Trans and Disability News items
Editor's Note: The disability community is increasingly preferring to use identity-first language (disabled person) in place of person-first language (person with a disability). This is because many in the community view disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, still prefer person-first language. Both should be considered valid. Articles shared in this newsletter may contain one or the other (or both) depending on the author's preference, and if they themselves have a disability.
Are transgender sports bans really about protecting women? Survey data tells a different story by Tatishe Nteta, Jesse Rhodes and Lane Cuthbert on October 20, 2026 at The Conversation
"If admiration and support for female athletes drive support for prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports, then those who favor Title IX should also favor bans. Instead, 43% of Title IX supporters favored restrictions, compared with 70% of Title IX opponents."
"That does not mean that everyone who supports a ban is motivated by hostility toward women. But the consistency of these findings makes it difficult to accept that protecting women is a primary reason why Americans support these restrictions."
Politicians’ lies are hurting autistic people by Eric Michael Garcia on October 24, 2026 at his newsletter, The Political Spectrum
"Autistic people and their loved ones also have good reason to believe that misinformation about autism comes from mainstream media, social media and politicians or public figures. I wrote a piece published in The Boston Globe opinion section this week about the growing backlash against neurodiversity in response to the government in the U.K. releasing its report on mental health conditions, autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)"
AOC has two words for Democrats who think defending trans rights is a losing issue by Molly Sprayregen on October 23, 2026 at LGBTQ Nation
" “What is so important for everyone to understand is that the moment you compromise the rights of a trans person in America, you compromise the rights of every citizen in America. And I want us all to really understand why it is that there is so much attention that the right is putting on trans people in America.” "
You Were Not Planned For: How Ableism Steals the Disability Vote by Eric Welsby on October 14, 2026 at Disability Culture Lab
"This is ableism operating at the infrastructure level. It doesn’t require anyone to consciously dislike disabled people. It just requires that we continue to be treated as an afterthought; a “special” accommodation, a separate entrance around the back, a booth that gets set up “if someone needs it.” The result, according to DDP’s data, is that nearly 30% of Michigan’s voting-age population (over 2.3 million people) face a system that routinely fails to meet their most basic legal rights."
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