https://www.advocate.com/rss.xml en https://assets.rbl.ms/32874384/origin.png https://www.advocate.com https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/texas-transgender-mailers-illinois-company The search for whoever sent deceptive transgender advocacy mailers across Texas has reached an llinois printing company. The discovery offers a new lead in a campaign that has triggered threats against LGBTQ+ advocates and a criminal investigation.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:19:33 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/texas-transgender-mailers-illinois-company https://www.advocate.com/politics/erika-hilton-lula This story originally appeared on Them.

Erika Hilton, one of the first trans people in Brazil elected to the country’s National Congress, is celebrating the reelection of President Luiz Inácio da Silva, known mononymously as Lula, in the face of a challenge from far-right candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro. Hilton had played a prominent role in Lula’s campaign against the younger Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula previously defeated in 2022.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 18:16:48 EDT Quispe López https://www.advocate.com/politics/erika-hilton-lula https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/nicki-minaj-trump-press-secretary Could rapper Nicki Minaj be the next “Super Freaky Girl” to serve as White House press secretary?]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:48:52 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/nicki-minaj-trump-press-secretary https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/scott-pressler-house-voting-pennsylvania Scott Presler, a cofounder of Gays for Trump who has repeatedly promoted election fraud allegations, is facing questions about whether political associates who used his Pennsylvania address to vote met the state’s residency requirements.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:34:43 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/scott-pressler-house-voting-pennsylvania https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-26-26 Hello and Happy Monday, folks!

Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez here, back in your inbox on what also happens to be Intersex Awareness Day.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:06:41 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-26-26 https://www.advocate.com/news/last-ditch-bar-closing-lesbian This story originally appeared on Them.

Last Ditch, the small-town Massachusetts lesbian bar that became the center of a national firestorm after a Boston Globe article about the loosening of its masking policy went viral last month, announced on Monday that it will “soft close” as it seeks new ownership.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:53:33 EDT Samantha Allen https://www.advocate.com/news/last-ditch-bar-closing-lesbian https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/chris-gallant-new-york-congress When the photographs resurfaced, Chris Gallant paced. The Army Black Hawk pilot, volunteer firefighter, and former air traffic controller from New York had built his congressional campaign around a lifetime of being useful. Now, images from his past threatened to become the only thing strangers knew about him.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 14:53:47 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/chris-gallant-new-york-congress https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-compliments-men-campaign-rallies This article is a collaboration with Them.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 13:22:03 EDT Samantha Allen https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trump-compliments-men-campaign-rallies https://www.advocate.com/news/people/intersex-awareness-nonconsentual-surgery When Betsy Driver’s mother took her to medical appointments as a child, she asked whether other children were like her daughter. According to Driver, doctors told her no.]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:20:00 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/news/people/intersex-awareness-nonconsentual-surgery https://www.advocate.com/opinion/two-sexes-myth-intersex-awareness-day The upcoming U.S. midterm elections feature a heavy level of focus on Americans’ sex and gender. Millions of dollars have been spent on political campaign ads picking apart candidate positions on policies that impact transgender people. From sports, to health care, to identification documents and beyond, this election season is full of heated debates about policies that aim to define or restrict Americans’ abilities to live their lives based on their gender or their sex. When discussing these topics, it’s important to define terminology:]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:15:32 EDT Zach Eisenstein https://www.advocate.com/opinion/two-sexes-myth-intersex-awareness-day https://www.advocate.com/opinion/anti-trans-laws-harm-intersex-people I was born with a body that adults wanted to fix. In preschool, I knew something was happening “down there” that was different from other kids. My parents took me to medical specialists, and I endured years of testing and invasive genital exams to figure out what was wrong with me and to fix it. My parents did everything in their power to make sure I would be normal. ]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:00:04 EDT Thea Hillman https://www.advocate.com/opinion/anti-trans-laws-harm-intersex-people https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/military-boards-retain-transgender-troops The Pentagon wants transgender troops out. Some military officers reviewing their cases have concluded they should stay.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:49:41 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/military-boards-retain-transgender-troops https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-23-26 Hello and Happy Friday, folks!]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:36:25 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-23-26 https://www.advocate.com/news/berlin-police-raid-lgbtq-center Police in Germany raided a transgender and queer community health center in Berlin during a weekly gathering for transfeminine people on Sunday, searching attendees’ belongings and holding them inside for hours, according to the organization.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:19:32 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/news/berlin-police-raid-lgbtq-center https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/washington-transgender-sports-invasive-exams Doctors and nurses in Washington warn that an anti-transgender sports initiative would subject girls to invasive sex-verification requirements to participate in school athletics.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:08:46 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/washington-transgender-sports-invasive-exams https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/texas-da-investigates-tent-mailers A Republican district attorney has launched a criminal investigation into the mailers sent to thousands of Texas voters posing as guides from a transgender rights organization, all while a company is taking initial steps to end its role as a registered agent for a Wyoming LLC believed to be behind them.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:44:05 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/texas-da-investigates-tent-mailers https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/john-braun-transgender-ban-washington A Washington state lawmaker running for Congress is campaigning for a ballot measure that would ban transgender girls from girls’ school sports.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:39:55 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/john-braun-transgender-ban-washington https://www.advocate.com/news/culture/trans-choruses-safe-havens-singers As state legislators and the federal government continue to target the rights of transgender people across the country — including access to health care, obtaining IDs that align with their gender identity, and the ability to serve in the military — trans choruses are providing much-needed refuge for this marginalized community.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:14:09 EDT Desiree Guerrero https://www.advocate.com/news/culture/trans-choruses-safe-havens-singers https://www.advocate.com/news/crime/illinois-dejanay-stanton-tremon-hill More than eight years after a transgender woman in Illinois was shot and killed, her alleged attacker is standing trial.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:10:10 EDT Jack Walker https://www.advocate.com/news/crime/illinois-dejanay-stanton-tremon-hill https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/byron-donalds-misgenders-transgender-constituent Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds faced criticism after repeatedly calling a transgender woman “sir,” including after she corrected him.]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:06:26 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/byron-donalds-misgenders-transgender-constituent