Well…I guess Alice Dreger is more of a believer than I had any idea of. From 2006:

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that New York City “is moving forward with a plan to let people alter the sex on their birth certificates even if they have not had sex-change surgery.” Under the new plan “being considered by the city’s Board of Health… people born in the city would be able to change the documented sex on their birth certificates by providing affidavits from a doctor and a mental health professional laying out why their patients should be considered members of the opposite sex, and asserting that their proposed change would be permanent.” No more need to get surgery or even hormone treatments to get the legal gender you feel is right for you.

What could possibly go wrong?

This was sixteen years ago, so we didn’t know as much about what could go wrong as we do now, but still, it seems a little rash.

Quite a progressive move, this. And nicely in keeping with the long history of liberal democracy, wherein social and political identities have been increasingly decoupled from anatomy. Think about it: your social identity and legal rights depend a lot less on your body type now than they did fifty years ago, and much less than they did a hundred or five hundred years ago. Most of the major civil rights movements have been about just this: arguing against body-based discrimination, whether it be race-based, sex-based, or ability-based.

Well, no, or yes and no, or sort of and no. They weren’t about “just this” – they didn’t put it that way. They didn’t talk about bodies to the exclusion of everything else, and they didn’t think it was about bodies to the exclusion of everything else. They were right. It’s not just bodies, it’s what the people on top think about the bodies (and minds and actions and duties and so on).

And even if it were just a matter of “bodies,” what good would it do women for some men to pretend to have women’s bodies? Zilch.

Why should a person have to go through expensive and dangerous transsexual surgeries – many of which she might not want or be able to afford – to get people to recognize her as the gender she says she is?

That’s the wrong question. The real question is why should a man think he has a right to “get” people to agree with him that he’s a woman?

At a deeper level, what’s with the idea that health care providers should be the ones certifying who is what gender?

What’s with the idea that people should be able to call themselves the other sex and expect everyone to agree?

The Times article quotes the city’s health commissioner, Thomas R. Frieden, as saying “It’s the permanence of the transition that matters most.” And therein lies the conservatism of the move. Okay, we’ll let you change legal sex, but only once. You have to make sure you claim that we just got it wrong in the first place; you were always the gender you say you are now. This way we don’t end up with the crazy idea that people really might be able to change their sexes! We couldn’t take that.

Sure, people should be able to change their sexes every day – every hour if they’re really committed. Why not? What possible reason could anyone ever have for knowing what someone’s actual sex is?

Some people really are born male by all conventional standards and really do end up with the gender identities of women. And vice versa. And some people’s gender identities really do seem to change over time.

And some pigs really do have wings.

I’m having trouble believing what I’m seeing.

They’re…not? They’re so not that the question gets a “sheesh”?

I don’t understand. I expect it from your Frances Coppolas and Bethany Williamses, but not from your Alice Dregers.

After the dinosaurs were wiped out:

Reporting today in the journal Science, Miller’s team, led by vertebrate paleontologist Tyler Lyson, has uncovered an enormous cache of fossils from Colorado’s Denver Basin that include the first million years that followed the asteroid’s arrival. The site’s thousands of plant and animal remains chart out an extraordinarily detailed timeline of ecosystem recovery, pinpointing the rise and fall of species at a resolution of hundreds of thousands of years—mere seconds on the geologic clock.

In the millennia following the impact, five-foot crocodiles and keg-sized turtles re-entered the waters to stretch their leathery legs. Plants unfurled their roots into the once-scorched soil, sprouting nutrient-rich beans and small, fast-growing leaves. No longer threatened by flesh-hungry dinosaurs, mammals—our own predecessors—ballooned to new sizes, lumbering across the floodplains on thick, stocky limbs.

Documenting these changes and more, the collection constitutes the most comprehensive catalog of K-Pg survivors to date. Its contents showcase the extraordinary resilience of life on Earth in the wake of disaster—and help reveal some of the first stones on the evolutionary path that eventually led to the primates known as humans.

The ones who did many interesting things but also did a lot of damage to that recovered ecosystem.

I suppose they think this makes them look up to date and aware, or down with the kids, or something, but you’d think they’d also be able to see that it makes them look like complete fools to most adults. Planned Parenthood, that is.

We’re in the midst of a sex-positivity boom that’s dispelling long-held beliefs about who can and should experience pleasure—which is, of course, all humans. But up until recently, that sexual-pleasure narrative centered almost entirely on people with penises, rooted first in the belief that non-procreative sex was taboo for people with vaginas, and later, in an evolved (but not any less sexist) understanding that, while folks with vaginas could find pleasure in sex, orgasm for penis-havers was both more powerful and more important. As societal norms propped up this perspective, few scientists sought to prove otherwise, which just reinforced the cycle—until the full anatomy of the clitoris was mapped in 2005, busting open a new world for female sexual pleasure.

