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
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The Cracked Crystal Ball II: Bishop Henry Returns …
It has been quite some time since I felt a need to address something that Calgary’s Bishop Fred Henry has written. Then I happened to wander past the Calgary Diocese website and read his latest “pastoral letter” (or whatever his columns on the website are officially known as). The title is
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Bishop Henry Returns …
It has been quite some time since I felt a need to address something that Calgary’s Bishop Fred Henry has written. Then I happened to wander past the Calgary Diocese website and read his latest “pastoral letter” (or whatever his columns on t…
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Bishop Henry Returns …
It has been quite some time since I felt a need to address something that Calgary’s Bishop Fred Henry has written. Then I happened to wander past the Calgary Diocese website and read his latest “pastoral letter” (or whatever his columns on t…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Rebecca Reilly-Cooper On Germaine Greer – Identity Politics Has Become a Cult.
I would suggest that you go read the full article by Rebecca Reilly-Cooper on politics.co.uk right now, as it describes the situation facing many feminists today. Increasingly there is no debate, there is only complete acceptance of a set of views or you’re marginalized. This is not a rational give
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: A Brief Note On #Elxn42 And Moving Toward A New Left
This much is clear: with the NDP’s federal collapse last night, the neoliberal Third Way experiment can clearly be declared a failure. But now what? Now, to build ─ not rebuild on a broken foundation. But also this: pillory me as a post-structuralist if you must, but I’m not here for
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: One Woman’s Examination of Trans-Racial versus Trans-Gendered
Hmmm. This is a delicate topic, but one worth investigating. For context, the people being referred to in the video are Bruce Jenner and Rachel Dolezal. Filed under: Feminism Tagged: Biology, Social Constructs, Transgender, Transracial
Continue readingArt Threat: Performing Aloha in Queer Times
In 2001, filmmakers Kathryn Xian and Brent Anbe broke new ground with their documentary Ke Kulana He Mahu: Remembering a Sense of Place. The film, which documents the lives, struggles, and aspirations of several queer and trans Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiians), also made an important and, at the time, novel
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to their gender identity. Sen. Donald Plett, Conservative member of the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, added a legal
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to their gender identity. Sen. Donald Plett, Conservative member of the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, added a legal
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: “A little free speech for me, and a little shut-up-and-take-it-like-a-man for you.”
There’s a bit of controversy brewing in the UK press, as a result of a letter from academics and activists (including noted LGB activist Peter Tatchell, as well as some recognized trans-exclusionary reactionaries) published in The Observer (“We cannot allow censorship and silencing of individuals“). In it they call for
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: “A little free speech for me, and a little shut-up-and-take-it-like-a-man for you.”
There’s a bit of controversy brewing in the UK press, as a result of a letter from academics and activists (including noted LGB activist Peter Tatchell, as well as some recognized trans-exclusionary reactionaries) published in The Observer (“We cannot allow censorship and silencing of individuals“). In it they call for
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Leelah Alcorn’s Suicide, Parents’ Rights… and Kids’ Rights.
On Sunday, December 28th, 17-year-old trans* Ohio teenager committed suicide by stepping in front of a tractor-trailer on the interstate. She was killed instantly. Her tragedy says something profound which has been almost completely missed in the discussion about LGBT-inclusive education and Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) currently wafting across Canada. Before
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Leelah Alcorn’s Suicide, Parents’ Rights… and Kids’ Rights.
On Sunday, December 28th, 17-year-old trans* Ohio teenager committed suicide by stepping in front of a tractor-trailer on the interstate. She was killed instantly. Her tragedy says something profound which has been almost completely missed in the discussion about LGBT-inclusive education and Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) currently wafting across Canada. Before
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: An Open Letter To Margaret Wente
Dear Ms. Wente, I thought that as a journalist you were supposed to do some research before you go writing stories. In the case of your August 2, 2014 column in The Globe and Mail, it is painfully obvious that you haven't even bothered to try. As a child, Lindsay
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Paths of Pain, and the Ownership of Language.
Marc Maron recently ran a follow-up interview with fellow comedian Todd Glass, who had come out as gay on Marc’s podcast, WTF. Marc’s podcast has often been strikingly introspective, and a moment came up that epitomized this. Glass started talking about language, the way that words can be weaponized, and
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: When Is A Policy A Non-Policy?
When it involves the Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver Archdiocese making a policy on "accommodating" transgender students. At first glance, this almost seems like a reasonable document. There are lots of "The schools shall do this" and "shall provide that" statements, and it almost looks as though they made reasonably
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Google Trends on “Transgender”
Posted for discussion and interest value. Out of curiosity, I plunked the word “transgender” into Google Trends. It’s not my terminology of choice, but it’s what most people use and what the general public is most likely to search for. Here’s what I got: The numbers aren’t an exact value
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Google Trends on “Transgender”
Posted for discussion and interest value. Out of curiosity, I plunked the word “transgender” into Google Trends. It’s not my terminology of choice, but it’s what most people use and what the general public is most likely to search for. Here’s what I got: The numbers aren’t an exact value
Continue readingArt Threat: My Playwright Sister: a play about a play about a transgender sibling
My Playwright Sister, written and performed by James Diamond and Johanna Nutter, is a sequel of sorts to Nutter’s earlier work, My Pregnant Brother. My Pregnant Brother sets Nutter’s struggle to assert herself against her instinct to help her pregnant, transgendered brother. While this autobiographical piece is exquisitely well-performed, it
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