Today’s Globe and Mail contains a letter to the editor from yours truly (second from the bottom) in response to an op-ed criticizing those who take offence at J.K. Rowling’s misguided views on trans people. I discuss one of my pet peeves in the current “free speech” wars — namely,
Continue readingTag: transgender
Song of the Watermelon: Globe and Mail Letter
Today’s Globe and Mail contains a letter to the editor from yours truly (second from the bottom) in response to an op-ed criticizing those who take offence at J.K. Rowling’s misguided views on trans people. I discuss one of my pet peeves in the current “free speech” wars — namely,
Continue readingNorthern Currents: Two Conservative candidates have transphobic policies. Why is no-one talking about this?
Share this: In the wake of JK Rowling’s most recent twitter debacle in which she (again) spread transphobic slander, it is clear that transphobia is still a pervasive force in our society, and yes, in Canada too. While facing backlash from many in the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, Rowling
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: On Gender Identity
I was born in 1950 at a time when spouses were specifically excluded from rape laws and homosexuality was illegal. Homosexuality was only whispered about in “polite company” and people with a gender identity or gender expression that differed from their assigned sex did not exist, and by that I
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Are you a woman?
There are lots of problems with how most of society treats transgendered people. Trying to sort out how best to rectify this has lead to many unproductive clashes. A major disagreement centres around whether biologically male transgendered people are actually women. My question to the BioMaleTrans is this: Why do
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Free Speech, When The “Debate” is You (and You’re Not Invited)
Shout: “Help, I’m being silenced!” There’s a duplicitous game of sleight-of-hand that is taking place in discussions about freedom of speech in academia and the public square. Here’s how it works: at first, a person fishes for controversy by saying several things that they know will offend people. If this
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans* Human Rights Bill C-16: A Look Back
Although I’ll be remarking on the passing of Bill C-16 elsewhere, I wanted to post Bill Siksay’s closing speech from February 7, 2011, back when the bill was in its third incarnation (of five), Bill C-389. To me, it’s a profound moment to look back on, and realize just how
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: About The WomanMeansSomething Violence Database
So, a man by the name of Paul Dirks has created a “Sexual Violence Database” which he claims shows a strong correlation between jurisdictions where trans rights have been provided in law and an increase in sexual predation in female designated spaces. I downloaded the raw data and took a
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: What the “Walk on the Wild Side” controversy says about trans* awareness and a changing social movement
A little over a week ago, a University of Guelph student union drew international ire for condemning Lou Reed’s 1972 song “Walk on the Wild Side” as transphobic. This occurred after the Central Student Association apologized on social media for playing the song at a campus event. Although this might
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Senator Plett Reprises His Complaints on Bill C-16
Whether we are talking about Bill C-16, Bill C-279 or Bill C-389, there has been one consistent thing in the Senate – the voice of Senator Plett droning on about how terrible this legislation is. This week, second reading of Bill C-16 happened in the Senate, and sure enough Senator
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Senator Plett Reprises His Complaints on Bill C-16
Whether we are talking about Bill C-16, Bill C-279 or Bill C-389, there has been one consistent thing in the Senate – the voice of Senator Plett droning on about how terrible this legislation is. This week, second reading of Bill C-16 happened in the Senate, and sure enough Senator
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Excerpt – How feminists can challenge liberal bathroom politics – Robert Jensen
“Feminism recognizes that institutionalized male dominance is rooted in men’s control of women’s reproductive power (a source of other political struggles in Texas and beyond) and sexuality. In patriarchy, an enduring feature of the lives of girls and women is sexual violence — men’s unwanted intrusions into their lives. Women’s
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: About That 40% Suicide Attempt Rate
Over at a rabidly anti-transgender blog called "4th Wave Now" we find the following article which attempts to debunk the 40% suicide rate that several iterations of the US Transgender Survey have found. The argument largely seems to be that the US Transgender Survey is "flawed", and therefore we shouldn't
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: About That 40% Suicide Attempt Rate
Over at a rabidly anti-transgender blog called "4th Wave Now" we find the following article which attempts to debunk the 40% suicide rate that several iterations of the US Transgender Survey have found. The argument largely seems to be that the US Transgender Survey is "flawed", and therefore we shouldn't
Continue readingAgainst the Grain: Five years later and they still haven’t read That Fucking Swedish Study
I couldn’t help but notice in the comments on BuzzFeed’s LGBTQ+ rights strategy in the United States that the mythical trans rapist trope came up yet again, citing what I’m starting to call That Fucking Swedish Study. The ire is not directed at the study itself, but dear dog is
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Free speech, and the cruel shackles of empathy and mutual respect
In Canada, we tend to value freedom of speech very highly, and it’s often said that the best way to counter objectionable speech is with more speech. That’s the first thought that crosses my mind in the case of U of T professor Jordan Peterson, who declares in a series
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Bathroom Conundrum in Public School
“I don’t want to see penis when I go to the washroom; he just stands there with the stall open and it makes me uncomfortable.“. That was the quotable bit from a conversation I had with a female student I happened to be teaching at an elementary school this week. We were walking in […]
Dented Blue Mercedes: Canada’s forthcoming “drop your pants” trans* blood donation policy
In addition to reducing the required wait time between having sex and donating blood to one year for gay men, Canadian Blood Services is poised to release its first-ever guidance on how CBS personnel should respond to potential trans* donors: if it’s in you to give, then drop your pants. While the policy has not yet been [&hellip
The Cracked Crystal Ball II: Why You Should Ignore The American College of Paediatricians
The latest tactic in the far right fight against Transgender rights and equality is to cite various declarations from the American College of Paediatricians (ACP). At first glance, this sounds like a reasonable source to cite. Except it isn't….
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Why You Should Ignore The American College of Paediatricians
The latest tactic in the far right fight against Transgender rights and equality is to cite various declarations from the American College of Paediatricians (ACP). At first glance, this sounds like a reasonable source to cite. Except it isn't. ACP is a splinter group that was formed in protest when the
Continue reading