S**t Happens When You Party Naked!

Update 486. Repeal The GRA Special! #BeMorePorcupine

We are not that far short of Update 500 !!! 🥳🎉🎈

So please get me your three favourite films of all time and Update 500 will just involve film clips from the top 5 films according to your votes. Please rank them 1,2 and 3. Plus endpieces from Liz and me ( get thinking, Liz!!). And absolutely no gender madness - just for this update - you can briefly imagine that it was all a terrible dream!! 😎

I am pausing British Heroes season for a Christmas Season 🎅 Happy to have any suggestions for Xmas films - get them in! Stop me keeping on with bad taste Xmas films 😂

My wife has taught me how to like Christmas. It is especially great for the children , of course, and now several grandchildren in our case. And I do appreciate, for my Christian readers, that, most importantly, it is a great Christian festival!

Anyway what I don’t like about Christmas is the over commercialisation. So I do (kind of secretly) enjoy the film, Bad Santa with Billy Bob Thornton as Santa, Tony Cox as the Elf, Lauren Graham as Mrs Santa and Brett Kelly as Thurman ( ‘the kid’).

He did teach me how to crack a safe though.

Spoiler alert: And sorry, I can’t resist the brilliant final scene (second clip)! 😎

Thanks as ever to two wonderful readers for suggested pieces.

Some of the linked pieces below may be behind paywalls.

For Women Scotland

Thanks to Feminist Legal Clinic for the next two pieces.

Hannah Barnes was at the Supreme Court hearing. My reports are here:

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/for-women-scotland-day-one

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/for-women-scotland-day-two

The Scottish government is ignoring women’s rights – New Statesman | Hannah Barnes (06 December)

Two things stood out as I followed the case on day two: that women (in Scotland in particular), were being gaslit by the Scottish government; and lesbians were, in effect, being told by the Scottish government that they were no longer protected in law according to their sexual orientation. By virtue of a legal piece of paper, it was argued, a “heterosexual male” could become a lesbian woman overnight. These were the words of Scottish government lawyers.

. . .

Watching proceedings felt at times like being in a strange parallel universe. Questions from the judges and answers from the legal teams were incomprehensible, such was the mess that both were getting into around language. There were sentences which began, “If you exclude a pregnant man…”; sex and gender were muddled; natal women and trans women were often confused; and a new concept of “certificated sex” was introduced. Lawyers representing the Scottish government seemingly had no idea how someone showed they had been “living in their acquired gender” for the purposes of gaining a GRC. Would a natal man with a GRC saying they were a woman, but who presented as a man, be discriminated against “as a woman”, one judge asked, if people perceived them to be a man? Crawford [ counsel for the Scottish Government] said she’d like to think about that question over lunch. It’s easy to laugh, but the outcome of this case is fundamental to the rights of women, and of those who are same-sex attracted.

. . .

And so to the erasure of lesbians. One of four interventions in the case was granted to “the Lesbian interveners” – a group of three organisations representing the rights of lesbian women. Among their arguments was that the Scottish government’s view of the law denies lesbians the right be protected as a group defined by their sexual orientation – one of the nine characteristics listed in the Equality Act.

Crawford confirmed to the court that a lesbian association of 25 members or more would not be able to restrict membership to those who are born female. Natal males – in the language of the court, meaning those born male – with a GRC who were attracted to females could not be refused entry. The only way for these trans women to be excluded would be to regroup as an association which seeks to advance a protected philosophical belief: in this instance, the gender-critical belief that sex is immutable. Those inside the court building have reported “audible intakes of breath”. [ Dusty - I was in the overflow court room , where this was greeted with gales of laughter!].

The Supreme Court judges will now decide, with a judgement not expected until well into the new year. It seems to me that the Scottish government’s interpretation of “sex” in the Equality Act is unworkable in the real world. Indeed, it is one where everyone loses: women, trans people, and gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

Source: The Scottish government is ignoring women’s rights – New Statesman

Allison Bailey

Congratulations to Allison.

