Honestly Erik, this will be an uphill struggle. We had a really good run of acceptance, then there were events that polarized people. When Lia Thomas was able to compete with the resultant anger from her easily winning, it put the LGBTQ, and in particular, the transgender community in a bad light.
What is going to make this very difficult is that the Republicans who are backed by approximately eight different conservative ultra-nationalist political action committees are so well organized.
· You add their cookie-cutter tactics in every state where they have a Republican majority, coupled with that amounts to a de facto propaganda factory in the form of Fox News, we are behind the 8-ball.
· This is a known wedge issue. These Republican Party members are pushing hard, while at the same time, ignoring the position papers and standards of care of all supporting major medical and nursing societies.
Some ways that will counter this:
· Extensive education of the public done by being professional and caring.
· Avoid any public displays of anger that can be characterized as being unstable by the general population. I too, share the anger of many, but when we lose our temper and appear out of control, the Republican Party wins.
· We need major free-press media outlets to be publishing more positive occurrences of transgender and LGBTQ individuals.
o Fox News is controlling public opinion with negative story after negative story.
o It is irrelevant if they are either paying for the stories or as I suspect, manufacturing the stories. I also suspect that the conservative PACs are resorting to flooding various message boards with negative messages using BOT technology.
· Transgender individuals need to differentiate themselves from drag queens and cross-dressers.
· We need to push for better representation in TV and film.
· We need better national organization and coordination of all supporting agencies, news media, political action committees, professional societies, and accrediting bodies. United, we have a better chance of advancing our cause.
· We need to demonstrate to the public that we are human, and we deserve to find peace and acceptance.
· We need to focus on the teenage population as well. Some will deem it "grooming", but we all know it is not.
· We need to enlighten the younger voters and the future voters, that we need their help.
· What will turn the tide is when these everyday residents in these conservative areas find out that transgender individuals are decent members of their community too.
· We should highlight some of the research as to the causes of why we are transgender.
o There is too much negativity and false information that people are just recruited to be transgender.
o We all know this, but a lot of people do not realize that we often know we are transgender at a very young age.
· We struggle with many factors before we transition, or as I like to think of it; emancipating ourselves from a gender we know we should not be.
· Something else that would help is getting the public to realize that the truest form of abuse is to force a child to go through an unwanted puberty as the gender they do not want to be.
o This essentially guarantees further depression and suicide attempts. In addition, the transgender child will become a transgender young adult who, if they want to finally transition, will face a lot of painful procedures including surgery, and electrolysis.
o This horrible abuse.
Sincerely
Katie
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Katie Foster DNP, AGACNP-BC, ENP-C, FNP-BC, CEN
Emergency Nurse Practitioner
Sundance WY
United States
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Original Message:
Sent: Wed March 15,2023 11:10 PM
From: Erik McIntosh
Subject: Advocacy
As of March 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is tracking 420 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S.
9 bills have passed, and 340 are advancing.
What ideas do you have on addressing anti-LGBTQ policy at the institution, local, regional, state, nation/global level?
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Erik McIntosh, DNP, RN
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Chicago, IL
U.S.A
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