Madison Pauly

thanks for sharing your research, Liz!!

aw. Henry!!

Meet the mastermind behind Trump’s definition of "woman" May Mailman’s anti-trans crusade could threaten gender equality for all.

I wanted to know the backstory of the executive order that defined "man" and "woman"—the foundation for the Trump admin's targeting of trans people.

So I took a deep dive into the conservative strategy & distorted feminism behind it. And I talked to the author.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

everyone should go listen to this comprehensive episode on trans athletes and take note! everyone involved did a great job of digging into how trans women ended up banned from athletics -- and a profile by me of the last openly trans woman to swim as a woman in the NCAA

How women’s sports became a battleground over trans rights Riley Gaines turns a fifth-place tie in college swimming into a career in anti-trans activism. Soon, she’s sharing the stage with the president.

I've got updates and a recap of my Riley Gaines reporting in this week's Reveal episode! Also featuring a dive into the science of trans athletes by @holarascon.bsky.social and a powerful profile of one of the last trans women to swim in the NCAA, by Imogen Sayers www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

a basket of green-to-orange sungold tomatoes

Taking a break from my Work Posts Only rule because my January (!) tomato haul is too pretty not to share.

Supreme Court battle over trans athletes is about so much more than sports "It's just one part of a plan to push transgender people like me out of the public life entirely."

Here's what you need to know ahead of tomorrow's SCOTUS arguments on transgender athletes www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

YouTube video by PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT What Is Riley Gaines Hiding? We Investigated | PTFO

Thrilled to share that my Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablo.show) episode on Riley Gaines was nominated for a GLAAD media award in the Outstanding Podcast Episode category! glaad.org/mediaawards/... Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUl...

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep her safe" How families are fighting to survive Trump's war on transgender kids

Earlier this year, @msjpauly.bsky.social and I spent tens of hours speaking to trans kids and their families about their lives under Trump 2.0. Now is not a bad time to re-read it.

Coverage of the latest news coming from colleagues at Mother Jones later today.

I love your username. Thanks for reading!

I'm so sorry for your loss.

thank you Carol!

Hi Christina. Thanks for reading. It was a different Lia who died. www.middlebury.edu/announcement...

Thanks, Jody!

Thank you so much for listening, and for this thread, Duncan!

Thank you so much, Jessica!

How right-wing superstar Riley Gaines built an anti-trans empire The swimmer tied a trans woman for fifth. The MAGA industrial complex took care of the rest.

Thank you to the University of Kentucky teammates and NCAA competitors who trusted me enough to speak to me on one of the most controversial topics there is in politics or on the internet today.

Read the story here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

8/8

Two of Riley Gaines’ teammates say they’re frustrated she’s used her platform to vilify trans women as an existential threat to women’s sports—while barely mentioning the serious problems they say actually affected them.

“She’s very, ‘Protect women’s sports.’ But not when it comes to our team.” 7/

Gaines’ teammates also care about protecting women in sports. But their concerns are different. Their head coach is facing a rape lawsuit. Another was suspended for sexual harassment, per university records. And UK investigated other reports of abusive coaching, eating disorders, punishments. 6/

I waded through the sea of Riley Gaines content—her memoir, podcast, social media, press appearances—to track her rhetoric & goals as both grew more extreme. I followed the money (see article for more on that).

I also talked to some of her old teammates. 5/

And…it worked. Trans women have been banned from women’s competition by the NCAA and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Trans girls are banned from girls’ school sports in 29 states (lawsuits pending). SCOTUS is hearing the issue this term.

And Gaines personally achieved huge influence. 4/

This GOP effort to turn trans athletes into a wedge issue didn’t start with Gaines tying trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAAs. But she and her allies used the story of the matchup as a powerful political weapon—under the banner of “protecting women’s sports.” 3/

YouTube video by PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT Riley Gaines Investigated: The Lia Thomas Race, the Coach & Why She "Doesn't Even Like" Trump | PTFO

This story was produced as a collaboration between @pablo.show and @motherjones.com. Watch the Pablo Torre Finds Out episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUl... 2/

How right-wing superstar Riley Gaines built an anti-trans empire The swimmer tied a trans woman for fifth. The MAGA industrial complex took care of the rest.

I’ve spent a lot of the last three years investigating the rise of anti-trans politics. Often, it came back to the controversy over trans women athletes.

So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/

HHS names authors and releases peer-review comments for gender dysphoria report The new report reveals that many of the authors and reviewers have been outspoken critics of gender-affirming care and belong to anti-LGBTQ+ groups

Kudos to @theresagaff.bsky.social and Annalisa Merelli at @statnews.com for banging out this detailed analysis today: www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/h...

Get Help Get immediate help 24/7/365. The Trevor Project's crisis counselors are just a text, chat, or phone call away. Completely confidential and free LGBTQ hotline.

Crisis support for LGBTQ youth: www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

Cw: suicide
This article is devastating.

Earlier this month, a 15-year-old died by suicide the day after posting about a substitute teacher insisting on misgendering him.

Suicide can have many contributing factors. His family is speaking out about bullying and misgendering as two.

We finally know the identities of the 9 anonymous authors of the May HHS report on pediatric gender-affirming care. Surprise! It's stacked with people who make money advocating against pediatric gender-affirming care.

Here's our writeup from May: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How the right uses "gender ideology" to blame trans people for everything MAGA learned from global autocrats the language needed to push fear.

"The right’s gripe isn’t just that trans people exist, but that their existence is tearing down the old world—of good men, obedient women, traditional family structures—and unleashing a new, godless age of chaos and precarity on you." @schuylermitchell.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Excerpt from Teen Vogue article: "There are some professional transphobes who have deluded themselves into thinking that there is no evidence that trans people do anything more than threaten to take their own lives to manipulate others into getting our way. Those of us on the ground, who have trans friends, who are up all night making sure a trans friend having a mental crisis is able to work their way through it, know the truth."

Powerful from @katelynburns.com on the death of Lia Smith.

I'll never forget watching an anti-trans mvmt leader try to reassure her allies that trans youth "are not suicidal because of us." Now, they either deny trans people's suffering or call it a kind of abuse.

www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...