Monday, May 30, 2022
This day in Herstory: On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was executed by burning at the age of about nineteen years old. In the morning, she was allowed to receive the sacraments despite having been excommunicated. Afterwards, she was directly taken to Rouen's Vieux-Marché (Old Marketplace), where she was publicly read her sentence of condemnation. At this point, she should have been turned over to the appropriate authority, the bailiff of Rouen, for secular sentencing but she was not. Instead, she was delivered directly to the English and tied to a tall, plastered pillar for execution by burning. (more)
BBC ‘altered gender in trans rape claim’
From The Times (UK)
By Jake Kanter
May 31, 2022
The BBC changed the testimony of a rape victim after a debate over the pronouns of her transgender attacker, The Times has learnt.
The woman referred to her alleged rapist as “him,” but insiders said that her words were changed to avoid “misgendering” the abuser in an article on the corporation’s website.
It comes amid growing concern among BBC staff that an internal diversity team is influencing what journalists can report, preventing them from covering gender identity issues accurately and impartially. … read full article
Watch: Trans activists hound Nadhim Zahawi off university campus
Video shows Education Secretary being ushered away by security guards at Warwick University after he was pursued by student protesters
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Ewan Somerville
May 2022
Trans activists have hounded Nadhim Zahawi off a Russell Group campus, accusing him of “inciting hatred” by defining women as “adult human females”, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Education Secretary was met by dozens of student protesters chanting “Zahawi is a transphobe” and “Tory scum” while visiting the University of Warwick on Friday.
… read full article
Defining women is not an 'anti-trans' hate crime
They interpret our refusal to pretend that humans can change sex as evidence that we wish they didn't exist.
From The Post Millennial (USA)
By Mia Ashton
May 30, 2022
An event as mundane as someone putting stickers on lampposts may seem unlikely to be newsworthy. But this is Canada in 2022, so nothing should surprise us. The stickers at the heart of this latest controversy appeared in downtown Ottawa earlier this month, and on them were messages such as "woman. noun. adult human female" and "Keep Prisons Single Sex." These were messages about women's rights. Nothing more, nothing less.
This stickering prompted an outcry from the local transgender community. There were accusations of transphobia, allegations that this was a hate crime, and even, from an Ottawa city councilor, a call for witnesses to contact the police—over stickers with women's rights messages. … read full article
Pronoun Police Attempt Another Arrest
From Daily Caller (USA)
By Jennifer George
May 30, 2022
Recently, a Wisconsin middle school opened a Title IX investigation into three 8th-grade students. If only that were a sad joke.
The boys, who as 8th graders would be approximately 13 years old, are accused of unlawful sexual harassment because they allegedly failed to use preferred pronouns in reference to a classmate who asked to be identified as “they” or “them.”
Public schools — elementary through higher education — now push gender ideology conformity, suppress free speech, and ignore biology and science, not to mention grammatically correct language, all to celebrate dysphoric feelings. … read full article
Landmark trans cases show who the men really are
New legal battles reveal how sex is more salient than self-declared gender
From The Post by UnHerd (UK)
By Mary Harrington
May 30, 2022
A natal female who had sex with three women using a specially-made prosthetic has been convicted of assault. Tarjit Singh, born Hannah Walters, met women via online dating, and kept clothes on during intimacy in the dark to avoid being revealed as a natal female. It was only several months into one relationship, on discovery of the prosthetic, that Singh’s natal sex was revealed.
This story reads very differently depending on where you’re standing. Is it a case of sexual assault, with a victim tricked into intimate contact she wouldn’t have accepted if she’d known the sex of the individual she was dating? Or is it evidence of our transphobic society, where stigma forced “Tarjit Singh” first to conceal “his” true self only subsequently to be punished for this with the full force of the law? … read full article
A vision of victimhood
Feminists have to do better in the fight against trans ideology
From The Critic (UK)
By Kittie Helmick
May 30, 2022
Though I’m grateful for feminists leading the resistance against the encroachment of trans ideology in schools and the public square, I confess their vision of womanhood disappoints me almost as much.
