# The Needle
> Culture and News, By Us, For Us
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## Posts
- [How a Hate Group Funded and Controlled Research from McMaster University](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/08/how-a-hate-group-funded-and-controlled-research-from-mcmaster-university.md) - We obtained internal communications between SEGM and McMaster University detailing what SEGM wanted out of anti-trans medical studies, and why it was willing to pay over CA$300,000 (US$215,300) to produce them.
- [She Defied Neo-Nazi Violence; Now Her U.S. Passport Has Been Revoked](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/08/she-defied-neo-nazi-violence-now-her-u-s-passport-has-been-revoked.md) - The Needle has concluded that the State Department is likely asserting the power to deem U.S. citizens who they determine to be ideologically "far-left", and who seem to be especially active in transgender advocacy, as "national security" risks, and consequently revoking their passports.
- [Amnesty International UK Apologizes for Reporting on Anti-Trans Groups After Rowling Threatens Lawsuit](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/amnesty-international-uk-apologizes-for-reporting-on-anti-trans-groups-after-rowling-threatens-lawsuit.md) - Amnesty's Chief Executive told the decades-long campaigner against human rights that "it would be good for us to meet... in the spirit of a commitment to human rights.”
- [WPATH’s Fight Against the Trump Administration to Practice Medicine, and What it Means For Your Hormones](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/wpaths-fight-against-the-trump-administration-to-practice-medicine-and-what-it-means-for-your-hormones.md) - If the FTC lawsuit is successful, many trans people could lose access to their hormones. The only large exception would be in states where such care is legally protected.
- [Safe States Don’t Make People Safer](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/safe-states-dont-make-safer-people.md) - How legislative risk isn't lethal risk for trans women, and why the numbers we have are only a small part of the story.
- [Amnesty International Forced to Apologize After Reporting on Rise in UK Anti-Queer Groups](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/amnesty-international-apologizes-for-reporting-on-rise-in-uk-anti-queer-groups.md) - J.K. Rowling is offering to personally fund lawsuits against Amnesty on behalf of the organizations listed as an “Anti-rights group” in the report.
- [Break in the Ranks?: Trans Lobby Gains Surprise Cross-Platform Support in Mitch McConnell](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/break-in-the-ranks-trans-lobby-gains-surprise-cross-platform-support-in-mitch-mcconnell.md) - Aides from his office report his condition as, quote, "hes[sic] fine shut the fuck up prepz[sic]"
- [BREAKING: Well, Well, Well... Looks Like This Town’s Got a New Pronoun](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/breaking-well-well-well-looks-like-this-towns-got-a-new-pronoun.md) - Well, Ain’t Just That the Catgirl’s Pajamas?
- [Trump's ATF Floating Rule That Could Effectively Ban Trans People with Accurate IDs from Buying Guns](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/trumps-atf-floating-rule-to-ban-trans-people-from-buying-guns.md) - The rule isn’t set in stone yet. It could still be dropped by the ATF, and the public comment period is a critical way to create pressure to stop it.
- [Inside Kansas's Defense of Invalidating Trans Owned Driver's Licenses](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/inside-kansass-defense-of-invalidating-trans-owned-drivers-licenses.md) - In Kansas Attorney General Kris W. Kobach’s arguments in support of revoking trans people’s IDs, he stretched jurisprudence to its breaking point.
- [Saluting the Flag of a Nation that Hates You](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/flying-the-flag-of-a-nation-that-hates-you.md) - This Independence Day, are you celebrating the idealized America you remember from better days, or America as it exists today?
- [Illinois removes Testosterone from controlled substance list; requires insurance to cover HRT stockpiles](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/07/illinois-removes-testosterone-from-controlled-substance-list-requires-insurance-to-cover-hrt-stockpiles.md) - While all of these changes are excellent, removing testosterone from the controlled substance list is a unique policy that many have wanted for years, but which has not been accomplished until now.
- [Trans Americans & Asylum Applications: Everything You Need to Know](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/trans-americans-asylum-everything-you-need-to-know.md) - Pack light, ideally a backpack and a small roller at most, and expect to be moving around a lot.
- [Supreme Court rules trans people not entitled to most equal protections under law](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/supreme-court-rules-trans-people-not-entitled-to-equal-protections-under-law.md) - The full consequences of this decision are wide, and will be hard to predict, but it is safe to say that every trans person has had their rights reduced.
- [Supreme court to decide if trans runaways can be given HRT, other services](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/supreme-court-to-decide-if-trans-runaways-can-be-given-hrt-other-services.md) - The Supreme Court will hear the case during the next court session, and a ruling will be issued by June 2027.
- [What the EHRC Guidance does, and how to get around it](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/the-new-ehrc-guidance-is-bad-but-it-isnt-over.md) - Here's what it does, what it doesn't do, and what rights you still have.
- [New York trans youth temporarily protected from DOJ request for patient list](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/new-york-trans-youth-temporarily-protected-from-doj-request-for-patient-list.md) - While this injunction is in place, it effectively blocks the doctors and parents of trans kids from prosecution.
