The Supreme Court failed trans people, but Heightened Scrutiny reveals how the media targeted them
“These interviewees, shot by Feder in the same diner-style booth at a restaurant (a place for a chat, not a pulpit for a sermon), movingly explain how public opinion had been astro-TERFed against them. A decade ago, Laverne Cox (who also appears in and executive produced the film) dominated the cover of Time, the face of the “transgender tipping point” that would lead to increased visibility of and rights for trans people. For a bit, that inclusive shift seemed true. In 2016, for example, the NBA relocated its All-Star game out of Charlotte because of its discriminatory “bathroom bill.” Trans rights were good PR, worth backing up with a billion-dollar pocketbook. But, between 2021 and 2024, the nation went from having absolutely no states with laws banning gender-affirming care for adolescents, to 23. This turn seems to have originated [politicalresearch.org] from far-right Christian nationalists, but was given a massive platform, and an Anita Bryant-like rallying cry, by outlets with a bit more clout than The Daily Wire—all ‘just asking questions.’”