830 Camilla Paglia: ‘Transgender Mania’ is a Symptom of West's Cultural Collapse

Camilla Paglia: ‘Transgender Mania’ is a Symptom of West's Cultural Collapse

Newsletter published on 12 June 2016

(1) Camilla Paglia: ‘Transgender Mania’ is a Symptom of West's Cultural
Collapse
(2) Camille Paglia - quotes from the (video) interview
(3) Cutting through the Transgender Debate - Eric Walberg
(4) High School Students comment on the Transgender Bathroom debate - NYT
(5) Cross-dressing cowboy not welcome in Ladies’ Room
(6) Unisex Toilets cf modesty and privacy in women’s Restrooms
(7) Man who identified as a woman was allowed in women's shelter
(8) Boycott of Target for allowing Transgenders in any Bathroom
(9) Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan & Barclays sponsor Gay rally in anti-Gay
Singapore
(10) Gay couple wins custody of Thai baby over surrogate mom
(11) & (12) Rape Culture Hysteria: Fixing the Damage Done to Men and Women
(13) Gay Mardi Gras is a political event; Australian Army should not
take part
(14) LGBT pressure hotel to ban pro-Marriage meeting
(15) Australian of the Year says, "Don't say 'Guys'"

(1) Camilla Paglia: ‘Transgender Mania’ is a Symptom of West's Cultural
Collapse

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/sam-dorman/camille-paglia-transgender-mania-symptom-cultural-collapse

Paglia: ‘Transgender Mania’ is a Symptom of West's Cultural Collapse

By Sam Dorman | November 3, 2015 | 11:15 AM EST

(CNSNews.com)--Best-selling feminist author, social critic and
self-described "transgender being" Camille Paglia said in an interview
last month that the rise of transgenderism in the West is a symptom of
decadence and cultural collapse.

"Nothing... better defines the decadence of the West to the jihadists
than our toleration of open homosexuality and this transgender mania
now," Paglia said during an October 22 interview on the Brazilian
television program Roda Viva.

Paglia also said during the interview that "transgender propagandists"
are overstating their case.

"I think that the transgender propagandists make wildly inflated claims
about the multiplicity of gender," she said.

"Sex reassignment surgery, even today with all of its advances, cannot
in fact change anyone’s sex, okay. You can define yourself as a trans
man, or a trans woman, as one of these new gradations along the scale.
But ultimately, every single cell in the human body, the DNA in that
cell, remains coded for your biological birth.

"So there are a lot of lies being propagated at the present moment,
which I think is not in anyone’s best interest.

"Now what I’m concerned about is the popularity and the availability of
sex reassignment surgery, so that someone who doesn’t feel that he or
she belongs to the biological birth, gender. People are being encouraged
to intervene in the process.

"Parents are now encouraged to subject the child to procedures that I
think are a form of child abuse. The hormones to slow puberty, actual
surgical manipulations, etcetera. I think that this is wrong, that
people should wait until they are of an informed age of consent.

"Parents should not be doing this to their children and I think that
even in the teenage years is too soon to be making this leap. People
change, people grow, and people adapt."

Paglia went on to talk about her book Sexual Personae and how the
emergence of transgenderism signifies the end of Western culture. "Now I
am concerned about this… In fact, my study of history in Sexual
Personae, I’m always talking about the late phases of culture.

"I was always drawn to late or decadent phases of culture. Oscar Wilde
is one of the great exponents of that in the late 19th century. He’s one
of my strongest influences from my earliest years.

     "And I found in my study that history is cyclic, and everywhere in
the world you find this pattern in ancient times: that as a culture
begins to decline, you have an efflorescence of transgender
phenomena.That is a symptom of cultural collapse.

"So rather than people singing the praises of humanitarian liberalism
that allows all of these transgender possibilities to appear and to be
encouraged, I would be concerned about how Western culture is defining
itself to the world.

"Because in fact these phenomena are inflaming the irrational, indeed
borderline psychotic opponents of Western culture in the form of ISIS
and other jihadists, etcetera," Paglia said.

"Nothing... better defines the deadence of the West to the jihadists
than our toleration of open homosexuality and this transgender mania now."

(2) Camille Paglia - quotes from the (video) interview

http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/camille-paglia/

Camille Paglia: "Transgender Mania is a Symptom of Cultural Collapse"
(video)

By VC on June 1, 2016

There is a deliberate and concerted effort to put everything transgender
at the forefront of mass media. Academic and social critic Camille
Paglia explains how this is symptomatic of a wider cultural problem.

Last year I identified the transgender and "gender fluidity" issue as an
artificially created propaganda wave made to bring about important
change in society. In my article entitled The Agenda Behind Bruce
Jenner’s Transformation, I explained how Bruce Jenner’s widely
publicized sex change was part of wider Agenda aiming to blur the
boundaries of genders and to celebrate deviation from nature as a great
achievement. Furthermore, it was to prepare the field for upcoming
policy changes around the world.

Months later, mass media propaganda turned into laws and policies. From
the "war of the bathrooms" to the allowing of parents helping their
young children undergoing sex change, modern society is shifting
drastically towards a new definition of gender – a term that was
considered binary since the dawn of time.

In a context where public figures who dare addressing these issues get
promptly shamed and labelled "transphobic", open debate on the subject
is nearly impossible. Luckily, there are a few illuminated minds who
dare going against the grain and placing the entire transgender agenda
into perspective.

Camille Paglia, an author and academic who never shied away from
controversy, breaks down the implications of today’s transgender agenda.
Although herself a lesbian and a feminist, Paglia has always criticized
the artificial and unreasonable constructs made in the name of
"equality" and political correctness.

