Wednesday, May 18, 2022
This day in Herstory: Gertrude Käsebier, born May 18, 1852 (died October 12, 1934), was an American photographer. She was known for her images of motherhood, her portraits of Native Americans, and her promotion of photography as a career for women. (more)
“Banging Beyond Binaries”
The School District of Philadelphia encouraged teachers to attend a conference on “kink,” “BDSM,” “trans sex,” and “masturbation sleeves.”
From City Journal (USA)
By Christopher F. Rufo
May 17, 2022
Last year, the School District of Philadelphia encouraged teachers to attend a conference on “kink,” “BDSM,” “trans sex,” and “banging beyond binaries.”
In early July 2021, the district’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sent invitations …, promoting the conference as a way to “learn more about the issues facing the trans community.” …
I have obtained videos from a publicly accessible website that show that the conference went far beyond the school district’s euphemism about “issues facing the trans community.” … There were graphic sessions on prosthetic penises, masturbation toys, and artificial ejaculation devices, which some hosts explicitly promoted to minors. As one session host explained, “there’s no age limit, because I feel like everybody should be able to access certain information.” … read full article
Female Skateboarder Calls Out Trans-Identified Males Displacing Women in Sport
From REDUXX (USA)
By Jennifer Seiland
May 18, 2022
A female skateboarding champion has said she is “done being silent,” and is speaking out about her experience coming in second to a biological male allowed to complete in a women’s competition.
On May 17, Taylor May Silverman, a professional skateboarder, posted a statement to her Instagram in which she called out the last Redbull Cornerstone skate event she took part in for allowing a biological male athlete to compete against women, and take the top spot. … read full article
School board member hosts LGBT youth event at her sex shop
From The National Desk (USA)
By ALEC SCHEMMEL
May 18, 2022
BELLINGHAM, WASH. (TND) — A school board member in Washington state is preparing to host an LGBT event for kids at her sex shop.
Jenn Mason, a school board director for Bellingham Public Schools, owns WinkWink, described on its Facebook page as a “sex shop delighting in expertly curated sex and body products, lingerie, and books.”
“We believe that normalizing, accepting, and affirming all bodies, identities, and gender experiences is an inherently political act. Pleasure is our revolution,” reads WinkWink’s website. … read full article
No, wokeness is not in retreat
Don’t get overexcited about that ‘Netflix note’.
From Spiked (UK)
By BRENDAN O'NEILL
May 19, 2022
Being fully in favour of any kind of pushback against millennial authoritarianism, I was pleased to read the note Netflix sent to its touchy employees. The streaming giant has told its staff that if they cannot handle the idea of working on shows that offend them, then they should seek employment elsewhere. ‘[You] may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful’, says Netflix. And if you can’t do that, then ‘Netflix may not be the best place for you’. Ouch. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, snowflakes. …
Everyone needs to calm down. Talk of ‘woke Hollywood’s retreat’ – in the words of the LA Times – is far too premature. … The elites’ culture war on reason and artistic freedom is still being waged. And, if anything, it will intensify as new armies of grads enter the workforce. … read full article
Australian notes
From Spectator | Australia
By David van Gend
May 19, 2022
On this page last election eve I wrote, ‘Mums and dads across the country look set to elect a Labor party that has vowed to impose the kooky notion of gender fluidity on all of our children, even those seeking refuge in religious schools.’ We were spared in 2019, but after a term of flaccid failure by the Liberals to fight this culture battle, it looks like the party that introduced the breast-binding, penis-tucking ‘Safe Schools’ programme will now be given a free hand with your kids.
