America’s LGBTQ+ Queen Is in Big Trouble | Malcolm Richard Clark

Sarah Kate Ellis took over America’s most respected gay group and turned it into a pro-trans money making machine. Her hubris led her to attack the New York Times and now her reputation is in tatters.

The recent New York Times exposé of the CEO of GLAAD, the vast ex-gay organisation that surrendered to the trans agenda a decade ago, is a moral tale for our time. It’s a story that mixes hubris, revenge, sabotage and treachery. Oh and money. Lots of it.

On August 1st the Old Grey Lady (so called because of the paper’s reputation for being a stickler for factual accuracy) published the results of a major investigation that alleged mis-spending tantamount to fraud by GLAAD’s CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

The paper claimed Ellis combined lobbying at the likes of Davos (where else?) with personal pleasure including the odd ski trip and dwelt in exquisite detail on one top dollar trip to Zurich where a chauffeur drove her to a seven bedroom chalet that cost half a million dollars a week to rent.

The Hollywood Reporter focused its attention on the suggestion Ellis receives a basic salary of $441,000 with automatic 5 percent increases every year. They speculated bonuses mean she could receive from $700,000 to $1.3 million a year. GLAAD disputes the figures.

So what makes this story more than just another case of alleged inappropriate behaviour at yet another charity?

What the New York Times and the Hollywood Reporter do not explain is that GLAAD had a special place in the affections of American lesbians and gays. Like Stonewall here in the UK, GLAAD was set up as a response to a crisis and quickly became one of the most effective and respected gay organisations in history. Until that is Ellis took it over in 2014.

Ironically, she was appointed as head, the same year as Ruth Hunt (now a Baroness) was at Stonewall and used almost identical tactics to force through the shift to the trans agenda. Like Hunt, Ellis would ruthlessly weaponise her organisations’s status and influence to try to silence anyone who disagreed with that agenda; especially women.

Source: America’s LGBTQ+ Queen Is in Big Trouble

Australian Lawmakers Tinker Around Hague Convention Flaws – The Diplomat

Today, three-quarters of Hague Convention cases are brought against mothers who are fleeing domestic abuse with their children. A convention designed to protect children now does the very opposite.

In her address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June, Reem Alsalem, the special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, stated, “In the current application of the Hague Convention, a child can, and is, returned in many cases to their abusers… this, as any other form of violence against women and girls, cuts across institutions and rights and conventions.”

Late last year the Australian government made a weak attempt at rectifying these problems by making an amendment to its Family Law Act, stating “allegations of family and domestic violence can be considered before return orders are made for children under the Hague Convention.”

Yet the use of the word “can” rather than “must” effectively rendered the amendment useless. Most judges see the Hague Convention as a jurisdictional law, rather than one pertaining to child safety. The word “can” is simply not strong enough to change this line of thinking. Family courts themselves – worldwide – have also become incredibly suspicious of mothers who raise accusations of domestic abuse, something also recently highlighted by Alsalem.

Last week a multi-party Senate committee made further recommendations to amend the Family Law Act so that in any Hague Convention case there should be more consideration of the child’s perspective, including if a child objects to a return order. If applied this would be an important addition to the law, but, again, may come up against a legal wall of courts that simply don’t consider child welfare to be what the Hague Convention is about, or are suspicious of any evidence of domestic abuse brought to their attention.

If the Australian government persists with protecting the Hague Convention – with only minor attempts to curb its faults – then its current rhetoric on seriously addressing domestic abuse will ring hollow.

[Ed: There is an urgent need to introduce to the Hague Convention and to our family law generally a presumption in favour of mothers retaining care of young children of whom they have had primary care unless there is strong evidence to putting in question their capacity to care for them. In the absence of this, women and children will continue to be victimised through the court system by men set on vengeance.]

Source: Australian Lawmakers Tinker Around Hague Convention Flaws – The Diplomat

An open letter to Kamala Harris from a Democratic woman – Washington Examiner

I am a lifelong progressive, a radical feminist, and a Democrat who has followed your career closely. . . .

Just like the vast majority of America, you know that the word “women” means adult humans who are female — and you know that the difference between women and men matters.

So why is it that (apart from your advocacy for abortion rights, which I support enthusiastically) you and other Democrats are leaving it to the GOP to stand up for women’s hard-won and extremely popular sex-based rights? Why allow Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to be the voice of reason questioning a federal judge who sent a convicted rapist to a women’s prison? Why let former President Donald Trump reap applause at the Republican National Convention by guaranteeing an end to men in women’s sports? . . .

Every day, I hear from rank-and-file Democrats (and, importantly, former Democrats) about how disgusted they are with the party’s complete abandonment of women and girls (including lesbians) at the sexist, regressive, authoritarian, homophobic altar of “gender identity.” We have been begging you to change course. We want to vote for Democrats in November.

To date, our concerns have mostly been ignored.

I cannot tell you the number of people who have told me that they plan to vote for Donald Trump this year because of this issue. . . .

