairfax, Virginia.
Grande shared a post Sunday from liberal activist Matt Bernstein that included a paragraph that said, It's been 250 days. Now that immigrants have been violently torn from their families and communities have been destroyed, now that trans people have been blamed for virtually everything and live in fear, now that free speech is on the brink of collapse for us all has your life gotten better? Entertainment Weekly received a statement from the White House on the Wicked star's political statement online.
As repressive forces escalate, attempting to quash our ability to speak freely, it's as crucial as ever to listen to the voices of incarcerated people who experience extreme repression every day, yet continue to speak out. As Renaldo Hudson recently wrote in Stateville Speaks: "We cannot let the experiences of our incarcerated brothers, sisters, and siblings be dismissed. They are the frontline witnesses to a system that has normalized control over care. Their stories matter."
The scheme, which will require all working adults to obtain a digital "Brit card," is reportedly part of No. 10's plans to tackle illegal migration, according to The Guardian. Starmer said the IDs would play an "important part" in what he described as "patriotic renewal" by making it more difficult for migrants to access work in the UK. He will reportedly outline measures, which will likely include legislation, during a conference on Friday (26 September).
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Musk's gaming habits have been continually mocked after he 'rage quit' a Path of Exile 2 livestream in April over his clearly poor performance. In an effort to showcase Starlink's Wi-Fi capabilities, Musk livestreamed the video game while aboard his private jet. The broadcast was brief; however, after the game's chat function was inundated with users mocking Musk, both for his poor gaming skills and for "ruining the [US]" through his political actions while he was head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
"You know what the irony is?" King asked. "She wrote eight books about children having autonomy and the ability to make their own choices, which is possibly the most trans thing I've ever heard. She could have had these books go down as some of the greatest young-adult writing in the world - all she had to do was shut the f**k up." Rowling's views were "spitting in the space of [the author's] fandom", they added.
On Sunday (7 September) Carpenter attended the awards ceremony where she won three awards, Best Pop Artist, Best Album (for Short n' Sweet), and Best Visual Effects for "Manchild." The "Taste" singer also performed her new song, "Tears", during the show, in which she featured many RuPaul's Drag Race and queer icons. After the performance, Pascal, an ally to the LGBTQ+ community with a trans sister, Lux Pascal, took to his Instagram to celebrate Carpenter.
