Saturday, April 30, 2022
This day in Herstory: Alice Babette Toklas, born April 30, 1877 (died March 7, 1967), was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. (more)
Head of Tavistock clinic cuts ties with parents of trans children over their ‘transphobic’ views
Chief executive and chairman of the NHS Trust told parents they were ‘disappointed’ by their gender-critical views
From The Telegraph (UK)
April 30, 2022
The head of England’s only NHS gender clinic cut ties with some parents of transgender children after claiming they promoted “transphobic” gender-critical views, The Telegraph can reveal.
Whistleblowers have raised concerns about the approach to gender-questioning teenagers at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, with one former governor Dr David Bell calling it a “gateway to puberty blockers”.
Last month, the Cass Review into NHS gender identity services, led by one of the country’s top paediatricians, found some doctors feel “pressured to adopt an unquestioning approach”, a stance that is advocated by some trans lobby groups.
Referrals to the trust’s controversial Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) have soared during the pandemic, with the waiting list for children at around 5,500.
… read full article
Trans Artist with Diaper Fetish Speaking at Canadian Elementary Schools
From REDUXX (USA)
April 30, 2022
A trans-identified male cartoon artist who came under fire last year for creating diaper fetish art based on real babies has been speaking at Canadian elementary schools as part of a North American book tour.
On April 18, Sophie Labelle, a Canadian transgender artist based in Finland, posted to his Facebook that he was set to speak at a number of schools and libraries in Canada and the United States as part of a North American Book tour. Labelle is most notable for being the artist behind Assigned Male, a comic which he has been illustrating since 2014. The comic mainly focuses on the life and adventures of a prepubescent transgender child named ‘Stephie,’ with heavy ideological themes worked into the storylines.
On Facebook, Labelle stated his plans to travel to North America for a series of school visits. … read full article
The Next Big Medical Scandal: the experimental hormone treatment of children
Most doctors strive to be factual and scientific, while dealing compassionately with the complexities of human health and sickness. Often, we struggle with two opposing forces: the desire to treat and alleviate suffering, versus the maxim to “do no harm” with our treatment. As a retired GP, I know full well the difficult decisions we sometimes have to make. We don’t always get it right. In fact, history is littered with examples of how we got it terribly, terribly wrong.
From Women’s Rights Network Blog (UK)
April 29, 2022
Bloodletting and Leeches
Bloodletting was used for thousands of years. It was thought to treat a huge range of illnesses by expunging harmful “vapours”, balancing competing “humors”, and so restoring the body to its natural balance. Blood was removed by a variety of methods, such as directly cutting into a vein and letting it bleed, or by applying blood-sucking leeches to the patient’s body. This treatment was used for centuries by well-meaning doctors – from Hippocrates who lived 400 years BC, right through to eminent doctors in the 19th Century. … read full article
Joining the dots on sexism
Parliament’s creepy sexualised culture resurrects throwback stereotypes
From The Critic (UK)
April 30, 2022
The news that Conservative MP Neil Parish watched porn on his phone in the House of Commons this week came closely after the story that some other Tory MPs had accused Labour’s Angela Rayner of employing a “Basic Instinct” style sexual distraction technique on Boris Johnson during PMQs. The implication that Rayner used her body in a sexual way, rather than using her mind in an intellectual way, was a deeply misogynistic trope based on tired sexist stereotypes. A view of women which sees them primarily as physical/sexual rather than intellectual/capable is an old-fashioned throwback to the times before women could even vote, let alone be elected to Parliament. It is wearying to see it trotted out again. … read full article
EXCLUSIVE to RollOnFriday: Lawyers split over their firms' gender identity policies
From RollOnFriday (UK)
April 29, 2022
Law firm staff are split over policies brought in by their firms which embrace gender identity ideology, with some saying they are too scared of the potential professional repercussions to raise objections.
Gender identity ideology posits that everyone has a gender identity independent of their body which they identify as, and which may not match their sex. It has been incorporated as an inclusive measure in many workplaces, but some have objected to the potential impact of such policies on areas such as women’s single sex spaces, and women's ability to organise on the basis of their sex.
"I am appalled but keep my head down", a lawyer at RPC told RollOnFriday. "We are wholly in thrall to Stonewall, whose contentious ideology is adopted wholesale, seemingly without question.". … read full article
Transgender women advised to call 999 if asked to leave women-only lavatories
Advice comes amid lingering confusion over new guidance for providers of single-sex spaces
From The Telegraph (UK)
April 30, 2022
Transgender women should call 999 if they feel unsafe through a request to leave a women-only lavatory, Britain’s largest child transgender charity has said.
