So I did go to my friend's wedding in Paris after all, which explains the slight hiatus in this newsletter. Honestly, at this point I'm thinking of rebranding to Mondays with The Girls...but let me get back on the horse.

I'm taking a creative writing class this summer, and this past week we learned about creative nonfiction. A more embellished, dramatic version of nonfiction that plays with structure and form. For one of our assignments, we wrote a piece about a place using our memories from that place. I was inspired by "Writing From the Margins: On the Origins and Development of the Lyric Essay" and "Autobiography of Gaza" to write a lyrical essay about Paris. Enjoy it below-

After a 10-hour flight across the United States and the Atlantic, to a 75-minute car ride to Paris city center, to a twenty door-to-door commute, including Metro, you open the door to your apartment. 

“You’re/I’m Here!” We scream simultaneously. 

When I saw your face, I knew I had made the right decision. For weeks, I wrestled with myself to make a decision on whether I was going to come to your wedding. I told you that I didn’t know if I could afford it and that’s mostly true. The eating and drinking and shopping and drinking alone would hit my bank account hard. But the other half was that I didn’t know if I deserved this trip. A voice told me I should save money and work towards a diligent, stable version of life. Pleasure seemed the opposite of what I needed now, my rebuilding era. Then, you opened the door in your white and periwinkle blue, tanned as always. I knew that this trip would be more than pleasure. 

The first day, we said hi at 7 pm and bye at 5 am. There were old besties and new squirrel friends. Good bread, good cheese, and good wine. Tres chic. We kiki’d and laughed through the streets of Paris. High on friendship and love, and being alive together in that moment. Slow, wine-lathered lunches in the local favorite bistros caddy-corner to The Touristy One. The fries. The rude service that makes us jealous of the labor laws in France. The shopping in stores with no air conditioning. Running from Franprix to Monoprix. Walking because it would take the same time as the train.

You could watch me pull up on your body

Like it's summer, take my clothes off

In the water, splash around and get you blessed by holy water

I don't know what you were waiting for

You know that I've been waiting for you

I only threw this party for you

“Supreme Court delivers major blow to transgender rights, upholding Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors” PBS

“Transgender high school student at center of Trump’s threat to remove California funding advances to state championship finals” CNN“How Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill targets transgender medical procedures nationally” NY Post

As soon as I walked into the swimsuit store, I felt a heightened sense of scrutiny. I knew I was the only trans girl in there. This wasn’t unusual. In most stores, bars, and restaurants during this trip to Paris (outside of a moment in a Thai cafe), I was the only trans person. But in the Calzedonia store, we were all there to shop for the perfect bikini. Would it be the triangle bra with the high-waisted bottoms? Or the strapless bandeau with a thong-style bottom?

Unfortunately, most stores don’t carry trans size. So here I was, spiraling inside the one-room store, walls lined with bikinis, wondering if anyone in the store would clock me. As I feel through the stretch, satiny fabric bras and bottoms, all I can think of is my gender. 

I hate when that takes over my brain because it debilitates me. It’s like a giant ogre in my head that prevents me from being charming and at ease and light, aka my best self. I select a few options for tops and bottoms and look for an attendant. Why do the people who work here look like the shoppers? I find a girl coming up the stairs from the changing rooms and ask if I can try these on in my softest voice. “Bien sur, madame,” she says and walks me down to a curtained dressing room. I walk in and sigh a breath of relief.

xx
Kai

America Goes to War

Late last night, Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that America had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. This was when everyone, including members of Congress, America’s international allies, and the entire American public, found out. Naturally, Trump did not consult the rest of the government branches and instead surrounded himself with pick-me’s who agreed with every pro-Trump decision, even if it didn’t benefit the American people. 

