Three Billboards

Update 87

Apropos of nothing to do with our cause…but we do like a strong leading lady in a film, don’t we? Enter Mildred Hayes ( played by Frances McDormand) who is fighting for justice for her teenage daughter who was raped and murdered. The opening scene is wonderful. If you haven’t seen Three Billboards, do push it up your list.

Number 7 in the Addled Brain Series :)

OK, back to the job in hand…..

OK, where are we, let’s start with the story of a cat born in a horse’s body:

Ooh, still laughing! Following the plummet in sales after the Dylan Mulvaney ad, Budweiser thought they’d do a more traditional ad featuring a giant horse instead of a bloke dressed as a woman to bring back to the fold their core customer base in the States. I think it hasn’t worked! :)

Fox Killer Writes A Turkey

Jolyon Maugham KC, whose Good Law Project advised and supported Mermaids in their case against LGB Alliance and who killed a fox with a baseball bat while dressed in his wife’s kimono, has just published a book called Bringing Down Goliath. The book has been lambasted today in a review in the Times by Yuan Yi Zhu.

Jolyon Maugham. A fox.

I am reliably informed by a Terven friend that this has led to Mr Maugham whining on pompously on Twitter all day. This has led to a great riposte from JK Rowling.

https://twitter.com/ArchRose90/status/1649753318745419776

Perfect :)

Harry Potter star supports JKR

On the subject of JKR, Jiji Ahn in an opinion piece in the Daily Express (Potter star vows to confront JK Rowling haters over ‘very sad' abuse for trans view 22 April) states:

Harry Potter actor Jim Broadbent, 73, has vowed to confront critics of author JK Rowling, 57, over the abuse she continues receiving for her views on trans issues.

The Academy award-winning star has insisted the abuse she was receiving was "really sad".

When asked for his opinion on Rowling becoming a "lightning rod" for her abuse on social media following the controversy surrounding some of her previous tweets, he said: "It's really sad.”

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph he said: "I think JK Rowling is amazing."

Referring to the abuse the author has received on social media due to her comments on the transgender community, he added: "I haven't had to confront it myself, but I would support her in that, I think, if it came to it."

Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn

He also shared his surprise at the rise of cancel culture in recent years and how he could never have predicted it early in his career.

Well done, Jim Broadbent!

Barry Humphries RIP

A lovely tribute from Glinner. Barry was one of the very few comedians who signed a letter written by Stella O’Malley and Glinner in defence of JK Rowling.

https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/good-luck-against-a-powerful-and

Times round up

I have been through all the cuttings kindly sent to me by another Terven friend. Most of them covered topics that I have already covered sufficiently in recent updates but I have selected four which I hope , despite there still being some overlap with previous pieces, that you will find useful and interesting. The first one is on the Tavistock, next one on the Equality Act and final two on education.

James Beal (Javid’s warning over Tavistock staff in new gender service 15 April) reports:

Sajid Javid has warned that reform of the NHS youth gender service is “under threat” amid concern that staff involved in past failings would have key roles.

A senior clinician from the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) has a training job at the new service that will replace it in England and Wales, the BBC reported.

The clinician is said to be devoted to an “affirmative” approach to young people presenting with gender difficulties and believes that “social justice” underpins this work.

Javid, who was health secretary when the decision to close Gids was made last year, said staff involved in failings at the clinic should not be involved in training and that appointment processes should be urgently reviewed.

Don’t we really need a public inquiry into this scandal which is laid out in great detail in Hannah Barnes’ book Time To Think ?

Oliver Wright ( Biology defines a woman, says Sunak in bid to exploit Labour’s trans woes 14 April) reports:

Rishi Sunak exploited Labour’s divisions on transgender rights yesterday as he declared that no one with a penis could be considered a woman [ Dusty - that was a bit of an open goal for him, wasn’t it!?].

…Starmer said this month that 99.9 per cent of women “of course haven’t got a penis” but that a “very small number” of people who identified with the opposite sex needed a “legal framework” to transition.

In an interview with the website Conservative Home Sunak said that while the government needed to have “compassion, understanding and tolerance for those who are thinking about their gender” this could not interfere with the rights of biological women.

He also hinted that the government was likely to amend the Equality Act, introducing explicit legal protections for biological women in same sex spaces such as changing rooms and hospital wards.

The government need to get on with this and with the new education guidance - see below.

