2/2 to 2/8: Upcoming WoLF conference, more pushes against men infiltrating women's sports
2/2 to 2/8: Upcoming WoLF conference, more pushes against men infiltrating women's sports
And lots of great commentaries to fill your weekend!
Call to Action
Attend the 10th Anniversary WoLF Conference. Are you free the weekend of March 8-10th? Want to take a trip to Santa Fe? Come meet other women dedicated to women’s rights as we organize to champion the cause.
Donate to fund the final court costs of Rachel Meade, an English social worker who was sanctioned by her employer for voicing her concern about gender ideology undermining women’s rights. Meade won her case, but must return to court for compensation to be determined.
Women’s Liberation
Nicole Navarro rescues foxes from “fur farms,” and the life journey of these little cuties has proven to resonate with women who have survived domestic violence.
2/2 - Johns Hopkins Launches Center for Global Women’s Health and Gender Equity
This sounds promising, as it comes from the number one public health school in the nation. As someone in the field, however, I’m wary that at some point there will be a push to pledge allegiance to the cause of “trans inclusion.”
Males in Female Sports
It is quite unfortunate that this issue has become a Democrat versus Republican one in the US. Republicans are highly motivated to care about this issue only because the outrage it causes is helpful to them ahead of the 2024 elections. It’s not all bad, though. WoLF, an organization wholly dedicated to women’s rights, is on board with the legislation brought forward by Republicans to protect female athletes, boosting our trust that this legislation is meaningful.
I have to admit that I’m surprised, with how vocal both men and women have been on this issue, that so many sports governing bodies are still dragging their feet on keeping males from entering female sports categories. Even Irish dancing is affected. Other organizations, like Parkrun, choose to bury their heads in the sand.
Of course trans-identifying man Bobbi Lancaster, who is retired from the sport, can admit now that trans-identifying men have a natural advantage over female athletes that makes it unfair for those men to compete against women. And, no, Golfweek, the science is not “inconclusive.” How many more research articles highlighting male athletic advantage do you need to see? Even before puberty, there is evidence of this advantage. One bright spot? One golf tour, Cactus Tour in Arizona, has already changed its policy to define its sports categories by sex in response to the controversy.
2/3 - Lynne Pinches: Pool player rejects professional contract after transgender policy U-turn
We’ve included headlines about Ms. Pinches in the past. She is the picture of a hero, as she sacrifices her dream in protest of an unfair policy.
2/3 - Biden officials advance plan to blow up Trump’s rules on sexual misconduct in schools
Typical narrative manipulation by mainstream media. The headline would lead you to believe that Biden is only trying to save women from an evil policy by Big Bad Trump that makes it harder to punish sexual misconduct. In fact, the changes that the Biden admin are considering would stamp out sex-specific sports categories.
Let’s take a quick break to remember what we’re fighting for (credit: @revfoxxusa):
Sex Discrimination
2/7 - Divya Deshmukh: India chess player's Instagram post sparks sexism discussion
While we may not all play chess, I bet every woman reading this can relate to Ms. Deshmuhk’s experience of being judged on characteristics - attractiveness, mannerisms, relationships - completely irrelevant to the task at hand.
News Impacting Society and Children
2/6 - Social media algorithms ‘amplifying misogynistic content’
The trend continues. I remember ~10 years ago when media was reporting how the internet was radicalizing lonely young men into becoming angry, violent incels. There is a much bigger discussion to be had here about how the internet/social media influences us to self-segregate and become deeply hateful of those we deem as part of the out-group.
2/4 - Misogyny and racial bias routinely putting patients at risk, warns NHS England safety chief
This article illustrates the subject matter of the book Invisible Women. In short, science and technology were built around white men as a kind of default human being, ignoring that characteristics like sex and ethnicity impact the effectiveness of different tools and medicine for different people.
2/4 - Oklahoma drag queen elementary school principal resigns amid outrage, official says
Not mentioned in the headline: this dude had previously faced charges for child pornography, although those charges were ultimately dismissed.
2/3 - Dead people should be able to change their gender, says Labour MP
Is there any of corner of existence where Trans Radical Activists aren’t trying to push their ideology?
2/2 - Federal court overturns American transgender woman's persecution-based refugee claim
#MostOppressed
Beyond the West
2/6 - 'Missing' girls: selective abortion in Albania fuels gender gap
Reminiscent of the consequences of China’s one-child policy, deeply ingrained patriarchal norms lead families to undervalue the birth of girls.
2/5 - In Gaza, there’s a war on women. Will the west really ignore it because they’re ‘not like us’?
From the article, on the practice of collective punishment of Gazans: “It is an argument that is a race to the bottom of humanity, giving licence to smear a whole population with the crimes of its worst, and abdicate the responsibility to think critically and empathetically about cultures and politics shaped by years of occupation, crisis and siege.“
Entertainment
2/6 - Fired 'Mandalorian' actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk
Gina Carano fights for free speech. What will make this case interesting is that she is arguing Disney demonstrated sex-based discrimination, as her male co-stars publicly voiced liberal-friendly politically-charged opinions without punishment by the entertainment megacorporation.
Op-Eds and Commentaries of Interest
Women’s Liberation
Gender Ideology
New York Times: As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do.
The Free Press: I Was Told to Approve All Teen Gender Transitions. I Refused.
New York Times: ‘My Heart Sank’: In Maine, a Challenge to a Book, and to a Town’s Self-Image
NZ's Midwifery Council wants to stop using the words 'mother' and 'baby' for mothers and babies.