Nov. 15 - 21: Women's spaces are being reclaimed; Wyoming among states reclaiming abortion rights
Might the culture war tides be changing?
Calls to Action
Sign the Democratic Women’s Declaration
“No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her sex.” The Democratic Women's Declaration stands firm on protecting sex-based rights. Key areas include maternal services, single-sex spaces, and freedom of expression.
Join LGBT Courage Coalition in submitting a public comment to Oregon’s Insurance Commissioner about his proposed rules on gender-affirming treatment. Deadline Nov. 26.
Join Women’s Rights Matter initiative to wear suffragette colours on Thursdays.
Contact Congresswoman Rep. Nancy Mace to express appreciation and let her know we want more (stories about Mace’s excellent work below).
Erasing Women and Women’s Safe Spaces
19 Nov. 2024 - Judge claims female only Olympus Spa is akin to “whites only” business
Judge M. Margaret McKeown voiced skepticism of Olympus Spa’s female-only admissions policy, calling it “parallel” to a “white applicants only” scenario. The case is being heard at federal appeals court following the June 2023 Washington Human Rights Commission ruling that the spa must accept biological men.
Erasing RECLAIMING Women and Women’s Safe Spaces
18 Nov. 2024 - Wisconsin School District changes transgender privacy, bathroom, sports policies
Waterton (WI) School District’s newly approved administrative guidelines around “Gender Support Plans” aims to protect the district and its kids, including:
Requiring parental consent for changing pronouns and name,
Giving staff option of using new pronouns and names, or not,
Requiring students to use facilities consistent with their biological sex.
20 Nov. 2024 - F**k around and find out #1 - Speaker Johnson restricts use of Capitol bathrooms by transgender people
Shortly after U.S. House of Representatives Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) introduced a resolution proposing that elected officials be required to use restrooms that align with their biological sex, Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) announced the new policy. Johnson stated: “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex… It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol… Women deserve women’s only spaces.” Rep elect Sarah (Tim) McBride (D-DE) 👨🦰(who is set to become the first openly transgender lawmaker in the House) says he will abide by the rules.
20 Nov. 2024 - F**k around and find out #2 - Mace bill would ban trans people from bathrooms in federal buildings
Congresswoman Rep. Nancy Mace IMMEDIATELY followed up on her reclaiming Capitol women’s spaces with:
(That’s how it’s DONE, SON!)
Males in Female Sports
11 Nov. 2024 - California school official compared ‘Save Girls Sports’ shirt to swastika, rebuked girls wearing it: lawsuit
A grade 11 high school student was *removed* from her school’s varisty cross-country team to make room for a trans-identified male student who had transferred to the school. The school rejected her Title IX complaint, and reclassified it as a “confidential personnel matter” that did not involve sex discrimination. So she and a friend wore pro- girls sports shirts… which the school deemed created a “hostile environment” and likened to swastikas. So the girls and their familes are suing.
15 Nov. 2024 - Pool players hire experts to prove transgender *male* players have unfair advantage
Even in sports like pool, which might not seem at first to involve physical prowess, males disproportionately win matches against females - and then claim the accolades and awards. So a group of UK women pool players have hired experts to assess the male sex-based advantages (such as strength, narrower hips, lack of breasts to get in the way, better fast-twitch muscles), in support of their lawsuit against the sport’s governing body.
Sex Discrimination and Women’s Rights
15 Nov. 2024 - Attempted honor killing of Washington teenager in front of school
The father and mother of a teenage girl who refused to get on plane to Iraq for an arranged marriage (to an older, unknown-to-her man) tried to kill their daughter in front of her school. Her sister helped hold back other students from intervening. The father, and then the mother, attempted to choke their 17 year-old to death, but friends and good Samaritans fought them both off and got her to safety. Both parents were arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and domestic assault.