People with penises, people with vaginas, folks with vaginas, penis-havers. Baby talk. Planned Parenthood used to be a grown-up organization with serious work to do.

Some women collapse into actual sexism when trying to bully other women into agreeing that trans women are women. Frances Coppola for one.

What the hell??? What is it with these people? “Maggots,” “darling,” “dearie” – they might as well be angry frat boys.

The Times checks Trump’s lies at that “rally” in Arizona.

“The left is now rationing lifesaving therapeutics based on race, discriminating against and denigrating, just denigrating, white people to determine who lives and who dies. If you’re white, you don’t get the vaccine, or if you’re white, you don’t get therapeutics.”

False. There is no evidence that white Americans are being denied access to vaccines or treatments.

Mr. Trump referred to a Wall Street Journal opinion column criticizing New York State’s guidelines on two limited antiviral treatments that ask health providers to prioritize the therapies for immunocompromised patients and those with risk factors. The guidelines, which were released in late December, said, “Nonwhite race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19.”

Well let’s have a little compassion for Trump here. He’s got a very simple mind, and a very empty one, so he can’t be expected to grasp the difference between prioritizing people with extra risk factors and shutting out people without extra risk factors.

State officials have defended their guidelines by citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which show that Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are about twice as likely to die from Covid-19 than white Americans. A spokeswoman for New York State’s Department of Health told Fox News that race did not disqualify patients from treatment but that the guidelines instead considered race as one risk factor.

What? Huh? I don’t understand. Coverup! Lies! Hillary! Female narcissism! Borderline Personality Disorder!

“Why did Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Police reject the more than 10,000 National Guard troops or soldiers that I authorized to help control the enormous crowd that I knew was coming?”

False. There is no evidence that Mr. Trump ever made a request for 10,000 National Guard troops or that Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected such a demand. The speaker of the House does not control the National Guard.

He did make it. The fact that he was alone in a bathroom at the time and made it to the mirror is neither here nor there.

There’s also one about fraudulent ballots in Arizona. Also false.

Just outright abusive, like some drunk angry psycho on the street corner.

Just vulgar abuse.

Where does she get the “white supremacists” bit? Nowhere. Just vulgar abuse.

“Maggots.”

This person calls herself a “political commentator” and plans to run for office.

The Watford Observer scolds its readers for losing sight of “feelings.”

At the time of writing, the comment section underneath our online story ‘Petition as girls’ school trust will no longer admit transgender pupils’ had grown to more than 120 entries.

It is one of the most divisive subjects of our times, with accusations of ‘cancel culture’ and ideology even tainting formerly beloved figures like JK Rowling.

Is it Rowling who is “tainted” by the accusations, or is it the rabidly furious people who scream about her who are tainted?

The argument does not necessarily split along right/left political lines, with many feminists who might once have been considered left-wing aligning themselves with views on the right.

So the argument does not necessarily split along right/left political lines, but it’s definitely views on the right that many feminists are aligning themselves with. It takes real talent to contradict yourself that flatly within a single sentence.

It’s not a sharp mind behind the writing of this editorial.

But what often gets lost as people take sides and make accusations about others’ agendas are the feelings of the people in the midst of it.

I beg your pardon? How could we possibly lose sight of the putative Feelings of the people we’re disagreeing with when their agonized Feelings are their only argument??

And what about our feelings? Eh? We bizarro feminists who might once have been considered left-wing but are now aligning ourselves with views on the right according to the Watford Observer? What about our feelings about being told to shut up and take whatever is thrown at us?

Nothing, that’s what. We don’t count as people.

They may have spent many years feeling confused about their gender and how they fit in to the world around them. Then when they do dare tell others how they feel and try to live a fulfilling life they find themselves facing hostility and hatred.

I see. There’s only one “they” here, and it’s not women reminding the world of our own rights. The only “they” that matters is the one that feels “confused” about its “gender.”

These people suffer a far higher rate of mental health problems, as well as being more likely to be the victims of violence and murder.

Higher than what? More likely than what? Really not a sharp mind here.

So before we weigh in on who should be allowed into what space or sporting field, we should consider how we present our opinions on such a sensitive issue.

We should remember first and foremost that we are dealing with real people whose feelings should be respected.

Women are real people too. We have feelings too. We even think our feelings should be respected just as much as those other people’s are.

A two hour workshop on how to be perfected:

Unlearning the Binary: Fostering a Truly Trans-Inclusive Campus

The campus is the University of Waterloo.

Workshop Description:

The purpose of the workshop is to help students, faculty and staff understand historical and present-day issues that impact trans and non-binary Black & racialized identities, debunk and de-mystify conversations around trans inclusion, and generate discussion on accountability frameworks and best practices to better affirm trans identities

It’s a two-fer. You can be helped to understand trans and race, all in just two hours.

