Gloria Steinem Got on the Plane
Welcome back to the Watering Hole. Gloria Steinem died on Wednesday, and she is at the top of a gay newsletter because in 1977 she got on a plane to Miami to stand against Anita Bryant at a moment when standing next to us cost something. The rest of the week was, improbably, a run of wins, right up until Ecuador.
Gloria Steinem died on Wednesday at 92, and in 1977 she got on a plane to Miami for us. At home in Manhattan, no cause given. The Miami part is the part we are keeping. keep reading →
Six days before he died, Vincent asked his sister if anyone would show up. A thousand people did. Catalina Park at sunset. Somebody left a silver Polaroid for Cameron, who shot the protests. keep reading →
A judge told the Justice Department it cannot make California ban trans girls from sports. Dismissed with prejudice, which is the legal way of saying do not come back with this. keep reading →
Seth Moulton threw trans kids under the bus. Massachusetts ran him over by nearly 30 points. He ran a year on Markey being 80. The voters had a different objection. keep reading →
Twenty-one attorneys general and a governor sued over the Medicaid trans care ban. The rule takes effect October 13, so the lawsuit is racing a calendar. keep reading →
Ecuador just banned single gay people from adopting. The vote was 118 to nothing. Sold as a way to get children out of foster care faster. Twenty-five abstained. keep reading →
Hegseth's High-T rulebook lasted less than a day. Gone from the site by Thursday, no timeline. The order stands, so the tests are still coming. keep reading →
Switzerland said it out loud: ban conversion therapy nationwide. The Federal Council wrote the damage down plainly, which governments almost never do. keep reading →
Bulgaria's top court told the government to recognize trans people. The court that shut the door in 2023 reopened it, and killed the surgery requirement. keep reading →
San Diego finally deleted its 1988 bathhouse law. A staffer found it while reading the municipal code. Unenforced for years, still the law. keep reading →
She refused to hide the gay books. Arkansas owes her $275,000. She told a hearing that a picture book with two dads is not sexual content. Then she was fired. keep reading →
The Dallas Stars quietly dropped Pride Night. A fan named Tori is throwing her own. Eighties Night survived. Star Wars Night survived. Anime Night survived. keep reading →
Miley went to the leather bar and brought a camera crew. Mert Alas directing, Muir caps, eighties electro. You already know the lighting. keep reading →
Trixie Mattel: “Ironically, I was the rat boy. I was the mole king.” Katya opened by confessing to being a victim of the rat boy community. It escalated. keep reading →
📜 the receipts: the argument the timeline had on wednesday
1977. Steinem flies to Miami to campaign against Anita Bryant, and tells the American Association of University Women that lesbians are “the most vulnerable group of women” and that the word lesbian must become “as honorable as any other.”
Also 1977. She writes an essay using the word “mutilate” about surgeries undergone under social pressure. Clipped from its context, it circulates for decades as proof she was never on our side.
2013. She answers it herself, in The Advocate, on October 2: “I believe that transgender people, including those who have transitioned, are living out real, authentic lives. Those lives should be celebrated, not questioned. Their health care decisions should be theirs and theirs alone to make.”
Both things are in the record. Only one of them is what she chose to say when she was asked directly and had everything to lose by being wrong twice. Screenshot the 2013 one. Op-ed: On Working Together Over Time, The Advocate
— Spencer
