The Trump administration's decision last week to rescind Obama-era guidance to public schools regarding accommodations for trans students was mean-spirited and reckless. Under the guidance, which was released by Obama's Justice and Education departments, students could use facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity. That has now been withdrawn, thanks to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and school districts are free to discriminate, humiliate, and berate trans students by forcing them to use the wrong restroom or establishing "separate but equal" bathrooms, which are neither.
And we don't buy the stories that emerged just before the decision was announced that DeVos wanted to keep the guidance in place, essentially standing against but ultimately giving in to Sessions. Two days later, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, DeVos was quoted as saying that the guidance was "a very huge example of Obama administration overreach, one-size-fits-all approach to issues best solved at personal or local level." The problem with that, which DeVos may or may not know given her severely limited experience in public education, is that it frees school districts in conservative areas to blatantly discriminate against trans students.
"We are living in some strange times," pastor Marjorie Matthews of Plymouth United Church of Christ in Oakland, said in her February 26 sermon. "Some strange and disturbing times ... some 'stop and frisk every brown person and demand to see their papers' times; some 'restrict restroom access for trans people and let's just be straight-up stupid about something as simple as the need to pee' times."
In an example of just how straight-up stupid some people are when it comes to trans issues, a trans boy, Mack Beggs, won the state girls wrestling championship in Texas last weekend because state policy calls for students to wrestle against the gender listed on their birth certificate, the New York Times reported. His victory was marked by cheers and jeers from the crowd, and even though Beggs said he'd rather compete against other boys, he is not allowed to. Maybe this will get the attention of policymakers, who, in their zeal to rely on birth certificates, clearly missed the obvious incongruence in this case that Beggs is a boy.
And this is just the beginning, folks. It's crystal clear �" not that anyone needs reminding �" that Trump does not support the LGBT community, contrary to his campaign rhetoric. He uses us as props when it suits him, like his fake outrage over the Orlando massacre. When it's a matter of students being comfortable and treated equally in school, forget it.
And the Oscar goes to ...
"Moonlight." What a finish at this year's Academy Awards when the producers and cast of the gay black coming of age story belatedly found out they won best picture. While the epic snafu made for a few awkward moments on the Dolby Theatre stage (and great live television), in the end the gold statute actually went to the film that deserved it.
And what a win for the LGBT community. It's been 11 years since "Brokeback Mountain," a story of two gay cowboys trying to sort out their complex feelings for one another, was robbed of the top Oscar after the mostly straight academy voters couldn't bring themselves to give the honor to a gay film. To see it all come full circle this year was rewarding, especially for a film as moving as "Moonlight."
After two years of #Oscarssowhite, it was also a victory for diversity in filmmaking. "Moonlight" won best adapted screenplay and one of its stars, Mahershala Ali, won best supporting actor. Viola Davis from "Fences" won best supporting actress.
Let's hope the academy continues on its path to diversity, and we'd like to see the same from the studios. There are all kinds of diverse stories the movies can show us but have not.