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Weird appears to be the word of the moment as the Harris campaign and pundits in general finally wise up to how truly bizarre Trump and his surrogates are. But there are two edges on that knife – there are also lots of great, important, fun and cool ways to be weird. As an aging rocker – and as a trans person – I would hate to see us stop valuing weirdness (the cool kind).

The Biden administration’s new Title IX guidance for trans students, currently under injunction in Indiana, was recently blocked by a federal court in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Even though the new rules fall right in line with the SCOTUS decision finding that Title XII protections apply to trans people – the ongoing fight to get basic civil rights protections for trans people will probably continue until a federal law like the Equality Act is passed.

Indiana’s state government continues it’s mission to slowly degrade and sideline public schools and higher education. This time, university officials are raising alarm about IDOE’s new diploma guidelines — which appear to sideline academic achievement in favor of sending high school students directly into the workforce.

1. This past Thursday was International Poll Worker Recruitment Day. I’ve been working with Indiana Conservation Voters (IVC) to recruit poll workers! We’re facing a national shortage in qualified poll workers, and that has serious implications for the security of our democracy! Interested in participating, or sharing with your own networks? Sign up here!
2. Another great event from ICV for all you nerds – and just in time for GenCon – is Dungeons and Democracy! Come join our adventurers as we guide our characters past the barriers in their way to cast their vote!
3. Election season is in full swing! And with it, voter roll purges in several states. Here in Indiana, you should always check your voter registration before the October 7th deadline. It only takes a few minutes and you can do it online. Don’t wait until the last second to check!
4. I spent this past weekend with my family at the Indiana State Fair! I’ve gone every year since I was a child and I always look forward to it. I think there’s something unique in the way the fair brings rural and urban Hoosiers together. Junk food truly is a great unifier.
5. State Affairs, a widely read news organization that covers our statehouse and state politics, is asking folks to reach out to them about their experience voting in Indiana. This is a great opportunity for folks who care about access to voting to speak in a forum that is read by Indiana lawmakers. If you’re interested, email them at news@stateaffairs.com.

My Muse

My step-daughter and I have been bonding over women’s sports! I’ve never been a big sports person, but it is special to get to watch Caitlin Clarke through her eyes. I love how many girls her age are feeling inspired and seeing themselves represented. You can feel the possibilities opening up in their minds.

We’re watching some Olympic sports too, and it’s lovely.

It’s also bittersweet. My daughter is (as far as we know) cisgender, and I’m transgender. If I was an athlete, I’d be banned from competing in those sports. And it’s difficult not to see how all women athletes who strike some observers as masculine or have a slightly elevated testosterone level are humiliated in media. Some are even forced to undergo medical treatment in order to become more like an “average woman.” This is particularly true for women who are black.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to work your entire life to become the best you can be at some skill — only to be told that your body makes you “too good” and that you’ll need to change it in order to compete. I also think it’s revealing that cisgender male athletes never get this criticism. When their bodies have something out of the ordinary that gives them an advantage … they are celebrated for it.

I don’t really have a solution for the debate about transgender people in sports. But I do wish folks could lead with some empathy and understanding. We cast this discussion in terms of world class Olympians … but the people most impacted are children.

Because of the artificial panic around the subject we are pro-actively asking very young and already quite isolated trans children to forgo something a basic as playing games with their friends.

My step-daughter and I are quite close. And I hate to say that I often find myself grateful that she doesn’t seem to be transgender. Like all parents, I want her to have as many opportunities as she can get. I’d love her absolutely as much no matter what — but I know that she would have fewer opportunities if she were trans.

Shouldn’t that bother all of us?