The Lady in the Van Part 1
Update 357
I am still inundated with stuff so this will be another two parter, dear readers.
Thanks to a reader for suggesting No 27 in the Leading Female Season, namely Maggie Smith and I have chosen the wonderful Lady in the Van.
Maggie Smith is Miss Mary Shepherd and Alex Jennings is Alan Bennett.
She came for 3 weeks.
She stayed for 15 years.
Thanks to two wonderful readers as ever for suggesting some of the pieces below.
The Cass Review
I never thought I would rely on Prick…sorry, Pink News but that is where I came across this piece of news. See the sacrifices I make for you all, dear readers, to bring you the news - I read Pink News!! Anyway , the Welsh NHS are halting the use of puberty blockers so I think that is now the whole of the United Kingdom - HOORAY!! I won’t give you any excerpts since, of course, they just immediately start lying and whining but if you really insist, here is the article:
Response from the Gay Men’s Network
I mentioned the response in the last update and I have now read it - as expected it is excellent and I do recommend it. They totally agree with Cass apart from two overarching points - both of which I agree with ( all thoughts gratefully received, of course):
While we welcome majority of Dr Cass’ recommendations, there are two areas where we express reservations. First, given emerging global evidence of harm to innocent children occasioned by puberty blockers, we can see no circumstances in which any clinical trial could possibly be ethical. The evidence of institutional homophobia at the Tavistock suggests the likely live subjects for any trial would be largely same sex attracted youth and we object in the strongest possible terms to any such study. Second, we are concerned that homophobia as an undercurrent in gender medicine is inadequately explored or identified in the review. As we explain in detail below, homophobia is a pronounced feature of medicalising children who are socially different to their peers, and we call for this fact to be faced head on.
They call for a public inquiry and they have, of course, signed the letter to the Prime Minister calling for a public inquiry which was also mentioned in the last update.
This bunch below need to be got out of Scottish schools if not dragged to court! I previously reported on them here recommending that children as young as 4 should be asked if they were gay, lesbian or transgender!
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/the-wizard-of-oz-part-2
Daniel Sanderson in The Telegraph ( Scottish children’s charity calls puberty blockers ‘wonderful’ 23 April) reports:
Dr Hilary Cass - Yui Mok/PA Wire© Provided by The Telegraph
A controversial LGBT charity which is influential in hundreds of Scottish schools has described puberty blockers as “wonderful” and believes children should have “autonomy” to decide whether to take them.
LGBT Youth Scotland, which runs a controversial education charter scheme followed by a majority of Scottish secondary schools and dozens of primaries, is under fresh scrutiny after it denounced the findings of the Cass Review.
The Scottish Government on Tuesday said it would set up an expert medical group to consider the findings of Dr Hilary Cass, which have already led to the suspension of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for under 18s.
However, the taxpayer-funded charity issued a statement demanding that the decision to suspend new hormone prescriptions to children at the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow be reversed, despite safety fears.
Dr Cass’s report, widely seen as the most comprehensive and credible in the area ever carried out, noted possible risks such as infertility and damage to brain function and growth.
However, LGBT Youth Scotland said it believed the Sandyford decision was “to the detriment of trans young people”. It issued a statement from its Trans Rights Youth Commission which claimed the “bodily autonomy” of children should be respected.
“We would like to be clear about the wonderful impacts that accessing gender affirming care can have,” the group said.
“Gender affirming care is about our right to do what we want with our own body. It is freedom. We deeply urge Sandyford to reconsider this decision.”
Jenny Gilruth, the SNP education secretary, on Tuesday appeared to dismiss concerns over the activities of LGBT Youth Scotland, which receives almost £1 million per year in public funding from Holyrood.
Jenny Gilruth, the Scottish education secretary - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images© Provided by The Telegraph
The cash in part funds its schools scheme which has seen pupils across Scotland, including in primaries, appointed “LGBT Champions”.
Ms Gilruth claimed that it was for schools to decide for themselves whether to sign up to the charity’s scheme, but added that LGBT school clubs helped create “inclusive” environments.
