This day in Herstory: Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, born April 16, 1755 (died March 30, 1842) also known as Madame Le Brun, was a French portrait painter in the late 18th century. … In 1787, she caused a minor public scandal when her Self-portrait with Her Daughter Julie (1787) was exhibited at the Salon of 1787 showing her smiling and open-mouthed, which was in direct contravention of traditional painting conventions going back to antiquity. The court gossip-sheet Mémoires secrets commented: "An affectation … which finds no precedent among the Ancients, is that in smiling, [Madame Vigée LeBrun] shows her teeth." (more)
Gender expert: online influencers rush adolescents towards transition
From The Times (UK)
By Keiran Southern
April 18, 2022
Social media influencers are pushing young people who are unsure about their gender into hasty decisions to transition, according to a clinical psychologist who is herself transgender.
Dr Erica Anderson said some young people suffering from mental health problems such as depression and anxiety were not receiving adequate care and were instead being offered hormones or surgery.
She said there had been an “onslaught” of providers aiming to help youngsters questioning their gender identity, but for some the process was set in motion too quickly. … read full article (web page archive)
The Vilification of Liberal Candidate Katherine Deves Is the Latest Attempt to Silence Women
From Women’s Forum Australia
By Rachael Wong
April 17, 2022
The vicious demonisation of Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves is the latest attempt to silence women who speak out about the impact of harmful gender policies and practices on women’s sex-based rights and the welfare of children.
During her first week of election campaigning, the Save Women’s Sport Australasia co-founder and mother of three daughters has been subjected to relentless, coordinated media attacks for past comments related to her advocacy around the rights and safety of women and girls and the reality of biological sex.
Many of those fuelling the attacks against Deves and trolling her online, are the same people who campaign for women’s ‘safety’ and ‘respect’ and complain that ‘we need more women in politics’, especially in the Liberal Party. But as usual, it is clear that such sentiments are reserved only for women they agree with, which ironically does not include those concerned about issues like the erosion of women’s safety and privacy as males identify into their sports and spaces. The horrendous treatment Deves has received (including threats of dismemberment and burning at the stake) would not be tolerated in any other context. … read full article
Ohio public university to pay $400,000 in damages after punishing professor over preferred pronoun controversy
Professor sued Shawnee State University, claiming it violated his First Amendment rights
From Fox News (USA)
By Adam Sabes
April 16, 2022
A public university in Ohio will pay $400,000 in damages and attorney fees after punishing a professor for declining a male student's demand to be referred to as a female.
Nick Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University, responded to a male student's question during a January 2018 political philosophy class by saying "Yes, sir." When the class ended, the student identified to the professor as transgender, and demanded to be referred to as a woman in the future, along with "feminine titles and pronouns," according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the professor in court. Doing so, Meriwether maintained, would have violated his convictions as a Christian.
Meriwether didn't agree to the student's request, and court documents state that the student became belligerent and told the professor that he would be fired.
The student filed a complaint with the university, launching an investigation which eventually determined that Meriwether "effectively created a hostile environment" for the student because he would not use the preferred pronouns. Meriwether did offer to call the student by any name requested, but the student did not accept the offer.
Shawnee State University would then place a written warning in Meriwether's personnel file, which stated that "further corrective actions" would be taken if a similar incident occurred.
The professor sued Shawnee State University, claiming that it violated his "right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment."
In March 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled in favor of Meriwether, reversing a district court's prior dismissal of the lawsuit and allowing the professor to continue his lawsuit against the university. … read full article
JK Rowling excluded from Platinum Jubilee list of great reads in wake of transgender row
Harry Potter author, who has been ‘cancelled’ over her views, misses out on inclusion in Big Jubilee Read
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Victoria Ward
April 17, 2022
JK Rowling has been excluded from a Platinum Jubilee reading list in the wake of a transgender row.
The Big Jubilee Read was compiled with the aim of celebrating 70 great reads from across the Commonwealth, one for every year of the Queen’s reign, as well as generating debate.
A long list of 153 championed by the public, which included Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was whittled down by a panel of librarians, academics, booksellers and other literary figures.
However, Rowling, the most successful British author of her generation, was rejected, amid claims the panel wanted to prioritise someone whose work was less well-known.
'Big discussion about JK Rowling'
Literary classics that did make the cut included A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. … read full article (web page archive)
Female prisoners are being endangered by trans rights
From The Spectator (UK)
By Raquel Rosario Sánchez
April 16, 2022
This week it was reported that a male convicted murderer in Scotland has not only been allowed to self-identity on the female prison estate, but had gone one step further and demanded that the guards treat them as a baby. Sophie Eastwood was initially jailed for a driving offence in 2004, but went on to kill a former cellmate with shoelaces. Eastwood received a life sentence in the Polmont prison for women. Far from settling in, Eastwood is alleged to have demanded that prison officials cater to surprising demands: from nappies and baby food, to the expectation that guards hold their hand.
