Consider This from NPR - As Anti-Trans Bills Advance, Trans Journalists Weigh In On 'Privilege' Of Reporting

Episode Date: April 9, 2021

This week Arkansas became the first state to outlaw gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, as the state legislature overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson tells NPR why he opposed the bill, which will become law later this summer. Dr. Joshua Safer, the executive director at Mount Sinai's Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, explains why gender-affirming therapies — such as puberty blockers or hormone treatment — are safe and healthy for trans youth. Misconceptions about trans people can be shaped by who tells their stories. Three trans journalists weigh in on how that should be done:Imara Jones is the creator of TransLash Media.Kate Sosin is a reporter at The 19th. Orion Rummler is a reporter at Axios. In participating regions, you'll also hear from local journalists about what's happening in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Earlier this week, many people expected Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to sign HB 1570. But the most recent action of the General Assembly, while well-intended, is off course, and I must veto House Bill 1570. House Bill 1570 is also known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act. It restricts health care for transgender minors in Arkansas, outlawing things like puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 18. Lots of bills like this one are moving through state legislatures around the country. But this week, Hutchinson called the Arkansas measure overbroad and extreme. He vetoed it and explained his surprise decision based on what he'd heard from medical experts. And the concern expressed is that denying best medical care to transgender

youth can lead to significant harm to the young person from suicidal tendencies and social isolation to increased drug use. Hutchinson's veto lasted about 24 hours. Yeah, just to be clear, yes vote in this vote is to override the veto. On Tuesday, the Arkansas State Senate joined the state house in voting overwhelmingly to override Governor Hutchinson's veto. Arkansas is the first state in the country to restrict health care for trans people. The bill will become law later this summer. We've got to rethink our engagement in every aspect of the cultural wars. The Republican Party that I grew

up with believed in a restrained government. I spoke to Governor Asa Hutchinson just hours after lawmakers in his own party voted to override his veto. And we should say this was the third anti-trans bill his state passed in three weeks. One limits participation in sports. Another lets doctors refuse to treat trans patients. Hutchinson signed them both. I listen to experts. I make decisions. And this one was a step way too far. And I couldn't abide by it. And so if you were to hear today from one of those transgender minors and their parents who had been getting hormone treatment and will have to stop under this law, what would you say to them? Well, I'm sorry. Consider this. Apologies and even opposition from Republican governors are not enough to stop the wave of anti-trans bills passing through state legislatures around the country.

We'll hear from a doctor who provides the type of care that many states aim to restrict, and we'll talk with trans journalists who are on the front lines of covering these stories. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Friday, April 9th. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today, or visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. A lot of big corporations have taken stands against a new voting law in Georgia. This seems important. But I just don't think we should have illusions

that there's a beating heart of gold under Coca-Cola.com Corporation Incorporated trademark. So-called corporate boycotts. Friday afternoon on It's Been a Minute from NPR. It's Consider This from NPR. Here's one more thing I heard from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson when I asked him why trans youth have become such a target for his party right now. Well, there's a sense that we're losing the traditional culture that we have and that there's undue influence in having young people reconsider their gender by birth. And, you know, I think we need to rethink as a party and as a nation, let's give some more deference to the medical professionals. I talked to one of those medical professionals, Dr. Joshua Safer, Executive Director of Mount Sinai's Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City.

And he told me supporters of these bills are just wrong to claim that puberty-blocking medicines have permanent consequences. The point of puberty blockers is that they're a conservative option and that they are reversible. Not only that, he said doctors prescribe these medicines to some cisgender kids too. They're used to treat some cancers or to help young people struggling with adrenal issues or early puberty. When we use these medications for transgender kids as well as for kids with precocious puberty, they're incredibly safe and they can be stopped and things will revert to how they were. Safer told me he's also heard from doctors in other states where laws like the one in Arkansas are under consideration. Are they afraid for their patients? They're afraid for their patients at

several levels. They're certainly afraid for their patients being victimized verbally by their state legislatures. And they are certainly afraid that their patients will lack access to care. So absolutely. In many cases, the reporters covering these stories with the most nuance and insight are the ones who have personal experience being transgender. Trans journalists know what it's like to deal with tokenism, bias, and questions about their own objectivity. And so we brought three of them together to talk about what it's been like covering this national debate over their right to exist. Kate Sossin. I'm the LGBTQ plus reporter at the 19th.

I use they, them pronouns. Orion Rumler. I cover breaking news for Axios. I he, him pronouns. And Imara Jones. I am the founder and creator of Translash, a trans journalism project, and I use she, her pronouns. They've all reported on a variety of beats in their careers, but they also agree that right now it's important for trans journalists to be on the front lines of covering this story. So this is Orion.

To me, it feels like a privilege to be writing about these stories. For people in these states, I mean, in Arkansas, I've connected with a family. They're raising funds already to move to New Mexico. They've lived in the state for 16 years, and they say they need to go somewhere else that supports their transgender son who's transitioning. And I think our experience as a trans person, I think it opens the door to deeper conversations with trans people, with their families, with LGBTQ advocates. And I think we're able to report on this in a deeper way. Yamara, did you want to jump in? I mean, this is Amara. I think we're able to report on this in a deeper way.