It’s not too late. You can still prove Democrats are reality-based, not ridiculous. Stand up at the Democratic National Convention and say that a woman is an adult human female and a lesbian is a female homosexual. Say that sex is real and that it matters. Say right out loud that sex is immutable and no man is ever a woman — even if he claims to be one, even if he adopts the traditional stereotypes of femininity, and even if he has his penis surgically removed. Apologize to women and girls for that utterly embarrassing letter you sent to “transgender” activist Dylan Mulvaney celebrating his “365 days of girlhood.”

You profess to care about American women and girls. It’s time to walk the talk. Many of us will be watching and hoping you do the right thing.

Source: An open letter to Kamala Harris from a Democratic woman – Washington Examiner

Academy statement: Implementation of the Cass Review – AOMRC

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is mindful that some members of the medical profession are questioning the validity of the evidence and consequently the findings of the independent Cass Review of gender identity services for children and young people. Our view is that further speculative work risks greater polarisation on this matter which is not helpful and our focus should be on implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review by providing the most appropriate treatment for children and young people with gender dysphoria or gender related distress. It is important that treatment is holistic and based on strong and up to date medical evidence and the Academy continues to train clinicians on that basis. This means they can provide the best possible care to a group of often vulnerable children with confidence and compassion.

Source: Academy statement: Implementation of the Cass Review – AOMRC

NHS to launch first service for trans patients who want to return to birth gender

The NHS is to launch its first ever service for transgender patients wanting to return to the gender they were born as.

The move comes in the wake of the Cass Review, an independent report into transgender services, which found that children were being hurried down “affirmative” pathways involving powerful drugs and medical interventions.

The review made a series of recommendations to the NHS, including to provide care for people who had changed their minds after transitioning, and warned health leaders not to use the same medics previously involved in their care.

Source: NHS to launch first service for trans patients who want to return to birth gender

How Did Planned Parenthood Become One of the Country’s Largest Suppliers of Testosterone? | The Free Press

Planned Parenthood was founded a century ago to promote birth control. Today, its nearly 600 clinics nationwide make it the largest single provider of abortion, contraception, reproductive care, and sex education in the U.S. It has also, in less than a decade, become the country’s leading provider of gender transition hormones for young adults, according to insurance claim data.

Hineman, who went from identifying as “nonbinary” to “agender” to “trans” over the course of a year, now considers herself a “detransitioner”—someone who, if possible, has returned to living as their birth sex, often with medical side effects.

Today, reported exclusively in The Free Press, she is a plaintiff in the first detransitioner lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In the medical malpractice suit, filed in April, she’s seeking unspecified damages for negligence and failure to obtain informed consent from all the health providers—including those at Planned Parenthood—who facilitated her medical transition: from therapists who “encouraged” her desire to change genders, to the plastic surgeon who removed her breasts after a superficial consult when she turned 19, to the nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood who wrote Hineman the prescription for testosterone. (In June, Planned Parenthood filed its answer to the complaint, disputing Hineman’s claims.)

She joins more than a dozen young people who, in separate lawsuits across the country, are alleging medical malpractice by institutions such as Kaiser Permanente as well as individual practitioners, and are seeking compensation for the harm they claim has been done to them.

Her suit comes as the U.S. is increasingly alone in championing hormonal and surgical interventions to swiftly transition gender-distressed young people. A growing list of European countries, including Sweden, Finland, and the UK, are restricting these sometimes irreversible treatments for young people and favoring an approach that encourages therapy to address all the causes of a patient’s distress.

In response, about two dozen Republican-led states have passed laws restricting this treatment for minors.

Trading one biological sex hormone for the other has a multitude of profound impacts: on metabolism, on risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, on bone health, on mood stability, on cognition, and on sexual function and fertility. Female sex organs thrive on estrogen, which the ovaries cease to produce under the sway of testosterone. After a few years, atrophy may affect the entire reproductive tract.

Planned Parenthood’s materials for clinicians state atrophy can begin within just 3–6 months of exposure. But on the brief patient consent form—it’s about three pages long—that both Hineman and Anna signed, this was referred to only as “genital dryness.”

Dr. Nicole Chaisson said that side effects are part of the conversation, but acknowledged that some may go unmentioned, saying it would be wrong to point patients to things that might happen 10 or 20 years down the road when “they’re having lifesaving care right now.”

Chaisson is referring to a claim often repeated by gender practitioners: that without access to “affirming” treatments, young people will commit suicide. This is a threat that’s been commonly held over parents reluctant to approve transition for their child.

Fortunately, there is now good evidence to refute this dire claim. Researchers in Finland recently published the largest study to date looking at suicide in gender-distressed patients and found that suicide is rare, and the greatest predictor of it is previously diagnosed psychiatric conditions.

Hineman now regrets that she put off college to transition, and spent her life savings, about $9,000, on a mastectomy. She has gone public because she wants young people like herself, their parents, and the providers who are pushing ideology over good care to know that there are safe and humane ways to address the kind of distress she suffered. “The answers are not just transition or suicide. There are ways to work through these feelings without altering your body,” she says.

As for Planned Parenthood, she says, “Honestly, I want them to focus on women’s health. That’s what they exist for.”