- [“Titans”: Inside Operation Lifeboat’s work getting trans Kansans to safety](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/avengers-but-in-real-life-inside-operation-lifeboats-work-getting-trans-kansans-to-safety.md) - “If there's a team to root on, to vote for, it's us. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that every single person that needs help gets help to the best of our abilities. And our abilities are pretty great! So, trust in us.”
- [Idaho trans bathroom ban still forcing its way into law despite partial block](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/idaho-trans-bathroom-ban-still-forcing-its-way-into-law-despite-partial-block.md) - While the injunctions narrows the conditions under which trans people can be prosecuted, it also means that trans people will be more uncertain on whether they are following the law at any given time.
- [How much of a threat is Trump’s Counterterrorism Strategy?](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/how-much-of-a-threat-is-trumps-counterterrorism-strategy.md) - The Trump Administration’s Counterterrorism strategy is not a threat to ordinary trans people, nor is it a threat to those who are politically active in support of trans rights
- [SEGM paid a Canadian university to commission research against top surgery. Now that study is a weapon.](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/segm-paid-a-canadian-university-to-commission-research-against-top-surgery-now-that-study-is-a-weapon.md) - Another case of bad anti-trans science has been used to restrict rights and dignity for trans people.
- [Ambetter Insurance, Centene denying hormones to trans patients across 19 states in push for MAHA Medicine](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/ambetter-insurance-centene-denying-hormones-to-trans-patients-across-19-states-in-push-for-maha-medicine.md) - Having HRT can mean the difference between security and being driven from your home.
- [Lambda Legal announces lawsuit to block DOJ gaining list of trans youth patients](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/06/lambda-legal-announces-lawsuit-to-block-doj-gaining-list-of-trans-youth-patients.md) - This is a case to watch. The result of the injunctive relief decision will determine whether the executive branch’s efforts to seize lists of trans kids, adults, and parents of trans kids will go through on June 10 or not.
- [Trump Administration proposes barring federal agencies, federally funded organizations from acknowledging existence of trans people](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/trump-administration-proposes-barring-federal-agencies-federally-funded-organizations-from-promoting-gender-ideology.md) - This proposal is the most comprehensive such attempt to be floated.
- [Federal employees to be fully barred from gender affirming care coverage, starting next year](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/federal-employees-to-be-fully-barred-from-gender-affirming-care-coverage-starting-next-year.md) - Any of these 11 million people seeking to transition (or merely to maintain the body they already have) would either have to pay out of their own pocket, or find employment elsewhere.
- [As Idaho’s trans bathroom lawsuit is dismissed, the teenage suicide at its heart gets ignored](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/as-idahos-trans-bathroom-lawsuit-is-dismissed-the-teenage-suicide-at-its-heart-gets-ignored.md) - To the Idaho outlets covering the dismissal of the lawsuit without acknowledging the tragedy that caused it, I ask: How many trans people have to die before you put us in the headlines?
- [Trump, trans leaders strike accord to move all trans Americans to space](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/trump-trans-leaders-strike-accord-to-move-all-trans-americans-to-space.md) - By Marley Jay President Trump and representatives of the trans community announced an agreement Monday that paves the way for the relocation of all trans and nonbinary Americans to a gravitationally stable location approximately 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles) from Earth. After intense bipar…
- [Meet the trans teenager making a documentary about kids like her](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/meet-the-trans-teenager-making-a-documentary-about-kids-like-her.md) - “I need to show people what it's like to be a trans person in the United States today.”
- [How the United Kingdom’s ‘trans code’ will bar trans people from public spaces](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/how-the-united-kingdoms-trans-code-will-bar-trans-people-from-public-spaces.md) - This will result in widespread de facto discrimination against trans people. The number of legal justifications which can be used to alter or refuse services to trans people are vast, and the methods available to trans people looking to contest this treatment are slim.
- [US House passes ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill, which forcibly outs trans students](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/us-house-passes-dont-say-trans-bill-which-forcibly-outs-trans-students.md) - The bill passed with the support of 8 House Democrats, voting alongside every Republican.
- [The public has 2 days left to tell the FCC: No warning labels on trans media](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/the-public-has-2-days-left-to-tell-the-fcc-no-warning-labels-on-trans-media.md) - The public comment period on a devastating proposal to censor trans people out of media ends in two days.
- [Inside the battle to protect trans care for New Jersey youth](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/inside-the-battle-to-protect-trans-care-for-new-jersey-youth.md) - This pressure campaign against doctors, clinics, and hospitals led to the creation of New Jersey’s trans shield bill, the one which Emma was there to support.
- [November Reign](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/november-reign.md) - “I’m trans in part because I believe in the hope of a better future. It’s why I do this. It’s why I do anything.”
- [Department of Justice demands list of trans youth at New York Hospital](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/department-of-justice-demands-list-of-trans-youth-at-new-york-hospital.md) - The DOJ has given no clear justification as to why it is asking for identifying data on patients.
- [How Tennessee is creating a public database of trans people](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/tennessee-governor-lee-signs-law-creating-public-database-of-trans-people-a-deep-dive.md) - This is not the first time Tennessee has attempted to make a list of trans people in its state, but it reflects a new tactic for doing so.
