Tuesday, July 26, 2022
"... when, at age 12, Sophia suddenly claimed to be transgender, Jeannette was skeptical. Sophia had never exhibited signs of gender dysphoria."
This day in Herstory: Sandra Annette Bullock, born July 26, 1964, is an American actress and producer who has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2010, she was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world. (more)
US - Chicago Mother Loses Custody of Her Daughter—For Insisting That Her Daughter Is a Girl
From Independent Women’s Forum (USA)
By Kelsey Bolar
July 26, 2022
Jeannette Cooper never imagined she’d lose custody of her child. The 44-year-old lifelong educator always considered herself a loving and responsible mother to her daughter Sophia. But when, at age 12, Sophia suddenly claimed to be transgender, Jeannette was skeptical. Sophia had never exhibited signs of gender dysphoria. In fact, Sophia exhibited many more traditionally feminine behaviors and preferences than Jeannette ever had. To Jeannette, it didn’t make sense.
But Sophia insisted, not only that she was trans, but that she was ‘unsafe’ around Jeannette. What followed was an almost Kafkaesque series of court proceedings and therapy sessions in which Jeannette’s ex-husband, lawyers, therapists and other individuals and institutions supposedly concerned with Sophia’s best interests worked to erode Jeannette’s most basic parenting rights. Nearly three years later, Jeannette can’t even visit with the daughter she loves. She lives less than ten minutes away, but can only communicate with Sophia by U.S. Mail. All because she insists that Sophia is a girl. ... read full article
US - Detransitioners Lament Inadequate Clinical Support
From Medscape (USA)
By Alicia Ault
July 26, 2022
Transgender people who medically detransition — those who stop or switch gender-affirming hormone therapy or who undergo a reversal of a surgical reconstruction — report feeling stigmatized by clinicians and receiving inadequate professional support, researchers have found. As a result, such patients often avoid healthcare at the time they stop undergoing medical interventions, and many consider their overall care to be "suboptimal."
"Clinicians providing gender-affirming care must be careful to avoid shaming patients who are pursuing hormonal cessation or switching or surgical reversals and instead strive to address current mental and physical health needs," according to the authors of the new study, which was published July 25 in JAMA Network Open. ... read full article
US - Biden Rule Would Strengthen Health Protections for Gay and Transgender People
The proposed rule would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by health care providers that receive federal funding.
From The New York Times (USA)
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
July 25, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that it intends to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in the Affordable Care Act — a proposal that would officially reverse a policy adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Donald J. Trump.
The Trump rule, finalized in 2020, erased Obama-era protections for transgender patients. Last year, the Biden administration took a preliminary step toward restoring them, by announcing that H.H.S. would draft a rule prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by hospitals and other health care providers that receive federal funding. ... read full article
US - Banning the word 'groomer' is a sinister sign
From Washington Examiner (USA)
By DEBRA SOH
July 26, 2022
A number of social media platforms, including Reddit, have banned the word "groomer" when used as an insult, considering it hate speech.
Although the term, as popularized by author James Lindsay on his New Discourses podcast, is being used to combat both sexual abuse and leftist indoctrination, the argument has been misrepresented by mainstream news outlets as a slur against gay and transgender people.
Sexual and gender minorities have certainly faced false stereotypes of being sexual abusers, and contrary to what some would have you believe, many of these minorities are horrified at the cultural push to expose children to sexually inappropriate material. If anything, this activism is what is doing a disservice to gay people. The average person isn’t aware of the disconnect between LGBT+ activism and the gay community and doesn’t realize that activists are pushing their own agenda while operating under the guise of caring about gay people. ... read full article
US - Does the Associated Press expect journalists to lie?
The new AP style guide on trans issues elevates gender ideology over the truth.