Trans activists claim that a woman is chosen, not born. The so-called TERFs (a poorly chosen epithet, in an unusual misstep from the progressive propaganda machine — no wonder that its intended targets have happily adopted it when it sounds like nothing so much as “tough”) fire back the necessary retort: a woman is an adult human female. … read full article
Trans rights are 'harming' women in justice system after self-declaration was adopted despite not aligning with law, think-tank says
Self-declaration of gender identity has been adopted by key institutions
This is despite not aligning with the law, creating problems, the paper states
Joanna Cherry QC, who wrote foreword, lamented 'toxic' debate on trans issues
From The Daily Mail (UK)
By CRIME CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
May 30, 2022
The criminal justice system is failing women by favouring transgender rights, a think-tank has suggested.
Self-declaration of gender identity has been adopted by key institutions despite not aligning with the law, creating problems for both female suspects and victims, the Policy Exchange paper states.
The publication cites a paper from Oxford University sociology professor Michael Biggs, who said: 'If campaigners for gender identity achieve their goal, the number of males in women's prisons will multiply. … read full article
Transgenderism and policy capture in the criminal justice system
Why criminal justice policy needs to prioritise sex over ‘gender identity’
From Policy Exchange (UK)
By Maureen O’Hara
May 30, 2022
This report addresses the impact of policies and practices within the criminal justice system in England and Wales which classify and treat suspects, defendants in criminal trials, and convicted offenders on the basis of their ‘gender identity’ rather than their biological sex.
In recent years, self-declaration of ‘gender identity’ has been adopted as policy by all of the key criminal justice institutions, despite the fact that this is not aligned with the law. This change appears to have come about largely as the result of policy capture, as it is a widely contested belief and has been adopted without public scrutiny. … read full article
Gender Recognition Reform Bill ‘risks becoming bad law’
Nine groups with concerns about plans to allow individuals to change their sex in law by statutory declaration have written to MSPs warning that the Gender Recognition Reform Bill “risks becoming another piece of bad law”.
From Scottish Legal News
May 30, 2022
In a letter to Joe FitzPatrick MSP, convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, the groups highlighted the Scottish government’s “inadequate policy processes, its failure to engender an atmosphere conducive to a civilised public debate and its dismissal of concerns raised about the potential impact on women and vulnerable young people”.
The letter was signed by Bayswater Support Group, Fair Play For Women, For Women Scotland, LGB Alliance Scotland, MurrayBlackburnMackenzie, Sole Sisters, Woman’s Place UK, Women and Girls in Scotland and Women Speak Scotland. … read full article
North Carolina preschool teacher is caught using non-approved LGBTQ flashcards depicting a pregnant man to teach three and four-year-olds about colors
State Representative Erin Paré and Speaker of the House Tim Moore brought attention to the cards after Paré was emailed by a concerned constituent
The constituent claimed that the flash cards that were being used to teach preschoolers at Ballantine Elementary School in Wake County
The cards are made by a now-defunct company called ByUs Box, which also made sets of flash cards showcasing non-binary and transgender animals
Principal Lutashia Dove - who was unaware they were being used - verified that the teacher had been using the cards outside the approved curriculum.
Dove then 'took possession of the cards' and contacted the local superintendent and human resources
From The Daily Mail (UK)
By STEPHEN M. LEPORE
May 29, 2022
A North Carolina preschool teacher has been caught using unapproved LGBTQ flash cards - which include images of a pregnant man - to teach 3- and 4-year-old children colors.
The teacher, who has not been identified, was found out to have used them on the preschoolers after a constituent of State Representative Erin Pare contacted the Republican about the cards at Ballantine Elementary School in Wake County.
