Nataliya Dobrynska, born May 29, 1982, is a retired Ukrainian heptathlete. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and also holds the heptathlon best in the shot put. Her indoor pentathlon best of 5013 points is the world record for the event. (more)
What Lia Thomas Could Mean for Women’s Elite Sports
Although the number of top transgender athletes is small, the disagreements are profound, cutting to the core of the debate around gender identity and biological sex.
From The New York Times (USA)
By Michael Powell
May 29, 2022
ATLANTA — The women on the Princeton University swim team spoke of collective frustration edging into anger. They had watched Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who swam for the University of Pennsylvania, win meet after meet, beating Olympians and breaking records.
On Jan. 9, the team met with Robin Harris, executive director of the Ivy League athletic conference.
The swimmers, several of whom described the private meeting on condition of anonymity, detailed the biological advantages possessed by transgender female athletes. To ignore these, they said, “was to undermine a half-century fight for female equality in sport.” … read full article
Anneliese Dodds: Stella Creasy is wrong - a woman can’t have a penis
Labour continues to flounder on simple issue of defining womanhood, with two prominent figures at odds
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Joe Pinkstone
May 29, 2022
Stella Creasy was wrong to assert that a woman can have a penis, a Labour minister has said, as the party continues to flounder with the issue of defining womanhood.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chairman, was asked on Sunday if she agreed with Stella Creasy, her fellow Labour MP, that a woman can be someone who was born with a penis.
Ms Dodds, who is also shadow women and equalities secretary, said: “No, I don’t agree with her. Biological females obviously aren't.
“Of course, there are also trans women who have made a transition in their gender, but sex is not the same as gender.
“Obviously, I have a huge amount of respect for my colleague Stella Creasy, she has done a huge amount of campaigning for women - but on that issue around biology, I do have a different opinion.” … read full article
Piers Morgan rages Labour is in 'civil war' over MP's claim that 'women can have penises'
PIERS MORGAN has raged that the Labour Party is in a "civil war" over MP Stella Creasy's claim that a "woman can have a penis".
From Express (UK)
By LEAH STANFIELD
May 29, 2022
Piers Morgan, 57, has become embroiled in a social media feud with the Labour MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, 45. Piers became angered when Ms Creasy said a “woman can have a penis”.
The presenter shared a photograph from her article in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph to his 7.9 million Twitter followers.
It was headlined: "JK Rowling is wrong - a woman can have a penis."
Piers quipped: “Read this headline and work out who you think is not just wrong but insane.”
In the article, Ms Creasy expanded on her comment saying: “Do I think some women were born with penises? Yes. But they are now women and I respect that. … read full article
If a lesbian only desires same-sex dates that’s not bigotry, it’s her right
At Allison Bailey’s employment tribunal, breaking the ‘cotton ceiling’ was equated to racial integration, an idea that is as wrong as it is dangerous
From The Guardian (UK)
By Sonia Sodha
May 29, 2022
Sexual attraction, it seems obvious to me, is not the right frontier on which to focus the fight against racism. Anyone who’s used a dating app will know that whether you swipe left or right is invariably determined by snap judgments based on a handful of photos and one-liners. Of course it’s an arena in which societal prejudice plays out.
But whether or not we are attracted to someone is so personal that to lambast anyone’s dating preferences as bigoted is wrong. The growing number of interracial relationships is the sign of a less racist society, but these relationships are the healthy byproduct of broader shifts in societal attitudes, not of activists hectoring people to be more pluralistic in their choice of partner. … read full article
Netflix Doubles Down on 'Free Speech' as Trans Activists Vow to Fight On
From Newsweek (USA)
By ANDREW STANTON
May 29, 2022
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos doubled down on "free speech" as the company continues facing criticism from LGBTQ activists over content deemed offensive against the transgender community.
