By Ann Rostow—
Profiles in Courage
Bravery might be coming back into fashion, or maybe the California State University System has always been brave, but the 23-campus organization has just sued the Trump administration in federal court days before a promised crackdown against San Jose State could be announced.
In January of this year, The New York Times reports, the Trump Department of Education demanded that San Jose State revise the record books to expunge a transgender volleyball player who played on the team in 2024. The athlete, Blaire Fleming, met NCAA standards at a time when transgender women were allowed to participate in team sports after a lengthy treatment period on hormones. The Trumpers also told San Jose State to apologize to Fleming’s teammates and pledge to recognize only birth sex from now on. Failure to act before an upcoming deadline would lead to loss of federal funds, the administration warned.
Unlike Penn State and other universities that have either acquiesced to Trumpy demands or tried to sidle past them, San Jose State has stood firm against the bully boys in D.C. In 2020, in a 6–3 majority opinion written by Justice Gorsuch, the High Court ruled that transgender and gay employees were protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans workplace discrimination “because of … sex.” Since Title IX also bans discrimination “because of sex,” this time in public education, most legal analysts, including those in the Biden administration, determined that transgender women were also protected by its rules.
Those legal policies were dismantled by Trump on day one, but laws and Supreme Court precedent can’t be erased by a stroke of the executive pen. As San Jose President Cynthia Teniente-Matson wrote in an open letter: “We have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.” Indeed, a main point raised by the Cal State lawsuit notes that the Trump administration cannot reach back in time to litigate rules and regulations that were in place before Trump and company came into power.
The new lawsuit is not exactly preemptive, but it aims to position the California State Universities in advance of an expected showdown with the federal government. Speaking to a board meeting earlier this month, Cal State chancellor Mildred Garcia told trustees: “I can never say this enough. We are a welcoming institution, an inclusive institution. Inclusive excellence is perhaps our most fundamental and treasured core value. It is in our DNA.”
As Maine Goes, So Goes, Um,
Half the Nation?
I’ve written about that 2020 opinion in Bostock and its implications for transgender rights outside the workplace before. Perhaps you recall my fascinating legal musings on the subject, particularly when the subject of Title IX has reared its head. And surely you remember what Maine Governor Janet Mills told Trump when he threatened to withdraw federal funds from the state unless Maine banned transgender women from the sports fields. “I’ll see you in court,” she replied, during a televised public dinner of some sort.
I just looked up the status of litigation between Maine and the U.S., and received a brief from some kind of AI service on Google. The bot claims that Maine “initiated legal action to protect its education funding” after the February 2025 exchange between Trump and Mills (who is now running for Senate). In the next paragraph, however, I learn from another bot that the Department of Justice filed suit against Maine in April of last year and a trial date is set for April 1 of this year. Also, another bot says, the Department of Agriculture tried to freeze $3 million in school lunch programs for Maine over the same issue last May, but Maine sued on procedural grounds and the feds settled before any money was withheld. That sounds vaguely familiar. Oh, and I see that there’s an anti-trans referendum on the November ballot in Maine that would keep transwomen out of team sports.
My bots neglected to mention that the High Court recently heard arguments in two transgender athlete cases, one out of West Virginia and one out of Idaho. Since the Court announces all decisions prior to July 4, we can expect a ruling in a few months when the Court will not dictate a national policy on transwomen in sports, but will decide whether or not states can ban transgender players from joining public school teams without running afoul of the Constitution.
Court watchers assume the conservatives will win the day, but that would not stop Maine from maintaining its trans-friendly policy if the Lobster State wins in court, and if Mainers vote down that referendum.
Monica the Magic Mom
It’s been a long time since I reported some of the tasteless advertising decisions that have drawn the ire of our friends at One Million Moms. I recognized that I was overdoing it with my Million Mom coverage, often delivered at the expense of some serious GLBT community news that lay unreported at the end of the day and forgotten by the time our next deadline rolled around. Also, it’s not as funny to laugh at the rightwing harridans when the world is falling apart around us.
Nonetheless, I think it’s time for a review. The latest target of Moms’ outrage is BUILT, a company that makes protein bars and is airing a commercial where a cartoon character tries a bite of marshmallow flavor and exclaims: “What the Puff!”
“Foul language (or implication of it) is not rewarding in this or any advertisement,” Moms’ fumes. “Everyone knows children repeat what they hear. BUILT Puff should be more responsible in its marketing decisions … . Families have every right to expect advertisers to respect children and support decency rather than push the boundaries of what is acceptable in the living room. Let BUILT Puff know that, as a parent and a consumer, you are disgusted by its recent marketing choices.”
Disgusted? Strong word, Moms. I’m pretty disgusted by marshmallow protein bars in general, if you must know, but, last I checked, any link between “puff” and foul language is tenuous at best.
The Moms also have a problem with Subaru’s Forester ad, which features a couple caught skinny dipping and celebrates “love of adventure” and one’s “wild side.” Shameful!