Here are some quotes from the above video.

     "Sex reassignment surgery, even today with all of its advances,
cannot in fact change anyone’s sex."

     "Ultimately, every single cell in the human body, the DNA in that
cell, remains coded for your biological birth."

     "I think that the transgender propagandists make wildly inflated
claims about the multiplicity of gender."

In this day and age, stating these kinds of facts is considered wrong
and "hurtful". If mass media can turn something as clear and defined as
a person’s gender into a big, vague, tornado of confusion, it can
redefine anything else to fit its needs … and people will fall for it.

(3) Cutting through the Transgender Debate - Eric Walberg

   Eric Walberg<walberg2002@yahoo.com>

6 June 2016 at 06:17

http://ericwalberg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=625:cutting-through-transgender-debate-&catid=41:culture-and-religion&Itemid=94

Cutting through transgender debate

Friday, 03 June 2016 09:11

Eric Walberg,

Why do I find the transgender bathroom debate so irritating? While Obama
daily launches drones, killing dozens of innocent foreigners (or
militants, it doesn't matter - both drone deaths are crimes against
humanity), we are fed self-righteous nostrums, showing what a great
liberal he is (soon to be joined, no doubt, by the supreme court).

Dress is mostly unisex now -- women wear pants, so what's the problem?
If you must wear make-up and act like a woman, just dress down if you
are out in public. In the interests of public courtesy, bite the bullet
and use 'the men's' if your body is male, and 'the women's' if your body
is female. Or if you can't abide that compromise with social norms,
arrange your day to use individual washrooms (most gas stations,
restaurants, hospitals, probably most schools).

In the 19th century there were no separate washrooms, because people
mostly lived in the countryside, and the 'facility' (even in urban
public places) was an outhouse in the back. Not very ladylike, but
people made do with what was, and didn't whine. They had more important
things to think about, like survival. Separate washrooms were created to
serve a growing female labour force in large factories/ corporations.

LGBTQIA

The explosion of various "sexualities" since the advent of gaylib in the
1970s, which are now trying to achieve legal recognition, cannot be
expected to be met with open arms by the 95+% of the population that do
not and cannot relate to them. What do LGBTQQIP and LGBTQIA* mean
anyway? And should it matter to 98% of the population?

The trouble is mostly with terminology, and mostly concerns men-to-women
(transgender women). Originally a sex-change operation (new genitalia
and sex-hormone medication -- for life) meant you were clearly the other
sex -- a transsexual. A transgender is one who take hormones, or who
simply identifies with the opposite gender, or with both or with
neither. Radical feminists see trans women as just another form of male
dominance and argue they should stop pretending they are women or else
have the castration operation.

This is disputed by those transgender women who don't want to forfeit
their genitals. After all, maybe s/he will have second thoughts some
day. Without the genitals, the man is no longer a man (formerly called
"enunuch"), and reversing the operation is very messy, if not
impossible. Hence the rise of "transgenderism" in a neoliberal age of
identity politics.

McRory vs Rosa Parks

It is hardly surprising that this latest twist in the identity politics
saga--creating a kind-of new species, a
man-who-thinks-he's-woman-but-with-balls--is being resisted. The
governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, entered history when he decided
'enough is enough', and signed the Public Facilities Privacy and
Security Act, requiring physical males to use male washrooms. Sounds
like a no-brainer, but it raised liberal hackles throughout the US, and
put modest North Carolina on the political map.

The law, passed in March, led to a flurry of boycott activity. Cirque du
Soleil, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce and Ringo Starr all announced they
would refuse to tour there. Elton John fired a broadside in The Hill.
"It’s dangerous, and it goes beyond bathrooms. As the father of two
children, I would hope their world is free of discriminatory, hateful
legislation like North Carolina’s." (Elton John is gay, married and has
two children, one adopted, one born to a surrogate mother.)

Sports associations like the NBA and NCAA protested, and companies such
as PayPal and Deutsche Bank have nixed investment plans. Even the porn
site XHamster proudly announced it has banned the state’s residents from
accessing its content.

The current boycott is compared to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus
Boycott in the 1950s against segregation in Alabama, the epic struggle
of South African blacks led by Nelson Mandela, and the mid-1960s boycott
of California grapes, led by Cezar Chavez, in support of unionizing
workers.

This puts the personal whims of a tiny group of middle class gays on a
pedestal with great heroes fighting for the rights of all blacks and all
Americans. What a great way to trivialize fundamental, hard-earned
rights in an age when they are being eroded daily as a result of
neoliberalism.

It has definitely had some economic impact, and Governor McCrory, a
Republican in a traditionally Democrat state, is surely concerned about
how voters will judge him as he runs for election in November. Will
voters give in to media and boycott pressures and vote against him? A
recent opinion poll found voters split down the middle.

It appears that the boycott momentum has petered out in the past month.
McCrory can only hope whatever damage there is, is already done.

Shortly after Obama issued a directive that "public schools allow
students to decide themselves which bathrooms and locker rooms they want
to use", eleven states filed a lawsuit launched by Texas protesting this
infringement of state rights. The defiant souls are Alabama, Wisconsin,
West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah, Georgia, the
governor of Maine and the Arizona Department of Education). North
Carolina in notable in its absence.

What do students think?