- [Abigail Thorn wins journalism award for investigation into NHS conversion practices](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/abigail-thorn-wins-journalism-award-for-investigation-into-nhs-conversion-practices.md) - Her work was particularly focused on the treatment of trans people within the public health system.
- [Weeks after judge demands trans youth healthcare continue, no hospitals have reopened care](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/weeks-after-judge-demands-trans-youth-healthcare-continue-no-hospitals-have-reopened-care.md) - What do we do when court and legal actions in our favor do nothing to improve our lives on the ground?
- [‘The Dinner Party’ offers a view of love beyond doom or wish fulfillment](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/05/the-dinner-party-offers-a-view-of-love-beyond-doom-or-wish-fulfillment.md) - The prose brings out the best of the story, and the result is a balanced read that is hard to get elsewhere. By Jane Migliara Brigham Most trans fiction falls into one of two camps. The first camp is that of the pessimists, where the difficulties of being trans are explored to their full potential,…
- [Mississippi becomes 10th state to ban gender marker changes on ID, and sets draconian legal precedent](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/mississippi-becomes-10th-state-to-ban-gender-marker-changes-on-id-and-sets-draconian-legal-precedent.md) - In short, this new law cuts across both trans and immigrant communities in a way that is particularly intense and harmful to immigrants.
- [Colorado signs law protecting kids’ privacy in name changes](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/colorado-gov-polis-signs-a-law-protecting-kids-privacy-in-name-changes.md) - A simple, 2 page piece of legislation has been signed into law by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis which enshrines trans kids’ right to privacy when legally changing their name.
- [Tennessee begins signing anti-trans bills; with seven passed in the past week](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/tennessee-begins-signing-anti-trans-bills-with-seven-passed-in-the-past-week.md) - At least one bill has been signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee. The rest are awaiting his signature or await further legislative action.
- [Leaked Documents Reveal CIA Using Transphobic Propaganda to Influence Chimpanzee War](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/leaked-documents-reveal-cia-using-transphobic-propaganda-to-influence-chimpanzee-war.md) - Operation Expand Dong seeks to dehumanize the latest targets of US military interventionism through transphobia and mockery of nontoxic masculinity.
- [A deep-dive with Isaiah Upton, Case Manager at Operation Lifeboat](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/a-deep-dive-with-isaiah-upton-case-manager-at-operation-lifeboat.md) - “My impression of the organization, and my work as a case manager, is [that I am] putting out as many little dinghies as I can. The lifeboats are going out as fast as possible.” - Isaiah Upton
- [Operation Lifeboat has helped 6+ trans people get safe on their terms, continues to build capacity to do more](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/operation-lifeboat-has-helped-6-trans-people-get-safe-on-their-terms-continues-to-build-capacity-to-do-more.md) - The Operation is addressing requests for assistance, but needs additional resources to do so at the scale of the crisis in Kansas.
- [Idaho passes laws to report trans people to police or their parents](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/idaho-passes-laws-to-report-trans-people-to-police-or-their-parents.md) - These laws create widespread restrictions on both trans children and trans adults.
- [OMFLGBTBBQ? Disney Teases First Openly Female Star Wars Character](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/omflgbtbbq-disney-teases-first-openly-female-star-wars-character.md) - Whovians, Grab Your Broomsticks!
- [Why me and my friends went tits out in front of Trump Tower](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/why-me-and-my-friends-went-tits-out-in-front-of-trump-tower.md) - When speaking to the public, [comedian Ashley Ryan] called the march our “gender reveal party”, where all the women present would reveal our genders (as designated by the federal government) “for the very third time”.
- [Head of Trans Liberty uses Kansas Capitol bathroom in defiance of new law](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/04/head-of-trans-liberty-uses-kansas-capital-bathroom-in-defiance-of-new-law.md) - As an out-of-state trans person, Samantha was willing to take the risk that every trans person in Kansas is now forced to take every time they exist in public.
- [Operation Lifeboat is continuing to organize people and resources in order to get trans people in Kansas safe](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/operation-lifeboat-is-continuing-to-organize-people-and-resources-in-order-to-get-trans-people-in-kansas-safe.md) - The Operation is addressing requests for assistance, but needs additional resources to do so at the scale of the crisis in Kansas.
- [Idaho passes bill to surveil trans kids, aiming to “close the social transition loophole”](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/idaho-passes-bill-to-surveil-of-trans-kids-aiming-to-close-the-social-transition-loophole-2.md) - Simply put, the bill’s restrictions will be made into a normal part of taking care of kids in Idaho. It creates a dragnet to watch and enforce gender-conformity on all children in Idaho.
- [EEOC implements a federal workplaces trans exclusion policy affecting "intimate spaces”](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/eeoc-implements-a-federal-workplaces-trans-exclusion-policy-affecting-intimate-spaces.md) - The EEOC banned trans people in a move that also undermines equality and integration for cis people, the aims it was historically set up to achieve.
- [Trans surgeries cancelled due to dispute between hospital and health insurance company](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/trans-surgeries-cancelled-due-to-dispute-between-hospital-and-health-insurance-company.md) - The result has been utter chaos for the patients involved.