Update #16 – I’m off to the Court of Appeal – Permission granted — Allison Bailey (06 December)

Good News:

Permission has just been granted by the Court of Appeal in Bailey v Stonewall Equality Limited. The reasons for granting permission are encouraging:

“The grounds have a real prospect of success but, in any event, raise issues of some general importance which should be considered by this Court. In particular, an issue arises as to the correct interpretation of section 111 of the Equality Act 2010 which does not seem to be the subject of previous authority. There is therefore a compelling reason to grant permission to appeal.”

We are listed for a hearing lasting 1 1/2 days. I will let you know when we get the listing, which will likely be next year at the earliest.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me.

Source: Update #16 – I’m off to the Court of Appeal – Permission granted — Allison Bailey

The Data (Use and Access) Bill

The next two pieces are from the latest Sex Matters newsletter (06 December).

Last week we were asking the highest court in the land to pick through 20 years of history to answer whether Parliament accidentally destroyed protections against sex discrimination when it passed the Gender Recognition Act (GRA). The judgment may show that Section 9 of the GRA is a weak “deeming provision”, allowing women’s rights to be clawed back, or conversely (if it agrees with the Scottish government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission that Section 9 is much stronger), it may make clear that the GRA cannot be allowed to stand.

This week we were in Parliament to try to ensure that another law is not about to introduce gender self-ID by the back door. Unless the government takes speedy action, the Data (Use and Access) Bill could lead to self-declared gender being written into digital data systems in place of sex as the result of a series of unplanned, ad hoc administrative decisions.

Several Lords spoke in favour of amendments that would require the Secretary of State to make sure that reliable, accurate information on sex is recorded and verified. But the government minister dismissed their concerns, saying that the system should allow people to verify “facts about themselves based on documents that already exist”. She said she was worried that people could end up with a passport saying one thing and a digital record saying something different. “We have to go back to the original source documents, such as passports and birth certificates, and rely on them for accuracy, which would then feed into the digital record – otherwise... we could end up pointing in two different directions.”

But we know that this is already the case. Passports, driving licences, NHS records and birth certificates can already point in different directions. It is alarming and frustrating that the government has failed to recognise the issue when data accuracy, accessibility and efficiency are so central to the bill.

When the Gender Recognition Act was passed, I was busy with one child in nursery school and breastfeeding another, dealing with sleepless nights while trying to keep my career going. Like so many women I had no idea about a law being made so recklessly, without regard for women’s rights.

This must not be allowed to happen again. This is why we are focusing so much attention on the Data Bill and on the opportunity and risks it poses. We have written to the minister and will be seeking a meeting. There will be more to do on this next year!

Read our report on sex and the Data Bill

WDI Campaign

WDI launches campaign to repeal the GRA

The UK Chapter of WDI (Women’s Declaration International) has launched a campaign calling on the government to repeal the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and remove the concepts of “gender reassignment” and “gender identity” from all law, policy and practice.

Helen Saxby, quoted in the WDI briefing, wrote: “The problem with the Gender Recognition Act is that it bakes in sexism, in and of itself, even before you begin to examine how it interacts with the Equality Act. The GRA itself is discriminatory against women. It would fail to pass an Equality Impact Assessment, one of the tools the EA provides for analysing the effect of policies on other protected groups. Its negative impacts are almost completely borne by women, and its benefits mostly enjoyed by men.”

Sex Matters agrees with many of the points WDI makes about the current unsatisfactory legal framework. Having analysed the relevant laws, we think the surest and most accessible way to make progress – at present – is to fix the interaction between the Gender Recognition Act and the Equality Act.

We fear that without a separate protected characteristic of gender reassignment, gender identity and gender expression would be etched into the protected characteristic of sex through case law. The complications arising from this would make it much more difficult to defend and protect sex-based rights.

However, if the Supreme Court rules against For Women Scotland and finds that the Gender Recognition Act overrules women’s rights in the Equality Act, then it will fall to the government to reform or repeal the GRA.

Most urgently, the government needs to sort out the concept of sex in the Data Bill. It is not too late to stop another erosion of women’s sex-based rights.

