So, I briefly worked with Wayne Maines, #NicoleMaines' dad. I remember him telling me about his daughter, and how before Nicole's transition, #TransPeople weren't on his radar and was a bit taken aback. But being a good dad, he fully embraced her, and became one of her staunchest defenders. A class act!

Looking back on the Maine Supreme Court transgender bathroom case

by Jackie Mundry
May 28, 2025

"In January 2014, the Maine Supreme Court ruled in favor of Nicole Maines. At the time, she was in the fifth grade in Orono and identified as #transgender.

"She and her family say the school administration, her classmates and their parents were all aware that Maines was trans, and because of that, she had no problem using the bathroom that aligned with her gender identity.

" 'When I would introduce themselves to myself, I would say, 'Hi, I'm Wyatt, I'm a boy who wants to be a girl. What's your name?' And they'd say, 'Hi, I'm Ryan, I like trucks.' And it was on the same level of mundanity,' Maines said, describing her time in school.

"One day, that changed, and she was not able to use the girls bathroom anymore after another male student followed her into that bathroom.

" 'I went into the bathroom with another girlfriend of mine, and he followed me, and he didn't say anything to me, and he just kind of, like, made prolonged eye contact with me as he went into the second stall, and he use the bathroom, and it was like I was glued to that spot,' Maines said.

" 'I redid fifth and sixth grade, being there to make sure that she was OK. She never had a normal childhood,' Maines' mom, Kelly Maines, said reflecting on how much time she spent in the school trying to protect Nicole.

" 'It got so bad that Kelly had to quit her job at the University of Maine, and we moved her and the kids to Portland, and they lived in hiding in America,' Maines' dad, Wayne Maines, added.

"Eventually, Kelly contacted the #MaineHumanRightsCommission, and a lawsuit was filed. While the precedent was set in Maine more than a decade ago, the Maines family is concerned about upcoming legislation.

" 'Freedom matters, and they're taking freedoms away,' Wayne said.

"The state Legislature's Judiciary Committee is considering several pieces of legislation that would not allow transgender students to play sports with students who align with their gender identity or use the bathrooms or changing rooms of their choice.

[...]

"There is also a proposal to remove #GenderIdentity as a protected class from the #MaineHumanRightsAct.

"Maines lives in California and is pursuing an acting career. Her message to #TransKids is clear.

" 'Do not give in to their hatred,' she said.

"All of the bills looking to change the transgender rules in Maine are still waiting to be voted out of the Judiciary Committee. Once that happens, they will get a full vote, and likely a debate, on the House and Senate floors."

https://www.wmtw.com/article/looking-back-the-maine-supreme-court-transgender-bathroom-case/64907510

#ProtectTransYouth #ProtectTransKids #GBLTQRights #TransRights #TransRightsAreHumanRights

Circumcision is the most common gender-affirming surgery. It's performed *almost* exclusively on cishet minors, and it's also *irreversible*.

Followed by breast augmentation surgeries and botox procedures (for cishet adults).

But you know which irreversible gender-affirming surgeries trans minors get? None. Zero. Zilch.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/circumcision-by-country

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/plastic-surgery-by-country

#GenderAffirmingCare #ProtectTransKids

https://medium.com/@karlacross0/when-support-becomes-suspect-nhs-guidance-and-the-policing-of-parental-care-for-trans-youth-f39c86cac78f

#TransRights
#ProtectTransKids
#TransYouth
#TransHealthcare
#TransEquality
#GenderAffirmingCare
#NHS
#UKPolitics
#Section28
#EHRC
#ToriesOut
#endtransphobia
#HumanRights
#Safeguarding
#LGBTQIA
#MentalHealthMatters
#QueerVoices
#ParentsOfTransKids
#TransVoices
#QueerWriters
#Journalism
#IndependentMedia
#WritingCommunity
#Stonewall
#TransActual
#transworld
#transgenderworld
#Mermaids

This past weekend our family went to a YMCA camp for a family camp weekend, which is just like it sounds. All the classic summer camp fun but for a whole family. They’ve purposefully made a wonderful, inclusive environment for families of all shapes, sizes, and identities.

Essentially all the kids there were strangers to one another and in between guided activities they would play a regionally popular form of dodge ball.

Because they didn’t know anyone’s name, they would often use shirt color or gender to call out to one another.

When kids were misgendered, they would shout “I’m Name and I’m a girl” and “I’m OtherName and I’m a boy”, then exactly everyone immediately accepted it and moved on.

There were only ever arguments about whether a shirt was really gray or blue. Not even one about whether a kid was who they said they were.

It was so nice to see things go right, even just for a couple days.

#ProtectTransKids

A @motherjones.com report is going around today about a #Utah #utleg #utpol study about #trans healthcare.

I have to share our local @sltrib article because without local reporting, national news might not hear about important state and locals stories. I'm a proud subscriber and donor and encourage everyone to support their local, independent news wherever they can find it.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2025/05/22/utah-lawmakers-own-study-found/

Also support local independent reporters directly like https://www.utahinvestigative.org. Support local news collectives like https://greatsaltlakenews.org that focus on important local issues. And support organizations that fund and support local reporting like https://economichardship.org.

#LGBTQ #SupportTransKids #ProtectTransKids

🏳️‍⚧️ ✨

#ProtectTransKids #TransRights

Today in Labor History May 25, 1925: The state of Tennessee indicted high school science teacher John Scopes for teaching his students the truth (i.e., evolution). He eventually lost his trial, was fined $100, and then won an appeal. However, the law he broke, the Butler Act, was ruled constitutional by the state supreme court and remained in effect until 1967. Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow, the same lawyer who defended countless labor organizers and leftists. Darrow defended IWW cofounder Eugene Debs on trial for his role in the 1894 Pullman strike. He got IWW cofounder Big Bill Haywood acquitted in his trumped-up trial for the murder of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg in 1906. He defended the McNamara brothers (IWW members and labor activists) in their trial for bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in 1910. The prosecuting attorney was William Jennings Bryan, who previously had run for president three times, served in the House, and served as Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. Bryan was considered a nominally left-of-center Democrat. He was anti-imperialist and a supporter of women’s suffrage and equal pay. He was also pro-labor, earning the endorsement of the American Federation of Labor in his presidential bids. He supported an eight-hour work day, as well as a guaranteed living wage. But he was also a big supporter of prohibition and opponent of Darwinism.

For years now, 20 U.S. states have followed the Next Generation Science Standards for their first-year biology courses, and nearly every state offers the College Board’s AP Biology curriculum, in which Evolution and History of Earth are considered central and unifying principals of biology. At the same time, however, teachers are being threatened with termination and legal action in some states for simply uttering the word “gay” or “homosexuality,” or for neglecting to report students they suspect of being nonbinary. Trans and nonbinary students are being denied access to the restroom of their choice. For decades, teachers have been mandated reporters of suspected child abuse and sexual abuse. Now, many of us are in the contradictory position of being required to report LGBTQ kids, with the consequence that these children will be subjected to abuse by the state and possibly by family members, too. Teachers also are being punished for teaching the truth about Palestine, the American Civil War, U.S. imperialism. Books are being banned from school libraries. Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students are being harassed and intimidated on campuses; their free speech suppressed by administrators who’ve been beaten into submission by well-organized Zionist parents.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #lgbtq #evolution #education #schools #teachers #children #homophobia #ProtectTransKids #TransRightsAreHumanRights #palestine #freepalestine #zionism #racism #censorship #freespeech #bookbans