- [South Dakota signs multiple patriarchal enforcement bills into law](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/south-dakota-gov-rhoden-signs-more-patriarchal-enforcement-into-law.md) - South Dakota Governor signs bills erasing trans people, making abortion and emergency contraception a felony, and allowing children to marry adults on the same day. More legislation signed on the same date mandates sex-based segregation and effectively bans trans people in publicly funded lodgings.
- [Kansas DMV tells trans people to get new driver’s licenses by March 25](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/kansas-dmv-tells-trans-kansans-to-get-new-drivers-licenses-by-march-25.md) - Kansas is preparing to enforce a law that invalidates the driver’s license of anyone who has changed their gender marker on that document, echoing historic policies that targeted “other” groups by revoking their identification.
- [Operation Lifeboat is providing direct aid to trans people in Kansas– by helping them flee the state](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/op-lifeboat-mar-24-2026.md) - Now that the skeleton for the operation is in place, the work turns to getting and giving funds and labor.
- [Price of Black Market HRT Surges to One Christian Baby](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/price-of-black-market-hrt-surges-to-one-christian-baby.md) - By Danielle Tamara Schatten Frederick, MD – A “perfect storm” of factors, including but not limited to the growing production costs of adrenochrome, tariffs affecting the shipping rates of fresh gamer girl milk from Japan, supply chain difficulties regarding sugar, spice, and anything nice at all s…
- [United States fails to define gender as man and woman at United Nations](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/united-states-fails-to-define-gender-as-man-and-woman-at-united-nations.md) - The resolution was defeated 23-3, with 17 countries abstaining and one not voting. The only countries who voted alongside the US were Pakistan and Chile.
- [“Somebody’s Daughter” talks punk, the Do-It-Yourself spirit, and playing the biggest trans music festival in the country](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/somebodys-daughter-talks-punk-the-do-it-yourself-spirit-and-playing-the-biggest-trans-music-festival-in-the-country.md) - You can't promise that the world's going to get better, but you can promise that for a couple of hours, you're going to have a good fucking time. And there's something to be said for that.
- [Trans community rallies around fight to stop anti-trans FDA petition](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/trans-community-rallies-around-fight-to-stop-anti-trans-fda-petition.md) - “Doomscrolling is a real problem, people don’t know how to act on the news.”
- [European Court of Justice defends right to change legal sex](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/european-court-of-justice-defends-right-to-change-legal-sex.md) - The ECJ ruled that trans people being prevented from changing their legal documents violates their fundamental freedoms.
- [Anti-trans hate groups petitioning FDA for registry of trans women, crackdown on transition](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/anti-trans-hate-groups-petitioning-fda-for-registry-of-trans-women-crackdown-on-transition-newly-revealed-document-shows.md) - In the short term, this is not as dangerous as an outright ban on estrogen. If implemented and then combined with other methods of suppressing trans people, it might be far more destructive in the long term.
- [Texas AG wins limited ban on selling trans people underwear](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/texas-ag-uses-courts-to-win-limited-ban-on-selling-trans-people-underwear.md) - The judiciary didn’t give both sides a chance to make their arguments and ruled solely on attestation of the state of Texas via AG Paxton.
- [ICE Reaper Drone Comes Out as Transfemme](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/ice-reaper-drone-comes-out-as-transfemme.md) - By Danielle Tamara Schatten Washington, DC - Following the turbulent and polarizing events of February, which saw the United States engaged in two invasive wars, the murder of numerous civilian protesters, a crackdown on civil rights variously compared to either its own troubled history or various…
- [Oklahoma bill attempts to make all transition-related care a felony](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/oklahoma-sb-1905lto-make-all-transition-related-care-a-felony-deny-public-funds-to-any-organization-that-acknowledges-trans-people.md) - It is a tool designed to be blunt and total in ending trans expression within Oklahoma.
- [Protesters gather against NYC hospitals cancelling trans youth care](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/protesters-gather-against-nyc-hospitals-cancelling-trans-youth-care.md) - The protest comes after weeks of inaction from the local government to stop the discriminatory measures by local hospitals.
- [Trans bathroom discrimination OK, says Equal Employment Opportunity Commission](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/trans-bathroom-discrimination-ok-says-equal-employment-opportunity-commission.md) - The ruling applies to any federal agency overseen by the EEOC.
- [House bill introduces trans gag order and school reading limits](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/combined-national-trans-gag-order-and-school-literature-limits-introduced-in-house-bill-copy.md) - This is a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ style gag order on everyone involved in the public education system, with the threat of prosecution as sex criminals for those that refuse to comply.
- [Recent closures of trans surgery programs do not appear coordinated](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/recent-closures-of-trans-surgery-programs-do-not-appear-coordinated.md) - Both of these closures are tragedies, but they do not appear coordinated, and they are caused by different things.
- [Kansas revocation of Trans IDs evokes Nazi policy towards Jewish IDs](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/kansas-revocation-of-trans-ids-evokes-nazi-policy-towards-jewish-ids.md) - The state has enacted a policy to alter the IDs of its most hated minority group so as to out trans people to all public officials.
- [NYU Langone ends trans medicine for youth, erases evidence of past care](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/nyu-langone-ends-trans-medicine-for-youth-erases-evidence-of-past-care.md) - The hospital is ending care for trans kids effective immediately.