Source: How Did Planned Parenthood Become One of the Country’s Largest Suppliers of Testosterone? | The Free Press

We need to talk about how some men are ruining the gym experience for women

A jaw-dropping 70 per cent of women have experienced a negative interaction in the gym that has left them feeling uncomfortable – at the hands of a man, according to Fitrated. Women have been inclined to accept this as the norm and alter their workout routines accordingly to avoid harassment.

From being watched, unwanted flirtation, mansplaining, being followed, body criticisms, physical contact and sexual harassment, the concerning catalogue of negative experiences has driven women to avoid certain areas of the gym – or quit altogether. What’s worse, this type of behaviour is becoming increasingly normalised with a ‘boys will be boys’ attitude and very few consequences given by the gyms themselves.

Source: We need to talk about how some men are ruining the gym experience for women

High Court judge in the UK upholds the government ban on puberty blockers | AP News

A High Court judge has upheld the British government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers. Justice Beverley Lang says in a ruling that a review commissioned by England’s National Health Service found “very substantial risks and very narrow benefits” of the treatment.

The group TransActual and a youth who cannot be named under a court order sought to challenge the decision of former Health secretary Victoria Atkins to ban prescribing hormones that can pause the development of puberty. They are sometimes prescribed to help children with gender dysphoria by giving them more time to consider options that could include gender reassignment.

The judge threw out the challenge, saying the ban was lawful. The ban restricts the NHS from providing the medication outside of clinical trials and prevents it from being prescribed by private suppliers.

The NHS stopped prescribing puberty blockers last year, saying there was not enough evidence about the benefits and harms.

Source: High Court judge in the UK upholds the government ban on puberty blockers | AP News

Imane Khelif: Olympics should reintroduce sex testing in wake of Imane Khelif boxing row, UN adviser says | World News | Sky News

The intervention from Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, comes as the Paris Games is embroiled in a debate about dangers from testosterone advantage in women’s events.

Ms Alsalem has expressed concern that Italian boxer Angela Carini was exposed to violence based on her sex during a women’s bout against Imane Khelif, who it has been claimed failed a gender eligibility test.

“We know that there are simple, efficient, dignified ways of testing sex,” says Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls.

Ms Alsalem advocates using cheek swabs to test for sex.

Source: Imane Khelif: Olympics should reintroduce sex testing in wake of Imane Khelif boxing row, UN adviser says | World News | Sky News

Blind Eye: We Should Heed UN Report Warning Against Australia Becoming A ‘Pimp State” – New Matilda

Calling prostitution ‘sex work’ doesn’t make it less harmful. Michelle Panayi explains why Australia must take seriously calls from a high-ranking United Nations expert for a rethink on the way we allow society to treat many women and young girls.

Australia must act on this warning given that prostitution is mostly called “sex work” which normalises it, and full decriminalisation or legalisation of prostitution exists in the majority of states and territories.

The Special Rapporteur’s report on Prostitution and Violence Against Women and Girls highlights that prostitution is a system of violence which reduces women and girls to commodities and says in effect that all women have a price.

In addition, the report says that payment and/or promise of payment is the most visible sign of a person being purchased rather than freely giving consent, and that many survivors referred to it as “paid rape”.

Furthermore, violence, poverty, manipulation, lack of physical and mental safety, discrimination, and lack of real alternatives serve as coercion. And international law has established the issue of “irrelevance of consent” within the framework of trafficking crimes and the exploitation and prostitution of others.

The Special Rapporteur also highlights that the term “sex work” wrongly depicts prostitution as an activity as dignified and worthy as any other work, fails to take into account the serious human rights violations involved, and “gaslights” victims and their experiences.

Countries that have legalised or fully decriminalised prostitution have, according to the report, increases in the demand for prostitution, recorded higher rates of sex trafficking, violence, abuse and rape and increased prospects for money laundering and drug trafficking. I add that the 2015 NSW parliamentary inquiry into brothel regulation found that a substantial section of the industry had gone underground under full decriminalisation.

The Special Rapporteur rightly asserts that the equal participation of women in society is impossible to achieve when prostitution is normalised as it dehumanises women and girls, and is fundamentally based on unequal power relations between women and men.

[T]he perceived right of men to purchase a sex act normalizes the violence inflicted on women through prostitution. It also reinforces sexist views including that women are simply receptacles for men’s sexual “needs”. As such there is also a strong correlation between men’s use of prostitution and rape.

It is the Equality or Nordic model as it sometimes called which exists in countries such as Sweden, Iceland, France, Ireland, and Canada, that the Special Rapporteur’s report says should be adopted by all nations.

This holistic model decriminalises prostituted persons and focuses on funding specialist exit programs to help them leave this industry and addresses the underlying causes of prostitution. And it criminalises the sexual act buyers, pimps, and brothel owners.

The Special Rapporteur’s report makes numerous other findings and recommendations that States should adopt. This includes that pornography is filmed prostitution and its consumption is linked to male violence against women and children, such as rape. And so countries should criminalise the possession, production, and hosting of it.

Source: Blind Eye: We Should Heed UN Report Warning Against Australia Becoming A ‘Pimp State” – New Matilda