Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter | Why Dropping the "T" from LGBTQ Will Harm the Whole Community
As of this week, the State Department has dropped the “T” from the LGBTQ acronym and now only addresses “LGB Travelers.” Similarly, what was originally a page titled “Resources for LGBTQI+ Prospective Adoptive Parents” now just says “LGB Prospective Adoptive Parents.”
The Social Security Administration's website formerly had a page about “Social Security for LGBTQI+ People.” It has now been updated to “LGBQ People.” In addition, the Health and Human Services Department announced that grant funding for “gender ideology” programs is “permanently terminated.”
There is a loud minority of gay, lesbian, and bisexual folks who are thrilled about the idea of erasing our trans and nonbinary siblings. They don’t believe the idea that someone can actually be trans. Or they’re riled up by algorithms telling them to use transphobia as a vehicle to quell their insecurities, their despair, or their loneliness.
Michael Deacon, British political journalist for The Telegraph, published a column this week titled “‘LGBT’ is over – whether the BBC likes it or not.” He wrote about how “radical activists” combined gay and trans issues into one and that dropping the “T” is—you guessed it—common sense.
But here’s where Deacon and many folks who feel similarly to him are misinformed and manipulated by the messaging that exists in America’s right-wing circles:
The folks in charge of erasing trans people from American existence are waiting with bated breath and are ready to come hard and fast for the rest of the alphabet.
Yes, that means gay marriage.
Yes, that means same-sex adoption.
Yes, that means revisiting whether homosexuality should be classified as a mental illness or not.
Many of the organizations and the people in Trump’s ear are connected to anti-LGBTQ hate groups who are in favor of gay conversion therapy and are opposed to marriage equality. These groups operate in developing countries where they come after not just trans people but—wait for it—gay and bisexual people as well. For them, undermining the whole alphabet is their version of common sense.
Just ask Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who has compared gay marriage to giving pets and pedophiles the right to marry and described it as “the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic.”
As American culture bleeds further to the far-right when it comes to LGBTQ issues, be prepared to continue the fight for the LGB rights that many of us assumed had already been won.
It pains me to even have to write something to convince LGB folks and allies to care about our trans and nonbinary siblings. Whether or not you like the idea of having us all part of one alphabet, this is a conversation about basic human rights. To cheer on or stay silent as the American government aims to erase one of the most marginalized groups in our society is inhumane.
Government Agencies Scrub LGBTQ Web Pages, Remove Info on Trans, Intersex People (NBC News)
The State Department’s web page providing adoption information to LGBTQI+ prospective parents now only addresses “LGB” people.
Trump Administration Faces Lawsuit Over Transgender Care Executive Order (The Washington Post)
The lawsuit also seeks to undo another order Trump signed to officially recognize only male and female sexes.
2025 Grammys: Here are the Notable LGBTQ+ Moments and Winners (Gay Times)
New York Attorney General Address Transgender Care Policies (The New York Times)
A White House executive order threatened to pull federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for trans youths. But not providing the care could violate state law, Letitia James said in a letter on Monday.
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This weekend, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 A 2021 study found that asexuality is “overrepresented in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” The reasons why may surprise you. In her first story for Uncloseted Media, Lauren Farkas examines the correlation.
🆕 People with an ostomy, an artificial opening in an organ of the body that’s meant to treat diseases of the digestive or urinary systems, experience unique emotional and mental health challenges. But what does it mean when it comes to sex and dating? Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Sam Donndelinger dives in.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints, tips, and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief
spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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Transgender rights are the canary in the coal mine for LGB rights. I regret to inform you that the canary has died. RIP. 🫥
The only reason “LGB” have any rights at all is because of the “T” (most notably our black sisters) that fought for *everyone’s* rights. There is no liberation without queer liberation, and there is no queer liberation without trans liberation. There is no movement if we are more focused on exclusion than inclusion, hate than love. It’s difficult to even see trans-exclusive “LGB” as part of the queer community because it feels like they miss the whole point—it isn’t just about attraction, it’s about a shared identity and interest to undermine the patriarchal hierarchies in place to keep anyone from loving anyone, including their own self.