BBC insults women some more.

The BBC has rejected viewer complaints about the trans rapist Isla Bryson being referred to as a woman on a Scottish news programme. The corporation’s executive complaints unit (ECU) launched an investigation after concerns were raised about how Bryson was described in coverage of his conviction for raping two women.

…

A presenter said: “A woman has been found guilty of raping two women prior to changing her gender. 31-year-old Isla Bryson carried out the attacks in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019 while known as a man called Adam Graham. Bryson now identifies as a woman and is in the process of starting gender reassignment.”

Rubbing our noses in it. They didn’t … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Screechy Monkey at Miscellany Room.

The point of laws like this TN one is to intimidate people and chill expression, and this very thread demonstrates how.

Oh, the law doesn’t specifically say that all drag performances are illegal, only ones that appeal to a prurient interest! And who could be against performances of a prurient interest where CHILDREN might see it? (Won’t somebody think of the children?)

Except what makes something an “appeal to a prurient interest”? Yes, it’s a phrase used in obscenity law, so it has some legal meaning, but obscenity has other requirements that limit its applicability, and even with those it’s still a bit of a dangerously fuzzy concept.

And here … Read the rest

The Federalist Society is grappling with the always-grappled-with conundrum of democracy versus rights (or democracy versus law, democracy versus principles, democracy versus charters). Democracy is more fair and just than dictatorship or monarchy, but then what about democracies that persecute minorities? What do you do when the majority is all for violating human rights?

This year’s gathering was even more important than most. As the first student symposium since the Supreme Court handed conservatives a historic package of victories on gun rights, religious freedom, environmental deregulation, and, of course, abortion, the weekend offered a window into the shifting priorities and preoccupations of the youngest and most elite members of the conservative legal movement, at a time

Headline:

Woman jailed for four-and-a-half years for threats to murder her mother

Except, not a woman.

A woman who threatened to torture, rape and murder her mother, was today jailed for five and a half years with the final 12 months suspended.

Except NOT A WOMAN. Not a woman, not even close. A man. A violent abusive violent man.

Judge O’Donnell noted the defendant, who was born male but identifies as a woman “is unrepentant” about wanting to kill her mother.

His mother.

Unfortunately the women in that prison will now have to deal with him.… Read the rest

Famous they/them artiste Sam Smith wore a thing at an awards do last month.

I’m chagrined that I missed it.

Sam Smith’s inflatable latex suit was the talk of the red carpet at this year’s Brit Awards. Its designer is also a latex farmer in India, who reveals it was inspired by his dog.

An inflatable latex suit! Of course it was the talk of the carpet! (Wait what? What is the talk of the carpet? That don’t make no sense.) Plus it was inspired by a dog!

Aesthetically it’s just [chef’s kiss] –

And the back view!

No no you’ve got it all wrong, it’s about inclusion. It’s so much more inclusiony this way.

Good Morning Britain viewers have been left furious as the CEO of Oxfam spoke out on why the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are to be banned in the charity’s new foundation scheme.

Oxfam has instructed its staff to use the word ‘parent’ instead of ‘mother’ and ‘father’ as it updates its language guide…

CEO Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah explains why Oxfam’s inclusivity guide has been updated, claiming the changes “create an inclusive environment within the work place.”

But it doesn’t. It doesn’t. Of course it doesn’t. Is Dr Sriskandarajah aware that lots of people in the work place are themselves mothers or fathers? … Read the rest

Oxfam has issued a new inclooooosive guide to how to erase everyone except Trans Folks.

Oxfam has instructed staff to drop the words “mother” and “father” from their vocabulary and replace them with “parent” when describing family roles.

Which is to say Oxfam has instructed staff to describe family roles without describing family roles.

The charity said that allowances should be made for trans families that might not identify with the conventional roles of a man and woman in parenthood and that in such cases “parent” would be more appropriate.

Except it’s not actually “conventional”; it’s physical. There are of course many conventions that go with the physical roles in parenthood, but the conception and gestation and expulsion and lactation … Read the rest

Sigh. The burning stupid, it’s like mildew, or ants, or a bad smell.