16 Nov. 2024 - They fled war in Sudan. Now, women in refugee camps say they’re being forced to have sex to survive
As Sudanese women flee their home to escape the brutal war that is raging, some have come forward with allegations that men (many of them in roles and organizations meant to protect and support refugees) are exploiting their vulnerability — offering money or assistance in return for sex. Unfortunately, this is a reality for women in war times — “Sexual exploitation during large humanitarian crises is not uncommon, especially in displacement sites.“
In the words of one woman: “If we had enough, we wouldn’t have to go out and lose our dignity.”
19 Nov. 2024 - Judge strikes down Wyoming abortion laws, including ban on pills to end pregnancy
Four women challenged Wyoming’s ban on abortions, on the grounds that the bans harmed their health, well-being and livelihoods, and violate the constitutional right to make health care decisions. The state argued that abortions are not considered health care. District Judge Melissa Owens found that two state laws (1- banning abortion except to protect a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest and 2- explicitly banning abortion pills) do violate pregnant women’s rights under the state constitution.
"This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming — and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies," Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart said in a statement.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, sending law-making about abortions back to the State level, most Republican-controlled states have implemented abortion bans. Currently 13 states have total abortion bans and four have bans after six weeks — nearly all the bans have been challenged in court, with varying outcomes.
In the recent election, abortion was on the ballot in many states, and the results were seen by some pro-choice supporters as “encouraging”. Missourians upended one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans by voting to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, and abortion rights ammendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada and New York.
20 Nov. 2024 - How women’s basic rights and freedoms are being eroded all over the world
This article provides a synopsis of how “from Iraq to Afghanistan to the US, basic freedoms for women are being eroded as governments start rolling back existing laws”. A good read, though it fails to include the Western erasure of women’s autonomy, privacy and very existence.
Pornography, Sexual Harassment & Sexual Assault
19 Nov. 2024 - This thing that never happens - Canadian mother told to be more inclusive about tall, hairy man in child’s pink bikini showering next to her daughter
Said concerned mother to facility management: “I see where you’re coming from now. You actually believe that the 6-foot-tall muscular man with the hairy chest and back who took a shower with my 10-year-old daughter was a woman because he was wearing a bikini. That is magical/religious thinking.”
News Impacting Society and Children
14 Nov. 2024 - NHS publishes Terms of Reference for review of England’s adult gender dysphoria clinics
On the heels of the Cass report, England is getting underway with another independent review - this time looking at adult gender dysphoria clinics. In June, Dr. David Levy was asked to lead the review; he will be supported by a panel of clinicians and other key stakeholders.
The newly released terms of reference set out that the review will examine current operations and service delivery for safety, effectiveness and adherence to requirements. It will also report on how well patients needs are being met, opportunities to improve effectiveness and safety, what constitutes good practice, and more. Notably, the Review has a mandate to “escalate current safety concerns where required to protect patients at the earliest opportunity to allow action to be taken to address issues”.
Entertainment
15 Nov. 2024 - Disney trans-athlete storyline gets shelved as political climate shifts
Artists on the Disney show Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur assert that an episode focused on a trans-athlete has been shelved because the Republicans won the recent U.S. election. The episode featured trans-identified male character Brooklyn facing bigotry from a coach who tries to bar him from playing. Disney claims the episode is not cancelled but being “held” for different (unstated) reasons that were decided long ago.
20 Nov. 2024 - Long live the Queen - HBO Says J.K. Rowling will remain involved with ‘Harry Potter’ series and has the right to express her personal views
Op-Eds / Interest
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Holiday Announcement
No WAHF next week — We are taking a break next week to celebrate Thanksgiving! We hope you enjoy breaking bread with your family and friends, hold onto your relationships despite your differences, and know that that you never need to play pretend with another adult.
I just love that comment from the mother ! She hits the nail on the head in mirroring back to the pool administration, that the man with the hairy back wearing a pink bikini, is a woman because of what he is wearing ! We need people to mirror back the total observable facts, let it sit with the receiver, it will be uncomfortable for them due to the fact the everyone knows a man wearing female clothes does not justify them allowing themselves with women. As we all know in the fight for reality and respect of our sex, no man ever will be a woman, the wearing of costume is a perverted fetish and one that needs deep mental health treatment.
Ugh. That pool in BC is the one I used to train at. So maddening.