Amara, did you want to jump in? I mean, this is Amara. I think that we approach this from a standpoint and the perspective that trans people are valid. And I think that a part of our job is to not only understand our stories, but also where the other side is coming from, because I don't think that we'll be able to make progress without doing that. Kate, do you want to weigh in? Yeah. You know, at the 19th, we cover the intersection of gender politics and policy. And for us, when we're looking at this issue, you know, there's not a question for us about whether or not it's appropriate to litigate gender-affirming care for transgender

children or their participation, full participation in sports or extracurricular activities. That's a line we've drawn that I think other news organizations are still trying to figure out. And for us, it's not really a question. You're all talking about the added value that you as trans people bring to this story. And I wonder if about the added value that you as trans people bring to this story. And I wonder if on the flip side of that, you've ever felt pigeonholed or tokenized in a newsroom where most people are not trans? Yeah, this is Amara. I think yes. And I also would have to say that it's also interesting that people think that we can only talk about trans issues. You know, before I wrote about trans issues, I wrote a lot about economic and social

justice. And very rarely do I get asked those questions anymore. But I think that the pigeonholing is in the newsroom, but it's also in journalism overall, where we get to think that because you do one thing, that's the only thing that you can do. I'm wondering if I'm doing that right now. We've invited you to talk about trans issues. This is Kate. You know, when I first started out in media, I was visibly queer. I was visibly trans. It was really hard for me to find work. And the one place that would hire me was Windy City Times, Chicago's LGBTQ newspaper. And I really wanted to work in mainstream media. I didn't want to do LGBTQ issues. But the longer that I worked as an out trans person reporting on trans news, the more that I learned that it was really powerful to be a trans person telling trans stories, that

that meant a lot to people. Can you give us an example? Yeah. You know, like when I'm covering these bills. So, for example, last January, I went to South Dakota to cover a trans healthcare ban that was pending in the state legislature, and, I am trans. I have medically transitioned and I know what it means to need this care for your life to depend on it. And one, I'm not going to misgender you in this article or dead name you or ask you invasive medical questions. But also I understand that your life is on the line with this bill. And that's a different conversation that we're going to have than a cisgender reporter who's going to fly in and endlessly quote people who are questioning whether or not it's child abuse to allow a trans kid to pause puberty until they're old enough to decide.

And that's such a different question, right? And so to be able to help shape that conversation and also to help model appropriate reporting for cisgender reporters, to me, that's really powerful. It feels in a way like there's a national debate right now over your right to exist. And so I wonder just as a person covering those stories every day, how it feels to be reporting this out as something that your fellow citizens disagree about. This is Amara. I think for me, you know, I am trans, but I am still a journalist, which means that I have a deep curiosity about what's happening, why it's happening, where it's happening, who it's happening to, and why it all matters. And that curiosity

doesn't stop just because I am approaching these stories. And so therefore, I think that what I try to do when I cover these stories is not tap into the personal aspect of whether or not I should exist or not exist. I just try to center my curiosity in the way that I approach all of these stories. And that's the way that I'm actually able to stay sane and do my job. Orion, Kate? So this is Orion. And I think any marginalized person reporting on their own identity, they're not compromising the work that they're doing as a person covering their own community. I mean, especially I think our industry should be focused on bringing in the next generation. And we already know that one in six Gen Z adults are LGBTQ. So I think newsrooms need to be thinking about the future of their coverage,

which should have more LGBTQ reporters in it. Kate, you want to jump in? And the tough part for me is that I'm talking to transgender children who say, I don't want to be trans anymore. Or I wish that I wasn't who I am. Or I don't see a future for myself. That to me is like the trauma of these bills. And there's an added layer sometimes when you recognize that these things are happening because of gender, right? Because these folks are in some way related to your community. You know, this is coming after a summer of racial justice protests where so much of the most powerful reporting we saw came from BIPOC journalists who brought their own experiences

to their reporting. And so, to conclude, could I ask you to just talk about intersectionality and allyship and the way that you see personal history and lived experience informing journalism in this moment beyond just the debates over trans rights? Yeah, this is Amara. I think that that's a really important point. I think the thing that makes me really effective as a trans journalist is that I know my beat really well. I'm actually a part of the community. I think that for other communities, quite frankly, like no one ever says that you're white, so you can't write about white people. We need to extend that same consciousness and that same grace to all communities. Because at the end of the day, as I said before, I'm still a journalist. But I can hear listeners at home

screaming, what about objectivity? What about the view from nowhere? Well, right. What the concept of objectivity does now is that it's designed to make people feel comfortable. That whatever we're presenting, they can ultimately not feel challenged. And that's not objective. Sometimes, I mean, we've spoken about this as journalists many times amongst ourselves, but sometimes there are two sides. Sometimes there are eight. Sometimes there's only one. And our job is to be able to tell readers what we have found and present it in a way that's fair. That's the job, not to be objective because no one is completely objective. It's false. Imara Jones with Kate Sossin and Orion Rumler.

Follow their work for each of their news organizations at the links in our episode notes. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.