The company has faced criticism since last fall from LGBTQ advocates who took issue with jokes in a special from comedian Dave Chappelle. Those concerns were reignited this month after a new show from comedian Ricky Gervais also featured offensive remarks against the transgender community, again landing Netflix at the center of discourse surrounding the balance between free speech and respecting the rights of marginalized groups. … read full article
Transgender inmate convicted for murder caught having drunken sex in cell booze-up
The prisoner is said to have got drunk on illegal home brew with a younger inmate and engaged in consensual sex in their cell at the women's jail HMP Bronzefield.
From The Mirror (UK)
By Phil Cardy
May 28, 2022
A transgender inmate at a women’s jail was caught having drunken sex with another prisoner.
The con was allowed to serve a murder sentence at HMP Bronzefield despite still having male private parts.
The 43-year-old killer is said to have got drunk on illegal home brew with a much younger inmate in a cell. They were then discovered having sex. … read full article
Police are calling transgender rape suspects by their ‘preferred pronoun’, report finds
Self-declaration of 'gender identity' rather than biological sex has been adopted by all key criminal justice institutions, think tank says
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Charles Hymas
May 29, 2022
Women are being failed by the criminal justice system because it favours transgender rights, says a new report, as it warned those who speak out against it face “McCarthyite” backlash.
The study by the think tank Policy Exchange found self-declaration of “gender identity” rather than biological sex has been adopted as a policy by all the key criminal justice institutions, despite the fact that this was not aligned with the law.
It said this included circumstances in which suspects may be referred to by the police and courts with their preferred pronoun. … read full article
Justice system ‘puts trans rights ahead of women’
From The Times (UK)
By Steven Swinford
May 30, 2022
Women are being failed by the criminal justice system because it is too focused on transgender rights, a report claims.
The work for the Policy Exchange think tank found that police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts were too readily treating people on the basis of their “gender identity” rather than their biological sex. … read full article
Grade 1 kids in BC school taught that “gender is a spectrum”
From True North (Canada)
By Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
May 29, 2022
Parents are expressing concern after a British Columbia elementary school put up a board teaching six and seven-year-old kids that “gender is a spectrum,” as well as gender ideology terms.
In a now-deleted tweet, the Sooke School District (SD62) school board wrote that a “Grade 1 teacher champion at Ruth King Elementary along with (a) fellow teacher” created the display “for the school lobby for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.” … read full article
Critic of trans care makes credible case, says children’s ombudsman
Niall Muldoon said the argument against his call for transgender children to have better access to treatment was “strong”
From The Times (UK)
By Mark Tighe
May 30, 2022
Niall Muldoon, the children’s ombudsman, has admitted to colleagues that an anonymous critique of a newspaper article he wrote calling for more access to medical treatment for transgender children was a “strong and credible argument” against his position.
In April 2021 Muldoon wrote an opinion piece in a Sunday newspaper stating that “gender-affirming care for trans young people must be a priority”. The article was criticised by people opposed to children receiving puberty blockers and other medical interventions before they become adults. … read full article
Astonishing moment transgender paramedic who was born male 'breastfeeds' her newborn baby after wife gives birth - as critics say only women can produce milk
Jennifer Buckley, 41, was born male and began transitioning to a woman in 2017
She froze her sperm and conceived a son with wife Sandi who gave birth in 2019
An endocrinologist suggested Ms. Buckley try to produce her own breast milk
She took drugs to make her breasts grow and was able to pump 'milk' from them
Ms Buckley says she fed her son Auden when her wife could not produce milk
From DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
By CINDY LEVER
May 28, 2022
A transgender mother who was born male has described how 'breastfeeding' her baby an hour after her wife gave birth to the boy made her feel more feminine.
Brisbane paramedic Jennifer Buckley was warned by doctors against trying to nourish newborn son Auden from her own chest but she went ahead anyway.
'Being a trans woman I can't carry, it's one of the limitations of it all,' Ms Buckley told Daily Mail Australia. … read full article
Revealed: The police forces that let criminals record themselves as ‘one of 67 genders’
Constabularies across England and Wales are allowing suspects to identify themselves as neither male nor female
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Izzy Lyons
May 28, 2022
Police forces are “aware of 67 recognised genders” and are allowing suspects to record themselves as non-binary, The Telegraph can reveal.