We are proud of our commitment to using language that includes everyone and respects the ways people want to be referred to.
When we include everyone, we can overcome poverty. pic.twitter.com/Zl32e821im

— Oxfam (@oxfamgb) March 16, 2023

When we “include everyone” in the sense of calling men “women” if they tell us to will overcome poverty? Really? How? What’s the mechanism? And does this eccentric claim apply to all people who call themselves something they’re not? How about rich people, and bosses, and CEOs, and stockbrokers, and market manipulators, and advertisers, and politicians who spurn immigrants and labor unions? When we “include” them will poverty be overcome? … Read the rest

Meet “cute authoritarianism.”

The results of a study of the effects of Disney films and “cute webpages,” such as Lolcats and Cute Overload, suggest that humans have a hardwired biological response to cuteness. Communications expert Julia Möller argues that “the sensitivity to cuteness is directly connected to the reproductive phase of the recipient.” Some other research suggests that “gazing at cute babies releases dopamine”—the neurotransmitter that also plays a crucial role in drug addiction.

Many corporations have learned to capitalize on this in advertisements that feature images of puppies, kittens and children. Möller describes this strategy as “fluffy dollars.” This strategic use of cuteness is also used to sell non-cute items, such as AI. According to a Chinese study

Guardian columnist Catherine Bennett wrote a piece about misogynist men a few weeks ago.

The continued detention of the professional misogynist Andrew Tate deprives fans of a treasured role model. Even if Tate is soon free to resume his life’s work – essentially, telling women to “shut up, bitch” – it could be a while before Romanian police return the luxury cars that validate his alpha male status.

…

In what is increasingly acknowledged to be a golden era for misogyny, it’s still unusual to find anything approaching Tate’s strutting self-regard, his bragging, his contempt for women, especially mouthy or older ones. “I don’t even talk to old hoes,” he offers, in one video. As for working women who aspire,

Two University of Bath senior lecturers have a piece in Jacobin about…you’ll never guess…”transphobia” and moral panic and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry sorry I’m awake now – yes transphobia and moral panic and transphobia. The subhead presents their claim.

Britain’s moral panic over the trans “threat” is often promoted by people who see themselves as liberals. But their transphobia echoes the same reactionary themes long used to demonize minorities.

Or to put it another way, their evil echoes the same evil long used to be evil to saints. Compelling argument; can we talk about something else now?

No. Pay attention. These are senior lecturers telling us.

The horrific murder of Brianna Ghey has put transphobia in Britain’s news headlines yet again, with

Now that we’ve met Maisie Hill let’s get to know her even better. She certainly wants to tell people on the internet all about herself.

Chapter one: she had horrible period pain for 15 years, which is not something I would wish on anyone. Except Donald Trump.

Chapter two: she became fabulous.

At the time I was managing a rock bar in Soho and trying to find my path in life (having previously experimented with tattooing, music merchandise, and working in a parrot store in New York), so when I found the perfect combination of therapies that finally dealt with my period pain once and for all, I was inspired to train as a health practitioner.

What’s a health … Read the rest

An unexpectedly hilarious read, starting from Helen Joyce’s note-taking.

Here's the archived version of the job ad, in case they pull it 2/2 https://t.co/NyBhAQExx8

— Helen Joyce (@HJoyceGender) March 14, 2023

All righty let’s read that job ad, because it is both horrifying and hilarious. You want to read the archived version, because they’ve already edited out the “you can’t work here if you’re a terf” bit from the original.

Maisie Hill, seeking a virtual assistant, remote, contract.

We are looking for an organised, responsive, and helpful person to join our business as a Virtual Assistant. This role is all about supporting the needs of the business, so that we can create the results we want and help our

Trump is objecting to Ron DeSantis’s ethics. Trump is objecting to someone else’s ethics. Yes that’s right, his ethics.

Donald Trump’s allies are stepping up their battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, formally accusing him of violating state ethics and election laws with his “shadow presidential campaign.” 

