r/cisparenttranskid • u/raeoflyte-460 • 22h ago
US-based Where so you get your news?
My trans child has had a really rough year mental health wise and I have tapped out of pretty much anything bigger than whats going on outside of my family. But obviously we are impacted by everything happening. I need to make some decisions and need to get back up to speed but I am really struggling to pick a decent news source.
I want something that is pretty balanced and realistic, and of course covers everything happening that is affecting our trans kids (and adults!) I dont want anything that is too feel good or too doom and gloom. Does that exist?
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u/Major-Pension-2793 Mom / Stepmom 22h ago edited 22h ago
I’m subscribed to:
- Erin Reed’s newsletter (but see note below…)
- National Center for Transgender - Equality https://transequality.org/
- Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
- Movement Advancement Project https://mapresearch.org
- Lelaina Brandt’s Instagram & substack
- Ben Greene
- Jess Craven’s “Chop Wood, Carry Water” (cis parent of a trans child - reports on many intersecting topics)
Ben Greene also has compiled a great list with an emphasis on ones that deliver news in a factual more action oriented way. For example I think the work Erin Reed does is very important, but like Ben it doesn’t always work the best for my nervous system. In his words his list “In general, what these all have in common is that they are NOT overly emotionally charged in a way meant to activate me, and they either bring me peace, challenge me to think differently, or bring me actions to take. For me, this is the balance that keeps me informed, involved, and sane.”
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u/pandemicmanic 19h ago
I subscribe to Erin the morning because I need to have my fingers on the pulse. I subscribe to meidas, amanadsmildtakes, and underthedesknews for hope and energy.
But the real antidote for anxiety is action. Volunteer at your local lgbtq+ youth center or with any groups protecting local vulnerable populations. Once you tap in, you'll see people are pretty organized right now. It's reassuring.
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u/itsokayimokaymaybe Mom / Stepmom 16h ago
Putting the overwhelming anxiety and grief into ACTION really is key. I was drowning in it all and then I started volunteering with one group. Then another. The shift in focus helps to regulate all of the emotions while also giving you access to community who are also fighting back and offering a sense of safety in the storm.
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u/Major-Pension-2793 Mom / Stepmom 11h ago edited 8h ago
This 💯- during the 2016 admin I was drowning in elder care & other life demands (& my trans kiddo needed a lots more hands on parenting) so too much doomscrolling & not enough volunteering made it a tough slog. I’d already started volunteering more as life settled down, but I really ramped it up since 2024.
I know I can’t impact much of anything on a national level, but here where I live there is a LOT I can do to ease the burden on others & show up. It’s also connected me to lots more LGBTQ+ folks and families providing shared safety and support for us all. And honestly a lot of the time it’s FUN - we share our joys, wins and when needed dark humor.
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22h ago
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u/Major-Pension-2793 Mom / Stepmom 21h ago
I forgot her on my list. She’s great at explaining policy issues!
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u/onnake 20h ago edited 20h ago
No one source. “Too feel good or too doom and gloom” is in the eye of the beholder. Better to be realistic about the U.S. “all-of-government approach to target transgender community” (CNN).
A lot of the news affecting us as individuals can be specific to our jurisdictions. Searching on Google News for “transgender” and optionally place name(s) may result in news of interest to you but often it may be superficial/biased. KFF’s LGBTQ Health Policy is pretty good (note KFF has other topics). I contribute to [r/transgender](r/transgender), which has a wide variety of news and commentary. Erin’s work is usually there.
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u/Single_Staff1831 19h ago
Transistics for the best genuine statistics based, not as reactionary info.
People will come for my throat for saying this, but I personally can't stomach Erin in the Morning for very long, her writing is just straight up too depressing sometimes.
I think trans specific journalists should at least try to be very hard lined about sticking to facts, not being alarmist, as most of the target audience already faces a lot of challenges.
I would love to see more straight lined news on "here's what immediately affects you and how to make it work until you can improve your situation" and more push for community building and mutual aid networking.
The genuine truth is the people who couldn't flee and/or are staying put need to stick together more than ever and build better community. I would pause all unnecessary spending, especially on weed and alcohol, stop doomscrolling social media and put discord down, and start reading, start saving, start participating in community if you haven't been already. Don't have community around you? Start building it. You probably have plenty in common with a lot of people that you're surrounded with during the day that you could get in the door with.
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u/Legitimate_Many_6800 6h ago
i would suggest you to use Sift, it shows you few most important news that affects people directly, and it pretty much matches the not too feel good or too doom and gloom too. however i think it wouldnt cover all news that affects trans kids unless it is a major news. this is the app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sift-daily-news-briefing/id6761124682
i think they also have an android version too. hope might help
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u/CoffeeTrek Mom / Stepmom 22h ago
I get all my trans-related news from Erin in the Morning on substack. She reports the good, the bad, and the ugly