First, the Moms describe the action to their sensitive audience: “While the couple swims in the water, two raccoons take advantage of the situation by taking their clothes, leaving one sock, a sandal, and their vehicle keys. As the nude couple walk through the woods towards their SUV, a father and young son hiking on their way to fish cannot avoid seeing them. Stunned, the child waves while wearing a puzzled smirk on his face. Tree limbs and leaves partially hide the couple, but the lack of clothes is obvious.”
The shocking scenario “reveals nothing specific yet encourages mental images implying exactly what is intended.” Worse, the Moms continue, “the commercial is aired during the day when children are likely to watch. Subaru should be more responsible in its marketing decisions.”
Why on Earth would children be watching daytime TV? And who exactly are these humorless, mean-spirited, finger-wagging matriarchs? I have long assumed that One Million Moms actually add up to One Mom, Monica Cole, who is the nominal figurehead of this American Family Association operation. Cole signs off on all the amusing alerts and warnings, and there’s no sign of anyone else involved in the program. I just searched around for about ten minutes, and could not find out anything more. I guess several other GLBT groups and writers are also laboring under the impression that Monica is running the show on behalf of an imaginary 999,999 other moms. Still, she’s pretty funny in her own sick way and worth her weight in publicity for her pet peeves.
Role Reversal
I just lost nearly an hour investigating diversity immigration visas and other programs that now require applicants to use their sex at birth, and possibly show birth certificates. In what, to my fading generation, feels like a jarring reversal, Germany has warned their non-binary and transgender citizens visiting the U.S. to be careful. Speaking to The Advocate, one German official said transgender and non-binary individuals who plan a trip here “should contact the responsible U.S. authorities prior to travel to the U.S. to inquire about current entry regulations.” Meanwhile, Germany has just made it even easier for their own transgender citizens, who can now change their designations on birth certificates and IDs through a simple notarized declaration submitted at any consulate or local registry office.
As baby boomers, we learned as children that Americans were good and Germans were bad. (Cue the little cricket noisemaker our troops used to identify themselves as they hid behind the hedgerows, listening as the oblivious Germans laughed and smoked cigarettes in their polished boots and fancy uniforms. “CaClick, CaClick. Throats slit. Achhhhhhh!” Small children applaud TV set.) Anyway, it’s not clear to me how a U.S. gatekeeper would treat a transgender German tourist, who would normally not require any special visa for, let’s say, a two-week vacation, or a trip to watch a World Cup match. Or how about a masculine looking cisgender female tourist who arrives here with her passport but without a birth certificate? Will she be detained or something? None of it is clear to me, I am sorry to say. But I did learn I might be able to reside in Canada because my maternal great grandfather was born in Nova Scotia.
That’s So Gay!
What else is new, you might ask? Nothing fun. One article I read included three or four nasty pieces of legislation, including a bill headed to the Idaho state senate that would allow parents to sue doctors or teachers who fail to tell them about a child who displays even the vaguest sounding trans tendencies, including, for example, wanting to be called a new name. That bill, which easily passed the state house, would also carry fines up to $100,000 for professionals who keep such confidences.
I guess Florida has passed another Don’t Say Gay type bill that prohibits towns and counties from “promoting or adopting” programs that refer to diversity characteristics like race, gender, or sexual orientation. The same bill bans localities from contracting with companies that, well, protect against discrimination, it seems. And, according to The Advocate, the law will allow Ron DeSantis to oust local leaders who support minorities in a manner that might run afoul of this statute. This sounds like yet another piece of legislation that can’t possibly be constitutional, but who knows these days?
The Advocate coverage also featured a really ugly photo of DeSantis on the golf course with unattractive B-cup level man boobs. Talk about gender bending. Surely there’s a law in Florida that would allow us to sue him as a private citizens unless he tapes them down.
Finally, I just listened to a NASCAR driver, Daniel Dye, make fun of IndyCar driver David Malukas by using a lisping “gay voice” on a live stream. What a buffoon. The 22-year-old Dye was suspended from competition and ordered to take some sensitivity training.
“I chose my words poorly and I understand why it upset people,” Dye said in a statement, apologizing to “anyone who was offended” and pledging to be a “better friend” to the GLBT community. “I have some close friends in the LBGT-plus community,” he said surprisingly. “In talking with them, I realized that a true friend would know better than to act the way I did and for that I need to be a better friend.”
To be honest, I don’t know anything about IndyCars or NASCAR. But, if I’m right, they’re the ones who go around and around and around in a circle for hours, which has to be an acquired taste. And, of course, I checked. David Malukas is not gay, but is said to be dating model Kamila Jurkus. He is a Lithuanian American and is very, very handsome. It makes me wonder if Daniel Dye hasn’t had his head turned a bit.
GLBT Fortnight in Review
Published on March 26, 2026
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