The New York Times conducted a survey of student opinions about the
Obama edict. They reflected a surprising freedom of thought, given that
the media and their president were pushing the pro-transgender agenda so
forcefully. The few predictable supporters were outshone by these free
thinkers:

* It’s a decision that should be left for the school’s administration
and board to decide. Also, it shouldn’t be a reason to pull out federal
funding if schools choose not to follow this law. It’s also up to
Congress to write the laws, not the executive department. (Josh Booher,
18, Columbia, Pennsylvania)

* 1) I don’t think it is the federal government’s job to dictate what
each school district does with its students. That is extreme government
overreach, and it sets a bad precedent for the future. 2) I think that
it is endangering females by opening the doors for any man who wants to
enter locker rooms and restrooms where females are. I am not saying that
transgender people will be the ones committing crimes; however, these
laws and orders will allow any guy who wants to to enter these
previously all-female spaces without being restricted by law. If schools
want to provide a gender neutral restroom or space where transgender
people can go, that is one thing, but eliminating any place where girls
can go and have privacy from men is a very bad policy. This is terrible.
(Grace Driggers, 17, South Carolina)

* It is first of all not the federal government’s job to determine this
for every school, and to be 100 percent honest, this makes me as a
female very uncomfortable. This liberal push for equality in virtually
EVERYTHING is beyond ridiculous. You are given a gender, and whether you
agree with it or not, you go to the bathroom you are assigned — not the
one you determine. Mr. Obama, this is terrible, and for everyone out
there that says this is a step for a safer environment, you are very,
very mistaken. (Abbey Morgan, Parrish, Alabama)

* While I agree with the Obama administration in general and am an
advocate for transgender rights, I’m pessimistic about the outcome.
Schools that oppose challenging the gender binary will continue to do
so, as they probably already resent the fast pace of social change and
left-leaning federal government. In fact, schools with conservative
administrations may be even more anti-trans in defiance. More
open-minded, progressive schools probably have listened to student input
in allowing transgender students to use the appropriate bathrooms and
don’t need the federal government’s advice. All in all, this decision
seemed like it was made for show; however, I agree with it and its
significance is in its empowerment of and official solidarity with
transgender students. It gives them a voice. (Jenny Xu, 16, New York)

* As a high schooler, I honestly couldn’t care less which bathroom
somebody uses if they’re using whichever one matches their gender
identification. I believe that the whole freakout on this issue is a
ploy to distract people from the real issues that face us, like
childhood poverty, undue corporate influence in politics and income
inequality. (Andrew Figueiredo, 18, Wichita, Kansas)

Watching heterosexual politicians with their own cynical agendas,
supported by a scattering of rock stars, basketball players and
businessmen, pontificate on a highly complex and still-disputed
issue--what does "transgender" mean?--makes a mockery of politics. Yes,
gays were (and still are) subject to scapegoating. But Obama's move
merely adds to the resentment of many otherwise indifferent, tolerant
citizens, increasing homophobia if anything.

Thai vs US ladyboys

Thailand is the most sympathetic to this 'third sex', where kathoeys
(ladyboys) are a regular part of entertainment such as movies, music
entertainment, and television shows. But even if they have the full sex
change, they are still men in their passports.

At least American transgenders have one up on them. As of 2010, in the
US, not only transsexuals, but transgenders can change their sex in
their passports with a letter showing "you have had clinical treatment
determined by your doctor to be appropriate in your case to facilitate
gender transition." Translation: anything goes. With or without
genitals, American men who don't like being men can be officially
women--at least in State Department eyes. Only states are daring to buck
the tide and call a spade a spade--until the Supreme Court decides
otherwise.

Enough of this tempest in a teapot. Occam's Razor states: don't make
things unnecessarily complicated.

As long as you are still a male, use 'the men's'. If you really, really
want to be a woman, using Occam's Razor, have the offending member cut
off and a vagina fashioned from it, undergo cosmetic surgery, take
estrogen for the rest of your life, and then use 'the ladies' with no
complaints from anyone. But make up your mind! xxx

* LGBTQQIP means Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer,
Questioning, Intersex, and Pansexual; LGBTQIA means Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex and Allies. There are many
other acronyms vying for popularity.

(4) High School Students comment on the Transgender Bathroom debate - NYT

   Eric Walberg<walberg2002@yahoo.com>

25 May 2016 at 00:19

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/high-school-students-transgender-bathroom.html

How High School Students See the Transgender Bathroom Issue

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

MAY 18, 2016

When the Obama administration directed public schools on Friday to
accommodate transgender students by ensuring that they may use school
bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice, the latest battle in the
nation’s culture wars became even more contentious. Conservatives called
the action an illegal overreach that will put children in danger.
Advocates for transgender rights hailed it as a breakthrough for civil
rights.

High school students from around the country shared their thoughts with
The New York Times on Facebook. Their opinions ranged from anger to joy,
and they offered a glimpse into how students are experiencing the issue
in their schools and neighborhoods.

The Obama administration has taken significant steps in the right
direction in social reform throughout its almost eight-year tenure, and
this is just adding to its legacy. The United States was built on
"freedom and justice for all," and discriminatory laws against
transgender students simply disregard not just the Constitution, but the
well-being of U.S. citizens. We live in 2016, and acceptance of everyone
of every creed, race, sexuality, gender and background is not only a
reflection of the time that we live in, but a necessity in American society.

- Zoe Allen, 16, Dallas

It’s a decision that should be left for the school’s administration and
board to decide. Also, it shouldn’t be a reason to pull out federal
funding if schools choose not to follow this law. It’s also up to
Congress to write the laws, not the executive department.

— Josh Booher, 18, Columbia, Pa.

1) I don’t think it is the federal government’s job to dictate what each
school district does with its students. That is extreme government
overreach, and it sets a bad precedent for the future.