- [The death of the Trans Tipping Point (and what comes next)](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/trans-people-need-a-new-big-idea-2.md) - Ever since the Trans Tipping Point tipped back the other way, we have lacked a unifying big idea to guide our hearts and plan our future.
- [Internal revolt within the American Society of Plastic Surgeons as surgeons oppose bans on trans surgeries for minors](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/internal-revolt-within-the-american-society-of-plastic-surgeons-as-surgeons-oppose-bans-on-trans-surgeries-for-minors.md) - The policy position which was released was the result of pressure from the Trump Administration, and does not reflect the evidence available or the positions of the ASPS membership at large.
- [Rep. Jayapal introduces Trans Bill of Rights](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/rep-jayapal-introduces-trans-bill-of-rights.md) - The goal of the bill is to use the enforcement mechanisms from the 1964 Civil Rights Act to apply similar protections to trans people.
- [Discord to enforce face scans to access full content, harming children and adults alike](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/discord-to-enforce-face-scans-to-access-full-content-harming-children-and-adults-alike.md) - The company behind Discord is not beholden to its userbase; it's beholden to whatever government it is operating in.
- [TOP 10 BEST GENDERS (UPDATED 2026) (NOT CLICKBAIT)](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/top-10-best-genders-updated-2026-not-clickbait.md) - TOP 10 BEST GENDERS (UPDATED 2026) (NOT CLICKBAIT) By Danielle Tamara Schatten Hey, what's up, y'all! So, there's been a lot of outdated info floating around regarding which gender to choose going into 2026, and while I know that none of us are ever locked into our choices since There Is Still Time…
- [Arizona bill would use cover of drag show restrictions to ban trans people in public spaces](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/arizona-bill-would-use-cover-of-drag-show-restrictions-to-ban-trans-people-in-public-spaces.md) - The bill is written so broadly as to restrict trans public presence in many contexts.
- [First Major US Medical Association Opposes Trans Youth Healthcare, Changing Previous Position](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/first-major-us-medical-association-opposes-trans-youth-healthcare-changing-previous-position.md) - ASPS cites the Cass report and the HHS report to make its case
- [The Needle endorses Lilliana Young for Indiana House](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/the-needle-endorses-lilliana-young-for-indiana-house.md) - As candidate for Indiana House District 61, Lilliana Young has shown the right kind of leadership.
- [The Wolf and The Lamb (Willowtree Special Southbound)](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/creative-the-wolf-and-the-lamb.md) - This creative piece is by a guest contributor and published here as part of our ongoing efforts to highlight and build transgender and transsexual culture.
- [Jess Ting, Prolific Vaginoplasty Surgeon, performed plastic surgery for Jeffrey Epstein’s “girls”, brought young children to Epstein’s island](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/02/jess-ting-prolific-vaginoplasty-surgeon-performed-plastic-surgery-for-jeffrey-epsteins-girls-brought-young-children-to-epsteins-island.md) - Details in the recent Epstein Files document a working relationship between the two which spanned nearly a decade. By Jane Migliara Brigham & Artemis T. Douglas Jess Ting, a plastic surgeon who is now renowned for his work of performing vaginoplasties on trans patients, previously used his clinic t…
- [Americans favor Dems’ handling of trans issues. That doesn’t mean Americans support trans people.](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/americans-favor-dems-handling-of-trans-issues-that-doesnt-mean-americans-support-trans-people.md) - It merely means that given a binary choice between Democrats and Republicans, most choose the Democrats to ‘handle’ us.
- [Kansas to revoke driver's licenses of trans people, replacing them with IDs meant to out them](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/kansas-to-revoke-drivers-licenses-of-trans-people-replacing-them-with-ids-meant-to-out-them.md) - This bill would be the harshest legal restriction on trans life anywhere in the United States, and is all but certain to pass.
- [Trump Administration bans foreign aid from funding trans healthcare](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/trump-administration-bans-foreign-aid-from-funding-trans-healthcare.md) - The new sweeping rules expand the existing ban on foreign aid to abortion providers to include providers of trans healthcare and anything else that it deems to be “gender ideology”.
- [An interview with Kieran Blokhius, folklorist](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/an-interview-with-kieran-blokhius-folklorist.md) - “Trans people are happy being trans. It is not a mistake. It is a community. We have our own unique cultural expressions.”
- [Using Folklore to explore the werewolf as a trans symbol](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/a-trans-folklorist-explores-the-werewolf-as-a-trans-symbol.md) - The original thesis is an engaging read, well worth the time to do so.
- [Bill defining trans people out of legal existence to be voted on in Indiana](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/bill-defining-trans-people-out-of-legal-existence-to-be-voted-on-in-indiana.md) - The bill was voted to be advanced to a floor vote on a 9-3 decision along party lines.
- [All anti-trans rules removed from upcoming government funding bill](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/all-anti-trans-rules-removed-from-upcoming-government-funding-bill.md) - Democrats no longer appear willing to vote for these compromises in order to fund the federal government.
- [Indiana Senate Bill would legally define trans people as non-existent](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/indiana-senate-bill-182-will-attempt-to-legally-define-trans-people-as-non-existent.md) - This bill has been called "the single most egregious" piece of anti-trans legislation in Indiana, but it can still be stopped.
