Heightened Scrutiny

Written By Dakota X

Directed by Sam Feder (2025)
Producers: Amy Scholder, Paola Mendoza
Executive Producers: Laverne Cox, S. Mona Sinha, Bill & Ruth Ann Harnisch, Lisa Freeman, Sara Hinkle

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY follows Chase Strangio, ACLU attorney and the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court, as he fights a high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti).

The film exposes the dangerous role of mainstream media in fueling anti-trans legislation, uncovering how biased coverage drives hate, endangers lives, and threatens democracy itself. With insights from journalists like Jelani Cobb, Lydia Polgreen, and Gina Chua, and activists like Laverne Cox, the story dismantles anti-trans disinformation and highlights its devastating real-world impact.

As SCOTUS prepares to rule on the case, HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY reveals the fight for bodily autonomy as a fight for the soul of democracy, offering a powerful call to action against bigotry and injustice.

Dakota X

DAKOTA X (b. Boston, 1961) is a Contemporary American Painter. X's artistic work examines the complexities of individual experience particularly in its relation to home, gender identity, isolation and memory. X is a recipient of the Orlowsky Freed Foundation Grant and a finalist in the shortlist for the 2018 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London.

https://dakota-x.org/
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Trans in America: Texas Strong