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the erasure, and impact of Black and racialized trans folks from history
• Unlearn the binary towards fully respecting/valuing someone’s lived identity
• Determine the protected rights for trans identities in line with the Ontario Human Rights Code and AODA
• Identify common manifestations of cisnormative and heteronormative practices and ideologies
• Evaluate trans specific individual, interpersonal, and institutional barriers
• Determine individual social location and its implications and biases
• Discuss ways to support and advocate for trans identified students, staff, faculty

That sounds like a lot for two hours.

Oh by the way I hope you weren’t expecting the prestigious presence of the facilitators.

This is an online workshop hosted on Zoom. The link to join will be sent to your inbox from the Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion Trainings email (hrei.trainings@uwaterloo.ca) 48 hours prior to the workshop date.

A couple of people saying things on Zoom for a couple of hours. The things they will say sound kind of…hackneyed.

Oh well. Better than getting run over by a bus, maybe.

People planning to make new Harry Potter film with frogs playing all the parts.

Film producers are planning a woke version of the Harry Potter movies in which the magical characters will be played by transgender and non-binary actors.

Or frogs. Whichever demands the least money.

In what will be seen by many as a challenge to J.K. Rowling, who was attacked for questioning the claim that trans women are identical to biological women, the filmmakers are seeking a more diverse line-up for the starring roles.

They are insisting that some of the characters for the new versions – to be aired as a ‘web series’ – cannot be played by white actors, including the starring role of James Potter, father of young wizard Harry.

Cannot be played by white actors, because Harry is…well, white.

According to casting notes, that role is only open to an actor who is ‘Asian, black, African descent, ethnically ambiguous, multiracial, Indigenous peoples, Latino, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Indian, Southeast Asian or Pacific Islander’. Producers have not specified who they want to play Lily Evans, Harry’s mother, but have said they want a ‘gender-nonconforming, non-binary, trans female’.

What does “non-binary, trans” mean? Seriously, what? They’re opposites, so what can it mean? Trans is claiming to be the other sex, non-binary is claiming to be neither sex, so you can’t be both, because it makes no sense.

All genders can audition for the part. The project’s creator, TikTok video producer Megan Mckelli, said: ‘We aim to reflect the diversity of the fanbase in its beloved characters, introducing people of colour, queer storylines, and characters of differing faiths.’

They all have to be equally dim-witted though. That’s a must. Nobody who isn’t would agree to audition.

They’re going to have copyright issues though. Rowling doesn’t just give the rights away. The whole thing is just a “Look at me” scheme – and here I am looking. I’m a patsy for the attention-starved.

Dog friend/client and I walked around Green Lake this afternoon.

The noise issue:

Last month, I spent a cold morning wandering around Hampstead Heath, one of London’s largest green spaces, with a sound designer named Nicholas Allan. For many, the Heath is an escape. There are almost 800 acres of it: meadows and woodland, hollows and springs, hills and ponds.

I once lived in a bedsitter just off the Heath, so I spent a lot of time exploring it. There are several similarly vast parks in Seattle, which I spend a lot of time exploring.

In July, Allan awarded the Heath “Urban Quiet Park” status. He was acting on behalf of Quiet Parks International, or QPI, a non-profit based in Los Angeles that is “committed to saving quiet for the benefit of all life”. QPI’s purpose is to identify locations around the world that remain free from human-made noise for at least brief pockets of time. As humanity grows louder, these places are in danger of extinction, the organisation argues, even though they are integral to our wellbeing and to the health of the natural world.

At least one of the Seattle parks is one of those locations, I’m pretty sure. There’s a main trail that can be crowded on sunny weekend days, but there are also large meadows where you can stop and look around and see not a single human.

Allan spent four days in the park in total, monitoring decibel levels. To pass the QPI test, noise levels must remain below 40 decibels, similar to the hush of a library, for at least an hour.

The hush of a library? Is he kidding? There is no hush in a library; that whole idea has been banished. Maybe in the UK there still is but not in the brash loud US.

Though many of us drive, and fly, and listen to music, and turn the volume of our TVs up very high, and drill and saw and hammer, and live in busy cities, which are relentlessly loud, we do seem to broadly understand that too much noise is bad for us. To escape, some turn to wellness practices – meditation, sensory-deprivation tanks, silent retreats – which have turned quiet into a consumable product. 

Just go to a good park instead. If there’s not a festival or something going on (and if you’re not near any sports area), it should be quiet enough for a break from noise. Unless of course parks department people are mowing or blowing leaves or trimming hedges – I worked as a parks department people in the past and we made noise. Too much noise. The backpack blowers in particular seemed like an unnecessary intrusion to me.