- [Rumors of FBI letters threatening trans public figures center on an AI-generated document](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/alleged-fbi-letters-are-fake-2026-01-16t18-18-47-05-00copy-of-alleged.md) - It is not impossible for the FBI to do what has been claimed. It is still irresponsible to spread panic among marginalized people through rumors without evidence.
- [President of SEGM authors new study claiming transition is worse than gay conversion therapy](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/president-of-segm-authors-new-study-claiming-transition-is-worse-than-gay-conversion-therapy.md) - It’s not about protecting gay people, or trans people– especially when the author can’t say “trans people” most of the time. It’s about controlling and maintaining cissexual bodies.
- [Supreme Court hearing on trans kids in sports spells danger for legal protections](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/supreme-court-hearing-on-trans-kids-in-sports-spells-danger-for-legal-protections-2026-01-13t16-48-59-05-00.md) - There is no likely ruling that does not leave trans people in the United States worse off than they were before.
- [Renee Good was part of a wider pink migration](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/renee-good-was-part-of-a-wider-pink-migration-2026-01-12t11-24-34-05-00.md) - Renee Good and her wife Becca were part of this Pink Migration. They sought a better life in a more accepting place, just like millions of other queer people.
- [Italian Medical Study Waived Ethics To Perform Invasive Psychometrics on a Trans Man](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/italian-medical-study-waived-ethics-to-perform-invasive-psychometrics-on-a-trans-man-2026-01-11t19-19-06-05-00.md) - According to reporting by Investigate Europe and others, invasive transmedicalism, such as what happened to make this case study, is a long-standing norm across Europe.
- [For years, the hate group ‘Free Speech Union’ has been funding anti-trans lawsuits. Now you can see their funders.](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/for-years-the-hate-group-free-speech-union-has-been-funding-anti-trans-lawsuits-2026-01-11t13-28-20-05-00.md) - Attached to the list are any messages sent to the organization along with the donations. Most of these messages consist of donors telling the organization they are doing important work.
- [UK’s EHRC has no working definition of biological sex, FOIA request shows](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/uks-ehrc-has-no-working-definition-of-biological-sex-foia-request-shows-2026-01-09t12-10-45-05-00.md) - The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has no internal or policy definitions for “biological male” or “biological female".
- [Internal LGBT+/Queer migration within the US under Trump at highest levels ever recorded](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/one-in-ten-trans-people-in-the-us-moved-to-a-new-state-after-the-2024-election-2026-01-09t06-24-10-05-00.md) - In every way that queer people as a whole have suffered, trans people have suffered worse. 9% of trans people and 5% of the queer population moved from a less tolerant state to a more tolerant one within 7 months of Trump’s re-election.
- [SEGM receives $1.6M, spends over $750k to further anti-trans pseudoscience in 2024](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/copy-of-segm-second-article-2024-filing-2026-01-06t21-23-20-05-00.md) - The wave of transphobia that's been afflicting the US and the world isn't a coincidence. It is an export from the US- a case of the USA making the world a less free place to live.
- [You can still get a passport with your new legal name](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/you-can-still-get-a-passport-with-your-new-legal-name.md) - Even if you can’t get the correct gender marker, you can still get a passport with your legal name. If you don’t have a passport, it is still worth doing so.
- [A Letter to the United States People, From Latin America](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/a-letter-to-the-united-states-people-from-latin-america.md) - It doesn’t matter if it’s the US or the Middle East, it’s all about control– of a country’s politics, of a country’s resources, of a country’s strategic importance.
- [Just because a story is trans/queer doesn’t mean it’s good](https://theneedlenews.com/2026/01/just-because-a-story-is-trans-queer-doesnt-mean-its-good.md) - If creators think a trans or queer character alone is enough to get money from our people, will they spend time crafting a meaningful story with transness and queerness, or will they just use it as set dressing and a marketing checkbox?
- [Evangelical Congressman in Brazil aims to defang the anti-racism law](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/congressman-in-brazil-aims-to-defang-the-anti-racism-law.md) - The bill may or may not become law, but this still marks another attack to the marginalized and the vulnerable by the right.
- [Trans kids need rights, whether or not their parents or doctors agree](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/trans-kids-need-rights-whether-or-not-their-parents-or-doctors-agree.md) - Of the approximately 300,000 trans kids in the US between the ages of 13-17, only about 1,000 of them get access to HRT in any given year.
- [Brazilian congressman forced to pay restitution over misgendering a trans woman](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/brazilian-congressman-forced-to-pay-restitution-over-misgendering-a-trans-woman.md) - Brazil is far from a perfect country, it is one of the countries that kills the most trans people in the world, and it has a deep history with racism and discrimination, but steps are being taken so we move on as a society.