Paré contacted the principal of the school to see if she was aware of the use of the cards, which showcase LGBTQ relationships and also go through what each of the colors in the Pride Flag mean. … read full article
Visitor looks at one of seven transport containers to illustrate the brutal and harrowing experiences of women sold into the sex trade at Vienna's Heldenplatz (Photo credit: SAMUEL KUBANI/AFP via Getty Images)
Women should not be for sale
We must challenge the Left’s view of prostitution as “progressive” and “sex work” as liberating
From The Critic (UK)
By Julie Bindel
June 2022 Issue
One of the most insidious aspects of capitalism is the commodification of absolutely everything. Where capitalism is unregulated, there is nothing that can’t be sold and demand drives supply. This has long been understood on the Left.
But what about the human body? In particular, female bodies? Is there a coherent defence to be made on the Left for the exploitative trade that ensnares the most vulnerable women and girls, and treats them as objects to be bought and sold?
Elizabeth Nolan Brown, who I debated with in front of an audience in New York recently, seems to think so. She is a senior editor at Reason.com, and one of those who thinks that prostitution is a job like any other; in fact, the oldest “profession”.
… read full article
No, Stella Creasy, women don’t have penises
Yet another Labour politician seems confused about biological reality.
From Spiked (UK)
By JO BARTOSCH
May 30, 2022
Labour’s Stella Creasy did her bit for the Tories this weekend. The member for Walthamstow went on an epic, messy Twitter bender in which she effectively told feminists to shove their votes up their vaginas. Creasy’s behaviour has been so unhinged as to leave many would-be Labour voters wondering whether she’s a Tory sleeper agent.
Creasy is known for her campaign to make misogyny a hate crime and for wearing her baby in the Commons like a ‘must-have feminist accessory’. But in an interview for the Telegraph on Friday, Creasy made her contempt for women’s rights campaigners clear. She claimed to believe that ‘some women were born with penises’ and that ‘a trans woman is an adult human female’. In the interview she complained about being a victim of sexism while feigning frustration and bemusement that some women, like JK Rowling, continue to hold on to the belief that biological sex matters. … read full article
What Stella Creasy gets wrong about trans rights
From The Spectator (UK)
By Julie Bindel
May 30, 2022
Stella Creasy thinks that trans-women are women and should be treated as such. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Labour MP said:
'Do I think some women were born with penises? Yes, but they are now women and I respect that.'
Yet what was left unspoken is the fear among those of us who were born female about what this means for women's rights. … read full article
Elon Musk calls out 'virtue signaling' critics who panned Ricky Gervais' new anti-woke Netflix stand-up special Supernature
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called out 'virtue signaling' critics who panned a new Ricky Gervais stand-up comedy special
Supernature has been criticized for being 'transphobic' and Gervais also covers topics about racism, identity politics and Hitler
But on Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 92 percent audience score
Musk wrote that the critics are 'out of touch with the people, and so lose credibility with the people'
He has previously called out Netflix for pandering to a woke audience
From The Daily Mail (UK)
By MELISSA KOENIG
May 29, 2022
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called out 'virtual signaling' critics who panned a new Ricky Gervais stand-up comedy special, despite audience members rating it highly.
The stand-up special on Netflix, 'Supernature,' has been criticized for being 'transphobic,' and the comedian also jokes about racism, identity politics and Hitler.
Still, many who watched Gervais' show tweeted about how much they enjoyed it, and on Sunday, The Atlantic staff writer Conor Friedersdorf tweeted a screenshot from movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes showing that 92 percent of the more than 250 people who watched the special rated it well. … read full article
Comics making trans jokes 'could be criminalised' under new strategy, barrister warns
Campaigners fear a new hate crime strategy could see comedians who make jokes about transgender issues hauled in front of a judge.
From LBC News (UK)
By Will Taylor
May 30, 2022
A barrister warned telling jokes about trans people, like Ricky Gervais in his most recent show, could be criminalised if a new Home Office plan is put in place.
Priti Patel's department dismissed the claims and said it will protect free speech.
Its new strategy is due to be published shortly, with a Home Office minister saying it will "set out steps to increase the reporting of all forms of hate crime – including hate crimes targeting sexual orientation or transgender identity". … read full article
Netflix’s Sarandos stands by Chapelle & Gervais over trans jokes
From Television Business International (USA)
By Mark Layton
May 29, 2022
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has restated his defence of comedian Dave Chapelle, as well as Ricky Gervais’ latest comedy special, under the streamer’s position on free speech.
