Tennessee’s anti-trans bathroom law gets shut down, Target partners with two queer owned & woman led businesses for Pride Month & a non-binary high school student is crowned prom king – Monday, May 23, 2022

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

00:55 – The NECANN Illinois Cannabis Convention is coming to Chicago on June 10th and 11th. Grab your tickets now at necann.com/illinois

01:38 – Intro Music by Aina Bre’Yon

02:19 – Tennessee’s anti-trans bathroom law gets shut down by a judge who said it was a violation of a businesses first amendment rights

05:45 – TomboyX & Humankind partner with Target and drop exclusive pride wear you’ll want to support

07:16 – In Jeffersonville, Indiana a non-binary high school student dressed in drag wins prom king

08:29 – Anna’s Got A Word

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Congratulations Cristian!

@hotboycristian king… queen… whatever you wanna call it im still that bitch #prom #promking #promqueen #drag #gay #LGBT #mothersday #queen #rupualsdragrace #makeup ♬ original sound – Cristian🦋

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Transcript

Family, this is your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn with our queer news for today. If you enjoy what you hear please consider joining the QCrew. The QCrew is our monthly membership program we just started to help us grow the podcast. I want to bring on a producer, an editor, and travel around the country to tell our stories. If you’re down with it check the link in the show notes for more information. Now for the news.

Tennessee’s anti-trans bathroom law gets shut down by a judge who said it was a violation of a businesses first amendment rights. TomboyX & Humankind partner with Target and drop exclusive pride wear you’ll want to support. In Jeffersonville, Indiana a non-binary high school student dressed in drag wins prom king. 

What better way to start this Monday than with a win. This win is coming out of Tennessee where Judge Aleta Trauger ruled that requiring businesses to post warning notices on public restrooms which allow our trans fam to use said restroom that aligns with their gender identity is a violation of that businesses first amendment rights. Big ups to the ACLU for challenging this law and the two businesses that stood up for their rights. This law would have required businesses to post a sign that had to be at least 8 inches wide and 6 inches tall, use the colors red & yellow, with boldface typeface to say “This facility maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex regardless of the designation on the restroom,” at the entrances of single-sex public restrooms, locker rooms, dressing areas or other facilities that are “designated for a specific biological sex … where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.” 

Now when this law went into effect last year in Tennessee Judge Trauger issued a preliminary injunction a week later. Now a year later she’s permanently blocked this law by granting the ACLU’s motion for summary judgment. A summary judgment happens when the court is asked to decide a case without a full trial. Judge Trauger wrote a 40-page decision in which she said, “It would do a disservice to the First Amendment to judge the Act for anything other than what it is: a brazen attempt to single out trans-inclusive establishments and force them to parrot a message that they reasonably believe would sow fear and misunderstanding about the very transgender Tennesseans whom those establishments are trying to provide with some semblance of a safe and welcoming environment.” She went on to say, “Transgender Tennesseans are real. The businesses and establishments that wish to welcome them are real. And the viewpoints that those individuals and businesses hold are real, even if they differ from the views of some legislators or government officials.” Family, this is why judges matter. Judge Trauger is the first woman appointed judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the first woman graduate of Vanderbilt Law School to be appointed to this position nationwide. Her viewpoint is needed in the courts to help protect our rights. We need comrades like Judge Trauger in the fight. 

In more refreshing news, Target has partnered with two queer owned, women-led businesses ahead of & during Pride month. You can find TomboyX & Humankind in your local Target right now and do you know what’s really dope about this? Let me tell you. TomboyX features compression tops as well as packing underwear and boy shorts. These are items you just can’t find in big box stores so the accessibility for young people exploring their bodies is more readily available. Humankind is offering gender-affirming swimsuits in all sizes which are really cute. We all know how notorious corporate culture has become with turning their logos rainbow for 30 days but aren’t supporting queer owned businesses, aren’t giving back to LGBTQ-led non profits and aren’t supporting queer initatives all year round. Well this initiative by Target really surprised me with their collaboration and offerings. They are pushing the possibilities of what’s possible. In addition to these two Target-exclusive lines, Target has already launched their annual Pride collection with products designed by creators like Jermel “Blu” Moody, founder of Black Boy Be, Olly Gibbs of Curlworks, and the Phluid Project. The entire pride collection is available at Target and you can get pieces online too.  

Now our last story for today is coming out of Jeffersonville,Indiana and when I see stories like this one coming out of a conservative state it gives me hope in humanity. Cristian Hernandez, an 18-year old non-binary high school student, was crowed prom king at their prom. The beautiful part was that Cristian was in full drag queen attire from head to toe & looking as fabulous as ever. They told NBC, “I was just planning to do something really crazy for prom, and I thought, ‘Why not go in drag? … In my head [I was] thinking, ‘I’m not going to win.’ I was just praying to the gay lords.” Well the gay lords came through and of course Cristian was ready for the runway; strutting and twirling and waving that blonde hair. They said it took them five hours to get ready and their TikTok video that captured the moment has gone viral. I’ve included a link in the show notes if you want to check it out. If all of us can have a little bit of Cristian’s courage imagine the things we could accomplish. Congratulations Cristian! 

Let’s close out the podcast with a word from Cristian because they inspired me today. They told NBC, “You can’t let people tear you down…I want to inspire people to try and break down those barriers that have been put up… Really be yourself, and confidence is key.” You heard the word. Be yourself and be confident about it. Don’t let fear hold you back from being you. Till tomorrow family, peace

Sources

Federal judge strikes down Tennessee’s transgender bathroom sign law

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/judge-strikes-tennessees-transgender-bathroom-sign-law-rcna29267?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-nbcout&utm_content=later-26966823&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio

Target Dropped *Two* New Fashion Collabs With Queer-Owned Brands

https://www.bustle.com/style/target-tomboyx-humankind-pride-collab

Drag queen crowned prom king at Indiana high school

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/05/drag-queen-crowned-prom-king-indiana-high-school/