- [Review: ‘Chicken Heart’ shows the best of a coming-of-age story](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/review-chicken-heart-shows-the-best-of-a-coming-of-age-story.md) - By Jane Migliara Brigham ‘Chicken Heart’ is a trans coming-of-age story by graphic novelist Morgan Boecher. The main character is a repressed trans man spurred into action by the death of his exiled trans aunt. Where ‘Chicken Heart’ succeeds where many similar trans coming of age stories fail is th…
- [Oklahoma University removes trans TA from teaching duties, siding with far-right student whose mom is a lawyer for J6 rioters](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/oklahoma-ou-removes-trans-ta-from-teaching-duties-siding-with-far-right-student-whose-parent-is-a-lawyer-for-j6-rioters.md) - The University of Oklahoma itself doesn’t appear to be a victim in this campaign, only the teacher in question.
- [The Curse You Gave Us](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/the-curse-you-gave-us.md) - This creative piece is by a guest contributor and published here as part of our ongoing efforts to highlight and build transgender and transsexual culture.
- [Bill calling trans healthcare “female genital mutilation” allows husband stitches for teenage girls](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/bill-calling-trans-healthcare-female-genital-mutilation-allows-husband-stitches-for-teenage-girls.md) - It’s the same people writing the same laws for the same purpose: gaining full control over sex and sexuality.
- [FDA targeting breast binder manufacturers over use by trans people](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/fda-targeting-breast-binder-manufacturers-because-products-are-used-by-trans-people.md) - The FDA is forcing several manufacturers of breast binders and tucking panties to register as medical device makers with the FDA because their products are used to treat gender dysphoria. This would give the FDA control over what can be made.
- [US House votes to bans trans youth healthcare through medicaid, and why that’s only the third worst thing to happen to trans people in the last 24 hours](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/us-house-bans-trans-youth-healthcare-coverage-through-medicaid-and-why-thats-only-the-third-worst-thing-to-happen-to-trans-people-this-week.md) - The bill is a tragedy, but bans nothing that was not already set to be banned. This is only the third worst blow for trans rights in the last 24 hours.
- [HHS bans trans youth care, blocks virtually all US hospitals from performing medicine for trans people under 18](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/hhs-to-ban-trans-youth-care-block-virtually-all-us-hospitals-from-performing-medicine-for-trans-people-under-18.md) - The new rules will effectively end transition care for trans kids and likely have a chilling effect on transition care for trans adults, all via executive rulemaking through the threat of a total loss of funding.
- [US house votes to ban youth HRT, potentially dooming thousands of kids to early deaths](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/us-house-votes-to-ban-youth-hrt-potentially-leaving-thousands-of-kids-to-early-deaths.md) - The bill is the most consequential attack of trans rights in the 21st century,
- [US House to vote on transition medicine ban for anyone under 18](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/us-house-to-vote-on-transition-medicine-ban-for-anyone-under-18.md) - The text of the bill, including proposed amendments, makes acting to facilitate social and medical transition legally the same category as felony fraud, making the affirmation of transgender youth punishable by incarceration and loss of voting rights. It will be voted on tomorrow, Dec. 17.
- [Federal trans sports ban set to become law, defining trans people out of legal existence](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/federal-trans-sports-ban-set-to-become-law-defining-trans-people-out-of-legal-existence.md) - In terms of Capitol Hill politics, the passage of this bill is a foregone conclusion. There is no will from the Senate to put the funding of the military on hold to prevent discrimination of trans people.
- [US-based hate group behind rise of anti-trans science and standards worldwide](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/us-based-hate-group-behind-rise-of-anti-trans-science-and-standards-worldwide.md) - SEGM has spent almost $1.5 million dollars and received nearly $2 million to push anti-trans hate into "scientific" legitimacy and "evidenced based" objectivity.
- [Rise in anti-trans hate leads to more demand for trans porn](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/rise-in-anti-trans-hate-leads-to-more-demand-for-trans-porn.md) - The more we are hated, the more we are lusted after.
- [Good News! Trans youth healthcare ban defeated in the Senate](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/good-news-trans-youth-healthcare-ban-defeated-in-the-senate.md) - The ban was attached to a plan to defund subsidies for health insurance plans bought through the public market.
- [Irish National Gender Service closes waiting list due to chronic and deliberate underfunding](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/irish-national-gender-service-closes-waiting-list-due-to-chronic-and-deliberate-underfunding.md) - Prior to the closure, the only other ways to get HRT in Ireland were DIY, or expensive private health clinics that issue EU-recognized prescriptions, but operate outside of Ireland itself.
- [You get the news that someone is willing to pay for](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/you-get-the-news-that-someone-is-willing-to-pay-for.md) - Why you should subscribe to The Needle.
- [US Senate pushing ban on trans healthcare, most abortions, nationwide](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/us-senate-pushing-ban-on-trans-healthcare-most-abortions-nationwide.md) - The US federal government is poised to codify that trans lives are inherently wasteful and effectively end transition for most people across the entire United States.
- [Military funding bill includes trans sports bans in military academies, is set to pass](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/military-funding-bill-includes-trans-sports-bans-in-military-academies-is-set-to-pass.md) - The bill would be both the first federal trans sports ban, and also codify sex as only referring to how people were born.
- [Stop using trans men to make a point about the exclusion of trans women](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/stop-using-trans-men-to-make-a-point-about-the-exclusion-of-trans-women.md) - There is only one decent option for dealing with trans people in gendered spaces: let us go where we feel we belong. Any other option makes us look and feel ridiculous, and insisting that we follow some other option makes you look ridiculous.
