Moby Dick

Update 939. PhD In My Lived Experience Speshul. . #BeMorePorcupine.

I am still wading through the backlog so coming in early here and there are some cracking pieces to report on plus a wee bit of controversy in the States!

Thanks as ever to my paid subscribers and to those who buy me a coffee. These updates do take up an enormous amount of work, so please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Onwards with the Dusty,Nicola, Moodie and Rex Film Series 😀 Please keep the suggestions for films coming in but please check the list first which I am updating as we go along. Please send suggestions in the comments here at this link:

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/empire-of-light-dustys-film-series

Moby Dick is a 1956 film directed and produced by John Huston, adapted by Huston and Ray Bradbury from Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick.

I have to say that reading Moby Dick ( many years ago) was a bit of a slog…but, nevertheless, a great story!

In 1841, a sailor named Ishmael heads to the New England town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to sign on a whaling ship. In the inn where he is staying for the night, he is forced to share his room with a Pacific Islander and harpooner named Queequeg, whom he befriends after a tense first meeting. The next morning, the two of them hire onto a whaling ship named Pequod, which is commanded by grim Captain Ahab, who is obsessed with hunting and killing a legendary white-skinned whale named Moby Dick, who was responsible for severing Ahab's left leg. Just before their departure, Ishmael and Queequeg encounter a man named Elijah, who delivers an ominous warning about Ahab and states that all but one of the crew who follow him will find their deaths on this voyage.

Spoiler alert: this is the last scene.

Gregory Peck is Captain Ahab.

Thanks to two wonderful readers for suggested pieces.

Some of the linked pieces below may be behind a paywall.

UK - Jason Arday and Autoethnography

I am sure most readers will have come across the extraordinary tale of Jason Arday, Professor at Cambridge University ( until just the other day when he resigned) and expert at … well, lying basically.

For further details, here is Andrew Doyle:

https://www.andrewdoyle.org/p/the-curious-case-of-jason-arday

EDI Jester provides an excellent analysis:

My Truth, My Turd: Autoethnography, the Methodological Engine of Woke

Aug 07, 2026

Consider the following before we start...

Type 1: Knowledge recall

These require factual retrieval of specific information. Answers are either right or wrong. “When was the film Jaws released?” This tests whether the person possesses a verifiable piece of knowledge.

1975 if you are curious.

Type 2: Subjective opinion

These rest entirely on the individual’s personal feelings, preferences or experiences. There is no objectively right or wrong answer, and no genuine argument is possible because the standard of judgement is internal to the speaker. “If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be?”

You can’t argue with it?

Type 3: Critical thinking

These require the assessment of competing claims through reasoned judgement. The respondent must weigh evidence, evaluate credibility and decide which option is stronger. The example is “Should marijuana be decriminalised or legalised?” with the instruction to assess the merits of both arguments.

Three distinct types of cognitive activity, often intertwined, but as a general rules at base, whatever the activity the foundation will be one of these

So let’s talk about academic work based on Autoethnography.

What is it?

This is academic work that takes the researcher’s own personal feelings, experiences, memories and identity as the primary data.

Yes, they are essentially marking their own homework and as mentioned above it cannot be argued with, which of course is the major flaw in all the “fields” that inhabit the critical social justice sewer filled with its power and oppression turds.

The narrative (no matter how stinky) is presented as authentic because it is the author’s own. You know the sort of thing...

• “My Journey of Fatness - A Marxist Roadmap”

• “How my Queerness cured my bad knee - The Importance of Inclusion”

• “My Trans cat taught me to lick my own backside - Queering Gymnastics”

I make light of it, though the examples yet to come are written in a way to make them seem serious, that’s the trick, the word salad to capture the unwary.

Sophistry is what it is, snake oil sales, and Academia bought it hook line and sinker, or floater if you prefer.

This “autoethnography” (my own truth, my lived experience) isn’t like ordinary personal reflection for it is the claim that subjective material constitutes research.

The primacy of “lived experience in action.

The method asserts that the individual’s lived experience reveals larger social or political truths and therefore carries scholarly authority. Yes, make up a story get lauded by Academia, that is really what is happening.

The personal narrative is not tested against external evidence in a rigorous way; instead, the narrative itself is treated as the evidence, that individual’s story and experience is given weighting academically and as any teacher will tell you experience without feedback is a terrible teacher.

The primacy of this nonsense in reality has fed the bloated EDI/DEI industry with its woke edicts and interfering learnings for wrong think for far to long without real pushback.

The full piece is here:

https://edijester.substack.com/p/my-truth-my-turd-autoethnography

All thoughts gratefully received.