From Spiked (UK)
By JO BARTOSCH
July 26, 2022
Reptiles, muckrakers or simply unscrupulous bastards – journalists are a reviled breed, trusted by the public about as much as politicians and estate agents. And yet, speak off the record to your average hack and you will discover that most of us care about our work, which is notoriously high stress and low pay. We tend to think of ourselves as motivated by lofty dreams – a desire to put facts in the public domain and to hold the powerful to account. But the new guidance on transgender issues from the Associated Press Stylebook fits a rainbow gag to the mouths of many in the profession – advising writers to respect preferred pronouns and to override facts about sex in favour of feelings about gender identity. ... read full article
US - What If We Used Different Words?
On the language of gender-affirming care
From BROADVIEW with Lisa Selin Davis (USA)
By Lisa Selin Davis
July 26, 2022
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know that I find both red and blue state legislation on youth gender medicine, well, bonkers. But I often hear from readers that there’s no comparison. “Bans” on gender-affirming care for minors are in effect delays, requiring that young people be 18 to partake of it—the minimum age to vote or join the military. And since multiple evidence reviews have declared that gender-affirming medical interventions don’t quality as “life-saving” care—though I do know people who experienced them that way—delays could be construed as reasonable, some readers say, instead of malicious. ... read full article
US - Women or ‘Pregnant People’?
NEWS ANALYSIS: As gender theory and the abortion-rights movement offer conflicting messages on what it means to be a woman, Catholic theologians see a new opportunity to teach the truth about sexual differences.
From National Catholic Register (USA)
By Joan Frawley Desmond
July 26, 2022
WASHINGTON — A recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on abortion access and the law featured the tortured state of America’s debate on what defines a woman.
In the process, the ensuing verbal fireworks also marked the collision between a women’s movement that sees legal abortion as key to sexual equality, and the transgender-rights movement that believes biological sex is a social construct.
During the July 13 Senate hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked University of California at Berkeley law professor Khiara Bridges whether a term she had used, “a person with the capacity for pregnancy,” referred to “women.” ... read full article
US - Top Senate Democratic candidates refuse to say whether men can get pregnant, or define the word 'woman'
Several Democrats have started defending the notion that men have the ability to get pregnant
From Fox News (USA)
By Kyle Morris, Jayme Chandler
July 26, 2022
Several Democrats who are seeking election or re-election in states around the country refused to provide a definition for the word "woman" or offer their thoughts on whether men have the capacity to become pregnant.
Fox News Digital reached out to multiple Democratic candidates about the topics and received no responses from the campaigns of Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Senate nominees John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Ryan of Ohio, and Cheri Beasley of North Carolina. ... read full article
US - A week before election, Missouri Democrat Busch Valentine stumbles on LGBTQ rights
From The Kansas City Star (USA)
By DANIEL DESROCHERS
July 26, 2022
In a television interview aired Monday, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine was asked whether she supported a law that prohibited instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation for students between kindergarten and third grade.
The question was based on a Florida law that bans such instruction and which opponents say creates a chilling effect for teachers in Florida’s public school system, where gay teachers may be afraid of mentioning their sexuality or having a photo of their partner in the classroom because of the risk they may be fired or the school district would be sued. ... read full article
US - SC AG says government holding ‘school lunches hostage’
From Fox Carolina (USA)
By Amanda Shaw
July 26, 2022
COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has filed a lawsuit, claiming the Biden Administration is holding “school lunches hostage” amid controversy over sex discrimination in schools.
A federal court ruled on Friday that the government can’t force South Carolina to allow trans students who are biologically male to compete on girls’ sports teams.
However, under the Biden administration the USDA said in May that their Food and Nutrition Service will investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. ... read full article
US - New Georgia education laws set stage for contentious start to school
From The Covington News (USA)
By Rebecca Grapevine
July 26, 2022
ATLANTA — A trio of Georgia education laws that took effect a few weeks ago have set the stage for a possibly contentious opening to the state's school year next month.
The laws address how teachers talk about potentially divisive topics in the classroom and parental control over education.