2) I think that it is endangering females by opening the doors for any
man who wants to enter locker rooms and restrooms where females are. I
am not saying that transgender people will be the ones committing
crimes; however, these laws and orders will allow any guy who wants to
to enter these previously all-female spaces without being restricted by
law. If schools want to provide a gender neutral restroom or space where
transgender people can go, that is one thing, but eliminating any place
where girls can go and have privacy from men is a very bad policy.

— Grace Driggers, 17, South Carolina

It is first of all not the federal government’s job to determine this
for every school, and to be 100 percent honest, this makes me as a
female very uncomfortable. This liberal push for equality in virtually
EVERYTHING is beyond ridiculous. You are given a gender, and whether you
agree with it or not, you go to the bathroom you are assigned — not the
one you determine. Mr. Obama, this is terrible, and for everyone out
there that says this is a step for a safer environment, you are very,
very mistaken.

— Abbey Morgan, Parrish, Ala.

While I agree with the Obama administration in general and am an
advocate for transgender rights, I’m pessimistic about the outcome.
Schools that oppose challenging the gender binary will continue to do
so, as they probably already resent the fast pace of social change and
left-leaning federal government. In fact, schools with conservative
administrations may be even more anti-trans in defiance. More
open-minded, progressive schools probably have listened to student input
in allowing transgender students to use the appropriate bathrooms and
don’t need the federal government’s advice. All in all, this decision
seemed like it was made for show; however, I agree with it and its
significance is in its empowerment of and official solidarity with
transgender students. It gives them a voice.

As a high schooler, I honestly couldn’t care less which bathroom
somebody uses if they’re using whichever one matches their gender
identification. I believe that the whole freakout on this issue is a
ploy to distract people from the real issues that face us, like
childhood poverty, undue corporate influence in politics and income
inequality.

— Andrew Figueiredo, 18, Wichita, Kan.

I’m a high schooler and the co-president of the Gay Straight Alliance at
my school. I 100 percent think that this is a step in the right
direction. We have been fighting for this right at my school for years
and are very pleased that it is being addressed federally. We are
thrilled that this will make our school a safer and more comfortable
place for students to learn (and relieve themselves) regardless of their
gender identity.

— Robbie Goldberg, 16, Framingham, Mass.

This is long overdue and especially appropriate. Being friends with many
trans people myself, I find it nonsensical that conservatives will make
up any excuse to oppose these laws, because in reality, they do not
understand trans people, they do not want to and, as the word
conservative implies, they are afraid of any kind of social progress. It
is so easy to forget that there was extreme backlash to desegregation as
well as women attending class, but the right for transgender people to
use whichever bathroom they associate their identity with does indeed
align with civil rights and social progress. There will be clamor, but
the noise will die down eventually as people will realize this is a
non-problem.

— Christian Mixson, 18, Gulf Shores, Ala

(5) Cross-dressing cowboy not welcome in Ladies’ Room

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article82279607.html

  June 7, 2016 2:03 PM

Cross-dressing cowboy not welcome in ladies’ room at North Texas
barbecue joint

By Gordon Dickson

This is the story of barbecue, a restroom and a cross-dressing cowboy.

In the tiny North Texas town of Cresson at BBQ on the Brazos — a locally
famous restaurant known for its smoked brisket — a simple sign hangs on
the women’s restroom door:

"No men allowed in the women’s bathroom please."

The furthest thing from my mind was to see him in hot pants, a blouse
and six-inch heels.

John Sanford, BBQ on the Brazos owner

At a glance, a visitor might assume the neatly printed sign was put up
by folks at the barbecue place — or the Texaco gas station/convenience
store that shares the building — as a knee-jerk reaction to the ongoing
national debate over transgender issues.

But that’s not the whole story. According to the owner of BBQ on the
Brazos, the community of about 1,000 residents a half-hour southwest of
downtown Fort Worth has a specific beef with a cross-dressing cowboy who
occasionally patronizes the place. The controversy goes back about
two-and-a-half years, said John Sanford, who opened the restaurant in 2013.

"Before this gender thing got started, there’s a truck driver who comes
in here who occasionally has on jeans and boots or occasionally has on a
skirt and 6-inch stilettos," Sanford said. "He’s a pickup man for
rodeos. [Pickup men guide rodeo riders to safety after they’ve been
thrown.] The furthest thing from my mind was to see him in hot pants, a
blouse and 6-inch heels."

The sign was typed up, placed in a laminated cover and taped to the
restroom door after several women who work at the restaurant and
convenience store expressed concern that the man might use their
restroom, he said.

"Everybody got together and said, we can’t have this guy going into the
ladies’ restroom," Sanford said. "I don’t care if he has on a dress or not."

(6) Unisex Toilets cf modesty and privacy in women’s Restrooms

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2016/0513/Do-blue-state-parents-back-Obama-on-transgender-kids-and-bathrooms

Do blue-state parents back Obama on transgender kids and bathrooms?

New York and Glendale, Calif. — For Kristin Samadi, a piano teacher and
choir director from Brooklyn, the current controversy over transgender
people and public bathrooms is not so clear-cut.

On one hand, she takes the view of many New Yorkers: "If a student is
transitioning or has already undergone surgery to change their gender, I
would be comfortable letting them use the restroom of their choice," Ms.
Samadi says.

But bathrooms, let alone locker rooms or shower facilities, are also
places of modesty and privacy, and she might not be so comfortable in
certain situations. "If someone enters a female restroom looking
masculine, I think it might make a lot of girls uncomfortable – and
probably vice versa," she adds.

