The Miss USA crown was passed to the runner-up earlier this year, and the Miss Netherlands title went to that country’s first transgender winner in July. Both will compete to be Miss Universe in December. But a Facebook post spreads a bogus claim about Miss USA boycotting the upcoming competition.
Recent research suggests that gender dysphoria is likely caused by a combination of factors, including hormone exposure before birth. But social media posts make the baseless claim that it could be caused by a vaccine containing DNA from an aborted fetus of the opposite sex. There is no scientific evidence for such a claim, experts said.
Families seeking information from a health care provider about a young child’s gender identity may have their questions answered or receive counseling. Some posts share a misleading claim that toddlers are being “transitioned.” To be clear, prepubescent children are not offered transition surgery or drugs.
Q: Does a proposed law in Washington state say that the government can take children away from parents who don’t agree to gender transition surgery?
A: No. Under the bill, licensed youth shelters no longer have to report the location of a runaway child to the child’s parents if the child is seeking gender-affirming or reproductive care. Instead, the shelters must notify the state’s child services department.
Kansas passed a bill allowing only “biologically female” students to play on girls’ and women’s athletic teams from elementary through college. Social media posts misleadingly claim the bill will allow “forced genital inspections” of students. The bill doesn’t mention genital inspections, and it leaves the implementation of policies up to schools’ governing bodies.
A tweet posted years ago by the late comedian Norm Macdonald has been altered to falsely claim that he’d commented on the possibility of a transgender school shooter back in 2016. A search of Macdonald’s account shows he didn’t write that transphobic tweet.
Michigan’s Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel said that she was joking when she said in a June speech that there should be “a drag queen for every school.” But a TV ad from a super PAC supporting Republican Tudor Dixon is using a version of Nessel’s quote out of context in a misleading attack against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Seven people died in a mass shooting in a Chicago suburb on Independence Day. Police said they believe the shooter was dressed in women’s clothing to conceal his identity and help him during his escape. But some social media users are claiming, with no evidence, that he is transgender.
President Donald Trump cited “the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” Whether the cost is “tremendous” is opinion, but a government-funded report found that allowing transgender people to openly serve in the military would likely have a “marginal impact” on health care costs and military readiness.