Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Debunk first then mock.

I’d really like to see a peer-reviewed phylogeny of trans categories, etc.! Transgenderism isn’t a single thing, and it hasn’t been adequately studied (since doing so would be “literal violence”…). Is “gender dysphoria” affecting males and females actually two distinct phenomena with separate causes? What about age at onset, and its prevalence among homosexuals? How frequently is “transgenderism” a misdiagnosis of autism or depression, and how can we correct this? What about social contagion, parental influence, sexual fetishism? That would be an interesting and valuable study. It seems to me that at this point, “gender dysphoria” is a wastebasket_diagnosis. [Peter N. comment]

This sort of study … Read the rest

Jill Filipovic on the fad for rapey men in power:

Yes, the #MeToo movement launched a culture- and law-changing reckoning with sexual harassment, abuse, and power, first in the U.S., then across the globe. But in recent weeks it has become clear that the movement also, perversely, seems to have empowered right-wing men to act with even more impunity than before.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet and close staff picks, several of whom have been accused of sexual misconduct—not to mention the president himself, who has not only been credibly accused but found liable for sexual abuse in court.

Credibly accused and credibly heard – we’ve all heard him say it on … Read the rest

A very profound and serious point.

Rule of thumb: you can do 'ideology critique' (why on earth do they believe X?) once you have debunked the claims of the putative ideology.

Doing ideology critique of the claim "humans can't change sex" is a bit silly. We believe it coz it's true. https://t.co/0B3eWEnTx2

— Jon Pike (@runthinkwrite) November 22, 2024

See also: an irregular verb in the “Yes Minister” sense.

That’s one of those irregular verbs, isn’t it. I have an independent mind, you are an eccentric, he is round the twist.

We see a lot of that these days.… Read the rest

Shhhhh don’t mention the maternal deaths.

Georgia officials have dissolved a committee responsible for investigating deaths of pregnant women in the state, after one or more members leaked confidential information about deaths linked to the state’s strict abortion laws.

In a letter sent to members of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), Georgia health commissioner Kathleen Toomey said an investigation failed to identify those responsible for the leak, so all current members would be removed.

The news – first reported by ProPublica – comes two months after the outlet published stories on the deaths of two women the panel ruled were preventable and linked to the state’s strict abortion ban.

See also: Galway University Hospital and the death of … Read the rest

Every bit? Really?

A civil rights movement based on such an utterly unhinged assault on reality was always doomed to fail. What's remarkable is that so many still can't see that. pic.twitter.com/4IoHbAiyp4

— Mia Hughes (@_CryMiaRiver) November 22, 2024

Really? So men have fallopian tubes and a uterus? Men can get pregnant? Men can carry babies to term? Men can push babies out? The babies men can push out emerge alive? Really?

I think if you look into it the answer to all those questions is no.

A guy can have a delicate girlish face. He can smile winsomely. He can have long hair that he tucks behind his ears. He can tilt his head just a little.

He’s still … Read the rest

They just want to be their true selves.

A transgender woman has made a chilling call to violence, explicitly threatening to assassinate prominent figures including author JK Rowling and Representative Nancy Mace.

The Instagram user, who goes by @Venuspeenis, made graphic and detailed threats of murder in a disturbing video rant, targeting the Harry Potter author and Republican congresswoman.

‘I condone murder… I think we need to hold our politicians accountable by murdering them,’ they said in a series of shocking statements.

He said. He’s not two or more people, he’s just the one guy.

The user targeted JK Rowling, asking ‘Why is JK Rolling still alive?’ and calling for her to ‘burn on the stake and die.’

‘We

Meanwhile Gaetz has backed out.

Matt Gaetz said Thursday he is withdrawing as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general, ending the controversial bid that put prior allegations of sexual misconduct in the spotlight.

“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many,” Gaetz said in a statement posted on his X account.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” said the former Republican congressman from Florida.

Yup yup yup that’s it, it’s a distraction. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with sexual abuse of minors, it’s that it’s a … Read the rest

Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense:

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations surfaced last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at

The New Republic submits:

Nancy Mace’s thinly veiled transphobia is getting old fast—just ask Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“What Nancy Mace, and what Speaker Johnson are doing, [is] endangering all women and girls. Because if you ask them, ‘What is your plan on how to enforce this?’ they won’t come up with an answer,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters after being asked about Mace’s string of targeted anti-transgender resolutions against Delaware’s Representative-elect Sarah McBride, the first ever openly trans woman in Congress.

Ah but is he the first ever non-zebra in Congress? Is he the first soap dish? The first violin?

We all know what he’s not: he’s not the first man in Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez is, frankly, a credulous idiot to … Read the rest

Cops back away from ludicrous overkill investigation of naughty tweet:

Essex Police has dropped its investigation into Allison Pearson, the Telegraph journalist.

Pearson, an award-winning writer, was being investigated for allegedly stirring up racial hatred with a social media post made in November last year.

Two police officers called at her home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday to tell her she was under investigation and invited her to a voluntary interview. She was told, however, that the officers were not allowed to disclose the specific focus of the inquiry.

The officers refused to tell her any details about which post on X, formerly Twitter, was being investigated, or who made the complaint against her.

It’s almost funny, the string … Read the rest

In New Zealand news:

The Ministry of Health is urging doctors to take a “precautionary approach” before prescribing puberty blockers, as the Government moves to limit access to the medications.

Those moves came as the ministry released a highly anticipated evidence brief about the use of puberty blockers, which said there was insufficient evidence supporting their use.