On Friday, the nationwide debate over the proper public facilities for
transgender Americans reached a crescendo when the Obama administration
sent a directive to every public school district in the country,
instructing administrators to allow students to use the facilities that
correspond to their gender identity.

The move came days after the Justice Department and the state of North
Carolina sued each other over a state law that requires people to use
the restroom that corresponds with the sex on their birth certificate.

On Monday, United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch told transgender
Americans: "We will do everything we can to protect you going forward."

On Friday, the administration’s directive added that, when upholding
civil rights, "the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort cannot
justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class
of students."

The Obama administration’s expansive interpretation of sex and gender
promises to reach the United States Supreme Court, experts say. But the
discomfort some people feel within public gender-segregated facilities
may not always stem from the same kind of prejudice seen in the past and
directed against racial minorities or lesbian and gay people, some
experts say.

So far, conversations on the issue have been confined largely to
conservative Southern states. But in interviews with parents in
more-liberal states Friday, the desire to accommodate is still tempered
by lingering concerns.

After all, gender-segregated public facilities have been a part of most
modern culture, and expectations of modesty and privacy in women’s
restrooms, especially, are deeply ingrained.

"For true transgender kids, I wouldn’t have an issue," says Ian Slade, a
health care consultant in Anaheim, Calif., and the father of three
daughters now in grade school.

But he worries, too, about what this could mean in practice in public
schools. "But for boys being naughty boys, that’s not a good thing for
any kids. My issue: How do you prevent that?"

Still, like many in this solidly blue state, Mr. Slade says the Obama
administration’s directive "is definitely a step in the right direction."

"For me, every time we find ourselves at the crossroads of the status
quo and equality, history always looks kindly on those that favor equal
rights," he says. "But the mechanics of implementing them is always an
issue. How do you safeguard the minority, yet at the same time also
keeping the majority in touch, so to speak? How do you do that?"

According to the directive, public school administrators should treat
students according to their preferred gender identity if it "differs
from previous representations or records" as soon the child’s parent or
legal guardian requests it. No medical diagnosis or birth certificate is
required.

Many Republicans on Friday accused the Obama administration of
overreach. For most supporters of "bathroom laws" like North Carolina’s,
sex is a matter of biology and birth, and people should use the
facilities that correspond to their gender at birth – or until their
birth certificates indicate a full, legal transition.

"This is the kind of issue that parents, schools boards, communities,
students and teachers should be allowed to work out in a practical way
with a maximum amount of respect for the individual rights of all
students," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) of Tennessee, chairman of the
Senate education committee, in a statement Friday. "Insofar as the
federal government goes, it's up to Congress to write the law, not the
executive departments."

The Obama administration, however, sees the issue as one of basic civil
rights protections.

Under federal law, schools must "ensure nondiscrimination on the basis
of sex and provide "transgender students equal access to educational
programs and activities even in circumstances in which other students,
parents, or community members raise objections or concerns," the
directive says.

Who is threatened?

One concern that has been raised in passing "bathroom laws" in
Mississippi and North Carolina is that cross-dressing sexual predators
could take advantage of such directives and prey on little girls.

But that’s not how Julie Thaxter-Gourlay, an accountant in Port Chester,
N.Y., sees it.

"The people who are really in danger in public restrooms are the
transgender folks," she says. "They’re the ones who are assaulted for
using the ‘wrong’ facilities. And I would think that transgender
children would be the most vulnerable, especially in schools."

Ms. Thaxter-Gourlay adds that this has been an issue her family has been
discussing the past few months. And her conservative father-in-law, she
says, "totally changed his mind" on the issue when they talked about how
transgender people were actually far more likely to be victims, rather
than perpetrators, of violence in public restrooms.

"There’s just no evidence to support the notion that transgender people
are assaulting women and children in restrooms. None."

A number of media organizations and advocacy groups concur.
Investigations have found no confirmed incidents of cross-dressing men
preying on female victims in bathrooms in the US, with one case reported
in Canada.

Online, a number of transgender men and women have posted ironic
selfies, showing just how startling they might actually appear in the
bathrooms that conform to their sex at birth. Transgender men, born
females, often have beards and broader shoulders after undergoing
transition treatments, even if they have not had full surgical
transitions. Transgender women, born males, can be the most at risk of
violence, many advocates say.

A recent CNN/ORC survey found that most Americans oppose laws like those
in North Carolina and Mississippi. But there are regional differences.

This week, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would allow
transgender people to use facilities conforming to their gender
identities. At the same time, however, eight states filed a brief to
support North Carolina’s ongoing legal battle with the Justice Department.

"My feeling from our community is that everybody has the right to use
what bathroom they want," says Aileen Cawley, a stay-at-home mom in Los
Feliz, Calif., and mother to two daughters, 16 and 10, and a 13-year-old
son.

She notes that her children’s private school already has some
gender-neutral bathrooms. "But I think there’s been such a backlash
against ‘political correctness’ that it’s become the new OK thing to be
intolerant of other people and other people’s positions and rights," Ms.
Cawley continues. "There’s fear on both sides ... but everyone’s too
busy shouting at each other."

(7) Man who identified as a woman was allowed in women's shelter

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/05/man_who_self-identified_as_a_w.html

Man who identified as a woman was allowed in our all-women's shelter. It
was the wrong call

May 24, 2016 at 12:01 PM, updated May 24, 2016 at 12:03 PM

In June 2014, I was admitted to a women's homeless shelter in Northeast
Portland. This was my second attempt to lift myself out of homelessness
through the assistance of Transition Projects, which runs the shelter.

