Sunday, March 27, 2022
This day in Herstory: Sarah Lois Vaughan, born March 27, 1924 (died April 3, 1990), was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "The Divine One", she won four Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989. Critic Scott Yanow wrote that she had "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". (more)
Announcement from the LGN Management Team: Lesbian and Gay News is closing
From Lesbian and Gay News (UK)
March 27, 2022
We are very proud of what Lesbian and Gay News (LGN) has achieved since it was founded in February 2021, with quality articles written by a wide selection of contributors and representing a broad range of political perspectives. We feel that, during its year in publication, it has made an important and significant contribution to the GC movement at a critical point where the movement was beginning to establish itself as a mainstream political force.
Our special thanks go to the generous readers who contributed to our two crowdfunder campaigns, which enabled us to carry on publishing for as long as we did. The cancel-culture activism organised by gender ideology hate groups and activists has meant that we have not been able to establish financial security by the usual means of advertising, and the crowdfunding approach is not an appropriate way to finance a publication in the longer term.
Many readers will know that LGN came into being as a result of its editor, David Bridle, who is also the owner of Boyz magazine, tweeting a request that asked people to give LGB Alliance a fair hearing before coming to a judgement about them.
As a result of this tweet, David was subjected to a campaign of hate, vilification, and cancellation that throttled the advertising revenue of Boyz magazine. This, in turn, had life-changing effects not only on him, but also on those whose welfare depended on his continued financial security, including his staff.
Campaigns of hatred aimed at destroying a person who simply calls for an organisation to be given a fair hearing before coming to judgment, have outcomes that also affect those people who depend on the person under attack. The purveyors of hatred and cancellation do not care about this kind of collateral damage, though: just as they don’t care that getting a gender-critical woman sacked from her job might mean she will then struggle to heat her home or feed and clothe her children.
LGN was set up in order to be able to put to good use decades of editorial, publishing, and business knowledge and experience, that had specialised in serving the UK lesbian and gay community. We wanted to provide an important publication for the LGB gender-critical movement. Our aim has been to inform and to educate, as well as to encourage support for GC awareness and activism in our community.
We were optimistic that we would receive the financial, political and community support we needed in order for LGN to continue and to grow successfully for many years to come; but unfortunately, this has not been the case. … read full article
Editor’s note from GC News: This is sad news for those of us in the GC community who recognize the paltry amount of mainstream media coverage of the issues we know are important. Every news site willing to invest in quality journalism covering GC concerns is important if we are to succeed in persuading sufficient voters that gender ideology is harmful.
Meet Elaine Miller
Watch this as soon as you can
From The Glinner Update (UK)
By Graham Linehan
March 27, 2022
Elaine was flying under the radar until she could bear it no longer. This is a wonderful speech from a wonderful new voice on the GC side. Elaine is compassionate and concerned but also hilarious, and boy does she know her shit. Watch this as soon as you can.
Team GB cycling stars face losing their Olympics places after a trans woman, 21, announced she would now compete in female events
Emily Bridges has continued to race against men for the past year while undergoing hormone therapy
Her successes include gold medal at recent University Championships in Nottingham
Her testosterone levels are now low enough to meet the criteria set out by British Cycling, the sport's governing body, for her to compete against women
From Daily Mail (UK)
By Natasha Livingstone
March 26, 2022
Top women cyclists who have helped Great Britain to historic triumphs face losing their team places after a trans woman announced she would now compete in female events.
Emily Bridges has continued to race against men for the past year while undergoing hormone therapy, and her successes include a gold medal at the recent University Championships in Nottingham.
However, her testosterone levels are now low enough to meet the criteria set out by British Cycling, the sport's governing body, for her to compete against women.
Before coming out as trans, Ms Bridges set the Junior Men's national record for 25 miles in 2018 with a time of just over 47 minutes – two minutes faster than the current national record for adult women.
The 21-year-old recently spoke candidly about her transition and revealed it was 'always the plan' to compete in women's events.
'After starting hormone therapy I didn't want to race in the male category any more than I had to,' she told Cycling Weekly magazine. … read full article
How gender studies took over the world
My academic field deserves much of the blame for our gender confusion
From The Spectator (UK)
By Raquel Rosario Sánchez
March 27, 2022
Why are so many people in such a muddle over the word 'woman'? Sadly, a share of the blame falls on women's studies and gender studies. I should know: this has been my academic field for over a decade.
As a teaching assistant, I remember repeating the phrase 'there is more difference among the sexes than between the sexes' in front of a group of students, without properly thinking it through. A sociology of gender professor taught me that, and I absorbed it like a sponge. It was only upon reflection that I realised the consequences of denying sex differences. Most of my cohort never changed their minds.
During the confirmation hearings this week of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who could become the first black female Supreme Court judge in the United States, Jackson was asked to define the word woman. She refused, saying: 'I am not a biologist.'
