In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson talks about recent clashes over gender affirming care in Texas and the arc of politics around transgender people with Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News, where she is an investigative reporter focused on gender, sexuality and politics.
During their conversation, Henson and McGaughy reference the content linked below:
- McGaughy's latest reporting on the subject in the Dallas Morning News: "Does the state think transgender care is abuse? Ken Paxton’s comments contradict Texas’ legal stance"
- Patrick Svitek's March 9 Texas Tribune reporting on the politics of transgender rights issues in the Texas GOP: "Fighting care for transgender kids shifts from a fringe issue to a litmus test for Texas Republicans"
- Orion Rummler's reporting in The 19th on data in a Data for Progress poll that included items related to Texas actions on investigating parents of trangender children: "Republicans split on whether the government should block crucial gender-affirming care, poll shows" (Note: as of the afternoon of March 10, documentation for the Data for Progress poll results didn't appear to be publicly released. Presumably fuller disclosure will become available.)
- The last time a poll involving the Texas Politics Project asked about issue related to rights of transgender people was the October 2021 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
| Category | Democrat | Independent | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approve strongly | 5% | 14% | 30% |
| Approve somewhat | 6% | 7% | 15% |
| Neither approve nor disapprove | 14% | 32% | 21% |
| Disapprove somewhat | 9% | 10% | 6% |
| Disapprove strongly | 54% | 18% | 11% |
| Don’t know/No opinion | 13% | 19% | 18% |
More results on subjects including perceptions of discrimination against transgender Texans, the 2017 "bathroom bill," and the Texas law aimed at limiting transgender kids' participation in high school sports can be found in the Texas Politics Project poll data archive.
About the Second Reading podcast. The podcast has been produced intermittently by Jim Henson for the Texas Politics Project, with production support from UT's Liberal Arts Development Studio, since 2016. You can find past episodes and subscribe to the Second Reading podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.