Dusty - the second word is “off”
Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said parents had been “outraged” by materials distributed by LGBT Youth Scotland.
She also raised the account of a parent, reported in The Telegraph, who claimed her daughter had been “radicalised” by trans ideology after joining her school’s LGBT club.
The child began living as a boy, a decision kept from the parents by the school, but she quickly reverted to her birth sex after being sent to a private school in England, the mother said.
The full article is here:
The Queen of Scots is still doing amazing work!
Genevieve Holl-Allen in The Telegraph ( JK Rowling urges Labour to apologise to Rosie Duffield over transphobia row 23 April) reports:
JK Rowling - Debra Hurford-Brown© Provided by The Telegraph
JK Rowling has said she urged Labour to apologise to an MP investigated over allegations of transphobia after a frontbencher said she agreed with the author’s stance on biological sex.
On Monday night, Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, said she supported Rowling’s view that “biological sex is real and is immutable”, prompting the Harry Potter author to urge Labour to say sorry to Rosie Duffield.
The Canterbury MP was investigated by Labour over a complaint that she had been transphobic for liking a tweet by Graham Linehan, the Father Ted creator who is now a gender-critical campaigner.
The party dropped its year-long investigation into Ms Duffield earlier this year, but she has spoken about feeling “isolated” among Labour MPs because of her views.
Those with gender-critical views believe that a person’s sex cannot be changed and are generally opposed to the idea that gender identity is more important than biological sex.
Dusty - generally opposed???!!! We don’t even think it exists!
Following Ms Mahmood’s comments on Monday night, Rowling wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “If senior opposition figures agree with me that sex is real and immutable, I hope we’ll soon see an apology to [Ms Duffield], who believes exactly what I believe.”
The full article is here:
Humza’s Idea of Misogyny
As discussed by Kate Barker of LGB Alliance on Julia Hartley-Brewer’s show on Talk TV. Great to see that Julia signed the letter to the Prime Minister calling for a public inquiry following the Cass Review.
Scottish Hate Crime Act
Tony Mcguire in GB News ( Scottish hate crime reports drop by 75% in second week as politicians debate controversial law April) reports:
A Scottish Conservative led debate gave Holyrood politicians an opportunity to voice concerns about the reporting of alleged hate crime incidents, despite the number of hate crime reports dropping by 75 per cent in its second week.
Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser has been fighting for answers from Police Scotland in relation to a ‘non-crime hate incident’ raised after a social post he made was reported as a hate crime.
“I only found out about that by accident,” he says, “because the complainant then reported me to the Ethical Standards Commissioner who polices the conduct of parliamentarians.
The ESC complaint was thrown out, but brought the non-crime hate incident to Mr Fraser’s attention.
Humza Yousaf, Murdo Fraser, Scotland protests© GB News
“I’ve been in conversation with the police ever since then trying to understand why this was done, why I wasn’t told about it and why it seems now a different standard was applied in relation to the many complaints made against the SNP First Minister, Humza Yousaf,” says Mr Fraser.
The full article is here:
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
This really does take the biscuit!! Prevention of cruelty to children? Really??!!
The Charity Commission needs to start investigating all these charities who, despite the Cass Review, are holding out for gender ideology.
John James in The Mail Online ( Whistleblower quits NSPCC over trans 'grooming': Volunteer claims charity has been 'completely captured' by Stonewall and pressured schools to ask primary-age pupils their pronouns during assemblies 22 April) reports:
A senior volunteer at the NSPCC has revealed she quit the charity over concerns that it had been 'completely captured' by Stonewall and was now pursuing an aggressive form of trans ideology which included asking primary school pupils their pronouns.
The whistleblower, Julia Marshall, told the Telegraph that after 30 years of volunteering with the children's charity she had begun to notice gradual creep in policy which she claimed was tantamount to 'grooming.'
The 62-year-old claimed that she and other volunteers had been put under significant pressure to affirm children's choices of gender and were ostracised for speaking out.
