The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.

“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.

The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”

“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”

The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”

The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”

“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

(Video courtesy of the IOC)

Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.

Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.

An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.

The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.

This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.

This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward. 

Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis

Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers

ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES

1. Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
   — U.S. House of Representatives
2. Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
   — Executive Director, United We Dream
3. Paola Ramos (she/her)
   — Journalist & Correspondent
   
4. Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
   — Journalist & Correspondent
   
5. Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
   — Founder / Producer, Play Play DC
   
6. Savannah Wade (she/her)
   — Founder,  OAR Agency
   
7. Suhad Babaa (she/her)
   — Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision
   
8. Ashlee Davis (she/her)
   — Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry
   
9. Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
   — Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine
   
10. Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
    — Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice
    
11. Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
    — Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) 
12. Gaby Vincent (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
13. Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
    — Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra
14. Denice Frohman (she/her)
    — Independent Artist, Poet / Performer
15. Vida Rangel (she/her)
    — Founder, Our Trans Capital
16. Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
    — Executive Director, Our Space
17. Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
18. Diana Rodriques (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
19. Wendi Cooper (she/her)
    — Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women
20. Toya Matthews (she/her)
    — City of San Antonio, Texas
21. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
22. Charity Blackwell (she/her)
    — Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader
23. Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
    — Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation
24. Em Chadwick (she/her)
    — CMO, For Them & Autostraddle
25. Kylo Freeman (they/he)
    — CEO, For Them & Autostraddle

LEGEND AWARDEES

1. Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
     — Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
   
2. Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
   — Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP
   
3. leigh h. mosley (she/her)
     — Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography
   
4. Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
     — Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University
   
5. Jordyn White (she/her)
     —  COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation
   
6. AJ Hikes (they/them)
     — Deputy Executive Director, ACLU
   
7. RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
   — Digital Creator, RL Lockhart
   
8. Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
   — Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign
   
9. Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
     — Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group
   
10. Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
    — Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame
    
11. Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
    — Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction)
    
12. Letitia Gomez (she/her)
    — The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino 
13. Lynne Brown (she/her)
      — Publisher, Washington Blade 
14. Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
    — Political Strategist and Organizer
    
15. Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
      — Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures
    
16. Meghann Burke (she/her)
      — Executive Director, NWSL Players Association
    
17. Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
      — Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition
    
18. Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
      — CEO, Center on Halsted
    
19. Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
      —  CEO, Moxie Strategies
    
20. Alice Wu (she/her)
      — Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter
    
21. Storme Webber (she/her)
      — Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington
    
22. Kim Stone
    — CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit
    
23. Mickalene Thomas
      — American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio
24. Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
    — Executive Director, interACT
25. J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
      — Co-Executive Director, GSA Network

Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.

The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.

“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.

“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”