Governments and schools must not mess with the minds of children. That means they must not mess with archetypal realities like male and female as if they were cultural fads instead of facts of nature. For those who have forgotten these facts – like Australia’s former chief medical officer who couldn’t say what a woman was – just remember that a woman is an adult human female, where ‘female’ is defined by a reproductive system organised for gestation. Therefore, a transwoman is not a woman but a male who feels a deep need to present in feminine stereotypes. … read full article
The false euphoria of dysphoria
Pink News presents breast removal as “pure trans joy” in a new video
From The Critic (UK)
By Laura Dodsworth
May 18, 2022
“Joy”, “amazing”, “happiness”, “wholesome”, “freedom”, “light at the end of the tunnel”, “greatest day of my life”, “euphoria” and “bliss of fairy dust” — what do these words describe?
The answer is “top surgery” in a new Snapchat video called “What is Top Surgery Like For Trans Guys”, created by Pink News. ...
But although they reverted their names, pronouns and passports, flesh cannot be returned after a double mastectomy. The effects of testosterone cannot be undone, nor the removal of the uterus and ovaries, which some of these detransitioners also had, leaving them sterile, on hormone replacement therapy for life, and traumatised. …
The idea of having all my female anatomy removed mistakenly and then wanting it back, creates a horrifically unnerving sensation — nothing like euphoria and the “bliss of fairy dust”. … … read full article
A private girls’ school is the latest transgender battleground
From The Spectator (UK)
By Debbie Hayton
May 18, 2022
The ugly nature of the transgender debate – and the viciousness of those who seek to silence others who disagree with them – has arrived in the playground. At a private girls' school, a sixth form student was surrounded by a mob of dozens of fellow pupils who spat and screamed at her. …
The argument that we all have an innate gender identity that determines whether we are men or women … has taken root in society. Schools are not immune to this radical change in thinking. … Today, few people dare speak out on this subject. Those who do face a similar fate to the sixth form student: targeted for expressing what they think in public. Even asking questions can be dangerous. …
JK Rowling has now stepped into the row, describing the events as an 'outbreak of quasi-religious fanaticism.' She's right. This is an ideology that demands adherence and punishes heresy. … read full article
Ed. Note: This change in Virginia was covered in a previous article (from Fox News) in GC News on May 16, but this level of genderist indoctrination in school warrants another article.
Fairfax, Virginia Schools May Expel Elementary Students For ‘Misgendering’ People
In Fairfax County, Virginia, changes set to be approved May 26 would punish ‘malicious misgendering’ at the same level as assault and battery.
From The Federalist (USA)
By LAURA BRYANT HANFORD
May 16, 2022
For those who scoff that Florida’s new education law bans “non-existent” gender indoctrination, let the tale of Fairfax County, Virginia serve as a wake-up call.
Fairfax County’s school board has long prided itself on leading the way for the nation in cutting-edge education policy and curriculum. As the tenth-largest district in the nation, it holds disproportionate sway over other school boards. …
Legally meaningless offenses such as “malicious misgendering” and “outing related to gender identification” would be now punishable by up to “Level 4” sanctions. It’s the last level before penalties for drug dealing, rape, and homicide. … read full article
Schools should not withhold students' gender identity from parents, Texas attorney general says
Ken Paxton issued an opinion Tuesday after a request from Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain.
From KVUE News (USA)
By KVUE News Staff
May 17, 2022
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday released an opinion that public schools across the state cannot withhold student health information from their parents.
It comes after Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain showed concern that some school leaders have suggested to staff that student confidentiality should be respected, such as if it a student shares that they identify as transgender or non-binary. … read full article
Bodies Are Not Inherently Male or Female And Other Untrue Modern Stories
The trans argument is a necessary one because it is, in the end, a matter of truth and lies.
From The Debatable Land (Scotland)
By Alex Massie
May 18, 2022
The Trans Argument is, I am afraid, an important one
… I understand why many people do not wish to write about this subject. … Plenty of people think this only a minor one and while I disagree with that it is at least a view worthy of respect in a democratic society. But what is, I think, less excusable is the view that one should opt out from taking a view on the gender wars because, gosh, it’s so very difficult and, in any case, “both sides” have much to answer for.
Because “both sides” do not have much to answer for.
