Thursday March 31, 2022
This day in Herstory: Etta Baker, born March 31, 1913 (died September 23, 2006), was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. She was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell County, North Carolina, of African-American, Native American, and European-American heritage. Baker began playing guitar at the age of three. She was taught by her father, Boone Reid, a longtime player of the Piedmont blues on several instruments. He was her only musical instructor. She played both the 6-string and the 12-string acoustic guitar and the five-string banjo. Baker played the Piedmont blues for nearly ninety years. (more)
Biden administration endorses transgender youth sex-change operations, 'top surgery,' hormone therapy
WH encourages gender reassignment surgery, puberty blockers, hormone therapy for transgender minors
From Fox News (USA)
By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi
March 31, 2022
President Biden's administration has released a series of documents encouraging gender-reassignment surgery and hormone treatments for minors.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Population Affairs released a document Thursday titled "Gender Affirming Care and Young People." The same day, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Child Traumatic Stress Network – another subset of the HHS – released a parallel document titled, "Gender-Affirming Care Is Trauma-Informed Care."
The HHS documents describe what it calls appropriate treatments for transgender adolescents, including: "'Top' surgery – to create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts;" and "'Bottom' surgery – surgery on genitals or reproductive organs, facial feminization or other procedures." … read full article
Justice Department Reinforces Federal Nondiscrimination Obligations in Letter to State Officials Regarding Transgender Youth
From Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (USA)
March 31, 2022
The Justice Department announced today that it issued a letter to all state attorneys general reminding them of federal constitutional and statutory provisions that protect transgender youth against discrimination, including when those youth seek gender-affirming care. … read full press release
New Title IX rules set to assert rights of transgender students
From The Washington Post (USA)
By Laura Meckler
March 30, 2022
Discrimination against transgender students would be a violation of federal civil rights law under proposed regulations the Education Department is expected to finalize in the coming weeks.
Title IX bars discrimination on the basis of sex in education, and the new rules would make clear this includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things, according to two people familiar with a draft of the proposed regulation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment on the subject.
Regulations carry the power of law. The rules, if finalized, would set up a clash with state laws that bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Those statutes are already being challenged in the courts. … read full article
Labour coup: Rosie Duffield turns on Keir Starmer in transgender debate - ‘PM nailed it’
ROSIE DUFFIELD has suggested a Labour coup could be underway after she discussed Keir Starmer's poor response to key questions in the transgender debate, which by contrast, Boris Johnson handled impressively.
From Express (UK)
By EMMA CRABTREE
March 31, 2022
The Kent MP and Sir Keir have clashed before on this issue which led to Ms Duffield’s absence from the Labour Party Conference in September. Keir Starmer and other Labour MP’s have been criticised for giving confusing or nondescript answers during such discussions after the Labour leader became flustered and concluded his ‘argument’ saying: “I don’t think that discussing this issue in this way helps anyone”.
Speaking on ITV’s Peston, Ms Duffield sent a stark message to the Labour leader of unrest in the party.
She said: “I think the Prime Minister nailed it, actually, in PMQs last Wednesday when he just gave a good answer to Angela Richardson's question, which was to separate gender ID and biological sex, and it is disappointing that my party can't do it.”
The Kent MP added that her positive view of the PM’s statement is also held by “the majority of MP’s” she knows in the House. … read full article
Can a woman have a penis? Three brave activists launch 'most significant female movement since the Suffragettes' urging public demand EVERY politician standing in next month's elections can answer that simple - and very direct - question
From Daily Mail (UK)
By MAYA FORSTATER FOR DAILY MAIL
March 31, 2022
Can a woman have a penis?
A simple question, you might imagine.
But not, it seems, for a flustered Sir Keir Starmer, who squirmed when asked just this in a radio interview this week.
'I'm not... I don't think we can conduct this debate with... I don't think that discussing this issue in this way helps anyone in the long run,' the Labour leader stammered.
And he's certainly not the only politician struggling with such matters. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow minister for women and equalities, recently had an issue defining precisely what a woman was (a clue, Anneliese, look in the mirror!), before reaching the conclusion 'it depends on what the context is'.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak, too, in a recent radio interview was unable to say in his own words what a woman was. … read full article
Sajid Javid: Competing in sport should be governed by ‘biological sex, not gender’
Health Secretary wades in to debate on whether it is fair to pit athletes who were born as men against biological women
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Telegraph Reporters
March 31, 2022
Sajid Javid has waded into the debate over transgender competitors in sport, saying rules about competing should be governed by "biological sex, not gender".