So what does this mean? According to Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor and Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, chatted with his inner circle of experts about this event and came away with the following:

1. The most likely explanation for why Trump is taking us into war is to divert attention away from his stacking domestic failures. His on-and-off tariffs have only rocked the financial markets without a clear path forward, his tiff with Musk, and his inability to secure peace in Ukraine or Gaza leave him with a low approval rating. 
2. Iran might have nuclear weapons but we’re not sure. Trump said that they destroyed the sites but he also says a lot of things without backing.
3. Oil might get more expensive in the US. Iran could block the Straits of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil passes through, and make oil prices soar. This would help Big Oil though…sus.
4. Iran could engage in attacks against the United States but it’s unclear whether it will get there. 
5. The war just began and could go on for months or years.

Supreme Court Rules Against Medical Science and Trans Youth

Last Wednesday, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth. Tennessee’s SB 1 prohibits minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgery to treat gender dysphoria. The state permits the same care for other purposes, so the law singles out transgender youth. 

Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent that, “the Court today renders transgender Americans doubly vulnerable to state-sanctioned discrimination…the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.” Justice Brown and Kagan agreed that this law discriminates based on sex and called for intermediate/heightened scrutiny. In that case, the law must serve an important government interest and be substantially related to achieving it. But the rational basis review lets Tennessee do what it wants without much strong justification of the law. 

This decision doesn’t just impact those living in Tennessee. Currently, 27 other states have bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth. The majority opinion and Barrett’s concurrence indicate the Court is unlikely to treat transgender status as a protected class under Equal Protection moving forward. This invites other states to enact anti-trans laws that look neutral but hide discrimination in its mission. 

But all hope is not lost. After the decision was released, Chase Strangio, who argued the Skrmetti case on  behalf of the families in Tennessee, shared on Democracy Now!

“As much as this is a devastating decision, I think it’s important to make sure people understand that it does not do some of the damage that people fear. So, Bostock is a 2020 Supreme Court decision in which the court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, also prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people. And that decision was a six-three decision from Justice Gorsuch, and in the Skrmetti case, the Court explicitly leaves intact that decision, and the Court says that they are declining to address whether that decision applies outside the context of Title VII. And that’s important because it means that litigation over things like discrimination in school, other forms of discrimination by the government remain open to fight another day.”

Although the regular school year is over, the fight to ban transgender youth from participating in sports remains a steadfast agenda of conservatives across the country. The map below shows which states currently have bans, which are just policy, and the states that have no bans against trans youth. Unsurprisingly, the states banning trans youth participation are the same states banning gender-affirming care for the same youth. 

Editor’s Pick: Must-Watch Movies from Frameline Film Festival 2025

If you haven’t heard, San Francisco’s 49th LGBTQ+ Film Festival is happening right now. Last Friday, I had the chance to attend the premiere of Heightened Scrutiny, a film by Sam Feder that follows Chase Strangio up to the day he stood before the Supreme Court as the first openly trans lawyer. The 1,045-seat Toni Rembe theatre was packed with community members of all identities, race, and class. I’m working on a review for that movie, so stay tuned. 

In the meantime, I had the chance to watch a few screeners of the movies and curated my top four here. 

Nan Goldin is Selling Her Prints to Support The Trans Community

Legendary photographer and anti-opiod activist Nan Goldin, is selling a couple of her prints to raise money for three queer and trans organizations. Proceeds from the two-week sale will be divided among New York City’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP), and the Trans Income Project. 

“Hundreds of anti-trans bills are threatening trans people’s safety, stability, and health. Transphobia has long plagued legislation and culture, and this print sale centers the needs of trans people, raising funds for organizations directly working with, responding to, and supporting them.”

—Nan Goldin

Kim Petras is MAC’s New Viva Glam Girl

The doll pop princess, Kim Petras, who won a Grammy with Sam Smith for their song, “Unholy,” has been appointed MAC Cosmetics' newest Viva Glam cover girl. 

In addition to donating all proceeds from the limited-edition $25 lip gloss, MAC has pledged to donate $1 million to Viva Glam charity partners, which include The Trevor Project, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and It Gets Better.

That's all for this week's edition of Sunday with The Girls. What did you think? Share, comment, and subscribe to spend your Sundays with The Girls.

xx

Kai