A Republican state lawmaker in Alabama has been accused of liking a transgender adult performer’s tweet, just a week after voting in favor of a bill to make it a felony for transgender youth under age 19 to receive gender-affirming health care.
Alabama State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) allegedly liked an explicit tweet by a Philadelphia-based performer known as “Bambi Blonde” or “Baphomet Barbie,” with the Twitter handle @bblgumbaphomet, whose profile name is listed as “Bambi Hardcore TG 18+,” and describes themself as an “enbi [nonbinary] trans girl faerie princess.” Their Twitter feed includes a host of short “teaser” videos showing transgender women engaged in sexual acts.
According to LGBTQ Nation, Bambi posted a nude picture of their chest with the caption: “Love my new, fat, G-cup tiddies.”
Whatley’s official Twitter account showed up in the list of Twitter users who had “liked” the post, according to a screenshot obtained by the LGBTQ website.
Bambi later tweeted another photo with a caption, in apparent reference to the controversy, reading: “US Senator (sic) approved tiddies and dick.”
LGBTQ Nation claims it asked Whatley why he liked the tweet. He did not respond, but un-liked the tweet in question.
The fact that Whatley — or someone operating his work Twitter account — was allegedly looking at an explicit adult-themed Twitter page on government time may raise some eyebrows in the state, especially since Whatley was one of 23 Republican lawmakers to vote for SB 10, the Senate version of a bill to bar trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care.
The bill would make it a felony — punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine — for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones, or recommend gender confirmation surgery (which, in practice, rarely occurs before a person is 18 and considered a legal adult), one any person under age 19.
The Senate bill has since been sent to the House of Representatives, which passed HB 1, its own version of the ban on transition-related care. If the House approves the Senate bill, or the bill goes to conference and gets approved by each chamber, it would then head to Gov. Kay Ivey (R) for her signature into law.
If signed into law, Alabama would become the first state in recent years to explicitly ban access to transgender health care such as puberty blockers, and the only state to ban legal adults (18-year-olds are considered adults, capable of voting, serving in the military, and making other legal decisions, under American law) from accessing medical treatments, even if hormones or surgery are recommended to treat their gender dysphoria.
The bill also contains provisions that would force school officials to “out” transgender students to their parents if a teacher or administrator believes a student is struggling with their gender identity or objects to a student’s failure to conform to gender norms or behaves contrary to traditional gender-based stereotypes.
The Senate version also prevents therapists from providing “talk therapy” to discuss a youth’s feelings of gender dysphoria, while the House version seeks to create an exemption for therapists.
“We don’t want [therapists] affirming that ‘Hey, yeah, you’re right, you should be a boy if you are a born a female,'” Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville), the lead sponsor of the bill, said during debate.
Whatley was the senator who had offered an amendment, similar to provisions in the House bill, to exempt counselors from being prosecuted under the law, but when that amendment was defeated, he voted in favor of the bill.
Even though the Senate and House bills condemn puberty blockers as “dangerous and uncontrolled medical experimentation” that can cause “irreversible consequences,” one study from last year showed that transgender youth who receive the drugs — which delay the onset of puberty until a person can determine whether they wish to undergo a gender transition — are at reduced risk of suicidal ideation compared to youth that do not receive puberty blockers.
U.S. Catholic bishops have voted to bar Catholic hospitals from providing transgender patients with gender-affirming care, including hormones and surgical procedures.
The vote, taken last week during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' plenary assembly in Baltimore, updates the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services," the Church's rulebook governing medical procedures it deems immoral.
The directives spell out how Catholic-affiliated hospitals and staff should respond to medical situations that may clash with personal religious beliefs or Church teaching on issues like end-of-life care, contraception, abortion, or gender identity.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has pledged to make New York City a sanctuary city for transgender people.
In a new campaign ad honoring Latina trans activist Sylvia Rivera -- a pioneering figure in the early LGBTQ rights movement -- Mamdani sits at a desk near the Christopher Street Pier in Greenwich Village, recounting Rivera’s life and the pier’s significance as a haven for LGBTQ people in the city.
As photos and video clips of Rivera and other activists flash across the screen, Mamdani recounts her legacy of activism -- from her role in early gay and trans rights demonstrations to founding Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which provided food and shelter for homeless trans people, and her push for LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination laws.
A federal judge says she plans to issue a preliminary injunction blocking a Trump administration policy that would cut funding for sex education programs, including so-called "gender ideology." The announcement came during a conference call with state attorneys and federal officials.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring schools from engaging in what it calls the "social transition" of transgender youth -- meaning any recognition of gender identity as distinct from biological sex, including using a student’s chosen name or pronouns or making accommodations based on gender identity.
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