On November 30th, a “Montreal Massacre Memorial 2013” event is being held in Vancouver to remember the victims of the massacre at l’Ecole Polytechnique, and to seek ways to end violence against women. It’d be the kind of thing I’d be happy to promote, if it weren’t poisoned with this:
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Dented Blue Mercedes: Guest Post: El Feministo’s Open Letter re: Janice Raymond at Vancouver’s Ecole Polytechnique Massacre Memorial
On November 30th, a “Montreal Massacre Memorial 2013” event is being held in Vancouver to remember the victims of the massacre at l’Ecole Polytechnique, and to seek ways to end violence against women. It’d be the kind of thing I’d be happy to promote, if it weren’t poisoned with this:
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans kids, washrooms and the new harassment
On October 13th, a story appeared at the Christian Broadcasting Network about girls being harassed by a trans youth in the washroom of a Colorado-area school. Soon afterward, the story was picked up by the Daily Mail, the Examiner, FOX News, and several webmedia outlets. One even embellished it with
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans kids, washrooms and the new harassment
On October 13th, a story appeared at the Christian Broadcasting Network about girls being harassed by a trans youth in the washroom of a Colorado-area school. Soon afterward, the story was picked up by the Daily Mail, the Examiner, FOX News, and several webmedia outlets. One even embellished it with
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Lively Pushes “No Rainbow For Queer People” Strategy in Moscow
Scott Lively wants to take away LGBT Russians’ rainbow. Lively, the self-described “human rights consultant” who gladly takes credit for lobbying Russia, Uganda and others to ramp up their anti-LGBT laws, recently wrote an open letter to Vladimir Putin, in which he urged Putin to stand firm against international pressure to
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Leaving High River
On September 20th, 2013, we started moving into our new home. It was further away from Calgary (where I work), making for a longer commute. But the home was dry, and it was ours. We were exceedingly lucky. Three months from the day that my partner and I were first
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Reblog: A Statement of Trans-Inclusive Feminism and Womanism
This is how you decolonize activism. A wide swath of people have demonstrated how to decolonize activism: not with negativity, but with constructivity. The following is being reblogged from Feminists Fighting Transphobia, and you will need to follow the link to see the ever-increasing number of signatories who have signed
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: No Rainbow for Queer People: A Right-Wing Support for Russia Roundup
While much of the attention surrounding Russia’s “homosexual propaganda” law has been about whether there should be a boycott of the Sochi Olympics, the saga has continued to ripple outward in several directions, including statements being made in support of the law by Canadian and American far-right spokespeople. Here is
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: The Not All Like That Christians Project
Christians are “Not All Like That” (i.e. anti-LGBT). I get it, and try to phrase my writing accordingly. Society, on the other hand, *doesn’t* get it, and the extremists have been successful in painting their position as the “Christian” position. If it is not your position, here’s a way you
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: REAL Women of Canada, and the naked far-right truth.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: What LifeSiteNews’ attack on Pat Robertson says about religious freedom.
Last week, there was some curious notice given to American televangelist Pat Robertson, after he expressed support for transitioning trans people, and their access to sex reassignment surgery. Less noticed was the backlash from other far-right groups over the same comments. But it’s worth revisiting, because of what that backlash
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Porn opt-ins, soft censorship and buttbuttinating personal responsibility
On Monday, British Prime Minster David Cameron announced that internet service providers in the U.K. would be required to filter out online porn as part of several new rules to come into effect by the end of the year. Adults will still have the ability to opt in to view porn, but filtering
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: “Sex by deception” and the shades of yes
A series of recent rulings (and the media circuses that have accompanied them) in the UK has raised questions about what is being termed “sex by deception” — that is, instances where people who are possibly trans are said to lie about their gender, in order to seduce another person. In
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Stay Motivated: A Short Caution.
I was originally going to title this “stay angry.” Sometimes, it seems like that’s what’s needed to keep people motivated and engaged in activism, networking, and a sense of community, after a big win that makes people think that the struggle is over. My position on the fight for same-sex
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Nova Scotia Extends Health Care Coverage for Reassignment Surgery
After originally saying that it would not fund genital reassignment surgery, the Nova Scotia government has now said that it would extend health care funding coverage for the procedure. Health Minister Dave Wilson is quoted as saying, “This is the right thing to do.” I’ve written previously about why GRS
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: The non-operative word is not “sorry.”
I’m going to be writing about transition regrets and/or reversal of transition (sometimes from folks who remain trans-identified). Before I do, though, it seemed necessary to finish and put this article out there, as it lays the groundwork. I’d written about the decision to be non-operative previously, and had intended
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Facts about trans youth
(Previously published in March 2012, and archived here for when it might be needed as reference) Several in the Canadian media and the general public have become interested in trans youth. It’s probably inevitable that many opinions and emotions have circulated as a result. I’m concerned that some of the
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Criminalization by any other name…
In Meghan Murphy’s Globe and Mail op-ed of June 3rd, A prostitution solution: Outlaw the customers, not the hookers, she presents what is often referred to as the Swedish or Nordic model of legislation — removing penalties for those who sell sex but prosecuting the buying of it — as
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Right-Wing Group Claims Trans Human Rights are a Plot to Normalize Pedophilia.
It has long been a practice of American far-right spokespeople and organizations that when sensationalistic rhetoric starts to fail, rather than try to polish it up and make it look more convincing, they often switch to something more sensationalistic and absurd, as a way of getting attention and scaring folks.
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: C-279: First Hour of Second Reading Debate, Tues. April 16, 2013
The gender identity-specific human rights bill C-279 had its first hour of Second Reading debate on Tuesday April 16, starting with an extensive speech by Senate sponsor Grant Mitchell. The full Hansard is online, and I’ll repost his speech below the fold. There was one interesting little exchange after the
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