The Ministry of Health also announced new rules, effective immediately, for prescribing puberty blockers. It told doctors that they should be prescribed only be clinicians working as part of “an interprofessional team offering a full range of supports to young people presenting with gender identity issues”.

Puberty blockers are medications prescribed to young transgender patients.

No, they’re not. They’re not medications. … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on The persistent framing.

As much as I sympathize with Hutchinson, I wish everybody on the gc “side” would stop bringing up whether or not TIM have had surgeries, taken hormones etc. as if it made a difference. Even if he had, it still wouldn’t make him a woman, nor make it any more acceptable for him to enter women’s changing rooms.

I agree, but sometimes I think it’s important to spell out for the naive and clueless (like me from a few years ago) that things are worse than they seem. How many are aware of the fact that most TiMs have not undergone surgical “transition”? I wasn’t. Under self-ID … Read the rest

Woman’s Hour hostile interview of woman who doesn’t agree that men are women if they say they are Part 2.

McGovern: There’s kind of two parts to that in a way Bethany. If the person dressed more traditionally as a female for example would that make a difference?

Me, interjecting. What a stupid question! Sure, it would make the same difference it made to Little Red Riding Hood. Oh hello sir I see you have a skirt on, by all means come in and watch us changing into our work uniforms, your skirt renders you miraculously harmless and trustworthy.

Hutchinson: Ah, not necessarily, no.

McGovern: If this person had surgically transitioned, would that be something you would … Read the rest

No they’re not.

I literally just got out of meetings with members of Congress & used the bathroom on my way out.

Trans women are women—full stop. We're every bit as "biologically female" as cis women & @SpeakerJohnson's statement doesn't change the fact that women's spaces include trans women. https://t.co/B4gpBkuXRo

— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) November 20, 2024

Zooey Zephyr is a trans woman, aka a man. Full stop, if it makes you feel any better. Trans women are of course not women, because that’s what the “trans” in “trans woman” means. Trans women are of course not every bit as “biologically female” as cis women, because, again, that’s what the “trans” part means.

How did a man who … Read the rest

There’s a surprise.

Ahoo Daryaei released without charge

An Iranian woman will not face charges after she stripped to her underwear in an apparent anti-hijab protest at a university in Tehran, Iranian authorities say.

Earlier in November, video went viral on social media capturing the moment the woman, named by BBC Persian as Ahoo Daryaei, undressed on a university campus before being forcibly detained.

A spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary said the woman had been treated in hospital and returned to her family.

…

Iranian authorities at the time said Ms Daryaei was “sick” and had been taken to a psychiatric ward. It is not the first time Iranian authorities have branded a woman protesting compulsory hijab laws with

Criminal’s lawyers demand his conviction be thrown out because it would be “destabilizing” to let it stand.

Donald Trump’s attorneys are demanding the judge who presided over his New York hush money trial and conviction immediately throw out the case, saying it would be “uniquely destabilizing to the country” otherwise.

Hey, you know what’s really destabilizing? Electing a convicted criminal president.

“Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump’s overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election,” attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan that was made

Some reactions to that “why won’t you let men into your changing room” interview on the women-hating BBC Woman’s Hour:

Why aren't you publicising the outrageous interview by @BBCNuala of a female nurse describing how her & her colleagues consent to be watched undressing by male colleague is disregarded?

Utterly appalling
Hostile
Biased

This is woman's hour fgs

I shall be complaining

— Marjorie Hutchins (@leakylike) November 20, 2024

The cognitive dissonance by @BBCNuala going from this story to the shocking disrespectful interview with Bethany #DarlingtonNurses is unbelievable. That was an absolute disgrace @BBCWomansHour. Bethany was brilliant remaining clear, calm & respectful in the face of such vitriol.

— Jane McLenachan (@jane_mclenachan) November 20, 2024

https://twitter.com/soulfoodie/status/1859194352762769691

There are lots … Read the rest

Ugh I’m probably going to have to transcribe every word of this disgusting conversation on Woman’s Hour – because the very first thing Nuala McGovern the woman host of WOMAN’S HOUR does is confuse the issue by referring to the man in the women’s changing room as “a trans woman” instead of a man or a male. Ok Nuala McGovern so why talk about women on Woman’s Hour at all? Why not just make it all about trans women instead? Why not replace you with a trans woman? Eh?

It's difficult to know where to start unpicking this interview with Darlington Nurse, Bethany, on @BBCWomansHour by @BBCNuala.

Bethany did extraordinarily well considering the persistent framing of her as a

The Guardian insults women yet again.

For many trans and non-binary people, top surgery – the process of removing breast tissue to get a flatter or masculinized chest – is not an elective procedure. It’s essential to them feeling at home in their bodies.

Wrong. Sorry. “Feeling at home in their bodies” is indeed elective. Removing breasts to feel at home in one’s body is like removing a leg to feel at home in one’s body. Both are elective because they are not physically necessary. Emotionally necessary is elective territory. If you had to triage patients waiting to have their breasts removed you wouldn’t (one hopes) put the “at home in my body” ones ahead of the breast cancer … Read the rest

He’s a guy.

I’m not a spokesperson for a movement, I’m a voice for all Delawareans — and when we see the incoming administration talk negatively about any vulnerable community, I guarantee you it’s an attempt to distract from the fact that in that same moment, they are picking the pockets of… pic.twitter.com/0ODe5H0uM0

— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) November 18, 2024

He’s a guy.… Read the rest