UK - Prebunking

We previously reported on the chilling Government report here:

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/you-dont-make-up-for-your-sins-in

Toby Young and Andrew Doyle discuss it:

Northern Ireland: FFS Friday

Kara Dansky on FFS Friday pays tribute to Women’s Rights Network, Northern Ireland who, as we have reported recently, despite being cancelled by the Féile an Phobail festival, found an alternative venue and went ahead anyway ( as reported in our last update).

FFS Friday: The Women’s Rights Network of Northern Ireland

Aug 07, 2026

………………………………

WRN NI applied to host a panel discussion titled “Respect, Rights and Reality - Women’s Voices from Ireland and Europe” during the Féile festival this year. Their application was approved and the panel discussion was scheduled to take place on August 4.

The panel was to include representatives from Women’s Rights Network Northern Ireland, Gaels for Fair Play, The Countess, Sex Matters and Athena Forum, bringing together some of the leading voices advocating for women’s sex-based rights across the UK, Ireland and Europe. It was to explore the issues affecting women and girls and the work being undertaken to protect their sex-based rights. However, in late July, an online campaign from anti-women activists was waged that included abuse, threats of violence, and demands that Féile cancel the event.

WRN NI were abruptly notified via email that the event had been pulled from the festival’s program. Three minutes later, Féile an Phobail announced via social media that they were pulling the event, and their announcement stated that they were “unaware from the initial submission that [the] event would promote campaigns against rights for the transgender community.”

WRN NI have since clarified that their application clearly stated that the discussion would “reflect on developments more than a year on from the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling and consider implications for the North of Ireland’s distinct legal framework, including questions of fairness and safeguarding in women’s sport, prisons and service provision.”

The full piece is here:

https://karadansky.substack.com/p/ffs-friday-the-womens-rights-network

Ireland - Pregnant Men!

It seems that, in Ireland, a larping woman can claim the ‘right’ to be called a man and to be treated as such but…when it comes to maternity leave…you’re still a woman. I hope the language here doesn’t confuse you/they/him/her/ it… as reported by Ben Scallan in Gript News:

C: Unsplash

Pregnant men eligible for maternity leave, HSE advice confirms

August 5, 2026

Men who are pregnant or have given birth are eligible for maternity leave, official advice from the HSE has confirmed.

According to guidance published by the health service, transgender men who have given birth can access the statutory time off without any service qualifications.

The policy outlines the exact entitlements for employees who are expecting a child.

“Pregnant employees are entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave,” the guidance states.

“Since 2023, transgender men who are pregnant or have given birth can access maternity leave.”

The HSE advice also details the specific legal requirements needed to qualify for the provision.

“To qualify, you must have a gender recognition certificate in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2015,” the document outlines.

“You can take up to 16 weeks of unpaid additional maternity leave.”

The guidance goes on to clarify exactly when this supplementary time off must be taken by employees.

“This leave must start immediately after your 26 weeks of paid maternity leave ends,” the advice adds.

Further documentation concerning the Maternity Protection Acts of 1994 and 2004 notes that the legislation provides protection for all pregnant employees.

“Transgender men who have given birth can access statutory maternity leave,” the introduction reads.

The confirmation follows previous reporting on internal health service guidelines regarding gender identity.

An article published by Gript in August 2025 highlighted a 30-minute pronoun awareness training video, fully funded by HSE Social Inclusion, which told staff that biological sex can change over time.

The module aimed to raise awareness about the use of pronouns to promote inclusive spaces across the organisation.

“There are new pronouns coming out all the time,” the training video advised.

Staff were warned that refusing to use a person’s preferred pronouns was an issue that required further education.

“It does become a problem when people intentionally use the wrong pronouns,” the course stated.

“It dismisses and disrespects the person.”

The training also suggested that employees should avoid using terms like “Mam” or “Dad” in certain contexts.

“Instead of asking ‘Is your Mam or Dad here today?’ the suggested phrase is ‘Is your parent or guardian here today?’” the video noted.

Background documents previously revealed by Gript showed that the HSE has also urged healthcare workers to “check their privilege” and use pronouns such as “ze” or “xe”, while describing biological sex as a “spectrum”.

The health service has also previously stated that men can go through menopause, and that “most” pregnant individuals identify as female.

https://gript.ie/pregnant-men-eligible-for-maternity-leave-hse-advice-confirms/

Beam me up, Scotty!!

The States - Sophie Cunningham

We have recently been reporting on women’s basketball star, Sophie Cunningham, supporting the call for no men in women’s sport. Excellent!! This has been taken up as an issue by Kara Dansky and others and there have been demos at games involving Sophie’s team, Indiana Fever. On her substack, You’re Kiddin’, Right? Karen Davis points out that there are no larping men in women’s basketball in the States ( I have checked this and it appears to be the case) and, therefore, this campaign seems a little misplaced. I think Kara is great but:

(i) I am dubious about elevating someone ( here Sophie Cunningham) who has been in the Terf Resistance for one wet week:

(ii) we should surely look at those women’s sports where boys or men are still being allowed to play.