Studies have shown that experiencing quiet can reduce stress and anxiety, bring down heart rate and blood pressure, improve mood, cognitive ability and concentration, and increase pro-social behaviours, such as generosity and trust. It is helpful to experience silence in long periods, though every little helps – a 2006 study found that even a minutes-long session can be beneficial.

There are also sounds that feel beneficial though. The sound of a brook or river, or waves on a beach, or wind in trees, or heavy rain – sounds that aren’t sharp, that are more or less regular, that are benign and natural.

Trump says white people can’t get the vaccination.

Yeah let’s have that guy back.

Jo Grady, the very pro-trans and anti-feminist General Secretary of the University and College Union, agrees with the “auntie is an affectionate compliment” take.

That’s an utterly stupid thing to say. If a student called Jo Grady “Granny” would she consider it a mark of respect?

Speaking of “aunties” who talk a lot of piffle that wise compassionate alert progressive young people know better than…

School urges girls to wear “shapewear” to deal with body image issues. Mother not impressed.

So this is what my 8th grade daughter brought home from school today. I am beyond pissed, though I’m not sure if I’m more pissed at the fact that they had the “balls” to send this home or the VERY IGNORANCE of the “counselors” at the school.

So you begin this masterpiece detailing how damaging a negative body image is for girls, how the stress of conforming to an impossible perceived image can adversely affect their mental health, and then OFFER TO GIVE THEM SPANX SO THEY CAN BETTER FIT THE PERCEIVED IMAGE?!? What. The. Very. F@$&. How, in the hell, are you promoting a positive body image by saying “here, you’re too fat. You need shapewear to make you look thinner.” Are you freaking kidding me?

That is honestly the battiest thing I’ve seen in some time. A school handing out bras and other “health products”? Even apart from the twisted message, isn’t that just a tad intrusive? Not to mention “shapewear” – what used to be called “girdles.” I’ve always thought it was progress that girdles went out of fashion; little did I imagine schools would start pushing them.

Cunning plan: give convicted rapists the option of joining the army instead of going to prison.

Brandon Scott Price, a former Kentucky jail guard convicted of sexually assaulting a female inmate, was recently told his one-year sentence would be probated (meaning no jail time) if he joined the US military. “You’re getting a huge break,” the male judge said. Price may have a little trouble enrolling, however, as an army spokesperson has said you’re not eligible for enlistment if you’re convicted for a sex offense. Which seems sensible since the military already has a massive sexual assault problem: female service members are reportedly more likely to be sexually assaulted by a colleague than shot by an enemy combatant at war.

Also let’s think about what rapey soldiers might get up to when they leave the barracks.

Price is hardly the only man to have a judge try and spare him jail time. In Illinois, 18-year-old Drew Clinton had his sexual assault conviction overturned this month after a judge said a prison sentence was “not just”. Last November a private school kid called Christopher Belter was given eight years’ probation instead of jail time for assaulting four teenage girls during parties at his parents’ house. The judge said he thought incarceration wasn’t “appropriate.”

You know what’s even less appropriate? Sexually assaulting girls at your parents’ house.

She was out for an afternoon run by the canal.

Vigils are taking place across Ireland and the UK in memory of murdered 23-year-old teacher Ashling Murphy.

Irish police are continuing to hunt for the killer of Murphy, who was found dead on Wednesday after going for a run on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, County Offaly. The Garda Síochána said it had made “significant progress” in its investigation amid reports that detectives had identified a person of interest.

The canal. Canals are good places to walk and run. I seek them out, myself. There are canals here that link Lake Washington to Puget Sound; I like to walk along them. The first morning of my stay in Dublin for an atheist conference I went exploring and scored a walk along the canal. Women should be safe doing that.

Thousands of people gathered in the late afternoon in Tullamore, Dublin and Belfast on Friday, as Ireland continues to reel from the murder of Murphy, with echoes of the national reckoning that was sparked in the UK last year by the murder of Sarah Everard. Events also took place in Belfast, Dublin and other towns and cities on Friday.

…

The death of Murphy has sparked fresh debate about the safety of women in Ireland, with many asking how such an attack could happen in broad daylight.

“We, as a society, need to face up to this. There is an epidemic of violence against women. It’s been going on for millennia, quite frankly,” Leo Varadkar, the deputy prime minister, said on Friday.

And it’s not over. You get an actor from the Harry Potter movies calling the author of the Harry Potter novels an “auntie” because he dislikes her views, and you get Fox News raging over the “narcissism” of…Hillary Clinton. It’s not just about rape, it’s also about contempt and disgust for women as such.

Yeah. Women are either fuckable or My Auntie, i.e. old boring stupid wrong female woman.

She only wrote the thing that is the only reason anyone has ever heard of Rupert Grint let alone gives a shit what he thinks of her. Ungrateful misogynist little toad.