- [Review: Missed Connections with Tall Girls](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/review-missed-connections-with-tall-girls.md) - Missed Connections With Tall Girls is, first and foremost, a book about being homeless and broke.
- [Brazil: Rio's Pride Parade Isn't What It Should Be, But There's Some Value In Fun](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/brazil-rios-pride-parade-isnt-what-it-should-be-but-theres-some-value-in-fun.md) - So, I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's 30th Pride Parade in November...
- [KOSA hearing shows broad support for censoring children’s access to the internet](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/kosa-hearing-shows-broad-support-for-censoring-childrens-access-to-the-internet.md) - This hearing shows that parental groups and tech lobbyists agree on the broad strokes of what children’s access to the internet should look like.
- [Minnesota Court of Appeals expands legal precedent for faith-based discrimination](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/minnesota-court-of-appeals-expands-legal-precedent-for-faith-based-discrimination.md) - Broadly, this new precedent could mean that any faith-based organization now has free license to discriminate based on internal policies. It remains to be seen if this will remain state-wide precedent or be elevated to a SCOTUS case.
- [Oklahoma: Trans Instructor Suspended After Student Called Her Peers ‘Demonic’ in a Poor Quality Essay Which Cited No Sources](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/oklahoma-trans-instructor-suspended-after-student-called-her-peers-demonic-in-a-poor-quality-essay-which-cited-no-sources.md) - The suspension appears to be a response to calculated right-wing attacks. By Jane Migliara Brigham Yesterday, a trans instructor at the University of Oklahoma was put on administrative leave following poorly-evidenced complaints of discrimination by a student with deep ties to christian nationalist…
- [Interview: Zoey Carter Talks Small Town Progressive Politics](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/12/interview-zoey-carter-talks-small-town-progressive-politics.md)
- [The Egg Prime Directive is Bullshit](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/the-egg-prime-directive-is-bullshit.md) - “The prime directive is bullshit in Star Trek and it’s bullshit in gender. If you have the power to minimize suffering you have a moral obligation to exercise it.”
- [HRT Blocked by Red Tape in Florida, Even for People who Still Qualify](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/academia-slaying-hrt-blocked-by-red-tape-in-florida-even-for-people-who-still-qualify.md) - We didn’t need a study or cis researchers to learn that; you could’ve just asked us. If trans people had the same resources as these researchers, we could have given you these results years ago.
- [Persona Combines Horror with Mundanity](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/review-persona-combines-horror-with-mundanity.md) - What if you found an identical version of yourself somewhere in the outside world, and you stopped at nothing to find her?
- [Ireland: Bill Decriminalizing Sex Work to be Introduced](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/ireland-following-up-on-upcoming-legislation-will-attempt-to-decriminalise-sex-work-across-the-republic-of-ireland.md) - With sex work currently under the “Nordic Model” in Ireland, why decriminalize? And why now?.
- [Director of Trans Rescue Discusses the Closing Jaws in the United States, and How to Get Out](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/interview-director-of-trans-rescue-discusses-the-closing-jaws-in-the-united-states-and-how-to-get-out.md) - You can get out. Everybody can get out.
- ['Gendertrash from Hell' Makes Trans History Feel Brand New](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/review-gendertrash-from-hell-makes-trans-history-feel-brand-new.md) - It's one thing to show idealized images of past figures; it's another to make them feel real
- [State Department Confirms Denial/Delay of Passports for Trans People](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/exclusive-united-states-state-department-confirms-denial-or-delay-of-passports-for-trans-people-2025-11-20t09-36-55.md) - A State Department spokesperson confirmed that they will deny or delay passport issuance unless and until an applicant provides "sufficient” evidence of their “binary, biological sex at birth.”
- [Why Trans People Don't Care About Congresswoman Sarah McBride](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/why-dont-trans-people-care-about-congresswoman-sarah-mcbride.md) - Frankly, it feels like she is embarrassed to be associated with us.
- [Academia Slaying: Even Anti-Trans Hate Studies by Anti-Trans Academics Show Trans Youth Don't "Desist"](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/academia-slaying-even-anti-trans-hate-studies-by-anti-trans-academics-show-trans-youth-dont-desist.md) - The study brief, published Oct. 7, has powerful data but unfortunately the way it is written aligns with gender conservative animus- additional context shows that alignment is deliberate.
- [Trans People Being Denied Passports Until They Can Prove Their 'Biological Sex' at Birth](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/trans-people-being-denied-passports-until-they-can-prove-their-biological-sex-at-birth-2025-11-18t15-56-11-05-00.md) - The State Department has denied a passport application to a trans woman because she did not provide evidence that she is applying as her assigned sex at birth.
- [Interview- Tennessee- Lena Chipman Discusses Her Plans for Memphis](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/interview-tennessee-lena-chipman-discusses-her-plans-for-memphis.md)
- [United States- Queer Kids to be Placed in Anti-Queer Foster Homes Under New Executive Order](https://theneedlenews.com/2025/11/united-states-queer-kids-to-be-placed-in-anti-queer-foster-homes-under-new-executive-order.md) - The change reverses longstanding policy which separated queer kids from potential abuse.

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