This day in Herstory: Agnes Sampson was executed on January 28, 1591. She was a Scottish healer and purported witch. Also known as the "Wise Wife of Keith", Sampson was involved in the North Berwick witch trials in the later part of the sixteenth century. (read more)
Inclusive language risks ‘dehumanising women’, top researchers argue
from The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
By Wendy Tuohy
January 28, 2022
Replacing words like “women” and “mothers” with terms like “birth-givers” and “pregnant people” in research risks dehumanising women and would harm decades of work to improve the visibility of women in medical literature.
That is the conclusion of 10 prominent women’s health researchers from Australia, the US, Europe and Asia who will argue in a paper published next week that replacing words like “breastfeeding” with terms such as “lactating parents” risks “reducing protection of the mother-infant [bond]” and “disembodying and undermining breastfeeding”.
Official changes to terminology to be more inclusive of trans people has become a contentious issue in Australia and overseas. The paper acknowledges that “the penalty for non-conformity with gender roles can be high”.
Governments and institutions are grappling with how to approach gender terminology. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal that a Federal Health Department guide for pregnant and breastfeeding women regarding COVID-19 vaccination and its impact on pregnant women was edited last year to remove the term “women”, introducing errors into the scientific accuracy of the material in the process. … read full article
Polish Activist Tries to Save "Transgender Cow" From Slaughter
From Reduxx (UK)
By Reduxx Staff
January 28, 2022
A vegan activist in Poland is attempting to save a cow she claims is transgender from her fate at a slaughterhouse.
In a Polish-language funding appeal, artist and vegan LGBT activist Krystyna Wojciechowicz calls the cow's experience a "story of transphobia so profound it transcends species."
Wojciechowicz writes that the the cow was born a twin, and, due to a birth defect, has the appearance of a bull rather than a heifer and is unable to reproduce. As a result, the cow's owner was slated to sell her to a beef processing plant, but Wojciechowicz is attempting to raise funds to purchase the cow and rescue it.
The activist says the cow's owner called her transphobic names, and that she was brought to tears when she heard of the creature's ordeal. … read full article
Former Illinois inmate loses latest effort to convince federal prison officials to approve gender confirmation surgery
Cristina Nichole Iglesias says she’s been trying for years to have the surgery, even filing a federal lawsuit.
From Chicago Sun-Times (USA)
By Stefano Esposito
January 28, 2022
A former Illinois inmate appears to have lost her latest attempt to become the first federal prisoner to undergo gender confirmation surgery.
Cristina Nichole Iglesias, born with male genitals, has been trying for years to persuade the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to approve the procedure. Iglesias thought she’d moved a step closer after a federal judge late last year ordered the bureau to have its transgender council meet to evaluate her request by Jan. 24.
The bureau had two days after that date to tell the federal judge if they’d approved the surgery, said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for ACLU Illinois, which is representing Iglesias in a civil suit against the prison system. The deadline has passed without word from the bureau, Yohnka said
“After years of fighting unnecessary hurdles and delays, Cristina has once again been denied the opportunity to get the care she needs and that the Constitution requires. The record regarding the pain and suffering that Cristina has endured is clear,” John Knight, director of the LGBTQ & HIV Project at the ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement.
Iglesias, 47, filed her lawsuit in 2019 while she was housed in the federal prison in downstate Marion.
Iglesias wants the surgery soon, according to her lawsuit, because she is set to be released from prison on Dec. 21. … read full article
Massachusetts High School Biology Class Includes Instruction on Gender Identity
From TownHall (USA)
By Landon Mion
January 28, 2022
A Massachusetts high school biology teacher is teaching students about gender identity, gender expression and intersex individuals in a unit on genetics.
Some students at Needham High School have alleged that the teacher is "trying to show kids that wanting to change your sex is a feeling that is common throughout nature," according to nonprofit group Parents Defending Education.
The presentation shown to students includes a slide claiming that using language that "removes gendered terms to talk about bodies helps to ensure that people with diverse (a)sexualities, (a)genders, bodies, and (a)romantic orientations are included and respected."
Another slide, entitled "Human biological variation," says that the percentage of intersex people (2%) is comparable to that of people born with red hair.
"Only mentioning biological sex as male and female marginalises intersex people, who have been persistently discriminated against," the slide reads. … read full article