Both comics have debuted stand-up specials on Netflix that have come under criticism for featuring jokes targeting transgender people.
Late last year, Chapelle’s remarks in The Closer, including that “gender is fact”, led to Netflix staff, joined by transgender rights activists, to stage a walkout outside the streamer’s Sunset Boulevard offices.
More recently, Gervais’ SuperNature was blasted by LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD for containing “dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes”. … read full article
Children’s Librarians to Host Founder of ‘Beginner’s Sex Store’ to Discuss Sex Education for Youth
From Breitbart (USA)
By Spencer Lindquist
May 30, 2022
The Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California (ACL) is hosting two events where sex-shop founder and activist Corey Silverberg will be discussing “sex education that centers justice” and “how sexuality and gender show up in public spaces.”
The two sessions are part of a program called “Sex Ed for Librarians,” and the sessions, titled “The Sex Education We Deserve” and “Sex Ed. and Public Libraries,” both feature Silverberg as a speaker. The ACL notes that its mission is to “further the cause of library work with children” and to review and evaluate “children’s books and other materials produced for young people.” … read full article
Therapy: A Profession Captured?
A Case Study on the Ideological Takeover of the Therapeutic Community
From TRANSparency (UK)
James Esses
May 30, 2022
As is now common knowledge, I am in the midst of a legal challenge against my former Masters’ degree provider, the Metanoia Institute. This is on the basis that I was discriminated against for my beliefs around sex/gender and my concerns about gender ideology, particularly the medicalisation of young, vulnerable children.
You can imagine, therefore, my interest when someone today sent me an article written by a fellow Metanoia student. The author is Paul Christopher Mollitt, a psychotherapist and doctoral candidate. The article itself is entitled ‘The Big Issue – Fear, Anxiety and the Toxic Trans Debate’. … read full article
Doctors confirm trans swimmer Lia Thomas DOES have an unfair advantage even after taking testosterone suppressants
Mayo Clinic doctor Michael Joyner said testosterone is the '800lb gorilla' which gives biological men an advantage
Physiologist Ross Tucker says Thomas still has an advantage despite taking hormone suppressant therapy
The NCAA allowed Lia to compete this year as a woman but it's unclear what they will do when the next season begins in September
Lia, who swam as a male and wants to keep swimming as a female, has divided the sport
Other pro tennis players including trans player Renee Richards and Martina Navratilova say it is unfair
From The Daily Mail (UK)
By JENNIFER SMITH
May 30, 2022
Doctors have confirmed that trans swimmer Lia Thomas does have an unfair advantage over the biological women she swims against even after taking testosterone suppressants.
In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, a Mayo Clinic doctor and an international physiologist who consults on the sports both confirmed Thomas's advantage is inescapable. … read full article
Your struggles are valid unless you're struggling with growing up as a girl or gay (or both), in which case you're probably trans
From Writing behavior by Eliza Mondegreen (Canada)
By Eliza Mondegreen
May 30, 2022
Validity discourse is everywhere online. Whatever you struggle with—from obsessive thoughts and crippling anxiety to opening the mail, answering the phone, and your basic ‘adulting’—the Internet wants you to know: your struggles are just as valid as anybody else’s.
… unless you’re struggling with growing up female or growing up gay (or both), in which case you’re probably trans. … read full article
Guilt by association
A strait jacket with a seductively simple solution
From Lean Out with Tara Henley (Canada)
By Tara Henley
May 30, 2022
Several weeks ago, I came across an analogy for the culture wars that I haven’t been able to locate again but have thought about every day since. The writer likened the current culture to a tree that continually grows new branches. Critical race theory is a branch, Elon Musk buying Twitter is a branch, and so on. Everything in the environment incentivizes us to take a polarized position on each new issue, and to pathologize those who disagree with us. And so, the more branches there are, the more hostility there is between friends, family, co-workers. Each newly-sprouted branch represents a further splintering of society. … read full article