The advice from Mermaids comes amid lingering confusion over the long-awaited new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the watchdog, for providers of single-sex spaces such as refuges, changing rooms and hospital wards.
The EHRC ruled last month that trans women, who are born as males, can be excluded from female-only spaces if there is a legitimate reason such as protecting privacy and dignity. … read full article
Watching porn in public should be illegal
It’s astonishing that men have so lost their sexual bearings they think it’s OK to view hardcore films on trains and in parliament
From The Times (UK)
April 30, 2022
It was an off-peak afternoon train and as I passed by looking for a quiet seat, I assumed this young guy dressed for the office, eating sandwiches and swigging Fanta, was poring over Excel spreadsheets. Instead I got a glimpse of thrashing bodies on his laptop screen, and hastily moved on.
How did watching porn in public become so banal that barely a woman I know hasn’t sat beside a guy flicking through hardcore? On a bus or a plane, in GP waiting rooms, cafés, libraries, beaches, parks. From builders on a fag break, train drivers and a charity worker at the NSPCC, to MPs in parliament, porn has flooded the workplace. … read full article
🎧 Jonathan Haidt on Why Public Discourse Has Become So Stupid
Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Haidt discuss how the internet has made "the discourse" more polarized, angry, and simplistic (and what to do about it).
From Persuasion (USA)
April 30, 2022
One of the world’s most influential social psychologists, a professor of ethical leadership at NYU's Stern School of Business, and a member of Persuasion's Board of Advisors, Jonathan Haidt is the author of The Righteous Mind and, with Greg Lukianoff, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind. Haidt recently wrote a much-read feature in The Atlantic entitled “After Babel.”
In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Haidt discuss how we can make social media less toxic, what political and technological reforms might help fix the problem, and how we can empower the moderate majority to fight for its values.
… read full article and listen to podcast
ACLU sues NC Department of Public Safety for denying gender-affirming care to trans inmate
A transgender inmate in North Carolina has been repeatedly denied access to adequate gender-affirming care and the use of her legal name and gender-consistent pronouns, the lawsuit alleges.
From The Hill (USA)
April 29, 2022
Story at a glance:
The ACLU, its North Carolina affiliate and the law firm Patterson Harkavy LLP on Thursday filed a lawsuit on behalf of Zayre-Brown, a transgender inmate in North Carolina.
The lawsuit alleges the state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) has ignored its “constitutional obligation” in failing to provide Zayre-Brown with consistent gender-affirming care.
The complaint claims DPS violated Zayre-Brown’s state and federal constitutional rights, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS), alleging the department violated the rights of a transgender inmate by denying her access to gender-affirming care.
In a complaint filed Thursday by the ACLU, its North Carolina affiliate and the law firm Patterson Harkavy LLP, DPS is accused of withholding “essential” medical care to Kanautica Zayre-Brown, a transgender woman who has been in state custody since 2017 and has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. … read full article
Sexual Offenses Are More Common Among Transwomen Than Men
And no, we're not talking about prostitution. We need to talk about what this means for single-sex spaces.
From The 21st Century Salon (USA)
April 30, 2022
No good progressive wants to be a pearl-clutcher. We all want to be open-minded, inclusive, and kind. We’ve been taught that shaming people for their sexual behavior is a bad thing — and indeed I have no wish to shame anyone. Like anything else people might privately do with their bodies, I’d like to remain oblivious to it. When it comes to other people’s toileting habits, their toenail-clipping routines, or their sexual activities, if it doesn’t affect me personally, I’m just not interested.
What’s more, those of us who have been bold enough to suggest that there are some problems with our modern Western notion of “trans identity” are typically very careful to add the obvious: that everyone deserves respect, kindness, and fair treatment. To say that trans identification is a cultural muddle resulting in medical and emotional harm is not at odds with the truth that people deserve to present themselves how they wish, to be happy, and to thrive. … read full article
Leo's shattered body and the horror story from Sweden that reveals spinal fractures, stunted growth and porous bones are linked to life-changing trans treatments... so when WILL Britain wake up to the danger of giving puberty blockers to children?
From Daily Mail (UK)
April 29, 2022
Leo is in pain most of the time. His back hurts badly when he stands up or walks. It is a hard life for a teenager, and he has no idea if the agony will ever go away.
Nor does his mother Natalie, grief-stricken about the suffering of her child who was born a girl and, at the tender age of ten, said his dream was to be a boy.
‘Leo was little when she wanted to become a he,’ says Natalie. ‘I thought if this was his wish, I should agree with it. Everyone said Leo was brave to come out [as transgender] and I should be proud of him.’ … read full article
Maryland Lawmakers Push Health Department to Expand Medicaid Coverage For Transgender Health Care
From Maryland Matters (USA)
April 30, 2022
In light of recent federal policy changes, Sen. Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City) and Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-Montgomery) are urging the Department of Health to redesign its Medicaid policy surrounding health care for transgender Marylanders.
