California Governor Gavin Newsom has now featured three prominent anti-trans voices in the launch of his podcast, and not a single trans person.
It bears repeating, and repeating: include transgender voices in stories and conversations about transgender people. Context is needed too, especially when oppositional voices are prioritized and have large platforms.
GLAAD research shows fewer than 30% of non-LGBTQ people say they personally know a transgender person. GLAAD’s ALERT Desk found 447 incidents targeting transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2024- nearly half of all anti-LGBTQ incidents reported.
Accurate and inclusive coverage humanizes, familiarizes, and keeps people safe from being demonized and weaponized. Media continue to miss the mark when it comes to inclusion:
- A GLAAD study earlier this month found that six mainstream news outlets only included trans voices in 13 out of 35 stories about the Trump executive orders targeting transgender people.
- A Media Matters study found that Fox News dominated cable news coverage of the orders, spending nearly as much time talking about the orders as CNN and MSNBC combined, with 4 hours and 8 minutes of total coverage. MSNBC featured 2 hours and 33 minutes, CNN aired 2 hours and 9 minutes of coverage.
- Media Matters also found that just “14% of all guest segments about the executive orders across the three cable networks featured a trans or gender-nonconforming guest.” Fox News’ sole transgender guest was Caitlyn Jenner.
1/ New @mmfa.bsky.social analysis: Fox News dominated cable coverage of Trump’s anti-trans executive orders, spending nearly as much time on the topic as CNN and MSNBC combined. 🧵
— Ari Drennen (@aridrennen.bsky.social) March 11, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Gov. Newsom’s podcast continues this dire trend, with conversations ABOUT trans people instead of talking WITH them. In the debut episode, Newsom agreed with his far-right provocateur guest claiming transgender women in sports is an issue of “fairness.” Newsom did not define “fairness.”
In a second episode, Newsom invited another cisgender white male right wing guest to claim that “transgender issues” alienated women voters, then appeared to pile on his support.
“Interesting,” Newsom said. “The trans issue, you thought, was outsize. … You felt our party was complicit in terms of creating those conditions.“
Simple fact check: the Trump campaign spent more than $200 million on anti-trans attack ads, and Trump inserted an anti-trans attack line into the one and only presidential debate. The 100-day Democratic presidential campaign barely talked about “transgender issues,” had zero transgender people on stage at the national convention, and no loud response to the torrent of ads that criticized the legal and constitutional requirement to provide health care to detainees, including trans inmates. VP nominee Tim Walz has an outstanding record of supporting LGBTQ people, signing laws as Governor of Minnesota protecting access to health care, and offering refuge to trans people and providers fleeing other states. Walz will reportedly be a guest on an upcoming Newsom podcast.
“Any time an elected leader publicly discusses LGBTQ people, it is an opportunity to dispel myths and educate those unfamiliar with our community and the daily discrimination we face,” GLAAD responded. “Many Americans believe they have never personally met a transgender person, and it’s important to bridge the gap in understanding.”
Newsom’s debut episode comments inspired Politico to draft an entire column about how he is forcing a “reckoning” within the Democratic party about transgender people. Politico failed to quote a transgender person.
Politico, and Newsom, also neglected necessary context. Players at all levels – high school, collegiate, and professional – already follow rigorous protocols to maintain eligibility. Even younger players follow rules: a third grade volleyball league requires overhand serves to be served from the back service line, no matter the gender identity of the server. Rules, protocols, and thoughtful guidelines protect all players’ safety. The International Olympic Committee has stated that there should be ‘no presumption of advantage’ for transgender athletes.
There are many transgender people to talk with about all of this. Out state leaders like Rep. Zooey Zephyr of Montana, who wrote about her playing days and the important lessons athletes learn for life; leaders like Rep. Leigh Finke of Minnesota who just last week helped defeat a sports ban in her state, which has more students overall playing as it welcomes trans students to play. There are trans people in sports, trans people in politics – including elected officials who ran and won in states Trump also won. Trans people in law, in education, in tech, in media.
glaad.org/fact-sheet-f…
— Sabrina Naves (@sabrinabnaves.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 8:04 PM
More context: leaders who spoke up for trans people and acted to protect them were re-elected including the governor of Kentucky in 2023. The Trump campaign ads do not reflect a voter mandate for attacking trans people. Gallup had voters rank their most important issues – the economy was number one. “Transgender rights” came in at number 22 out of 22 issues.
Polls don’t ask or answer everything. When fewer than 30% of non-LGBTQ people personally know a trans person, it is highly likely that poll responses do not reflect a deep understanding of transgender people and youth, about protocols already in place to prescribe safe and effective health care, and to participate safely and fairly in sports,
Voters and readers should know the bigger picture – over the last 10 years, attempted bans on bathrooms and sports have expanded to include health care bans, book bans and free speech restrictions in classrooms. When bans happen, more bans in other areas are attempted. Sports are the tip of the spear.
Two months ago, the House passed a dangerous and discriminatory federal sports bill, with just two Democrats’ support. Last week, every Democratic Senator voted against the Senate version. Gov. Newsom’s podcast, which debuted three days after the Senate vote, looks even more out of step with where the party is.
“WTF is this?” House Democrats are privately asking one another after listening to Gavin Newsom’s chummy podcast embracing far-right radicals via @status.news www.status.news/p/gavin-news…
— Jon Passantino (@passantino.bsky.social) March 13, 2025 at 5:56 AM
For anyone who believes they are an ally of trans people, listen to trans people, and incorporate some basic messages of fact and empathy:
- States that include trans youth in sports have more youth playing sports.
- Sports are for everyone. Every body type can play, even when your height might be an advantage in basketball or a disadvantage in gymnastics. Let kids play and let the pros manage their own rules and eligibility as they already do.
- Bans on trans women playing sports have led to false accusations, harassment, and endanger every woman or girl with invasive anatomy screening. This goes for restroom bans too. It’s dangerous to police any woman’s body. Leave people alone.
- Be wary of anyone who says they’re “pro-women” by targeting and excluding transgender women. Where are they on reproductive rights, pay equity, paid family leave, actions to protect against abusive coaches and fans?
- Where are your season tickets to the Mystics or Sparks? Are you filling out a women’s March Madness bracket? There are many awesome women playing sports at all levels. Go support them, spend money, buy the jerseys.
When more people are invited to the conversation, especially voices who are directly impacted, more understanding might happen. Attacking trans people is not a way to win elections, be pro-women, pro-women’s sports, or focused on real issues affecting all women, girls and all Americans.