Just a few days earlier, a fierce debate opened up in the US regarding the inclusion of male athletes in female sports, following the high-profile victory of trans swimmer Lia Thomas over other women in the National Collegiate Athletic Association swimming championship. … read full article
On identitarian moralism
What we're talking about when we talk about the modern left
From Lean Out with Tara Henley (Canada)
By Tara Henley
March 27, 2022
In recent months, it’s become clear to me that nobody has any idea what we’re talking about when we talk about the modern left.
The old left was anti-establishment, anti-war, anti-corporate interests, pro-union, pro-working class, pro-civil liberties, and most especially pro-free speech. The new left, as Canadian comedian Ryan Long jokes, is sponsored by Amazon.
Now, I know from experience that saying such things enrages the few actual leftists still out there, who rightfully point out that the corporate pseudo-leftists that co-opt social justice rhetoric — scathingly referred to in socialist circles as “centrists” — are not leftists at all. This is true, but the distinction is often lost in the current discourse.
Then, too, there’s the matter of very young, very online leftist activists, who could rep for either the old leftists or the new corporate ones, depending on the day, or mood, it’s anyone’s guess. … read full article (and SUBSCRIBE to Lean Out!)
Domestic Abuse Survivor TikToker Murdered In Front of Child
From REDUXX (USA)
By REDUXX Team
March 27, 2022
A young mother who made TikToks on surviving domestic violence and sexual assault was tragically murdered last week, allegedly by an ex-boyfriend she had a restraining order against.
Mackenzie Anderson, 21, was found outside of her home in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia by police while responding to her call reporting a break-in. The young woman was suffering from multiple stab wounds but was still alive. Emergency first responders and a specialist critical care team attempted to stabilize her, but she died at the scene.
At a Saturday press conference, Newcastle City Detective Superintendent Wayne Humphrey said once officers arrived, Mackenzie was already in critical condition.
"Officers attached to Newcastle City Police District were called to a home unit, responding to reports a man had broken into the unit," Humphrey said, "I've just spent the last 20 minutes or so viewing the officers' body worn footage and it is horrendous." … read full article (and SUPPORT REDUXX!)
VA Swimmer, Rose Pouch, Says “No” to Males Competing as Females
From Save Women’s Sports (USA)
March 27, 2022
Thursday, March 17th, 2022 is now a day that will live in infamy. Penn University male swimmer “Lia” Thomas was allowed to compete as a female at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Championships in Atlanta, GA. Thomas became the first openly transgender-identified male athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in women’s sport.
Following Thomas’ crushing defeat of the female athletes in the 500 freestyle, protestors outside the arena met with staff, coaches, families, students, and swimmers. One of those swimmers, Virginia Tech junior Rose Pouch, approached a group of Save Women’s Sports protestors organized by founder Beth Stelzer. After being handed a roll of stickers that read, “SAY NO TO MALES COMPETING AS FEMALES”, Pouch proudly peeled a sticker off from its backing and placed it across her chest. Smoothing the green and black sticker over, she handed one to her friend ––a fellow swimmer who has chosen to remain unnamed for the time being. She then held the rest of the stickers comfortably in her hand as she prepared to go public about her feelings and experiences competing against a male.
Save Women’s Sports team member and founder of Stop Female Erasure, K. Yang spoke with Pouch as she broke the news for the first time. In an exclusive interview, Pouch –who has been swimming since she was twelve years old– told Yang, “It’s taking a lot from women. What happens is it takes scholarships away from women.” While holding a black pom pom that read, “Keep Sport Single Sex” she said, ”We all have very common opinions about it, it’s just we’re all scared to talk about it –there’s a fear of how we will be perceived.” … read full article (and DONATE to Save Women’s Sports!)
Lia Thomas: Success of transgender athlete has thrust sport into a charged debate that no one seems capable of resolving
From The Times (UK)
By Elgan Alderman
March 27, 2022
n typical circumstances, a swimmer winning the 500-yard freestyle title at the women’s NCAA championships in 4min 33.24sec would not be headline news. There was nothing particularly alarming about the time given that five years ago, Katie Ledecky had finished the race nine seconds faster. However this time the winner was Lia Thomas, a trans woman who used to compete for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team.
The McAuley Aquatic Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, became the latest frontier in the culture wars over the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sport. Thomas raced for the men’s team for her university for three years, finishing runner-up at the Ivy League championships over 500, 1,000 and 1,650 yards three years ago.
Thomas began taking spironolactone as part of hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) in May 2019 to reduce her testosterone levels, and needed to do so for a year before she would be eligible to switch from men’s to women’s competition. “I did HRT knowing and accepting I might not swim again,” Thomas told Sports Illustrated this year. “I was just trying to live my life.” … read full article (share token)
JK Rowling is making a stand for women — all women
From The Times (UK)
Letters to the Editor
March 27, 2022
ianne Turner, a trans woman, writes appealing for “more listening and less shouting” in the trans debate (“Hardline Rowling inflames trans row”, Letters, last week). That’s encouraging, but when she also says that “some women are using masculine behaviour to aggressively promote their agenda”, the archaic stereotyping that lies at the heart of so much of the trans rhetoric is revealed. When women stand up for themselves, they are deemed to be “masculine”. Where are the trans women who are challenging these depressing and ancient stereotypes? (more letters - web page archive)