It’s shocking to see MPs (or Senators and Representatives) ranting about the wickedness of colleagues who know and say that people can’t change sex. It’s like theocracy without the theo part.

The Home Sec suggesting MPs read this book is a disgrace, it shows a lack of respect for equality laws in this country & is yet more evidence of this Govt desire to attack the trans community in a divisive culture war. pic.twitter.com/jC1rGlk94Z

— Kate Osborne MP (@KateOsborneMP) July 21, 2023

Of course parents who “support their kids through transition” are irrevocably harming them. The idea that people can change sex is a mistake, and physically acting on it is of course harmful.

Osborne is the one using … Read the rest

We’ve been hearing lately that house insurance is difficult to get, and very expensive if you can get it, in Florida. Fortune looks at it from the profit or no profit point of view:

Given that Farmers is not the first home insurer to stop offering coverage in Florida over the past year or so, things are looking challenging for its housing market, and particularly, its homeowners that are already paying the highest insurance premiums in the nation, with an average premium of $6,000 per year versus the U.S. average of $1,700 per year, according to Mark Friedlander, Florida-based director of corporate communications for the Insurance Information Institute. That’s 42% higher than the year prior, Frielander added. 

And why … Read the rest

We’re getting closer and closer to the buzzsaw.

A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is unprecedented. Dangerous heatwaves in Europe could break further records, the UN says.

It is hard to immediately link these events to climate change because weather – and oceans – are so complex. Studies are under way, but scientists already fear some worst-case scenarios are unfolding. “I’m not aware of a similar period when all parts of the climate system were in record-breaking or abnormal territory,” Thomas Smith, an environmental geographer at London School of Economics, says.

Scary enough yet?

The average global ocean temperature has smashed records

Press release from the office of the Mayor of London:

Mayor launches new campaign empowering men to challenge misogyny by saying ‘maaate’ to their mates when they cross the line

Empowering them? What, they’re so enfeebled now that they can’t say “maaate”?

But, more to the point, does that really “challenge misogyny”? Naaaaaah.

The innovative campaign aims to help men and boys confidently step-in when they witness language and behaviour towards women and girls that crosses the line.

Step-in? What’s with the hyphen? A century ago “step-ins” was a word for women’s underpants. It’s not a verb. One steps in, one doesn’t step-in. One doesn’t go-out or come-in or run-away. Just say No to superfluous hyphens.

The Mayor is clear

Oh blah blah blah. Stonewall trots out the usual evasive dishonest generalities instead of for once condescending to be clear and precise.

On 20 July, Stonewall Chair, Iain Anderson, was interviewed by Beth Rigby on Sky News. The interview was supposed to be an opportunity to talk about 10 years of marriage equality, LGBTQ+ veterans, and Rainbow Laces 10 – all remarkable moments that deserved recognition and celebration.

We took part in the interview because Stonewall has always been engaged in difficult conversations on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.

No it hasn’t, for the simple reason that Stonewall has not always talked about the fictional “LGBTQ+ community” at all. Stonewall started out as an organization for lesbians and gay men.… Read the rest

Thanks for all the help, slavery!

Kamala Harris was due to visit Florida on Friday, to respond to the state board of education’s controversial new standards for Black history education which include the contention that some Black people benefited from being enslaved.

I wonder if the members of the state board of education wish they could be enslaved so that they too could get some of those sweet sweet benefits.

On Wednesday, the Florida board of education approved new standards for how public schools should teach Black history.

According to a 216-page document, public school students will now be taught that some Black people received “personal benefit” from slavery – because it taught them useful skills.

Well of course … Read the rest

I missed the news that Nancy Kelley is leaving Stonewall.

Nancy Kelley, head of the divisive charity Stonewall, announced earlier this week on Twitter that she is to step down from the role. Her post on Monday stated that while the job hasn’t “always been a pleasure”, leading Europe’s largest LGBTQIA+ organisation “has surely been a privilege”. 

But under her leadership Stonewall morphed into a TQ organization with extra added misogyny.

Over her three years in the post, Kelley brought a smorgasbord of hitherto unrepresented identities under the organisation’s “trans umbrella”. Perhaps spokespeople from the asexual, pansexual, demisexual and allosexual communities will be sad to see her go. But it’s fair to say that many homosexuals who once turned

Hmm. Irony, or no? Lia Thomas having a little laugh, or Lia Thomas going all Patty Hearst on us? Hard to tell.

At least we know he’s still an entitled abuser of women.… Read the rest

Well he doesn’t say quite exactly that – he says the less true, less fair, less justifiable version. He says there are competing rights, in other words that men do have a right to invade women’s spaces regardless of what women want.

What do you say to women who want to keep women’s spaces she asks, do you understand them she asks. “I do,” he says with energy, “and I think there is um more of a conversation to be had to try and you know to try and calm this, to try and provide reassurance”

Ah yes, that’s the important thing, calm this, provide [empty] reassurance so that these god damn women will shut the fuck up… Read the rest

Shut down the entire sport why don’t you.

On Friday [last week], Disc Golf Pro Tour announced that it would relocate the Female Professional Open (FPO) division at some of the largest events of the season to other states while canceling other FPO divisions completely in order to avoid more legal troubles as a result of lawsuits from Natalie Ryan, a male disc golfer who identifies as a female and has sued DGPT in California and Minnesota over gender eligibility policies that restrict him from competing.