The Health Secretary voiced his opinion on whether athletes who were born male but now identify as female should be allowed to compete against biological women.
"My own view is that, when it comes to sport, it should be about sex rather than gender – and sex should be based on your biological sex," he told UnHerd.
His comments come during an ongoing controversy about whether pitting biologically male athletes against biologically female athletes is unfair and potentially dangerous. … read full article (web page archive)
Women’s lives are not up for debate
Single sex spaces can be a matter of life or death for female victims
From The Critic (UK)
By Shonagh Dillon
March 31, 2022
Having worked in the feminist led anti-male violence movement for nearly three decades, I have a deep understanding of the need for women to heal in a space that is retained only for them. Single sex spaces for female victims ensure that women do not need to be concerned about a male presence; they are spaces that offer safety, but more than that they offer a privacy and dignity where together women can be free to reveal the painful and degradingly traumatic ways in which men have hurt them.
Since 2017 the debate regarding proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 has raged in the UK. Services for domestic abuse and rape victims are frequently used as an example of the importance of maintaining single-sex spaces by those seeking to defend them, whilst those in favour of self-identification of sex and of gender reform often insist that opening these spaces to men who identify as women will have no impact on female victims of male violence. … read full article (and SUBSCRIBE to The Critic!)
Trans Widows, Technology and the Destigmatization of Autogynephelia (Transsexualism)
From The 11th Hour (USA)
By Jennifer Bilek
March 31, 2022
At the root of the emerging gender industry, is a sexual fetish of adult men known as autogynephilia (AGP), once called transsexualism. AGP is a sexual fetish that covets female biology. This is the eroticization of women as objects that we see across the sex industries taken to its zenith. “Transgenderism” is the corporate branding and politicization of this fetish for profit and human engineering. The pinnacle of this fetish, which is playing out now with the normalization of this fetish in society, is female erasure. This fetish used to be expressed through the appropriation of what was culturally deemed female attire (transvestic fetishism). Through advancements in technology, it has grown to the appropriation of female biology itself. If the appropriation of women’s bodies is accepted as “medical treatment” to assuage men’s fetish, their internalized homophobia, their mental health problems, and/or their self-expression, women cease to exist as wholly sexed beings unto ourselves.
… read full article (and SUPPORT The 11th Hour!)
'Keep your mouth shut or find yourself the target of scrutiny and termination': Disney insider writes anonymous blog revealing anger among staff about firm's opposition to 'Don't Say Gay' bill and slamming 'coward' CEO Bob Chapek
A Disney Imagineer published an anonymous blog post Tuesday, slamming his employer for pushing a narrative of opposition towards Florida HB1557
The author, writing under the pseudonym Ethan L. Clay, called CEO Bob Chapek a 'coward' who 'surrendered' to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology
He claims that Disney's stance of the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill is not representative of the ideals of a vast majority of its employees
Clay alleged that older employees with families tend to support the bill and have kept their opinions quiet out of fear of scrutiny or termination
He also claims the workers mostly want 'Disney to shut up about politics'
Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB1557 into law on Monday, banning the teaching of gender ideology in kindergarten through third grade
From Daily Mail (UK)
By NATASHA ANDERSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
March 31, 2022
A Disney employee wrote an anonymous blog post detailing how a large number of workers are frustrated with the company's incredibly vocal opposition to Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill.
The worker, a Disney Imagineer writing under the pseudonym Ethan L. Clay, claims the company's leaders have 'surrendered' to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology and instilled a culture that forces employees who support Florida House Bill 1557 to remain quiet out of fear of scrutiny or termination.
'I encourage everyone to ignore the bloviating of Disney executive leadership, from CEO Bob Chapek all the way down to park VPs,' Clay penned in his blog post published on Quillette.com Tuesday. 'These people are not thought-leaders or cultural revolutionaries. They are cowards held hostage by the prevailing narrative, and they will run in whichever direction that narrative dictates.' … read full article
Suicide's spectre
Alarming statistics are used by a fundraiser for a kids' gender clinic
From Gender Clinic News (Australia)
By Bernard Lane
March 31, 2022
The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, home to Australia’s largest gender clinic, is appealing for donations with the alarming message that one in two young people who identify as transgender will attempt to take their own lives.
“Australian data shows 80 per cent of transgender young people self-harm and 48 per cent attempt suicide before the age of 24,” according to an article about the RCH gender clinic posted on the hospital foundation’s Where your money goes webpage.