Dusty -with all due respect, I disagree with Sex Matters. I think that, once you place the concept of ‘gender identity’ within legislation you automatically endanger women’s rights ( see what has happened in Australia with Giggle v Tickle). I think that the GRA needs to be repealed and that ‘gender reassignment’ should be removed as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act - all thoughts gratefully received. I appreciate that, in the meantime, it would be best to get sex in the Equality Act properly defined as biological sex.

Larping Men of the Year!

Aidan Radnedge in The Mail Online (How women are being overlooked as transgender finalists are dominating 'women of the year awards' - amid a fierce backlash 05 December) reports:

A growing number of transgender women have received awards this year for their achievements in sports, acting, modelling and academia - despite a backlash from gender critical campaigners.

Alex Consani was this week honoured as Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in London, ahead of five other women [ Dusty - that would be ‘five actual women’] who had been shortlisted for the accolade…

The 21-year-old's victory comes as the BFC increasingly shortlist from LGBTQ [ Dusty - WTF LOL] and other 'underrepresented' groups for its awards.

And the decision follows recent controversies relating to the BBC's 2024 list of the 100 most inspiring women, which included a transgender Colombian scientist and this year's recipient of its Women's Footballer of the Year prize.

Orlando Pride and Zambia striker Barbra Banda was honoured with the gong last week, following a public vote, after five nominees were picked by a panel of experts including coaches, players, administrators and non-BBC journalists

While she [ HE!] is not transgender, Banda's place in the running for the annual prize was still criticised by women’s rights groups because she [ HE!] was previously excluded from the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in 2022 by team bosses over allegedly high testosterone levels [ Dusty - which is not surprising because he is a bloke!].

And this week the BBC included transgender Colombian scientist Brigitte Baptiste on its annual 100 Women list for 2024 - with critics branding the move 'breathtakingly insulting'.

Outside of the UK, actress Karla Sofia Gascon became in May this year the first trans woman [ MAN!] to be presented with a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The BBC this week included transgender Colombian scientist Brigitte Baptiste (pictured) on its annual 100 Women list for 2024

The full article is here:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14161161/Changing-face-Women-Year-awards-Transgender-honoured-2024.html

Thanks to wonderful JL for analysing 11 years of BBC misogyny (ie. ever since they launched Women of the Year in 2013!). I don’t know what was more difficult - reading JL’s words or looking at the photos. I give you just one photo by way of example.

JL concludes:

No doubt many of the trans-identified males erroneously included on the BBC’s list are experts in their field, make an outstanding contribution to society, and are more than deserving of praise and recognition. But none of them belong on a list that is supposed to celebrate women.

The BBC claims that its 100 Women List is “Putting women at the front and centre of news stories”. Surely it must see that by including males, it is excluding women? Every time the BBC features a trans-identified male on this list, it robs a woman of her place on it. A woman whose story will now not be heard.

The full piece is here:

https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/a-short-history-of-bbc-misogyny-2013

The Party of Women

Interesting discussion between two of the Party of Women candidates at the General Election, Bev White and Kelly Dougall ( on Kelly’s new podcast) about what it was like running as a candidate. Especially useful for all you ladies out there who may be thinking of doing the same yourself in the future 😊

For more information on the Party of Women see here:

https://www.partyofwomen.org/

Ireland - Women’s Golf

Fatima Gunning in Gript News ( Golf Ireland urged to follow LGPA in trans policy 05 December) reports:

Golf Ireland has been urged to follow the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA) which has reversed a policy that allowed biological males to compete in the female category of the sport.

In a statement the LGPA said their “working group has advised that the effects of male puberty confer competitive advantages in golf performance compared to players who have not undergone male puberty.”

LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said, “Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,”

“The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions,” she said.

Reacting to the decision, Irish women and children’s advocacy group, The Countess, has urged Golf Ireland to follow suit.

The Countess says it “broadly welcomes the news that LPGA has reversed its controversial gender policy to now ensure fair play for women.”

“Under the new policy, only women (and those who did not go through male puberty) will be eligible to enter LPGA competitions. Men who identify as women will no longer be eligible to compete.” it said, adding, @golfireland_ please follow suit.”

