On this West Virginia Week, the state legislature had Child Care Advocacy Day, centering on an issue leaders flagged as a top priority at the start of the session. But with the session more than halfway through, action still remains to be seen.
On this West Virginia Week, the state legislature had Child Care Advocacy Day, centering on an issue leaders flagged as a top priority at the start of the session. But with the session more than halfway through, action still remains to be seen.
We also hear about law and order issues facing the state, a bill that narrows definitions of gender, as well as updates on Corridor H and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the Northern Panhandle.
Chris Schulz is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.
West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.
A legal case by three transgender West Virginians against the state’s top health officials can move forward, following a decision this week in federal court.
The plaintiffs, represented by the nation’s largest legal firm advocating for LGBTQ rights, filed their class action lawsuit in November.
The complaint is against the state Department of Health and Human Resources, which runs the West Virginia Medicaid program, and the state Public Employees Insurance Agency.
These agencies asked a federal judge to dismiss the case in January. Now that the judge has denied that request, the case can move forward.
The plaintiffs say the state Medicaid program and PEIA are discriminating against low-income transgender members by denying coverage for gender-confirming care.
Gender-confirming care refers to treatments like hormonal replacement therapy or surgery that better align a person’s body to their gender identity.
During the coronavirus pandemic, both fathers and mothers stepped up to help more with childcare. However, overall, mothers still continue to do 15 hours more housework and childcare. That’s according to a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group, which asked parents in the United States and Europe how the pandemic has affected how they balance work and family responsibilities.
Sixty percent of parents said they had no outside help in caring for or educating their children during the pandemic. On average, parents are putting in nearly 30 hours of additional labor per week.
Fathers’ roles at home in the U.S. have changed, but only slightly, in the past 40 years. Only 2 percent of fathers in the 1970s stayed home full time with the kids. By 2013, the percentage of full-time fathers had only grown to 4 percent, according to a study by the nonpartisan think tank the Pew Research Center.
On average, women with children under the age of 6 in the U.S. typically put in twice as much time caring for children than men, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Throughout history, men have been seen as the dominant gender. Why is this? Some assume the model goes all the way back to the primitive cave man. Others believe the gender pecking order was commanded by God.
In this episode, Trey speaks with John Biewen and Celeste Headlee about their “Men” series for the “Scene On Radio” podcast. In this episode we dive deep into how, when and why men invented the patriarchy, and how it hurts everyone.
Do people who identify as LGBTQ struggle for acceptance in Appalachia? In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we explore how ideas about gender are changing across the country and in the region.
Still, some people, like 20-year-old Soleil-Dawe, who lives in Shepherdstown and identifies as gender queer, have found that coming out to their family isn’t easy.
“Do you care about your perceptions of girl and boy more, or do you care about your kid more?” Kyra told West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Liz McCormick. “And I think that those are the lessons my family’s learning right now, that I’m learning right now as well. But I love them dearly; they love me back. We’re working out the kinks in between.”
How Does Appalachian Culture Affect Gender Identity?
“In Appalachia culture, which is a valid culture, they have very strong views on what is masculine and what is feminine,” said Dr. Darlene Daneker, an Associate Professor in the Counseling Department at Marshall University. She’s had several peer-reviewed publications on gender identity, and for the past three years, she’s worked to counsel transgender people, both adults and teens.
At the same time, Daneker says transgender people are finding acceptance here in the Mountain State. “It’s not like these people aren’t loved by anybody. Their moms and dads and their family love them, and so they’re not outcasts. That’s one really big benefit for Appalachians in West Virginia.”
Daneker recently spoke with Inside Appalachia’s Jessica Lilly to discuss how changing attitudes towards gender are affecting teens and adults in West Virginia.
Q Daily
This NPR story from WNYC’s Yasmeen Khann follows the story of a child who was biologically born female, but started identifying as a male at 3 years old. He is right on the cusp of puberty, and is now starting to face the reality that they have to make a decision before puberty really sets in. Q is a vibrant, happy child with many hobbies and interests. But he has some tough choices to make on the road ahead of him.
Bill Richards
As a small child, Bill Richards remembers always feeling sort of feminine. He grew up in Rainelle, West Virginia, and spent lots of time with his family. Although once he got to high school, he thought that he was just a normal, sexual guy. Later he found a book called City of Night, which he claims changed his life forever. He started realizing that he really had an interest in gay life, but his family didn’t accept it. When Bill returned to West Virginia after being in Chicago for some time, he relinquished his gay identity and married a woman. He quickly found that he couldn’t live a lie, but the law caught up to him even faster, as he told Trey Kay for the Us and Them Podcast.
The Struggle to Stay
It’s nothing unusual to think about leaving your hometown after you graduate high school, but sometimes it’s not an option to leave, and sometimes, as we’ve heard, leaving can be difficult and expensive, too. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
The past few months, we’ve introduced you to three Appalachians onThe Struggle to Stay series. Recently, we’ve heard from 20-year-old Kyra Soleil-Dawe in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, who, at the age of 17, started a small theater group calledWhiskey Shine and Pantomime Productions, or WSP. Kyra hopes WSP will become credible theater group – one that’s recognized and taken seriously. Achieving this dream is part of Kyra’s struggle to stay.
Kyra identifies as gender fluid and prefers they, them, and their pronouns. In this episode, we’ll talk more about changing attitudes toward gender.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Opening night of Hamlet. Lydia Johnson and Kyra Soleil-Dawe sit together at a table selling tickets. October 20, 2016.
We had help producing Inside Appalachia this week from WNYC, NPR’s Weekend Edition and the Us and Them podcast. Music in today’s show was provided by Marisa Anderson, David Mumford, Michael Howard and Kaela Drew.
Inside Appalachia is produced by Jessica Lilly and Roxy Todd. Jesse Wright is our executive producer. Scott Finn edited our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Claire Hemme helped with our digital correspondence. We’d love to hear from you. Send us tweet @InAppalachia.
