In which we profile feminists and their allies who have been banned from Twitter for being uppity.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Claire Graham. I work in special educational needs and disability education, but I think most people on Twitter knew me for being an intersex advocate. I have MRKH, which is one of the 40 or so conditions encompassed by the intersex umbrella.
I’d see trans activists telling women they couldn’t talk about reproductive issues because it was offensive to women without wombs. I was born without a womb and I fundamentally disagree. When I started telling my story, other people with intersex conditions/DSDs got in touch to say they felt the same and I started to research about them.
I’m not sure how easy it is to sum up the entire gender debate succinctly but really it boils down to whether you think biological sex is a real, observable thing, or not. Trans activists claim we’re men or women based on our feelings. The gender critical side believe they are biological classes with significant meaning
Source: THE DISAPPEARED: CLAIRE GRAHAM
Male babysitter files human rights complaint against Alta. father, alleging discrimination
An Alberta man is facing a human rights complaint after asking for the gender and age of a potential babysitter for his two children.
Female genital mutilation advertised on social media for as little as $10 in Indonesia
Female genital mutilation is still rife in Indonesia where there are no laws to protect women from the practice, which some believe is a religious requirement.
Why some feminists oppose allowing people to choose their sex on birth certificates
The Victorian parliament should delay its vote on the birth certificate reform bill to allow more consultation with women’s groups and to assess the potential impact on single-sex spaces.
The only Australian state to have passed similar legislation is Tasmania, which voted to make gender optional on birth certificates early this year.
Of the remaining states and territories, four require sex reassignment surgery to change how sex is listed on a birth certificate (Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia), while three require “clinical treatment” (ACT, South Australia, and the Northern Territory), for example hormone therapy or counselling.
Source: Why some feminists oppose allowing people to choose their sex on birth certificates
Leeds City Council bans advert for ‘women only’ march which excludes trans people
An advert for a Lesbian Strength march was removed from Leeds Inspired because of ‘the exclusive nature of the event’
A spokeswoman for Lesbian Strength said: “We organised the march because we feel excluded and even unsafe at the many Pride events.
“This is why we want it just for female homosexuals, so that we have something and somewhere to go.
Source: Leeds City Council bans advert for ‘women only’ march which excludes trans people – Leeds Live
A new survey shows what really interests ‘pro-lifers’: controlling women
According to their own survey responses, anti-abortion voters are hostile to gender equality in practically every aspect.
The Catholic church, an unabashedly misogynist institution that to this day refuses to allow women into positions of power, had long opposed abortion (but not for all that long – until about 150 years ago, the Catholic view was that abortion was permissible through the first few months of pregnancy).
The birth control pill brought with it an avalanche of opportunities and freedoms, and women, finally fully able to have sex for fun and prevent pregnancy, took full advantage. The ability to delay a pregnancy – and later, the ability to legally end one – meant that women didn’t have to choose between romance and ambition (and it meant women could be choosier about romance, making a more considered decision about who and whether to marry).
This undermined the whole rightwing Christian project, which was, and remains, thoroughly invested in a nuclear family with a father at the head. And indeed, rightwing arguments against abortion used to invoke conservative gender tropes much more often – that abortion undermined the traditional family, for example.
Baby Born From Uterus Transplant Of Deceased Woman In World’s First
About a dozen babies have been born via transplanted uteruses to date — but as a result of transplanted uteruses from living donors. So far, doctors have attempted to facilitate births via uterus transplant a total of 50 times. This is the first time that a baby was successfully born via a uterus transplanted from a deceased woman.
Source: Baby Born From Uterus Transplant Of Deceased Woman In World’s First
A cry from the heart: Surrogacy scandals in Ukraine
Both Australian couples had opted to use Lotus in Kiev, Ukraine after following Sam Everingham’s advice provided in seminars run by Families Through Surrogacy (now renamed Growing Families). Everingham concedes that his business invites speakers from Ukraine and promotes their ‘educational talk’ on its website for which he gets paid. The 7.30 Report revealed that ASIC figures show that “in the past 5 years, Mr Everingham’s company earnt $2 million in revenue.” Asked on camera about these damning surrogacy stories in Ukraine, Everingham defends his advice stating, “they [the couples] have to take responsibility for their decision.” The families say they are not so sure. Also asked by Tracy Bowden if his company is assisting people to do something that is illegal in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (where it is a criminal act to engage in international surrogacy) Everingham responds, “We don’t believe those laws are right.” This is an outrageous statement to make and we hope that action will finally be taken against Everingham and his company, such as prohibiting them to run seminars on international surrogacy in states where going overseas is punishable by jail terms or fines over $100,000.
Source: A cry from the heart: Surrogacy scandals in Ukraine | Stop Surrogacy Now
NSW AUSTRALIA – Law reform process in parliament postponed by NSW Premier due to anti-abortion pressure
A committee hearing in the upper house of the NSW parliament on the bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales (NSW) opened on 14 August. . ..
As the debate opened in the upper house, however, outside, reports said “thousands” of anti-abortion protesters held a rally. In a brief video of the rally, most participants appeared to be men holding up placards with disembodied fetuses saying “Who will protect me?”. According to other media, participants were carrying crosses and pictures of Jesus. They heard speeches from anti-abortion MPs and religious leaders. Anti-abortion opponents in parliament claimed meanwhile that they had been denied any opportunity to participate in the process.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who supports decriminalisation, dismissed claims that the bill was rushed through. “I have been in parliament for nearly 17 years and I can’t remember a bill having so much debate in the lower house,” she said. However, pressure from members of her own party led her to delay the vote in the upper house until the week of 17 September, after the imminent 3-week parliamentary recess. The debate continues this week, but amendments will be considered and the vote taken only in September.
[A] clear majority of voters in New South Wales either strongly support or somewhat support removing abortion from the criminal code, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, published this week.
Enhanced maternity pay packages don’t discriminate against men – what new ruling means for shared parental leave
The UK Court of Appeal ruled in late May that it is not sex discrimination for employers to enhance maternity pay but only provide the statutory rate of shared parental pay.
The court found that women on maternity leave are in a materially different situation to men taking shared parental leave, and so, as the positions are incomparable, there can be no discrimination.