Former police officer Ms Marshall said that the new policies which sought to give gender questioning children more autonomy over their bodies was a 'major red flag' and significant safeguarding risk as well as contrary to the stated aims of the charity.
The NSPCC was set up over 130 years and had traditionally concerned itself with protecting children from forms of physical, social and mental abuse.
It was confirmed last week that following allegations, a compliance case was opened against the organisation by the Charity Commission.
The full article is here:
West Virginia
On the heels of the bad news about Title IX:
More bad news from West Virginia. Well done to the 5 girls - see below.
Rachel Bowman in The Mail Online ( Trans athlete wins shot-put by more than THREE FEET as middle school girls stage 'step out' protest and refuse to compete against her - days after she won court battle to overturn West Virginia transgender laws 22 April) reports:
A West Virginia transgender athlete won her [ Dusty - HIS!!! etc] - shot put competition in her first sporting event following an appeals court ruling that allowed her to participate - as other contestants refused to play against her.
Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, competed in the Harris County Middle School Track and Field Championship on Thursday, two days after a court ruled West Virginia’s transgender sports ban violates the teen’s right under Title IX.
Pepper-Jackson took home first place in the shot put competition with her 32-foot effort, three feet further than second place, and she placed second in discus.
Despite being legally allowed to compete, some athletes protested Pepper-Jackson's participation by refusing to play against her.
Five girls from Lincoln Middle School stepped up to the circle for their turn, then refused to throw the ball.
Becky Pepper-Jackson (pictured), 13, won her shot put competition in her first sporting event following an appeals court ruling that allowed her to participate
Pictured: Five girls from Lincoln Middle School stepped up to the circle for their turn, then refused to throw the ball
Scores recorded from the event on Athletic.net show the athletes received a mark of 'no distance.'
Riley Gaines tweeted a video of the protest and said 'It's a sad day when 13-14 year old girls have to be the adults in the room, but I couldn't be more inspired by and proud of these girls.'
The full article is here:
Promotion Policy
Excellent piece from Sex Matters and legal advice from Akua Reindorf KC.
Legal opinion says promotion policy discriminates on basis of gender-critical beliefs (20 April)
Earlier this year Sex Matters was approached by Dr John Armstrong, a reader in mathematics at King’s College London (KCL). Dr Armstrong was applying for promotion, but was concerned that the “EDI” (equality, diversity and inclusion) section of the application, which required applicants to demonstrate their commitment to ideas about sex and gender he doesn’t agree with, would count against him. He asked us for informal advice.
Our analysis suggested that KCL’s promotion policy was unlawful in several respects, so we asked Akua Reindorf KC to provide us with a legal opinion. She concluded that the policy was likely to constitute unlawful discrimination on grounds of gender-critical belief, and that it would also be likely to contravene the new law on academic freedom due to come into force in August.
The legal opinion
Some salient points:
“I think it strongly arguable that KCL’s approach to EDI in respect of sex and gender conflicts with and/or actively contradicts the law in certain key respects, and that it is partisan and ideological in nature.”
“KCL’s various policies, training materials and guidance relating to the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment are incorrect, as a matter of law, in several substantial respects.”
“It is demonstrable that Stonewall and Athena Swan promote the gender identity belief, not least by the fact that many of the errors and misstatements referred to above have their genesis in materials produced by those organisations.”
“[I]t seems to me that the requirement to demonstrate allegiance to the EDI ambitions as a criterion for advancement places those with gender critical beliefs at a particular disadvantage when compared to others.”
Action needed
We call on KCL to:
commit to an immediate and full review of its hiring and promotion criteria as well as its wider EDI policies in order to bring these into line with the law
commit to ending unlawful discrimination against staff with gender-critical views.
This legal opinion relates specifically to KCL. But similar policies are common across academia. We therefore also call on all higher-education institutions to leave the Stonewall and Advance HE Athena Swan schemes, which promote HR, hiring and promotion policies that constitute unlawful belief discrimination and are inimical to academic freedom, and are therefore inimical to the very purpose of universities.