Not having a go at Sophie C I hasten to add.

All thoughts, especially from American readers, gratefully received.

https://ykright.substack.com/p/kara-dansky-vs-the-wnba

The States - A Gender Surgeon Recants!

Ute Heggen reports on her substack on a ‘gender surgeon’ having second thoughts!!

Dr. Karla Solheim, Our New Heroine! Excerpts from her Statement in Free Press

With my pithy comments, as always~

Aug 07, 2026

………………………………….

From Dr. Karla Stolheim, Iowa OB/GYN, on Aug. 5, The Free Press:

I served as the chair of the Iowa section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for a year and a half, where I dedicated my time to expanding women’s health access to rural areas in my state.

But in March, one of ACOG’s vice presidents called me into a meeting and told me I had a choice: resign from my position as chair, or stop publicly criticizing ACOG’s endorsement of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s guidelines for transgender medical care.

I had come to realize that our profession was not doing the right thing by encouraging medicalization and surgery for transgender patients, when robust evidence that these treatments provided long-term health benefits did not exist.

The choice was easy.

I told the vice president, Rachel Pittman, that I would resign because I did not intend to silence myself on an issue about which I care so much, and one that impacts so many vulnerable patients deserving of the best, evidence-based medical care.

To understand how I came to this position, I have to take you back to my first day working as a general obstetrician at the UnityPoint LGBTQ+ clinic in Waterloo, Iowa, in 2019.

Karla Solheim, MD. (© 2025 via Waverly Health Center)

After enrolling at the University of California, I attended the University of Iowa for my medical residency, where I met my former wife; we had three kids together. I’ve poured myself into my work, at times spending over 120 hours a week in the hospital.

When the opportunity presented itself to work at the LGBTQ+ clinic a few times a month, I jumped at it. I knew how lesbians had historically felt ostracized by their doctors, and I wanted to help rebuild trust.

I was surprised to find that my first patient at the clinic was a biological woman who identified as a man. Even more surprising was that my second patient was too, as was my third, and nearly every patient on my schedule. Those who didn’t identify as transgender identified as nonbinary. The clinic, I learned quickly, didn’t predominantly serve the needs of lesbian or gay patients. It was, by and large, a gender clinic, there to provide medical pathways toward transition for those with gender dysphoria, including hormone replacement therapy and surgery.

The full piece is here:

https://uteheggen.substack.com/p/dr-karla-solheim-our-new-heroine

The Lie Of ‘Gender Affirming Care’

A parent on Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) writes:

“Gender Affirming” Doctors Lie

Aug 06, 2026

I am encouraged that more and more people are talking about the lies put out by the “gender affirming” medical community. The lie that “trans” kids have a higher rate of suicide; that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are safe and reversible; that “feeling” like a woman means you are a woman. I would describe the whole of the WPATH standards of care as a complex and elaborate lie. But there is one lie that I haven’t heard many people talk about. Doctors are lying when they say their treatments can make a man pass as a woman.

My son is 6’ 4” tall with broad shoulders and a basso profundo voice. How can his doctors say, or even imply, that they can make him look like a woman? He told me that being so large, he “needed” genital surgery to “be a woman.” How will this help? Hopefully, he will be fully clothed when he meets people, and even if he isn’t, that won’t change his overall appearance.

Are these doctors implying that these surgeries check the box and magically make you the opposite sex? Such a lie is as bad and greedy as implying they will make the person actually look female.

The full piece is here:

https://www.pittparents.com/p/gender-affirming-doctors-lie

Kellie-Jay Keen v Helen Webberley

On the Triggernometry podcast, Konstantin Kishin interviews Kellie-Jay Keen and the awful Helen Webberley. Webberley continues to argue that people without medical qualifications should not speak about this subject. You’re not shutting me up, Helen! I am still searching in the Human Rights Act as to where it says this!? Webberley always tries to use the words ‘ young person’ and KJK brings her back to the word ‘child’. Webberley talks of being able to switch into the puberty of the opposite sex ( yes, readers, she really was a doctor - now she say she does ‘education and advocacy’). What I enjoyed was, as the interview progresses, how Konstantin, despite his attempt to remain as the neutral moderator, comes off the fence to join KJK in challenging Webberley’s bonkers positions.

All thoughts gratefully received.

Endpiece

From Tenaciously Terfin

#BeMorePorcupine

#KeepTerfing

#BringDownAmnesty

#KeepFighting

#RepealTheGRA

#AdultHumanFemale

#LetWomenSpeak

#LGB✂️TQ

#FreeSpeechNotSilencedSpeech

#HoldTheLine

#StopTheBlockersTrial

#NeverSurrender

#NeverForget

#TruthWillTriumph

#WeWillWin

The next update will probably be either tomorrow or on Monday, Terven.

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