By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 12 years ago

The New York Post’s latest headline fail: This one’s transphobic!

I am so over the New York Post. Here’s the latest headline from the newspaper that always sucks:

Headline reads Let taxpayers foot sex-op bill: panel

Of course the article itself is a gem, too: the first sentence is “From same-sex marriage to sex-change surgery!” First they let the gay people marry, then they let the trans people have health care! It’s the downfall of society! Or ya know, the provision of basic rights. Whatever.

While we know abortion is explicitly excluded from coverage under federal Medicaid funds, transgender health care, especially surgery, is implicitly excluded. New York state covering sexual reassignment surgery would be an incredible boon in the lives of many trans folks. It would also be the right thing to do, offering Medicaid coverage for another medically necessary procedure (and, as a court recently pounted out, certainly not the most expensive medically necessary operation out there, either, not that it should matter). Not some over-priced, unnecessary cosmetic surgery that taxpayers will suddenly go broke paying for, as the NY Post would prefer you to think.

I don’t know that there’s even a point in contacting the Post – the best action would probably be to not buy their paper. But here’s the office number anyway: (212) 930-8000.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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