Like most of the residents, I was there because I had run out of
options. None of us was thrilled about living with as many as 60 other
women. Our only task was to make the most of it so we could transition
into something better.

A few weeks into my stay, I returned to find a number of women in
distress. Reportedly, one woman had even fled the shelter in terror.

What was wrong? What was the uproar about? An answer soon followed: The
shelter had admitted a man who "self-identified" as a woman. No doubt
this was not a first for the shelter; it was, however, a first for those
of us who were relative newcomers.

The realization that a man was going to be sharing sleeping and bathroom
space with us (in this particular area, there are no private or even
semi-private rooms) was understandably met with tremendous anxiety, and,
yes, even outrage. After all, not a few of these women were escaping
domestic and sexual abuse committed by men, a trauma that doesn't
magically disappear once you're away from your abuser. They thought they
had found a haven exclusively for women. Little did they know that
because of anti-discrimination laws any man who claims to identify as a
woman can be admitted.

Over the next few months, most of the women came to tolerate, or even
accept to one degree or another, "Clarence's" presence. I became
acquainted with him early on, and he often sought me out to talk about
his experiences both inside and outside the shelter. In return, I
listened and sometimes offered words of consolation. But at no point did
I come to regard Clarence as a woman, nor did I refer to him as one. I
saw him as an intelligent, sensitive, but very fragile and confused man.
That is to say, I afforded him the dignity he deserved as a human being
without denying the truth of his gender.

Nonetheless, I believe the shelter was wrong for admitting him. It
jeopardized the security of a dozen or so women for the benefit of one
man's sense of belonging. Not only that, but for every man who is
admitted into a women's shelter under the speciousness of gender
ideology, untold numbers of bona fide women are left waiting on the
streets. That is not just unfair, it's unjust.

When I see how this debate is being portrayed in the liberal media,
though, I have to wonder if these so-called champions of transgender
rights have any concept of how this issue impacts people — especially
women — on the fringes of society. Many of us, like those in homeless
shelters, do not have the luxury of choosing how much we're going to be
impacted by the liberal zeitgeist's latest cause célèbre, or the ability
to exercise other options. The issue is thrust upon us when we are at
our most vulnerable.

Malka Davis lives in North Portland.

(8) Boycott of Target for allowing Transgenders in any Bathroom

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/04/25/people-express-outrage-targets-decision-allow-transgenders-bathroom/

Outrage Abounds over Target’s Decision to Allow Transgenders in Any Bathroom

by Mary Chastain25 Apr 2016971

People have taken to social media to express disgust and outrage over
Target’s decision to allow transgender people to use any bathroom or
fitting room.  [...]

(9) Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan & Barclays sponsor Gay rally in anti-Gay
Singapore

http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2016/06/09/singapore-saudi-put-corporate-do-gooders-on-spot/

Singapore, Saudi put corporate do-gooders on spot

By John Foley

June 9, 2016

How can a company that values diversity do business in Saudi Arabia?
It’s not a trick question. The opening up of the kingdom has attracted
investment bankers in droves, vying for a role on mandates like the
initial public offering of oil refiner Saudi Aramco. Financial groups
can argue that Saudi’s direction of travel towards reform is what
counts, rather than its woeful human rights record right now. Singapore
has complicated matters.

The city state warned foreign companies on June 5 not to sponsor,
support or influence events like the Pink Dot rally, which took place on
June 4 in support of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
community. That’s a direct challenge to Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan,
Barclays and BP, all of whom sponsored the event, and all of whom are
outspoken in their support of equal treatment regardless of factors like
sexual orientation.

The city’s logic – that foreigners shouldn’t meddle in domestic affairs
– is risible. Almost 30 percent of Singapore’s population consists of
foreigners working, studying or living there on a non-permanent basis,
exports equate to almost twice GDP, and a highly globalised financial
services sector provides 13 percent of national output. Yet while
Singaporean society is modern and progressive, its laws aren’t.
Materials concerning sexual orientation are banned; sexual relations
between men are illegal. Same-sex partners aren’t covered under the
country’s immigration rules.

There are two reasons not to stand up to Singapore. First, its wealth
makes it a huge source of revenue. In theory it should be easier to
refuse publicly to do business in a country like Saudi, since fees from
deals like Aramco are likely to be minimal. Second, companies can play
down the face-off by plausibly arguing that they sponsor the event’s
organiser, not the event itself. Or they can funnel sponsorship through
local subsidiaries.

But if companies like Goldman want to show they are a force for good as
they edge towards more socially repressive places like Saudi or Iran,
Singapore is exactly the place to take a decisive stand. Speak out, and
it will give support to the theory that they might subtly push for
change in more restrictive places over time. Keep quiet, and their
claims of putting values before profit will sound hollow.

(10) Gay couple wins custody of Thai baby over surrogate mom

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/04/26/Gay-couple-wins-custody-of-Thai-baby-over-surrogate-mom/9701461718555/

By Shawn Price   |   April 26, 2016 at 11:26 PM Follow @upi

BANGKOK, April 26 (UPI) -- A gay American and Spanish couple have won a
long custody battle for their Thai baby in Bangkok's Family Court over
the Thai surrogate mother who wouldn't give the child up because they
were gay.

The court ruled that Gordon Lake, 41, an American and the child's
biological father, was her legal guardian despite Thailand not
recognizing same-sex marriage. The child was also born in January 2015,
before the country banned commercial surrogacy.

An agency called New Life set up the surrogacy with Lake as the sperm
donor and an anonymous egg donor. The fetus was then carried to term by
Patidta Kusolsang.