Instead of rejecting these demands, officials are acquiescing and have reportedly given Eastwood a dummy. How have we ended up in a position where prison guards are bending over backwards to accommodate a male murderer housed in a female prison? And does anyone care about the women these male convicts are housed with? Earlier this month, the feminist organisation Keep Prisons Single-Sex held a large protest outside Polmont carrying signs stating ‘Women are not human shields’ and ‘No to Self-Id’. But is anyone listening? … read full article
OPINION: How to Erase Male Violence, Lessons from Edna Mahan Women’s Facility
From REDUXX (USA)
By Genevieve Gluck
April 17, 2022
It was recently revealed that there are 27 convicted male transfers being housed in New Jersey’s only correctional facility for women, Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (EMCFW). Among them is a sadistic trans-identified male serving a 50-year sentence for the brutal murder of a sex trafficked immigrant woman.
Perry Cerf admitted to raping and killing Flor Andrade and was found driving her car and wearing her clothing. Cerf, who now is listed as a “female” and uses the name “Michelle Hel-Loki Angelina,” told of drinking the woman’s blood “so I could allow this person to live vicariously through myself.” He was transferred to EMCFW despite a long history of violence against women.
Additionally, two women inmates have become pregnant while in prison as a result of relations with Demitrius Minor, a man who began identifying as a woman called “Demi.” … read full article (and SUPPORT REDUXX!)
Burrell Collection accused of 'politicising' exhibits in transgender row
From The Herald (Scotland)
By Tom Gordon
April 15, 2022
GLASGOW City Council’s cultural arm has been accused of politicising ancient exhibits at the Burrell Collection by linking them to the contemporary debate around transgender rights.
Two porcelain figures of the Buddhist goddess of mercy which are at least 300 years old have been put on display at the revamped museum described as “Guanyin: A Transgender Icon”.
The deity is also labelled as “gender fluid” as it was depicted through history first as male and later as female, even though this was a slow cultural shift that took place over centuries.
A card accompanying the exhibits reads: “Trans rights are human rights. Be more Guanyin.”
The feminist campaign group For Women Scotland said the exhibit was disrespectful as it misrepresented Buddhist art in order to make "a heavy-handed political point”.
The Burrell is run by Glasgow Life, the charitable cultural arm of the SNP-run local authority. … read full article
Biden Admin and ACLU Gear Up to Defend Trans Hormone Treatment for Children
From The Washington Free Beacon (USA)
By Patrick Hauf
April 15, 2022
The Biden administration and liberal legal groups are gearing up to battle red state laws that prohibit children from receiving transgender hormone treatment.
Gov. Kay Ivey (R.) signed a bill into law last week that makes Alabama the third state to ban children from receiving hormone therapy and puberty blockers. The legislation, however, is already in jeopardy. The Biden Justice Department in March warned state attorneys general against enforcing hormone-treatment bans for minors, saying they run afoul of federal anti-discrimination laws. Liberal legal groups including the American Civil Liberties Union promised this week to "use the full force of the law" to challenge the Alabama legislation in court—a move that blocked a similar law in Arkansas last year. … read full article
Rochdale victim: ‘I was groomed at 14, then the courts came for my children’
Her evidence helped put abusers behind bars, yet ‘Amber’ was vilified by the authorities and says her torment will never end
From The Guardian (UK)
By Julie Bindel
April 17, 2022
Between 2008 and 2010, a child abuse ring that came to be known as part of the “grooming gang” phenomenon operated in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Girls aged between 13 and 15 were trafficked, prostituted, raped and assaulted by the gang.
One victim was forced to have sex with at least 20 men in one night; another was forced to drink vodka, and was vomiting over the side of the bed while being raped by “countless men”.
The perpetrators would pass the girls to their friends, often to settle a debt. The victims, many of whom were from difficult backgrounds and therefore particularly vulnerable, were plied with drugs, alcohol and fast food, and then taken to “chill houses” across the north of England to be abused. One 13-year-old victim became pregnant and had an abortion. Some of the men involved were arrested, tried and found guilty. But not all. … read full article
Amazon Selling Horror Book About Killing “TERFs,” Features JK Rowling “Death”
From REDUXX (USA)
By Reduxx Team
April 17, 2022
One year after banning the sale of ‘gender critical’ book When Harry Became Sally, Amazon has listed a newly-released “LGBTQ Horror” novel, the plot of which is centered around trans-identified males graphically murdering feminists.
IF YOU'RE SICK OF GENDER PLAGUE NOVELS WRITTEN BY TRANSPHOBIC DIPSHITS, TRY MY NOVEL MANHUNT, WRITTEN BY A TRANS WOMAN FOR A TRANS AUDIENCE. TRANS DYKES FALL IN LOVE AND FUCK AND MURDER TERFS, FERAL MEN MARAUD IN THE WILDERNESS, J.K. ROWLING DIES, ETC.HTTPS://T.CO/ZOZHCBMMLQ
— Gretchen Felker-Martin (@scumbelievable)March 23, 2022
Written by trans-identified male Gretchen Felker-Martin, Manhunt follows the story of two trans-identified males attempting to navigate a post-apocalyptic wasteland in which anyone with high levels of testosterone turns into a zombie. The characters, having run out of synthetic estrogen, take to eating the testicles of the undead males in order to get their supply and to stave off the plague. Along the way, they hunt down women who are depicted as “TERF soldiers.” … read full article (& SUPPORT REDUXX!)