The source of heated controversy during the legislative session, the laws are now in the hands of schools, school districts, and the state Department of Education to implement. ... read full article
US - Lia Thomas' NCAA Woman of the Year bid ends, Ivy League selects Columbia fencer
Thomas was nominated by the University of Pennslyvania in mid-July
From Fox News (USA)
By Paulina Dedaj , Joe Morgan
July 26, 2022
The NCAA announced its conference selections for the 2022 Woman of the Year award on Monday, naming Columbia University fencer Sylvie Binder as The Ivy League pick, over national champion and University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Binder, a senior from Armonk, New York, was among the 577 overall students nominated for this honor earlier this month and was one of the eight athletes nominated from The Ivy League conference. ... read full article
US - Students pressured to celebrate 'pansexual' drag queen at school chapel as teacher resigns over misuse of pronouns
Brita Filter's social media references high-risk sexual practices, including "water sports", "fisting", "balls deep", "turning out", "glory hole", and "1. in the pink, 2. in the stink".
From The Post Millennial (USA)
By Paul Rossi
July 26, 2022
Students at Manhattan's Grace Church High School are required to attend chapel every other Wednesday, and on April 27, that meant attending a Pride event. The 6th annual Pride chapel featured a special guest: drag queen "Brita Filter," aka Jesse Havea. Students felt pressure to join in, dance, and celebrate, while Teacher Uyen Nguyen took the opportunity to announce their resignation over improper pronoun usage.
"There was tons of social pressure to dance along and pretend like it was normal for sure," a student who asked not to be named told The Post Millennial, "whether it be people tapping on shoulders and telling them to stand up or just a collective staring contest at whoever wasn't totally participating." ... read full article
US - Project Funds “50 Grants in 50 States” to Promote Gender ID Ideology in Schools
From Women Are Human (Canada)
By Diana Shaw
July 26, 2022
The It Gets Better Project announced in a recent press release that it is funding grants “in 40 states plus [Washington, District of Columbia], including many traditionally conservative areas,” to any school that is dedicated to being “an inclusive safe haven” for Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) projects.
The effort, dubbed “50 Grants in 50 States,” awards schools “up to $10,000” for project ideas that further the organization’s mission. ... read full article
US - Sex and Gender Matter. Writer-Academic Abigail Favale Explains Why.
From The Daily Signal (USA)
By Virginia Allen
July 26, 2022
When political leaders can’t define what a woman is, society has a problem.
The radical left has detached sex and gender from “material reality,” says Abigail Favale, author of the book “The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory.”
Removing fact and biological reality from sex has led to a “subtle denigration of … the female body in our culture,” Favale says. ... read full article
US - Why Did We Buy What Victoria’s Secret Was Selling?
The brand sold itself using an upside-down logic: that women need to suffer to be deemed desirable.
From The Atlantic (USA)
By Sophie Gilbert
July 26, 2022
The last ever Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place in 2018, before allegations of institutional misogyny surfaced at the underwear chain, but after many of us realized that it was peddling something more insidious than $40 teal lace push-up bras with rhinestone details. The model who opened the event was Taylor Hill, a then-22-year-old from Colorado with the guileless beauty and long limbs of a baby farm animal. “We should go forward; we should push the boundary,” Hill said in footage that was projected backstage before she made her entrance, dressed in a tiny plaid kilt, thigh-high stiletto boots, and a fuchsia brassiere with feathered fuchsia wings. The imperative, she added, was to “be sexy for ourselves, and for who we want to be, not because a man says you have to be. It was never about that in the first place.” ... read full article
US - Why does “trans” have no boundaries?
From Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) (USA)
July 26, 2022
Imagine a world where you cannot trust your friends, family members, school authorities, and doctors. This is your world if you have a trans identifying child.