After handing over the girl, named Carmen, to Lake shortly after giving
birth, Kusolsang found out Lake was married to Spaniard Manuel Santos
and refused to sign the paperwork that would allow the child to get a
passport and leave with the couple back to their home in Spain, where
they also have a a two-year-old boy, born to a surrogate mother in India.

Kusolsang filed suit and demanded custody. The case led to Thailand
banning the previously unregulated surrogacy industry, where foreigners
were often paying Thai women to be surrogate mothers.

As the case continued for over a year, Lake and Santos reportedly were
forced to crowd fund $36,000 to help pay their legal and living expenses

New Life claimed Kusolsang had been fully informed the clients were a
gay couple.

"Now we can fly to Spain with Carmen," Santos said. "We expected this,
because it was so clear that Carmen would have to grow up with us.
Because we love her, she is our daughter, and she knows her family. She
is really happy with us. And (Kusolsang) is not the biological mother."

http://www.amazon.com/Rape-Culture-Hysteria-Fixing-Damage-ebook/dp/B01EENF4HW

(11) Rape Culture Hysteria: Fixing the Damage Done to Men and Women

by Wendy McElroy (Author)

Customer Reviews By Ethicist on April 26, 2016

In Rape Culture Hysteria Wendy McElroy brings to light the dirty laundry
behind this ideologically based bit of political correctness. She deftly
demonstrates that the rape culture hysteria is all about politics, not
correctness. It is about driving a wedge between men and women, while
creating a privileged class based on gender.

With hard facts and direct quotes Ms McElroy completely demolishes all
of the claims and rhetoric of these extreme feminists who are harming
not only men, who they are deliberately targeting, but also women,
particularly those who are not willing to accept the ideology on blind
faith.

Historically, the privileged class mocks those who dare to confront them
with facts and, no matter how loudly they deny it, these PC feminists
are clearly the privileged class. They are quick to lash out at actual
rape victims who blame the rapist instead of innocent men. They dismiss
all men merely because they are men, which goes directly against the
equality that the original feminists pursued. PC feminists are the enemy
of equality, the enemy of individuality, and the enemy of justice. Yet
they are masters of Orwellian doublespeak, calling for "social justice"
which is anti-social not justice at all.

If appeals to justice for victims is the entire reason (on the surface)
for the rape culture hysteria, shouldn’t the voices and experiences of
the victim matter? Not according to the PC feminists, unless those
voices chant the mantras of hysteria.

Ms McElroy examines the exact claims of the PC feminists with a very
powerful magnifying glass, revealing to the reader that, at best, those
claims are based on half truths and deception. Instead of celebrating
the ongoing decline in rape and violence towards women, promoters of the
rape culture hysteria are actually scaring people into believing that
western culture has been creating an ever worsening condition for women.
All so that these wannabe elites can have power.

Ms McElroy guides us through the creation and growth of this rape
culture hysteria, shines a light on the motivations and tactics, debunks
the myths that are sadly assumed to be written in stone, demonstrates
that the consequences harm both men and women, and then leads us along a
path to healing the damage done by this hateful ideology.

In this age of loud voices, extreme hyperbole, and emotion driven
political agendas, Ms McElroy cuts through the empty rhetoric and lies
to reveal the truth about rape in the western world. Ms McElroy provides
hard facts, and objectively verifiable statements. She presents the
first analysis of the major sources of rape statistics, which examines
them independently and juxtaposes them. In doing so she shows us that
what counts as "rape" in the statistics wildly differs from agency to
agency, and from study to study. She brings reason to this arena of
emotion. While Ms McElroy explicitly states that this book is not
intended to be an academic paper, it is better supported with facts and
citations than any of the "studies" and books coming out of the PC
feminism camp.

(12) Rape Culture Zealots

https://www.createspace.com/6307304

Rape Culture Hysteria:
Fixing the Damage Done to Men and Women

Authored by Wendy McElroy

Cover design or artwork by Brian Tomlinson

Rape Culture Hysteria: Fixing the Damage Done to Men and Women offers a
comprehensive overview and debunking of the "rape culture" myth that has
devastated campuses and is spilling into Main Street America. An
ideological madness is grotesquely distorting North America's view of
sexuality. The book applies sanity to the claims that men are natural
rapists and our culture encourages sexual violence.

Written by a libertarian feminist and rape survivor, Rape Culture
Hysteria opens with a highly personal appeal to depoliticize rape and
treat it instead as a crime. Victims need to heal. Politicizing their
pain and rage is a callous political maneuver that harms victims, women
and men.

Chapter One: The Fiction of the Rape Culture defines the "rape culture"
and explains why it does not exist in North America. It glances back at
how the fiction became embedded into society, especially in academia.
Then it looks forward to an emerging rape culture trend that will deeply
impact daily life: microaggressions.

Chapter Two: Intellectual Framework and Myth History of Rape Culture.
The myth did not arise in an intellectual vacuum. In a straight-forward
manner, Chapter Two explains the theories upon which the rape culture is
based, including social construction, gender, patriarchy, post-Marxism,
and social justice. It rejects three of the rape culture's founding
beliefs: rape is facilitated by society; men have created a mass
psychology of rape; and, rape is a part of normal life.

Chapter Three: Dynamics of the Hysteria and Psychology of Rape Culture
True Believers. The dynamics of rape culture politics are exposed
through the behavior of its social justice warriors. A recent travesty
is used to showcase those dynamics. On November 19, 2014, Rolling Stone
accused members of a University of Virginia fraternity of gang-raping a
female student. The accusation was quickly revealed as untrue. The
unraveling at U-Va. is a perfect vehicle to illustrate how rape culture
dogma is maintained even when it is revealed to be untrue. The chapter
discusses effective tactics with which to handle social justice warriors.