Harry Yorke ( Schools to tell parents of gender changes 17 April) reports:

Schools will have to tell parents if pupils who want to change their gender, start using a new name or wearing a different uniform under new government guidance.

The document, which is still being finalised, is also expected to make clear that children who identify as a different gender from their biological sex cannot share changing or shower facilities with the opposite sex.

Those socially transitioning or questioning their gender should be provided with alternative facilities where appropriate, as is already the case in some schools for pupils with complex needs.

A biological male who has socially transitioned should not be permitted to join girls’ teams for certain contact and competitive school sports, such as rugby, and vice versa. However, the rules around non-contact sports will be more relaxed, according to sources briefed on the discussions [ Dusty - don’t like the sound of this!].

The non-statutory guidance on transgender pupils is being drawn up by the Department for Education and expected to be published within weeks.

Nicola Woodcock, the Education Editor ( Transgender pupils ‘can be rejected’ 18 April) reports:

Single-sex schools will be allowed to reject transgender applicants of the opposite biological sex, government guidelines are expected to say.

It would protect girls’ schools if they refused a place to a boy identifying as female and the same would apply for girls identifying as male wanting to join boys’ schools.

The Department for Education was ordered by Rishi Sunak to speed up long-awaited guidance on the subject. It has been working with the office of Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister.

The document is also expected to say that teachers will not be forced to call children by their preferred pronouns, although many schools are thought to adopt this practice.

This is absolutely happening in practice - I previously reported on the teacher who is now taking a tribunal claim after she was disciplined for not using preferred pronouns!

https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/good-afternoon-girls

When Ideology Meets Reality

Great interview as part of IEA Book Club by Marc Glendening with the wonderful Helen Joyce, mainly concentrating on her book (recommended) Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality . Discussing people who say we should ‘be kind’ to trans people, Helen says: I don’t hear ‘be kind’, I hear ‘or else’. Yup!

WPATH

EDI Jester fires a well deserved broadside at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) having got hold of a memo from their board member, trans identifying male Dr Marci Bowers ( who has carried out many surgeries himself). It is amazing that an organisation which claims to “develop evidence-based medicine and strive to promote a high quality of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals internationally” is actually clearly just basing everything on ideology and not on any clinical evidence at all! Echoes of the Tavistock Centre!

More on Women’s Sport in America

Arthur Weinstein in The Comeback (Teen volleyball star injured by transgender player testifies 21 April) reports:

The North Carolina state legislature is considering a bill banning transgender athletes who were born male from playing on female sports teams.

Payton McNabb thinks that’s a good idea.

McNabb, a high school senior and volleyball player in Murphy, North Carolina, told a state committee hearing Thursday that she suffered serious injuries during a September match when a transgender girl spiked the ball into her face.

The incident left McNabb with a concussion and neck injury and months later she still suffers from partial paralysis on her right side, vision problems, headaches and depression.

“Due to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association policy allowing biological males to compete against biological females my life has forever been changed,” Payton McNabb, now a senior at Hiwassee Dam High School in Murphy, North Carolina, said at the the legislature hearing.

Brandon Contes in Awful Announcing ( Charly Arnolt felt ‘stifled’ at ESPN, blasts network’s transgender athlete coverage 21 April) reports:

After departing ESPN for OutKick this week, Charly Arnolt had some strong words for her former employer during a Fox News appearance.

Charly Arnolt

Arnolt… had been with ESPN since 2018, where she co-hosted the weekly sports debate podcast First Take, Her Take. Earlier this week, Arnolt joined Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to discuss making the jump from ESPN to OutKick and cited what she feels is a contradiction in her former employer’s ‘stick to sports’ policy. Fox is the parent company of OutKick.

“ESPN has been very adamant about keeping politics out of their programming,” Arnolt said. “Yet you just saw, late last month, they did a whole tribute, during Women’s Month, for Lia Thomas. Therefore, it doesn’t exactly seem like they are keeping politics completely out of the mix.”

Thomas is a transgender athlete and former swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania who competed against women. Recently, multiple ESPN personalities weighed in on the transgender athlete debate, opposing transgender athletes competing against women in sports. Arnolt applauded them during her Fox News appearance.

I should coco!! To quote Kellie-Jay ‘I’m not a vet, but I know what a dog is’ :)

Queens Speech

Finally great episode with Dennis and Clive talking to wonderful Ceri Black :

Phew, that was a long one, Terven. If you like this update, please share with a friend. Until next time. This isn’t over yet! Please subscribe for free, like and share.