Imagine feeling like such a holy crusader for the trans cause that you reach out to your family friend’s son behind her back to show that you are an “ally”, taking advantage of that longstanding family connection to meddle with someone else’s family, crossing an unthinkable boundary. ... read full article
UK - Another stone in the wall
No, two-year-olds cannot be trans
From The Critic (UK)
By Josephine Bartosch
July 26, 2022
One thing us Brits know about our US cousins is that when it comes to belief — whether in extraterrestrials or Jesus — the Yanks go all-out. No matter how batty, the rest of the world always clamours to import American ideas. Both these facts were evident on Friday, when Europe’s largest LGBT+ lobby group Stonewall tweeted: “Research suggests that children as young as 2 recognise their trans identity”.
This dubious claim has been lifted directly from the theories of US psychologist Dr Diane Ehrensaft, author of The Gender Creative Child. Wide-eyed gender botherer Ehrensaft apparently believes that pre-verbal children give out “gender messages”. She is one of many such child gender specialists in the US where from television screens to classrooms, the existence of the “trans child” has become an unremarkable fact. ... read full article
UK - Protesters storm first drag queen storytime for primary school children
Mothers infiltrate library event, saying: ‘We’re here to protect children’
From The Telegraph (UK)
By Ewan Somerville
July 26, 2022
The first drag queen “story hour” for children in a UK-wide tour of council libraries has descended into chaos after it was stormed by protesters.
Almost 70 events in 20 areas of Britain are being visited over the next two months by Drag Queen Story Hour UK, a group that hosts sessions for three to 11-year-olds.
The project is run by Sab Samuel, a 27-year-old autistic male children’s author, who performs as Aida H Dee in a sequined dress with heavy make-up. … read full article
UK - Doctors set out medical guidelines for trans men giving birth
From The Times (UK)
By Eleanor Hayward
July 27, 2022
Doctors have been told to offer “chestfeeding support” to men who give birth under Britain’s first medical guideline for transgender patients.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists proposed the clinical standard for treating transgender men and women in the NHS. It sets out how childbirth, cancer screening and fertility treatment should be more inclusive of people who do not “conform to a binary man/woman dichotomy”. ... read full article
UK - Her foolish critics can cancel Quidditch...but they'll never cancel JK Rowling’s rare and precious courage, writes LOUISE PERRY
From Daily Mail (UK)
By LOUISE PERRY
July 26, 2022
Anyone familiar with the wonderful world of Harry Potter, from reading the books or watching the film adaptations, will know what Quidditch is. But for the uninitiated, let me explain: Quidditch is a magical sport created by the brilliant fantasy writer J. K. Rowling.
It is a fast-paced, violent, chaotic game played by witches and wizards in two teams of seven, on broomsticks, flying about 30ft above the ground. The rules are daft but it is tremendously exciting, a game invented to thrill and inspire children’s imagination.
... read full article
Scotland - Scottish Government slated over £317k payments to under-fire charity Stonewall
Exclusive: For Women Scotland criticised the Scottish Government for its payments to the controversial LGBT charity.
From Scottish Daily Express (Scotland)
By David Walker
July 26, 2022
Questions have been asked about the Scottish Government's major funding to LGBT charity Stonewall who have come under-fire due to a trans toddler controversy.
The organisation was forced to defend a statement it made last week where it suggested children as young as two could identify as trans.
It wrote: “Research suggests that children as young as two recognise their trans identity. LGBTQ-inclusive and affirming education is crucial for the wellbeing of all young people. Yet, many nurseries and schools teach a binary understanding of pre-assigned gender." ... read full article
Canada - I Would Have Been a ‘Trans Kid’—Stop Medicalizing Gender Non-Conformity
There is nothing wrong with not conforming to sex stereotypes.
From Reality's Last Stand (USA)
By Eva Kurilova
July 25, 2022
Some of my earliest memories are of the adults in my life telling me I would one day grow out of being so boyish. In some ways I did, and in some ways I didn’t, but the important thing is that I was allowed to grow up without skeptical glances from adults viewing my sex-atypical behavior as evidence I may have been born in the wrong body. But this is increasingly not the case for young girls today who exhibit behaviors and interests similar to mine growing up. Instead, many are now sent down the path of transition. ... read full article