Washington and Kaiser wrote to Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader in early April, saying that the state is at risk of being sued for violating nondiscrimination provisions under the Affordable Care Act. That’s because the current policy covers only a small set of gender-affirming procedures, and includes several exclusions and a long list of criteria that must be met to receive covered services. … read full article
Designer of Underwear to ‘Flatten’ Boys Genitals Accused of Child Abuse
From Women Are Human (Canada)
UK — A designer of “tucking” underwear has been accused of child abuse for selling underwear that “flattens’ the genitals of boys. The designer, Carmen Liu, identifies as a woman, and in 2019, created a lingerie line for other males who identify as women and still have an intact penis. The underwear offer “a comfortable secure tuck but with the appearance of cis women’s lingerie”, complete with “tucking tape” that is “safe to use down below”. … read full article
Mental illness doesn’t make you special
Why do neurodiversity activists claim suffering is beautiful?
From UnHerd (UK)
April 29, 2022
Marianne Eloise wants the world to know that she does not “have a regular brain at all”. That’s her declaration, on the very first page of her new memoir, Obsessive, Intrusive, Magical Thinking. The book catalogues her experience of a dizzying variety of psychiatric conditions: OCD, anxiety, autism, ADHD, alcohol abuse, seasonal affective disorder, an eating disorder, night terrors, depression. By her own telling, Eloise has suffered a great deal from these ailments; I believe her, and wish better for her. But she would prefer we not think of them as ailments at all. And that combination of self-pity and self-aggrandisement is emblematic of our contemporary understanding of mental health. … read full article
Beth Stelzer is still fighting to Save Women’s Sports (and having a major impact)
From Feminist Current (Canada)
April 29, 2022
Save Women’s Sports began just as a website, created because a man demanded inclusion in the 2019 USA Powerlifting Minnesota Women’s State Championship, disruptively protesting the meet with chanting and clapping because he was not allowed to compete as a woman. After training for years, sacrificing time with friends and family, and counting not just every pound on the barbell but all the calories on my plate to get to the platform that day, I was devastated by the possibility that single-sex competition might be a thing of the past. I couldn’t just sit with all the emotions — from anger to sadness — and not do anything, so I created a website to raise awareness and help others feel safe standing up for women. … read full article
DOJ Files Complaint against Alabama Law Banning Gender-Transition Procedures for Minors
From National Review (USA)
April 29, 2022
The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday that it is filing a complaint against Alabama’s new law banning gender-transition procedures for minors.
The complaint claims that the law violates the equal-protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The bill “discriminates against transgender youth by denying them access to certain forms of medically necessary care,” the DOJ said in a press release. “It further discriminates against transgender youth by barring them from accessing particular procedures while allowing non-transgender minors to access the same or similar procedures.” … read full article
More than 60 Republicans sign petition to force a vote on banning transgender athletes from playing on female sports teams: GOP Rep. says 'left has a craze to eliminate gender'
Indiana Congressman Jim Banks submitted on Tuesday a petition to discharge the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act
The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida in January 2021, but it hasn't moved forward
He announced the legislation amid fury over transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas being allowed to compete in female events
Now 62 Republicans have signed on to the petition in a bid to have a vote before the November midterms
Fifteen states have already passed laws barring male-born athletes who identify as female from competing in girls' or women's sports
House Republicans this week have renewed their push to ban male-born transgender athletes from participating in women's and girl's sports.
Indiana Congressman Jim Banks submitted on Tuesday a petition to discharge the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act for a vote in the House Education and Labor Committee.
The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida in January 2021, but it hasn't moved forward. … read full article
The Real Problem with Sex Education
From National Review (USA)
April 30, 2022
When sex ed becomes a means to incorporate hyper-progressive views on gender, sex, and behavior, it ceases to be neutral material necessary for development.
If inflation feels like we’ve returned to the 1970s, the current education culture war more resembles the early 2010s, when arguments over abstinence-only or comprehensive sex education filled op-ed pages. Sex education is once again the issue du jour. Unlike the previous decade, however, this argument centers on gender ideology and sexual expression.
Rather than picking through the most outlandish examples of sex education, it might be helpful to analyze a popular curriculum, observing what the majority of schools endorse, not a fringe few. Positive Prevention Plus, a program that began with federal grants in 2004, grew to one of California’s most popular curricula, and has now spread to “schools and districts around the country,” is such a program. … read full article