…

In a press release obtained by The Post Millennial, DGPT said, “These adjustments have been made in order to protect competitive fairness in the FPO division and to limit financial burden in locations

The part of Beth Rigby’s interview of Iain Anderson that deals with the gross insult of “Lia” Thomas stealing women’s wins is absolutely disgusting. He blathers and huffs and bloviates and completely ignores the obvious, gruesome, painful injustice to the women, the mere tedious boring nobody cares women.

“Do you think that’s fair, Iain?” asks @BethRigby, pointing to the picture behind.@iain_w_anderson responds thus

“So….um..sport by sport people are looking at this..they really are..” then faffs on about @stonewalluk being “at the forefront of f**king rainbow laces…”

Wot??? https://t.co/Ex9yY4o1EX

— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) July 21, 2023

“Do you think that’s fair Iain?”

“So, em, sport by sport, people are looking at this, they absolutely are – we’re about to … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Tim Harris on Do it to her and her.

Carl Schmitt, that highly intelligent but nasty old Nazi, had some interestingly nasty thoughts on the importance of making a distinction between ‘friend’ and ‘enemy’: “The specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.” Though I doubt whether any Tory politicians know much about Schmitt’s thought, one saw (and sees) his playbook in action in the Brexit disaster, both before and after Britain’s leaving the EU, when not only virulent Brexiters with no formal political power but the British government as well deliberately sought to cast the EU as an enemy who sought Britain’s destruction.

Hitler … Read the rest

Well of course he does. What answer can he give?

When Beth Rigby asks Iain Anderson if it's OK for male swimmer Lia Williams to take gold medals away from women, he goes off on a wild tangent about a campaign to help gay men come out in professional football. Unfortunately for him, the shocking podium picture stays on screen pic.twitter.com/oo6FQMxFHz

— Simon Edge (@simonjedge) July 20, 2023

… Read the rest

Beth Rigby on Sky News talked to Stonewall chair Iain Anderson about the war on feminist women. He tells us it’s Both Sides.

No it isn’t. Not even close. We get abuse, insults, name-calling, venomous misogyny day in day out. Very few of us on team terf try to match them.

This is maddening, to be honest.
For years women have begged to be heard on an obvious clash of rights. We have toed the line on pronouns and politenesses, been threatened with rape and violence (and those threats made good on in some cases), lost our livelihoods and been slurred… https://t.co/bfZ5kf4EAa

— For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) July 20, 2023

… Read the rest

From The Guardian:

“A site visit carried out on 12 July 2023 confirmed that whilst the colour of door is currently pale pink and not white as required by the notice, it is a muted colour and is acceptable to under-enforce the requirements of the enforcement notice.

“It is therefore recommended that the case is closed.”

And, down the page:

In a report to councillors recommending that the council take no further action, the city’s chief planning officer, David Givan, warned that Dickson remained on notice.

See it? In the first extract the subjunctive is not used, and in the second it is. It’s especially interesting because it’s the same kind of subjunctive – the kind that follows “recommend … Read the rest

Takes the breath away.

Update: We just talked to Lauren Boebert about what the pin represents. She immediately threw away the pin and shook her head “no” when I said we hope you can take action on gun violence prevention. https://t.co/51amIYJiUx pic.twitter.com/Yh4lboUr8t

— sarah fishkind (@sarahefishkind) July 18, 2023

… Read the rest

When in doubt, find some women to torture.

A video showing two women being paraded naked by a mob in the north-eastern state of Manipur, hit by violent ethnic clashes, has sparked outrage in India. The police say they have opened a case of gang rape and arrested a man, adding that others will be held soon.

…

Deadly violence has plunged Manipur, a scenic Indian state bordering Myanmar, into turmoil for more than two months. Clashes between members of the majority Meitei and the Kuki tribal communities have resulted in their complete segregation. At least 130 people have died and 60,000 have been displaced. The two women, who are Kukis, were assaulted by men of the Meitei group.

Maybe Willoughby is a secret agent undermining trans ideology from within.

This just in.

Transgender activist Sarah Jane Baker appeared in court today and was remanded in custody at a men's prison. Baker allegedly told a crowd at the Trans+ Pride rally in Westminster: 'If you see a TERF, punch them in the f****** face.' pic.twitter.com/scNSbTc57P

— CourtNewsUK (@CourtNewsUK) July 20, 2023

Allegedly, on video.… Read the rest

The rest of that section of the paper:

Freeman (2015) argues that contemporary pregnancy, in particular, has become a site of epistemic injustice through processes of medical professionals and technologies assuming power and epistemic authority over pregnancy and pregnant people, often denying or superseding the epistemic privilege, knowledge, and control that a pregnant person has over their own body and embodied pregnancy experience. Similarly, both MacKendrick (2018) and Waggoner (2017) clearly demonstrate how responsibilities for ensuring the health and well-being of embryos, fetuses, children, and families are forms of gendered precautionary labor in which “safety first” approaches result in additional social control over women and their everyday lives, often despite equivocal empirical evidence supporting the benefits of such precautions.