Finally, we call on Universities UK, the Office for Students and the Department for Education to take a leadership role by publicising this legal advice to sector leaders, and to consider steps they can take to protect gender-critical university staff from belief discrimination and end the threats posed to academic freedom by policies like this.
Read more…
Legal opinion
Read the full counsel’s opinion on King’s College London’s academic promotions criteria.
Dr Miriam Grossman
I am a great supporter of Dr Grossman and have her book, Lost in Trans Nation, albeit I have not yet completed it. After careful reflection, I join with this analysis from wonderful Jennifer Bilek. All thoughts gratefully received.
Dr. Miriam Grossman: Leading the Charge Against the Gender Industry and Privileged Activism ( 17 April)
Photo credit:
https://www.miriamgrossmanmd.com/
Miriam Grossman, M.D., a distinguished child psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience, has emerged as a prominent figure in the battle against the gender industry. Witnessing her commanding presence during a House Committee meeting in 2023, left me captivated. She was there testifying on behalf of a bill that would make funds unavailable for hospital training programs for pediatricians to learn and practice “gender affirming care.”
Dr. Grossman skillfully dismantled her opponents' arguments with the accuracy of a seasoned military strategist. Her words struck with such precision that one could almost hear the impact like explosions.
During her testimony, Dr. Grossman made several critical points:
"There is no evidence of long-term benefit, but there is evidence of harm."
"Medicine is currently entangled with politics."
"Our precious resources should not support such a pernicious experiment."
"Sex is established at conception, not assigned at birth."
"Sex is not an arbitrary designation that can change."
In contrast to other voices within the resistance against gender ideology, Dr. Grossman's statements are strategically focused on challenging her opponents, rather than ensuring universal comfort.
Dr. Grossman stands as a lone general amidst a landscape of organizations and individuals engaged in combat against an industry seeking to dismantle human reproductive sex for profit. Her unwavering stance, notably outside the moderate center where many discussions unfold, is resolute and unambiguous. While others tread cautiously, attempting to appease various stakeholders, Dr. Grossman directs her firepower squarely at the medical industry's assault on young lives, leaving behind a trail of clarity amid a cacophony of cultural confusion.
Despite her extensive expertise and contributions, and her book, “Lost in Trans Nation/A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness”, having been published in July 2023, the same year the prominent gender NGO, Genspect, held its large, international “gender conference,“ in Colorado, Dr. Grossman was strangely absent from the event. Genspect, positions itself as a leading force against the harms of gender ideology, though it seems to perpetuate the very narratives it claims to oppose.
While Miriam Grossman, a physician, aims to dismantle the gender industry, organizations like Genspect adopt language reminiscent of their adversaries, blurring the lines between advocacy and acquiescence:
“Our international organization includes professionals, trans people, detransitioners, and parent groups who work together to advocate for a non-medicalized approach to gender diversity.”
They draw on the same language and the same obfuscations as the gender industry, separating the concept of gender from sex and highlighting it as a solidfied concept. Their language mirrors that of the gender industry:
* “Our adept team recognizes the vibrant tapestry of today’s work and school environments. We tailor our training sessions to the diverse landscape of modern life, ensuring that every individual’s perspective is respected and understood while also ensuring that one individual’s inclusion does not come at the expense of another’s.”
* “Our training sessions delve deep into the subjects of inclusivity, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental well-being, scientific advancements, and actionable strategies that empower organizations to tackle gender-related issues effectively.”
Genspect’s The Bigger Picture conference in November 2023, in Colorado, was preceded by another Bigger Picture conference in Ireland in April 2023, from which Dr. Grossman was also absent.
SEGM (Society For Evidence Based Gender Medicine), an organization aligned with Genspect also held a conference, in 2023, in NYC. The conference featured more than 30 experts from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. I reached out to Dr. Grossman to inquire as to whether it was an oversight that she was not present, though she resides in NYC. Her absence from three significant conferences about the harms made manifest by gender ideology, seemed illogical, given her powerful voice and experience. She had not been invited to any of the events.