Green Party is sued for 'institutional sexism' by an ex-official who claims leaders 'purged' members who questioned its trans policy
Dawn Furness alleges she was twice assaulted for questioning the trans policy
She says some officials were seen shouting 'TERF' as they watched her on TV
Ms. Furness is seeking damages of at least £10,000 for alleged discrimination
From Daily Mail (UK)
By Sanchez Manning
April 16, 2022
The Green Party is being sued for 'institutional sexism' by a former official who claims that its leaders permitted a 'purge' of members who dared to question its 'trans women are women' policy.
Dawn Furness alleges she was twice assaulted at party conferences after questioning the position that there is no material difference between males who identify as female and women.
She also claims that so-called trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) – a derogatory term to describe those opposed to trans ideology – were named and shamed using 'TERF Blocker' software that flashed alerts on computer screens when members had allegedly expressed views on social media contrary to the party's trans policy.
Among those identified by the software, she alleges, was Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP and a former party leader.. … read full article
The trans panic is a disaster for children
From The Times (UK)
Letters to the Editor
April 17, 2022
My 12-year-old daughter decided she was trans (“Schools to get advice on uniform for trans pupils”, News, last week). She informed her school, and the staff immediately started running around like headless chickens to “accommodate” her, changing her pronouns to he and him and using her chosen male name instead of her original name. After some discussion I was informed that their hands were tied: the local education authority had issued guidance relating to exactly this situation, and it must be followed.
Fast-forward 18 months and she has realised it was just puberty-based confusion — which I’d always known, as had the sensible teachers. Luckily I have managed to avert any physical damage, but mentally it’s going to be an extremely strange phase for her to process as she grows up.
Children are being utterly let down by the people who have traditionally been their influencers. The local education authority should be ashamed. It’s not a left or right thing. It’s a common sense thing.
Name and address withheld on request … read other letters (share token)
America's parents aren't 'woke' but they are awake to gender ideology education plans
Elementary students in New Jersey should not be wasting time on recently-created vocabulary lessons provided by activists
From Fox News (USA)
By Virginia Gentles
April 17, 2022
Children across New Jersey are struggling to read. Yet the state expects young children to master the confusing and convoluted tenets of gender ideology.
In urban areas such as Newark, New Jersey, mid-year reading test scores paint a grim picture. Students started the school year alarmingly behind, and the Newark Public School system predicts that fewer than 10% of students in second grade will meet state English standards this year. Only 6% of fifth graders will be proficient readers by the end of the school year.
Almost all students are failing to learn math in Newark schools. Only 1.9% of fourth graders are expected to master math state standards this year, and fewer than 6% of the district’s students from grades three to seven will be considered math proficient. Newark is a famously failing school system, despite the millions donated to the system over the years. Before COVID-era policies closed school doors, however, a quarter of the students were meeting standards. … read full article
Some schools continue to insist on pushing gender shaping curriculums
From Norfolk Daily News (USA)
By Cal Thomas
April 16, 2022
The battle over whether parents, or public schools and elites should decide what goes into the minds and souls of students has entered a second stage.
The Washington Times reports LGBTQ activist groups are complaining about parents who object to children as young as 5 being taught gender issues and reading books that contain profanities and anti-police messages.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, who directs the disingenuously named Office of Intellectual Freedom for the American Library Association (ALA), is quoted as saying, “A parent or group should not have the right to restrict through government action what another parent’s child may choose to read.” That will come as a surprise to many parents who have a right to believe their child’s school lunch will not contain harmful substances, as well as the right to keep their kids from having a secular-progressive political agenda tainting their minds. … read full article
Tell the politicians that they need to respect my sex if they want your X
Maya Forstater took her case to an employment tribunal after losing her job for asking on social media what a woman is. She is now campaigning for there to be legal clarity on gender
From The Times (UK)
By Maya Forstater
April 17, 2022
Across the UK, candidates in the local elections are facing questions on the doorstep from voters asking them to “respect my sex if you want my X”.
The first question is what is a woman? I started asking questions on social media in 2018 when the UK government was consulting on its proposal to bring in legal “self-ID” that would have meant anyone could change the sex written on their birth certificate.
Shockingly, for discussing the issue I lost my job. … read full article (web page archive)
Respect My Sex campaign gathers momentum
From Sex Matters (UK)
April 17, 2022
There has been some amazing media coverage of the “Respect My Sex if you Want My X” local election campaign. This includes the front page of the Mail, a feature story in the Times and Heather Binning, Helen Joyce and Caroline Ffiske in a studio interview with GB News.
It got a front-page boost in the Times from JK Rowling and the ladies who lunch!
… read full article