Seven police forces in England and Wales allow criminal suspects to be recorded on their computer systems as non-binary, meaning they consider themselves neither male nor female. … read full article
Ed. Note: Elizabeth is a volunteer co-curator at GC News and is starting a new Substack.
Elizabeth Hummel, Songwriter
New home for fans and friends
I have been writing songs most of my life, songs about love and mystery and nature and grief, funny stuff too. I have a collaborative project with Brian Castillo (also my amazing partner and sound engineer!) called Waterwitch. I occasionally write political folk songs. In the past few months, I have been writing songs about a new source of harm to women, children, and gay and lesbian people. It is an issue I care about deeply. Here are two of these songs, with more information at the links.
Tomiekia’s Song is a cry for help from incarcerated women who are being locked up with men:
To the Class of 2022: Maybe Don't Reach for the Stars
A very British graduation address from Kathleen Stock.
From Common Sense (USA)
By Kathleen Stock
May 29, 2022
I’ve spent the past 18 years as a philosophy professor in the UK, which means I’ve spent many a graduation clapping til my hands were numb. The robes were always too hot, the graduates hungover, and the commencement speeches reliably cliched. Go out into the world and make a difference! Dream big! Make it count! Young people are the future! I’m sure you’ve watched countless YouTube videos of this sort of thing before.
So I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a different perspective. Admittedly, nobody’s asking me to, but I’d still like to take the opportunity. … read full article
Crown Estate staff get guide to LGBTQIAPK gender and sexual identity acronym as bosses try to foster an 'inclusive environment' for workers
The Crown Estate wants to create an 'inclusive environment' for all their staff
Officials have completed a nine page guide on gender and sexual identity
The Crown Estate manages an estate of property worth a staggering £14 billion
From The Daily Mail (UK)
By CHRIS HASTINGS
May 28, 2022
It has been a cornerstone of the Establishment for more than 250 years, but the Crown Estate has now put itself at the centre of a very modern debate.
Bosses trying to foster an ‘inclusive environment’ for staff have compiled a nine-page guide on gender and sexual identity that includes the acronym ‘LGBTQIAPK’ – standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, pansexual and kink.
The organisation’s ‘LGBT + Glossary of Terms’, obtained by The Mail on Sunday under Freedom of Information legislation, lists more than 70 different words and phrases, including many in common use such as gay, homophobia, trans and even drag queen. … read full article
I can't stop her
By Michelle Alleva
May 24, 2022
I usually don’t interact with people who are dead set on transition anymore. I found out early on that it can feel very triggering, which means I often end up being useless. Lately I’ve interacted with a few people trying to justify surgery, and I’ve found myself almost going into a panic.
Sometimes I get an image. … read full article
“Trailblazing” Trans Inmate Slams Prison Self-ID, Wants Prisons to Apologize to Women
From Reduxx (USA)
By Reduxx Team
May 28, 2022
A pioneering transgender inmate who waged the first successful legal challenge to force the state of California to pay for ‘gender affirming’ surgeries for inmates is lashing out against prison self-identification laws, calling them “an embarrassment.”
Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, a biological male who identifies as transgender, spoke exclusively to Reduxx about the extensive problems with SB-132, California’s legislation which allows male inmates to be transferred into women’s prisons on the basis of self-declared ‘gender identity’ alone. … read full article
Leaving the left
Feminists are crucified for leaving the left, but those who stay are avoiding hard truths.
From The Same Drugs (Canada)
By Meghan Murphy
May 19, 2022
I grew up in a household that prided itself on being not just left, but most left. My father was a Marxist and, as a shop steward at Canada Post, was very active in the labour movement. My mother was a feminist and worked in arts administration. She went back to school when I was around 11 or 12, and went into Art Education, completing a Masters and PhD. … read full article
I love that photo of Nataliya!