Golf Ireland says it is “committed to the inclusion of people from the LGBTQIA+ community. We want to make a game everyone can belong to, and feel safe and included within.”

Hailey Davidson, a male golfer who identifies as female, hit out at the decision saying “Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.” he wrote on Instagram.

Critiquing the policy of allowing males who have not gone through male puberty to compete in the female category, The Countess said, “Policies like this that state ‘have not gone through male puberty’ are potentially encouraging young boys down a pathway of taking harmful and unproven drugs, which could have serious long term health impacts. These boys should be encouraged to play in open divisions.”

The new LGPA policy is effective starting with the 2025 season.

The body says its new policy was “informed by a working group of top experts in medicine, science, sport physiology, golf performance and gender policy law—was developed with input from a broad array of stakeholders and prioritizes the competitive integrity of women’s professional tournaments and elite amateur competitions..”

“[U]nder the new policy, athletes who are assigned female at birth are eligible to compete on the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour, and in all other elite LPGA competitions. Players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events.”

The policies governing the LPGA’s recreational programs and non-elite events utilize different criteria to provide opportunities for participation in the broader LPGA community. For more details, please refer to the full policy at lpga.com/gender-policy.

Golf offers opportunities for all athletes to compete at professional and elite amateur levels. Individual competitions are generally categorized as “women’s events,” which have specific eligibility requirements or “open events,” where any player, regardless of sex, is eligible to compete.

https://gript.ie/golf-ireland-urged-to-follow-lgpa-in-trans-policy/?ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_5_17_2022_13_19_COPY_01)

The States - Olson-Kennedy Sued

Thanks again to Feminist Legal Clinic and I have often said that court cases like this are going to be absolutely crucial in the Terf Resistance.

America’s best-known practitioner of youth gender medicine is being sued | The Economist (07 December)

A patient of Johanna Olson-Kennedy thinks she has been negligent

JOHANNA OLSON-KENNEDY is among the most celebrated youth gender medicine clinicians in the world. She has been the Medical Director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), one of the first high-profile American youth gender clinics and presently the largest, since 2012. A frequent expert witness in court cases who is often quoted in the media, Dr Olson-Kennedy also leads a $10m initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health to study youth gender medicine—by far the largest such project in America. In addition, she is the president-elect of the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Source: America’s best-known practitioner of youth gender medicine is being sued

Canada - The Alberta Fightback!

Canada has often been called Tranada - but you can leave Alberta out of that description! Thanks once again to Feminist Legal Clinic.

Alberta, Canada: è legge. Fuori i corpi maschili dagli sport femminili | FeministPost (06 December)

Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, a law strongly supported by Premier Danielle Smith, has been approved in the Canadian province of Alberta to protection of women’s sports competitions and ensuring that athletes compete in women-only categories. Transgender people will be able to participate and compete in sports of their choice in dedicated categories. Based on government regulations, all sports organizations will be required to identify eligibility criteria of athletes who take into account the new directives.

The news is also relevant because Justin Trudeau’s Canada has always been among the most trans-oriented nations.

The new law has been welcomed with great satisfaction by the Save Women’s Sports network. Also Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, welcomed the new legislation: “Very welcome news out of Alberta in Canada,” she wrote on X, “regarding the protection of the female category in sport.”

Premier Danielle Smith plans more legislative changes soon. One of the proposals concerns the ban on “affirmative therapies” (puberty blockers and hormones) for minors. Doctors would also be prohibited from performing “sex reassignment” surgeries on minors. Another bill would introduce the Mandatory requirement for parental consent up to the age of 16 for so-called “alias careers” and to change names or pronouns at school. Those who are 16 or 17 years old will not need authorization from their parents, who however must be informed beforehand. It will be family consent is also required to participate in school lessons on sexual education, gender identity and sexual orientation, and any instructional materials must be approved by Alberta Education before being used in the classroom.