The suicide risk figures come from the Telethon Kids Institute’s 2017 Trans Pathways study, an anonymous, online, self-report survey with a non-representative “convenience sample”, meaning there is no firm basis for extrapolating its findings to trans-identifying youth generally.
… read full article (and SUBSCRIBE to Gender Clinic News!)
Sex Matters’ statement on conversion therapy law
SEX MATTERS PRAISES DECISION TO ABANDON FATALLY FLAWED “CONVERSION THERAPY BILL”
From Sex Matters (UK)
March 31, 2022
It has been reported by ITV that the government is abandoning plans for legislation to criminalise “conversion therapy”, and will instead undertake non-legislative measures.
Human rights organisation Sex Matters welcomes this news. Maya Forstater, Executive Director of Sex Matters, said:
“This news comes as a huge relief. Doctors are supposed to do no harm. Gender-distressed children have been ill-served by the ideological approach that has become common in recent years. Waiting for the final Cass Review is obviously the right thing to do. There is now an opportunity to hear a wider variety of voices and look at the evidence before rushing into legislation that would have harmed the very people it was supposed to help.
The planned legislation was muddled, incoherent and dangerous. They conflated two entirely different things – sexual orientation, which is a verifiable characteristic and has little or no impact on others – and gender identity – which is unclear and indefinable. … read full article (and DONATE to Sex Matters!)
Gender-neutral airport scanners, 'X' options for passports and flight tickets and backing sex changes and hormone therapy: Biden goes to war with GOP states with trans 'equality' plan pushing more teaching in schools
The White House is rolling out a series of new actions and aims to support LGBTQI+ Americans on Transgender Day of Visibility 2022
It comes a day after Arizona banned gender-affirming surgery for minors
Biden is side-stepping states that have removed LGBTQI+ youth resources from their official websites by launching a federal government site instead
Airport security checks will move past 'the current, gender-based system'
The Biden administration also condemned 'dangerous anti-transgender legislative attacks' working their way through GOP-led states
More than a dozen states have passed limits on trans youth sports participation
From Daily Mail (UK)
By ELIZABETH ELKIND, POLITICS REPORTER and SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
March 31, 2022
The Biden administration announced a slate of new actions on Thursday to support transgender and LGBTQI+ Americans in the face of what the White House called 'dangerous anti-transgender legislative attacks' in the president's latest battle with Republican-led states.
'The evidence is clear that these types of bills stigmatize and worsen the well-being and mental health of transgender kids, and they put loving and supportive families across the country at risk of discrimination and harassment,' the White House said in a fact sheet.
New measures include an effort by the Homeland Security Department to make airport screenings more gender-neutral and a host of new educational resources on gender-affirming care for kids and teens, after several Republican governors placed limits on accessing such information. … read full article
Cycling in urgent talks with other sports over tougher rules for trans athletes
UCI president says current rules ‘probably not enough’
David Lappartient: ‘It is a very sensitive topic at the moment’
From The Guardian (UK)
By Sean Ingle
March 31, 2022
The president of cycling’s governing body has held emergency talks with other international sports federations about creating tougher new rules for the participation of trans women in elite women’s sport “within months”.
In a notable intervention, the UCI president, David Lappartient, said cycling’s current rules, which allow trans women to compete against cis women if they reduce their testosterone to below 5 nmol/L for a period of 12 months, were “probably not enough” to ensure fair competition.
He also suggested that other sports including athletics and swimming were in a similar boat and that coordinated action might be needed.
“It is a very sensitive topic at the moment,” he said. “The question is, is there a memory from your body from what you were before? Do you have an advantage for this? Do we have a breach of fair competition? … read full article
Independent Women’s Voice and WoLF Introduce the Women’s Bill of Rights
From Women's Liberation Front (USA)
March 31, 2022
In honor of Women’s History Month and in response to the many ways that women’s rights have been eroded in the United States, WoLF worked collaboratively with Independent Women’s Voice (IWV) to create and introduce a historic piece of model legislation for the United States: the Women’s Bill of Rights.
This model legislation clearly states exactly what a “woman” is, and why women deserve single-sex spaces and opportunities. The Women’s Bill of Rights clearly defines “sex” based on biology (either male or female), seeks to enshrine into law common definitions of “woman,” “girl,” and “mother,” and seeks to codify the intermediate scrutiny standard to allow the law to recognize sex when it is relevant.
