Queerguru reviews the World Premiere of HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY : how Chase Strangio is leading the fight against trans bans

Since the hate-spewing Trump was returned to the White House to begin his vicious campaign of revenge and retribution, the silence from the Democrats and the opposition has been deafening. It’s as if they all gave up collectively and rolled over to play dead.  Thus, watching Sam Feder‘s excellent doc HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY at its WORLD PREMIERE at Sundance was perfect timing. It’s the story of the battle to preserve trans rights in this extremely paranoid political climate that seems hell-bent on destroying that community.

Even though the odds are stacked against them the fight to preserve trans rights is very much alive and in the good hands of Chase Strangio.  He’s a trans lawyer and activist, and the deputy director for transgender justice and staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.  His passion for his work is exhilarating and infectious, and it is impossible not to feel so completely involved as Feder follows him preparing to be the first ever trans person to argue a case in the US Supreme Court. 

The case is United States v. Skrmetti,  brought to challenge a Tennessee law prohibiting certain forms of gender-affirming care (including puberty blockers and hormone therapy) for transgender minors. It is a very personal issue for the 42-year-old Strangio and he published an op-ed in the New York Times describing how having access to the forms of gender-affirming medical care prohibited by the Tennessee law saved his own life.  To stress the sheer importance of the case Feder told us that back in 2021 no States had any bans like this, now 23 of them do!

It is also a personal issue for Feder himself a trans man and when he introduced the film in Park City on Sunday, referring to his previous Sundance premiere, the 2020 documentary Disclosure, on the history of trans representation on screen. “When we were here five years ago with Disclosure, we never could’ve imagined where we’d be today. And in particular, how the mainstream press has impacted the anti-trans legislation that we’re seeing passed across the country.” 

Heightened Scrutiny was literally finished a few weeks ago so we get to see Strangio’s reactions to the Presidental Election acknowledging that there was no doubt that the transgender community was going to be a target for Trump’s…… (and since we now know he means to decimate it completely).  This unfettered hatred and vindictiveness will sadly prove to be life-threatening and place an uncertain future for so many innocent people.

Aside from this, there is also a barrage of indifference that Feder highlighted when a School Board investigating a potential ban was so distracted with their cell phones, that a 15-year-old trans girl jumped up and berated them.   She at least had a right to be angry.  Then, and this part surprised us, was the questioning of transgender identity by liberal media that has also caused great harm in recent years.  Namely, articles by The New York Times who have become a self-appointed expert authority. Their opinion pieces are cited almost immediately after publication as legal evidence that there are potentially problematic effects of transitioning that merit draconian laws to be instated and upheld. 

Strangio is the one bright spark in this profoundly depressing story: if ever there was a time for a knight in shining armor it’s now, and he is it.  He stands head and shoulders above the fray and sets an example of decency and dignity that assures us if anyone can make a real difference in this fight, it is him. Plus he is the only person since the Election that has given us hope.

The Supreme Court will issue their decision on the case in June.  Either way, the story will not be over