gender identity

A view of St. Peter's Square during a Pentecost Mass celebrated by Pope Francis Sunday. A day later, the Vatican issued a document denying gender identity is a choice.

Religion

Vatican Issues Document During Pride Month Denying Concept Of Gender Identity

9:55pm June 10, 2019

by Amy Held

The document entitled "Male and Female He Created Them," laments what it calls an "educational crisis" around sexuality and reaffirming the church's traditional stance on gender identity.

Greg McDonald Jr. (left) sits with his fiancé Jon Jost. McDonald's parents considered sending him to counseling when they were concerned he was gay. Now they support a ban on conversion therapy.

National

Activists And Suicide Prevention Groups Seek Bans On Conversion Therapy For Minors

1:35pm April 26, 2019

by Leila Fadel

Conversion therapy aims to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. The practice is discredited by mental health professionals and is linked to higher rates of suicide.

Queue Listen Now

Then-candidate Donald Trump holds an LGBT rainbow flag during an October 2016 presidential campaign rally at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.

Trump Officials 'Did Not Want' Census Survey To Ask About Sexual Orientation

12:00pm September 20, 2018

by Hansi Lo Wang

Four federal agencies under President Obama requested new sexual orientation and gender identity questions for the American Community Survey. Under President Trump, the proposal stalled.

Marchers carry an LGBTQ pride flag during the Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City in June. The Senate bill would require the Census Bureau to protect all sexual orientation and gender identity information it collects.

Senate Bill To Require Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Data By 2030 Census

5:36pm July 31, 2018

by Hansi Lo Wang

A group of Democrats says the data could help more LGBTQ people get access to social services and strengthen civil rights protections. Some privacy experts worry the data could be used against people.

Wren Vetens was promised a significant discount on the cost of her gender-confirmation surgery if she paid in cash upfront, without using her health insurance. Yet afterward, Vetens received an explanation of benefits saying the hospital had billed her in

Health & Safety

Bill Of The Month: A Plan For Affordable Gender-Confirmation Surgery Goes Awry

8:51pm July 26, 2018

by Emmarie Huetteman

A young grad student worked out a way to pay for life-changing gender-confirmation surgery. But she still had to fight to resolve a billing discrepancy that ran into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Queue Listen Now

Children climb the barrier to watch the Boston Marathon runners in the iconic "scream tunnel" near Wellesley College on April 17, 2017, in Wellesley, Ma.

Transgender Runners Can Race Boston Marathon Under Identified Gender

6:09pm April 08, 2018

by Alexis Diao

Organizers behind the Boston Marathon have expressed support for transgender people to race under the gender they identify, but transgender runners still face hurdles when it comes to registering.

Calvin College in Michigan is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, which holds that "homosexual practice ... is incompatible with obedience to the will of God as revealed in Scripture."

Christian Colleges Are Tangled In Their Own LGBT Policies

1:16pm March 27, 2018

by Tom Gjelten

Conservative Christian colleges worry their official positions on LGBT issues could run afoul of sex discrimination law and harm relations with their own students.

Queue Listen Now

Marchers unfurl a rainbow flag at the Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, D.C., in June.

National

Census Bureau Found No Need For LGBT Data Despite 4 Agencies Requesting It

2:34pm July 18, 2017

by Hansi Lo Wang

At least four federal agencies asked the Census Bureau to add questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to the American Community Survey, NPR has learned.

A sample census form is displayed in New York City's Times Square in 2010.

National

Collecting LGBT Census Data Is 'Essential' To Federal Agency, Document Shows

9:09am June 20, 2017

by Hansi Lo Wang

The census director said "there was no federal data need" to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data. But documents show the Housing Department and other agencies requested it.

Max, 13 years old, identifies as agender — neither male nor female.

A New Generation Overthrows Gender

8:58am May 02, 2017

by Jon Brooks

Parents, schools and elected officials are working to catch up and adapt to the needs of children and teens who don't fit into familiar gender categories.