If adopted, the Women’s Bill of Rights would legally define the common understanding of the words ‘female,’ ‘woman,’ and ‘sex’ and would codify the Supreme Court’s intermediate scrutiny standard, which forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated males and females but allows the law to recognize sex when relevant. … read full article
Beautiful, stunning, brave
The case of James Wallis shows the incoherence of the trans movement, and the gullibility of its proponents.
From The Glinner Update (UK)
by ripx4nutmeg
March 31, 2022
It was inevitable - Britain now has its first openly ‘transgender’ MP or, to be more precise, the first MP to say he has been ‘diagnosed’ with gender dysphoria and ‘wants’ to be transgender, whatever that means.
The statement from Jamie Wallis, who has been the Conservative MP for Bridgend since 2019, in which he revealed this, led to a predictable cascade of well-wishing from left-wing politicians and media figures, and perhaps surprisingly, a few on the right as well. … read full article (and SUBSCRIBE to The Glinner Update!)
EXCLUSIVE to Daily Mail: Aunt of trans rider Emily Bridges slams 'unfair' decision to ban her from race after female competitors threatened to boycott event - as Sharron Davies says 'It's not transphobic to want fair sport, it's anti-female to not'
Emily began hormone therapy in 2021 and wants to compete as a woman, weeks after competing as a man
However, she has been barred from competing in women's race this weekend while still registered as a man
Sport's international governing body said she's ineligible following row and also hold 'expert panel' on issue
It has been described as a 'fudge' by Sharron Davies, who fears that she will allow her to compete as a woman
From Daily Mail (UK)
By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER and JAYA NARAIN FOR MAILONLINE
March 31, 2022
The aunt of transgender cyclist Emily Bridges told MailOnline today that barring her niece from competing against Olympic hero Dame Laura Kenny and other women is 'unfair' as Sharron Davies declared: 'It’s not transphobic to want fair sport - it’s anti-female to not'.
Female riders threatened to pull out of the National Omnium Championships in Derby on Saturday before Miss Bridges was blocked from racing against them because she had competed as a man until a few weeks ago.
Emily, 21, is said to be 'disappointed' that she will now not compete against the five-time Olympic champion Dame Laura this weekend - and now her aunt Helen Bridges, 64, claimed her niece had come under immense pressure over the race and is right to be upset to be missing it. … read full article
Female Olympians Speak Out Against Men in Women’s Sports
Women speaking out include Olympians Mara Yamauchi and Laura Weightman, and women’s shot put champion Amelia Strickler.
From 4W (USA)
By Andreia Nobre
March 31, 2022
Elite female athletes have been speaking up against men competing in women’s sports under the guise of “gender identity”. The issue has gained mainstream attention lately following the high-profile case of Lia Thomas, a male University swimmer who displaced female competitors for an N.C.A.A. title earlier this month. The widespread backlash has resulted in some sports regulating bodies implementing changes to their transgender policies.
On Wednesday, British cycling, UCI, ruled that Emily Bridges, a man, would not be able to compete in the women’s British National Omnium Championship on April 2nd. Bridges had been scheduled to compete against some of the UK’s most elite female cyclists, including Olympian Dame Laura Kenny, the UK's most successful female Olympian in history. In the days leading up to the race, female competitors threatened to boycott the event in Derby, with the support of many high profile athletes and reportedly their coaches and performance team.
Amid the public backlash from athletes, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) felt forced to review Bridges’ participation. The UCI ruling blocked the male cyclist from racing with women at the British meeting. UCI said that Bridges was not eligible to compete because he is still registered as a male cyclist.
The growing team of female athletes speaking out on fairness in sports include Olympians Mara Yamauchi and Laura Weightman, and women’s shot put champion Amelia Strickler. … read full article (and DONATE to 4W!)
UK government shelves conversion therapy bill
From Transgender Trend (UK)
March 31, 2022
We are very pleased the government has announced that it is abandoning plans for a conversion therapy bill. We applaud the government for listening to and taking seriously the concerns of clinical professionals and parents, rather than being swayed by activists for the sake of scoring political points. This is a good decision for the protection of children and young people experiencing gender-related distress, and the government must be commended for putting children first.
The proposed conversion therapy bill was muddled and open to interpretation, exposing children and young people to further risk of an ideology-based approach which only confirms a transgender identity.
Children experiencing gender dysphoria deserve the highest standard of clinical care in line with other paediatric mental health support services, as highlighted in the Cass Interim Report. A legal ban on ‘transgender conversion therapy’ would have further politicised an area of child and adolescent care that urgently needs to be separated from politics and ideology. … read full article (and SUPPORT Transgender Trend!)