A rebuke:

The Today programme presenter Justin Webb has been partially rebuked by the BBC after he suggested students were lying when they accused a university professor of transphobia.

Introducing Radio 4’s newspaper review last October, Webb said: “And quite a lot of coverage still of Kathleen Stock, the academic from Sussex University who’s been abused by students who accuse her, falsely, of transphobia. She says her union has now effectively ended her career. It’s published a statement of support, not for her but for those who are abusing her.”

Four listeners complained to the BBC that Webb’s use of “falsely” was inaccurate and betrayed a personal opinion. Three also complained of inaccuracy and apparent bias in describing the

It’s all about the dress. Literally all.

yeah dad, how do you know pic.twitter.com/ZZqfMXfAFQ

— Serious trans vibes Comics (@AssignedMale) February 8, 2022

… Read the rest

“Science News” is kidding about the “Science” part.

The coronavirus is a danger to babies and pregnant people, and the vaccines are safe, data show

Good science communication is as clear and unambiguous as possible. Pregnancy is not a universal human experience.

We get a story about a pregnant she who got the vax and then

Others who’ve been pregnant during the pandemic haven’t been so sure. Cumulatively, only 42.6 percent of pregnant people ages 18 to 49 have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States as of January 15, before or during their pregnancies.

The campaign to erase women from public discourse continues even in science journalism.

Yet unlike when Yohay rolled up her sleeve almost

Trump may have put himself in worse jeopardy.

Donald Trump’s incendiary call at a Texas rally for his backers to ready massive protests against “radical, vicious, racist prosecutors” could constitute obstruction of justice or other crimes and backfire legally on Trump, say former federal prosecutors.

…

Trump’s rant that his followers should launch the “biggest protests” ever in three cities should prosecutors “do anything wrong or illegal” by criminally charging him for his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, or for business tax fraud, came at a 30 January rally in Texas where he repeated falsehoods that the election was rigged.

Legal experts were astonished at Trump’s strong hints that if he runs and wins a second term in

This garbage again. Boys are to be ambitious and strong, girls are to be humble and kind. It might as well be shirts marketed to slave-owners and slaves respectively.

A bestselling author has criticised Primark over a “sexist” children’s clothing line that encourages girls to be “grateful”, “humble” and “always perfect” while telling boys to be more assertive.

Kate Long, a teacher and novelist, condemned the “hugely sexist messaging” she found emblazoned on many of the retailer’s clothes for children. On a visit to a Primark in Chester, Long found tops for girls that had printed on them phrases such as: “Be kind”, “Kindness always wins”, “Grateful, humble and optimistic” and “Be good, do good”.

The messages displayed on

This is good.… Read the rest

The discussion is lively.

Yes, and when Woman’s Hour discusses rape do they make sure to include plenty of rapists? When Woman’s Hour looks at harassment and abuse of women do they invite enough abusers for balance?

pic.twitter.com/juDFGNdkXY

— Ellie Scott (@KodaScott1) February 7, 2022

Here is the paper. Clear and detailed https://t.co/d2KKSWcbJT

— Prof Jenny Gamble (@ProfJennyGamble) February 7, 2022

… Read the rest

This should be interesting.

Could there be unintended consequences to using terms like 'pregnant people' instead of 'pregnant women'? @ProfJennyGamble joins @Emmabarnett to discuss: https://t.co/jhguvId1Qs pic.twitter.com/mMz00Vukzo

— BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) February 7, 2022

I’ll listen later. The first thought that occurs to me is that the consequences aren’t all that unintended. Some of the intention may not be fully conscious – we’re good at lying to ourselves about why we’re being shits – but some of it has to be, especially now, when the consequences have been so thoroughly and emphatically explained.

We also make mention of this in the paper. We are not seeing “bodies with a prostate”.

— Prof Jenny Gamble (@ProfJennyGamble) February 7, 2022

Because men … Read the rest

The language game – tricks all the way down.

One, “minority.” Montgomerie is a white man, but he’s pretending to be part of an oppressed minority (which is what “minority” is shorthand for in these contexts). White men as such are not an oppressed minority. It could be that he’s homeless or disabled or an immigrant but I don’t think he is any of those things.

Two, “healthcare.” The medical experimentation done on trans people isn’t healthcare; it’s more like malpractice.… Read the rest

Rachel Cooke reviews Laurie Penny’s new “feminist” book:

If the tone of this book is almost comically relentless – if Penny, whose pronouns are they/them, says something once, they say it 54 times – it’s also oddly reminiscent of a superannuated self-help manual, its assumptions seemingly based mostly on the experiences of its author and their friends, a focus group to whom every possible Bad Thing has happened at least once (so handy).

…

For the reader, especially the reader who has never read a book or a newspaper, never watched any television or seen a film, Penny has all sorts of revelations.

Ouch! That does sound so exactly like LP – forever pointing out the obvious as if … Read the rest

Sarah Ditum reviews Grace Lavery’s book for the Times:

And there is so much penis here. Not just in the title (if there’s a better literary pun this year than A Heartbreaking of Work of Staggering Penis, I’ll be highly surprised), but all the way through. On the first page, Lavery is having penis trouble. Since starting on hormones, she’s been experiencing semi-erections: her penis (a phrase I pray I never get used to writing) feels “as though I were laying my own miscarried foetus across my hand”.

Ah yes that’s very Lavery. He knows it will infuriate, and that’s why he does it. He loves to taunt women that way.

While trans-inclusive feminist writers speak delicately about

Yeah no.

This one can’t quite every hide the disgust for lesbians of course. That forbidden territory so obviously desired.