While various and popular individuals, and establishments, are towing a moderate line in public, trying to please politicians, consumers of artificial sex characteristics, detransitioners, men with fetishes, and parents of children caught in the maw of a marketing blitzkrieg by the medical-tech industry, Dr. Grossman attacks the heart of the issue - the medical industry assaulting young people.
My sense is, Dr. Grossman, is the real threat to the gender industry, not the organizations that become part of the system in effort to create change.
Genspect and their “gender” events are proliferating. Genspect is now in twenty-five countries. Where will they be if we are able to stop the gender industry?
Does supporting Dr. Grossman, necessarily mean that the work of Genspect and their ilk, should not be supported? Can’t we all just get along?
Genspect, unlike Dr. Grossman, sees the use of wrong sex pronouns as an individual choice. The pronoun issue, and their stance on it, exemplifies the problems currently plaguing a real resistance to this industry. If you have the luxury of choosing to use accurate language that reflects the biological reality of sex and you choose not to for your own comfort, the only real choice you’ve made is to align with the system that is commodifying human reproductive sex and weakening the resistance against it.
People who are at the highest end of the pecking order, which is below the ruling class, often make this choice to secure some perks (speaking engagements, book deals, large philanthropic donations to their NGOs) that keep their own head above water, while they stand on the heads of those below, who have no choice and are forced to speak lies.
The gender industry is an industry of the ruling class. While Genspect, and organizations like them, are intent on creating a better NGO that keep the illusion of “gender people” alive, they do so at the expense of everyone suffering under this regime. This is privileged activism and the only ones helped by it are those participating in it. Furthermore, any gain from this pursuit is temporary since it ultimately feeds the system that will come for those who Genspect is purportedly trying to help. This is class warfare, and Genspect, as it grows, is already positioning itself to be beyond critique, and is overpowering more urgent voices, such as that of physicians like Dr. Grossman.
Whereas a real resistance would have warriors lining up behind Dr. Grossman, emulating her fierce truth telling, providing clarity and an example of speaking courageously, the resistance is being captured by NGOs that replicate what it is they are purportedly fighting. The NGOs get the big donations, create personalities that are platformed to raise their personae, and grow their brand as they blend themselves in with what they had originally set themselves up to end.
At a certain point, people will have to choose whether they want to continue supporting the gender industry, or if they, like Dr. Miriam Grossman, want to take it down.
And great support in this tweet from Jennifer Bilek for Kellie-Jay Keen:
https://twitter.com/bjportraits/status/1782051349716176902
Tickle v Giggle
Most readers will be aware of this very important Australian case which concluded in court last week. If you haven’t caught up with it, the first 20 minutes of this fascinating discussion between Meghan Murphy, Mary Lou Singleton and Sall Grover will fill you in. If you do know the basics, skip to 20 minutes.
https://www.meghanmurphy.ca/p/its-ms-tickle-to-you?publication_id=666229&r=1v403b
Endpiece
Great discussion on Menno’s channel with Hassan Mamdani, one of the co-directors of the Gay Men’s Network, about growing up gay - here is Part 1. I am listening to Part 2 as I write this 😂
In case you missed Mole At The Door’s marvellous ‘The Last Dregs of Gender Ideology’ on JL’s Good News Supplement on the Glinner Update yesterday, here it is and see how many of the gender borg you can recognise plus look out for the animals 🤣
JL’s post is here:
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/the-good-news-supplement-monday-15th
I agree Dusty, no experiments on children.
LGBT Youth and the NSPCC should both be investigated. They are a danger to children. If LGBT Youth think that children should have bodily autonomy, does that include smoking, drugs, alcohol, sex, tattoos? Seems incredible that I’ve had to put the NSPCC in the same sentence as that highly questionable LGBT group.
Dr Miriam Grossman is amazing as are Mr Menno and JK Rowling.
The more I see of the law being used to fight this ideology, the more I realise what a huge victory Maya Forstater’s was. Where would we be without that case?
Thanks as ever Dusty. 😁