Weekly News Roundup: October 28 to November 3
Let's start with good news this week...
Women Empowerment
PETITION: Women of the UK can sign this petition asking their government to make it clear that “sex” means “sex” - not “gender identity” or “sex as modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate” - in the Equality Act of 2010.
Old write-up: The Great Suffrage Parade of 1913
The story of the first civil rights march on the capital of the United States.
11/2/22 - Women athletes now have their own sports network
There’s a brand new streaming service called Women’s Sports Network that will focus on female athletes and sporting competitions!
10/31/22 - A positive outcome of the story about the woman denied surgery for requesting a single-sex care team
10/29/22 - Cambridge alumni pulling funding from college after academics said gender speaker was 'hateful'
Discord surrounded a presenation by Helen Joyce as Trans Rights Activists attempted to shout down her speech. The university responded poorly - apologizing for Joyce’s “hateful” and “offensive” views before the speech even took place. In another positive sign that reason is winning, alumni have responded by denouncing the university for undermining free speech. Feels good to see the ever-increasing support for gender critical discourse.
10/29/22 - ‘Underpaid, undervalued’: March of the Mummies protests take place across UK
Women marched in protest of exorbitant childcare costs in London and 11 other cities across the UK. Like in the US, there are few quality affordable childcare options for families which has the effect of limiting women’s ability to work if not forcing them out of the workforce altogether.
10/29/22 - Women organized in Toronto to spread the word about men housed in women’s prisons
Erasing Women and Women’s Safe Spaces
Headline is self-explanatory. It’s the usual BS of a health organization pretending like there’s no difference between sex and “gender identity.”
Silencing Women
11/2/22 - Long-serving Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman leaves for Sunday Times
Writer Hadley Freeman made her feelings known to The Guardian as she left the newspaper. Freeman criticized the paper for its refusal to report on Mermaids before its investigation as well as fostering an environment in which writers are afraid to express wrongthink.
Males in Female Spaces
11/3/22 - U.S. beauty pageant can exclude transgender contestants, court rules
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled against a trans-identified man upset that he can’t compete in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant won the case based on The First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech, as the Courts ruled that forcing the pageant to accept a natal male would interfere with the pageant’s right to express its view of what makes an ideal woman. I don’t know that I’d mark this as a “win” for women, but it’s for sure a “loss” for trans rights activists.
11/1/22 - Man takes first in women’s mountain bike racing competition
News Impacting Society and Children
11/1/22 - Over 200,000 trans people could face voting restrictions because of state ID laws
In short, some people don’t like having to show IDs that don’t match their gendered souls. Expect this to be used to argue that it should be easier to change an ID and other legal documents.
A surgeon at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia argues that age is just a number and that it is “maturity” of a child that tells us if he/she is ready for “gender-affirming” surgery. Critics rightfully argue that that flies in the face of everything that we know about cognitive and emotional development in children.
The Department for Education in the UK is warning teachers to be on the lookout for students who may be at risk of radicalization, including boys suceptible to violent incel ideology, in an effort to address a growing domestic terror threat. Efforts include utilizing the Relationships, Sex, and Health Education curriculum in schools, info sessions for parents, and trainings for teachers and other school staff.
10/28/22 - Supreme Court rules mandatory sex offender registry is unconstitutional
Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory listing of sex offenders on a sex offender registry is overly broad. The Court ruled that placement on such a registry infringes on the right to “life, liberty, and security” of those who are not at risk of reoffending.
Entertainment
10/30/22 - Rival writers’ camps in free speech showdown
This is an article about the divide in the Society of Authors (SoA), the trade union for writers in the UK. JK Rowling is mentioned, of course, due the feud between her and SoA chairwoman Joanne Harris, but the two camps of the divide seem to be Team Harris and Team Pullman. Sir Philip Pullman stepped down as president of SoA earlier this year, and argues that SoA must support free speech.