I recognise this because all men know exactly what we are looking at here.

All men know what this is.
All of us. https://t.co/3gArOfNXXv

— Dennis Noel Kavanagh (@Jebadoo2) February 6, 2022

“People are more than their sex organs. People are more than their sex organs, you cannot reduce a human being down to their sex organs. I’m a woman, it does not matter what is in my pants.”

Yeah it does. Knowing which is which isn’t “reducing people down to” anything, it’s just knowing which is which. We need to know which is which, for a whole slew … Read the rest

Adults who work at a university?

Lecturers at a leading university are being given guidance on neopronouns, which include emoji labels and catgender, where someone identifies as a feline.

There are no “neopronouns.” There is slang, argot, jargon, dialect, in-group code, and so on – but no neopronouns. Nobody needs lectures on how to make discourse more muddled and laborious and full of traps.

The University of Bristol has provided guidance for its staff on “using pronouns at work”, urging them to declare in verbal introductions and email signatures whether they use he/him, she/her or they/them, to support transgender students.

Even the Telegraph can’t get it right. We don’t “use” the pronouns other people refer to us – it’s the … Read the rest

Speaking of oversharing and related issues…poor old Hazza is becoming such a joke. It’s a funny joke though, so I’m not complaining.

I see from his latest video that Prince Harry, living in California, is now fluent in Peloton, or at least some kind of Yoga-with-Adrienne-style “mental toolbox” iterative blah. Speaking from beneath a sprig of newly farmed carrot hair with a panel of sculpted execs, the prince explained in an interview on Thursday for his wellness app how he dealt with the extreme mental burden of living in a $14 million mansion with 16 loos.

Every day he strives for “mental fitness”. He will try to find a “slate of white space” after the school run. “I

The Metropolitan Police is looking worse by the day.

Back in 2011 –

Kristina O’Connor, now 33, called 101 after being attacked by a group of men who tried to steal her phone. When she was interviewed about the mugging by Detective Chief Inspector James Mason, who later became a right-hand man to Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, he instead turned the conversation towards her love life and asked her out for dinner.

In emails sent from his official account, Mason, 43, then a detective sergeant, told her he was as “determined in my pursuit of criminals as I am of beautiful women”. Describing her as “amazingly hot”, he said that rejection of an officer’s advances was “frowned upon”.

What … Read the rest

Marie Le Conte writes for the New Statesman and has the Approved Views. She’s sad about those people who have the Unapproved Views – they’re so obsessed.

Her thoughts on this were prompted by a Mumsnet discussion with MPs Stella Creasy and Caroline Nokes on what women should care about.

Though some questions focused on childcare for politicians and media attacks on the appearance of female MPs, the vast majority concerned one topic. “Should males be included in women-only shortlists?” was one. “Would you be happy if Labour’s first woman leader were a transwoman? (Biological male)” was another.

Le Conte found it “odd” that so many women asked questions about that one topic. She tweeted about it and got … Read the rest

Ok now all you aspiring tv writers – I have just the thing for you. Vulnerable lawyers. Comedy, not drama. I owe the idea to Sarah Phillimore and Dennis Kavanagh.

Just what jobs do these people do? My clients don’t want me to be ‘vulnerable’ and share details of my personal life. They want me to fight their corner. pic.twitter.com/1ANqWbFBtb

— Sarah Phillimore (@SVPhillimore) February 5, 2022

“Bringing your whole self to work” is the very last thing people should be doing. No no no no no that’s all wrong: leave most of your self at home. Nobody wants to see that. Nobody wants the moods, the hidden injuries, the regrets, the resentments, the obsessions – none of it. … Read the rest

Lily Maynard takes an in-depth look at Sidhbh Gallagher, a woman who is making a lot of money cutting girls’ breasts off.

Between 2015 and 2018 she reports that she performed more than 200 surgeries on trans-identified people, removing and reconstructing body parts and tissue in what she calls ‘gender affirmation surgery’.

…

Her practice specialises in performing elective double mastectomies on gender dysphoric young women at a cost of around $9-12,000. ‘Top surgery’ is her signature dish, but there are plenty of other strings to Gallagher’s bow- and she offers something for the lads as well.

She’ll cut their testicles off for a price.

It’s Spring 2018. “Summer is coming!” Gallagher reminds her followers, retweeting photos of a

Shahrar Ali’s account:

Sex-Based Rights vs Cancel Culture
I am challenging an unlawful discriminatory and oppressive campaign that would have me removed as the Green Party of England and Wales Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety. https://t.co/saikusyNUY 1/24

— Shahrar Ali (@ShahrarAli) February 2, 2022

Since 2018, I have been subjected to unrelenting abuse, harassment and detriment because I dared to express my gender critical views and seek rational consensus about matters of sex and gender identity. 3/24

— Shahrar Ali (@ShahrarAli) February 2, 2022

There are many areas of legitimate concern: around the provision of single-sex spaces in prison or rape crisis centres; safety or fairness in sports with trans competitors; or the dispensing of puberty blockers to children,

This happened.

The Green Party Executive has removed Shahrar Ali from his role as party spokesperson for breaches of the Speakers’ Code of Conduct. This decision has no impact on Dr Ali’s membership of the party.

— Liz Reason (@lizreason) February 5, 2022

Bright Green provides background:

The Green Party of England and Wales has removed Shahrar Ali from his role as the party’s spokesperson for policing and domestic safety. The decision was confirmed by the chair of the party’s executive Liz Reason on Twitter…

Ali was appointed to the position in June 2021. At the time of his appointment, Ali came under considerable criticism from party members and others, many of whom alleged that he had a record