Only one side peddles the most obviously arrant nonsense. Only one side asks that we rethink and recategorise all our views on sex and gender. Only one side takes a “no debate” line of intolerance. Only one side gets a kick out of threatening violence - often sexual violence - in the most lurid terms. Only one side traduces - libels, in fact - its opponents as advocates of, god help us, “genocide”. … read full article
When even midwives are being taught that men can give birth, I despair for motherhood, says childbirth expert MILLI HILL
From Daily Mail (UK)
By MILLI HILL
May 18, 2022
What is a woman? It’s the political question of the day, but here’s a related one for you: Can a person born with a penis give birth?
If you know even the basics of anatomy, you’ll probably swiftly answer: ‘No.’ You may even find yourself quoting Monty Python and asking: ‘Where’s it going to gestate? In a box?’
No matter how determined we are to be inclusive, there are some limits to what different humans can do. And for a person with a penis, having a baby is one such limit. … read full article
Since when did Stonewall side with bullies?
The feminist fix: When they push, you push back just as hard
From The Critic (UK)
By Julie Bindel
May 18, 2022
Did you know that “transgender hate crimes” recorded by police forces in England, Scotland and Wales rose by 81 per cent in 2018-2019? And that 41 per cent of trans people experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in 2017, compared to a measly 16 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals during the same period? …
Welcome to Stonewall’s World, in which, according to its report, LGBT in Britain: Hate Crime and Discrimination, there is barely a trans identified person in the UK who hasn’t either been murdered, attempted to kill themselves, been the victim of literal, actual violence [usually misgendering] or been beaten up on the street, presumably by radical feminists concerned about sex stereotypes. …
And what about lesbians? Well, here’s the rub. No one currently knows the violence and threats they face, because the only time lesbians are mentioned in the Stonewall report, we are lumped in with gay men. This is despite the fact that, due to the toxic combination of anti-lesbian violence and misogyny, it is far more dangerous to be an out lesbian than it is to be a gay man. … read full article
A trial has been scheduled in a challenge to Florida's law limiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity
From WFSU Public Media (USA)
By News Service of Florida
May 18, 2022
A federal judge has scheduled a February trial in a legal battle over a new state law that restricts teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Friday that would lead to the trial being held during a two-week period that begins Feb. 13. Before then, plaintiffs challenging the law are expected to pursue a preliminary injunction, while the state likely will seek dismissal of the case. … read full article
How to stop children being indoctrinated
Woke textbooks should be laughed at — not censored
From UnHerd (UK)
By ANDREW DOYLE
May 18, 2022
During one of the morning assemblies at my convent school, our headmistress, a fearsome nun who beat me with a shoe for accidentally breaking a window, announced that there was to be an amnesty on “Garbage Pail Kids” trading stickers. …
I was reminded of this curious ritual when I read recently of the “flame purification” ceremony conducted by the board in charge of elementary and secondary schools in southwestern Ontario. …
After all, it’s hardly a fringe view: the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Cambridge this month suggested that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series ought to come with “content notes” (a substitute phrase for “trigger warnings” given that the word “trigger” connotes violence and might therefore induce trauma). … read full article
Detransitioner Viewpoint: On My Relationship With My Parents
From Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) (USA)
May 18, 2022
PITT is proud to present the first in a series of Detransitioner viewpoints. To this point, PITT has been exclusively a compilation of parent stories and essays. Now, we’re going to try something new. …
We are parents, and we see our children in these men and women who have been led astray by gender ideology. We can all learn from them and help each other as we navigate through this harrowing landscape. …
If you are a detransitioner, and would like us to publish your anonymous story on PITT, please email us at pitt@genspect.org.
On My Relationship With My Parents
I love my parents and I don’t blame them. Being a parent is tough and there are no instructions. Additionally, we all have flaws, pains, and trauma too and sometimes this can ripple across generations. Unintentionally, many people will transfer the scars of their own childhood onto their own kids. … read full article