There’s always something new at D.C.’s Capital Pride Parade. The route might get tweaked. Some contingent goes particularly over the top, or there might be a surprise protest.
This year, however, one new cut in the Capital Pride carat was Miss Maryland USA, Bailey Anne.
Not only is she just a few weeks into the title, but this year marked her very first visit to the Capital Pride celebration.
“I have not felt comfortable in my own skin,” says Anne, who joined the DC News Now contingent. “To have the support of our community, for them to make space for me, that’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Anne is referring not only to the DC News Now team – particularly news anchor Cory James – but to the LGBTQ community as whole, explaining that until recently she’s been a relatively quiet military spouse, living in Maryland.
She might stand out slightly as a first-generation American, having emigrated from Cambodia when she was a child. She’s definitely receiving added attention, however, as the first Transgender woman to have won the Miss Maryland USA title.
Over the course of the pageant’s evolution, a few changes made it possible for Anne, 31, to even enter, much less win. Today, trans women are welcome to enter the pageant, as are married women, and women of any age.
“I still feel like it hasn’t sunk it yet,” Anne told Metro Weekly of her June 1 win. “I’m still on Cloud 9. I’ve dreamed of this for so long.”
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Nevertheless, Anne will have to come down from that cloud and land on a stage in Los Angeles on August 4 for the next stage of her pageantry — competing for the Miss USA crown.
Regardless of the results in L.A., Anne says she’ll be busy supporting the USO, as well as trying to inspire young people.
“I hope to represent Maryland as a community who embrace one another,” she says of her title. “Pride, for me, has to be all year round. There are children out there who may not feel safe to come out. I hope we can spread a message of kindness and compassion. I am a person of faith, and I believe God gave us hearts to feel compassion.”
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Metro will celebrate D.C. Pride by circulating a rainbow-wrapped bus and subway train throughout the transportation network during June.
By John Riley on June 2, 2024@JRileyMW
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will run a Pride-themed, rainbow-colored subway train and bus throughout the system during June.
This marks the second year in a row Metro will wrap the exterior and interior of a single train with a Pride-themed design, and the third year that it will wrap a single bus in Pride-themed colors.
This year's theme is "Be True. Be You. On Metro" and the colorful wraps adorning the vehicles will echo Capital Pride's "Totally Radical" theme for this year's festivities.
The vehicles will circulate throughout the WMATA system through June 30. They can be tracked online by visiting the WMATA website at wmata.com/live and clicking on the "special edition" tab.
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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and some adults.
By John Riley on May 25, 2024@JRileyMW
On Tuesday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors into law.
The law took effect immediately and officially made South Carolina the 25th state to place restrictions on gender-affirming care.
Under South Carolina's law, health professionals can be disciplined for prescribing gender-affirming treatments, such as puberty blockers, hormones, or gender confirmation surgery, to patients under the age of 18 seeking to transition.
The law also requires school administrators to notify parents or guardians if a child identifies by a gender that does not match their assigned sex at birth, or asks to use a name or nickname other than their legal name or pronouns that do not match the sex on their original birth certificate.
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The day-long event features a resource fair, educational workshops, free HIV testing, arts and crafts activities, and an afterparty.
By John Riley on May 16, 2024@JRileyMW
D.C.'s Trans Pride celebration will take place on Saturday, May 18, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., with an afterparty to follow
Held annually, Trans Pride brings together transgender and nonbinary communities for a weekend of celebration, education, and fellowship.
The day-long event features workshops and discussion groups specifically tailored to topics pertaining to the transgender community.
The day's various workshops focus on leadership development, writing and publishing, identity documents, tips for adults on navigating health care systems to access gender-affirming treatments, combating transphobia, activism around funding and government budget priorities, and the importance of centering racial and economic justice within the fight for trans rights.
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