Have they paid much attention to their own guy at all?

Make America Great Again Inc. is filing a 15-page complaint Wednesday with the Florida Commission on Ethics, a draft of which was obtained exclusively by NBC News. 

It asks the commission to probe whether pro-DeSantis super PACs, his “personally lucrative book tour” and a continued wave of state-level campaign contributions, among other things, “are unlawful because they serve his

Nice impartial lede:

JK Rowling has defended her decision to weigh in on the debate about transgender issues in the past few years.

Ah yes, her “decision” to “weigh in” – as if she had absolutely no business saying anything about a debate that impinges on women’s rights at a million points. As if she’s a presumptuous pushy intruder talking about something that’s none of her business. Now she has the gall to “defend” this bossy meddlesome move. Really, where does she get the nerve.

In the years since, Rowling has shared a number of controversial social media posts and essays on the debate, leading to accusations of transphobia. She has denied that she is transphobic.

Same again. … Read the rest

Trump explains that January 6 was all Pence’s fault.

Donald Trump on Monday sharply rebuked Mike Pence’s assertion that history would hold him accountable for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, telling reporters that his former vice president should shoulder the blame for the violent riot that day by Trump’s supporters.

It was Billy who broke the lamp/ate the last cookie/spilled grape juice on the rug.

“Had he sent the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Jan. 6, so in many ways you can blame him for Jan. 6,” the former president said, referring to Pence’s refusal to reject the electoral college votes in Congress as Trump wanted him

Now there’s a genius heckler’s veto.

Parents have been issued with a demand for £600 to cover the cost of hiring private security guards before a public debate over gender ideology in schools.

But why do they have to hire private security guards?

The group, Concerned Adults Talking Openly About Gender Identity Ideology, plans to hold a meeting at Portobello Library in Edinburgh on March 14 but it has prompted anger among trans activists who are trying to force its cancellation.

That’s why. Because many “trans activists” and their “activist” allies get violent.

Making the objects of the violence pay for security is an ingenious way to silence the objects of the violence, which of course is the goal … Read the rest

Charlie Nash at The New Statesman says Jordan Peterson isn’t quite the social media darling he once was. In fact he’s a bit of a joke.

YouTube is rife with edits that splice Peterson’s increasingly hysterical rants with gameplay from the Command & Conquer games, a series that features a cast of eccentric villains who issue apocalyptic threats to the player as they progress through the story. Sadly, these edits are not even necessary. Peterson’s video monologues are quite enough on their own. Last year, with Bond villain-esque delivery, Peterson warned the Masters of the Universe to leave him alone or face the consequences: 

“Leave us alone, you centralisers of power. You worshippers of Gaia. You sacrificers of the

Originally a comment by What a Maroon at Miscellany Room.

This should be easy, right? A sport which depends entirely on strength should be strictly segregated by sex. Or perhaps you could accommodate trans people by creating a third category for people calling themselves trans and “non-binary”, as USA Powerlifting tried to do. Seems like a reasonable compromise.

But of course a TIM disagrees, and he found a judge to agree with him. The judge’s opinion is, well, something.

“Segregation and separation are the hallmarks of discrimination,” Minnesota District Judge Patrick Diamond wrote in a Feb. 27 decision. “Separate but equal is unavailing. Discrimination claims are not defeated because separate services, facilities, accommodations were made available.”

If … Read the rest

I’m reading Bernard Lane’s review of Hannah Barnes’s Time to Think at Quillette, and this bit jumped out at me:

In a 2015 parliamentary submission, Carmichael and her Tavistock colleague Bernadette Wren, both clinical psychologists, reported:

We offer assessment and treatment not just to those young people who are identifiably resilient and for whom there is an evidence base for a likely ‘successful’ outcome. We have carefully extended our programme to offer physical intervention [such as blockers] to those who have a range of psychosocial and psychiatric difficulties, including young people with autism and psychiatric difficulties, and young people who are looked after [in care].

Their stated rationale for this approach was that “[we] have felt that these young people