Prime Minister Smith replied that These new laws are necessary to protect children and female athletes, arguing that it is not uncommon to place limits on the decisions children can make for themselves. “We don’t allow them to smoke, we don’t allow them to take drugs, we don’t allow them to drive. So we think that making a permanent decision that will affect your fertility is a decision that should be left to adults.” Smith added that in court the government will argue that parents have the right to make decisions until their children are old enough to do so for themselves.

Source: Alberta, Canada: è legge. Fuori i corpi maschili dagli sport femminili | FeministPost

The Queering Of Society

I previously featured James Esses’ speech at this event at the recent Battle of Ideas conference:

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/consider-yourself-one-of-the-family?utm_source=publication-search

Here are all the speeches including also Kate Harris (LGB Alliance), Graham Linehan and Frank Furedi.

Girls, Are You Sure?

A message to confused girls from Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans on their substack:

Girls, Are You Sure?

Is it worth giving up on being a girl?

Dec 05, 2024

Girls, if you wish you were a boy, it’s in your own best interest to at least pause and ask yourself some questions before making any major decisions that will permanently affect your body and health.

Your Kinship

· Do you think you will ever miss the camaraderie of girlfriends and feminine solidarity?

· Do you think you’ll ever have a group of “guy” friends?

· Do you think you will miss the connection to the sacred feminine or Goddess energy?

· Do you think you will ever miss the power of being a woman?

· Do you think you will miss going to the restroom or locker room together with your girlfriends?

· Do you think you might miss playing on a women’s sports team?

· Do you think it would be more difficult to stand up for women’s rights if you presented yourself as a male?

Your Appearance and Voice

· Do you think you might miss wearing women’s clothing, jewelry, or accessories?

· Do you think you will ever miss having long hair or a woman’s hairstyle, and would you miss your hair if you started to go bald due to the effects of testosterone?

· Are you okay looking like, acting like, and being like a middle-aged man? (No offense intended to men.)

· If you have your breasts removed, are you sure that you will never miss them, even years from now, and are you prepared for possible phantom pain, numbness, generalized pain, and tightness in your chest as a result?

· Are you sure that removing a healthy body part will make you happy, and is it kind to yourself?

· Are you sure you will not miss your natural voice?

Your Feelings

· When you picture yourself in ten, twenty, thirty, or more years, are you sure right now that you will feel the same way about everything in the future?

· Are you sure you want to lock yourself into how you feel this moment, even knowing that your feelings might change over time?

· Are you certain you never want to give birth, breastfeed, or be a mom or grandmother?

· Are you sure that disliking or blaming your breasts for anything is wise?

· Are you sure your body is the problem or the cause of your distress?

· Are you sure you are not looking to ease pain or escape from something?

· Are you sure you will be safer presenting yourself as a trans man?

· Do you think it might get tiring to try to pass as a man or to be misgendered due to people’s confusion? Might acting as if you are a male become exhausting over time?

· Are you certain you will be better liked in the long run if you present yourself as if you are a man?

· Are you sure that removing healthy body parts will make you more authentic?

· Might you ever miss the original you?

· If you don’t feel like you fit a typical female stereotype, can you embrace a different way and still remain a woman?

· How much time have you spent exploring your doubts or asking desisters or detransitioners about their decisions to change their direction and reclaim their womanhood? What have you learned from that exploration?

· In your research, have you discovered any scientific evidence that you were born in the wrong body?

· If sex trait-modifying drugs and surgeries were not available anymore, how might you address or solve what distresses you?

The full piece is here:

https://www.pittparents.com/p/girls-are-you-sure?r=7ogxh&triedRedirect=true

Endpieces by My Assistant and Liz

I occasionally have to explain to new readers why we keep going on about Porcupines on this substack 😎

Here are the (Terf) Porcupine parents protecting their children from the (Gender( Leopard. I hope that is clear now 😂

#BeMorePorcupine

#LetWomenSpeak

#Grassroots Army

#GenderIdeologyIsEvil

#MenCantBeWomen

I hope that the next update will be on Monday, Terven.

If you like this update, please send to a friend. Until next time, Terven. This isn’t over yet! Please subscribe for free or paid or buy me a coffee, like and comment.