Chapter Four: Data, False and True. The rape culture myth is based on
untrue and unfounded "facts," which have been repeatedly refuted. Yet
they lumber on as zombie stats, kept alive by those to whom the lies are
useful and so are repeated like a mantra that drowns out contradicting
evidence. This chapter examines of some of the more prevalent zombie
stats such as "one in every 4 or 5 women will be raped in their
lifetimes." Where did the faux "facts" originate? What evidence, if any,
supports them? Which stats better reflect reality?

Chapter Five: Comparative Studies and Surveys. This chapter compares and
contrasts four of the most important, frequently cited studies and
surveys on rape: National Crime Victimization Survey; National Intimate
Partner and Sexual Violence Survey; Campus Sexual Assault Study; and,
Uniform Crime Reporting Program. They are analyzed independently but
also compared to each other, including major strengths and weaknesses.
Lesser studies are also analyzed in passing.

Chapter Six: Harms of the Rape Culture. The gender war must end. Chapter
Six offers in-depth analysis of the extreme damage it inflicts on
innocent people, with emphasis on the damage done to victims of rape.
Victims are a focus because rape culture adherents claim to be their
greatest champions; the opposite is true.

Chapter Seven: Solutions to Rape Culture Hysteria. Moving Toward Sanity.
We can fix this. This is the ultimate message of the book. Undoing the
damage is not only possible but also within reach. The solutions offered
range from radical suggestions, such as abolishing the Department of
Education, to more modest ones, such as recognizing rape as a criminal
matter to be handled by police.

Defend yourself and your children against rape culture zealots. Demand
sanity.

(13) Gay Mardi Gras is a political event; Australian Army should not
take part

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jun/10/mardi-gras-religion-panel-warned-adf-against-uniformed-members-taking-part

  Mardi Gras: religion panel warned ADF against uniformed members taking
part

Michael Safi

Friday 10 June 2016 13.04 AEST Last modified on Friday 10 June 2016
14.58 AEST

The religious advisory committee to the Australian defence force (ADF)
wrote to the chief of the military in 2014 saying it was "deeply
concerned" that defence force members were being allowed to march in
uniform in Sydney’s annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, internal defence
documents reveal.

The committee, an advisory group then made up of senior members of the
Jewish and Christian faiths, asked the defence force chief to clarify
the ADF’s policy on uniformed members participating "in events which are
political in nature and are also harmful or insulting to many religious
members of the defence force".

Rabbi Ralph Genende, the chair of the religious advisory group, wrote
that its members "fully accept the right of individual ADF members to
participate in the Mardi Gras".

"[But] it is deeply concerned about the decision to allow ADF members to
march in uniform in an event which patently allows participants to mock
and vilify religious faith, and which also has a political agenda," he
wrote.

Genende said the committee had not been consulted when the army
permitted members to march in the Mardi Gras in uniform for the first
time in 2013.

The documents were obtained under a freedom of information request
lodged by the conservative activist Bernard Gaynor, a former soldier and
Senate candidate for the far-right Australian Liberty Alliance.

The Liberal member for Canning and former SAS soldier, Andrew Hastie,
was sacked from the army reserves on Thursday after refusing to take
down billboards showing him in uniform.

On Friday Labor’s candidate for the seat of Brisbane, Pat O’Neill, said
he would remove billboards in his electorate showing him in army uniform
to comply with a request from the ADF.

O’Neill said it was important that people knew his history as an army
officer, but he had left an 18-year career in the forces to talk about
health and education, not billboards.

"That’s why we are taking the billboards down."

But Labor’s candidate in Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly, said he had resigned
from the ADF reserve after requests to remove campaign images of him in
uniform.

ADF regulations prohibit members from participating in any political
activity in uniform, unless they are pre-approved to do so, to ensure
the organisation remains apolitical.

The executive director of the Australia Defence Association, Neil James,
agreed with the decision to punish Hastie but said the same standard
should be applied to the Mardi Gras.

"This breaches the same convention, which goes back hundreds of years,"
James told the Australian.

"The Mardi Gras is a highly -political event – all of the floats are
bagging the conservative side of politics ... we’d be saying the same
thing if ADF officers were in uniform at an anti-abortion rally or an
-Australian Patriots Alliance march," he said.

"You just can’t allow people to improperly use their ADF status for a
political event."

(14) LGBT pressure hotel to ban pro-Marriage meeting

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/mirandadevine/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_new_totalitarians/

The new totalitarians

Miranda Devine

May 29 2016 (5:17am)

SAME-sex marriage advocates are determined not to allow a fair debate in
the lead-up to the promised plebiscite.

A frightening glimpse of their illiberal tactics came on Thursday night
when protesters closed an event at the Occidental Hotel featuring
Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi and former union leader Joe de Bruyn
speaking in defence of traditional marriage.

Under pressure from activists, the Occidental banned the event, which
was moved to an undisclosed venue, but not before de Bruyn was forced to
pull out.

Bernardi spoke alone there to a smaller group, unable to spread the word
because police had advised the location remain secret.

"To be a conservative has become an underground movement, like the
Resistance", Bernardi said afterwards.

The protesters went ahead and marched on the Occidental, brandishing
rainbow flags and chanting: "Racist sexist anti-Queer, Liberals are not
welcome here" and "Go Home bigots".

But they were the real bigots, using Gestapo tactics to silence debate.

It’s no way to win hearts and minds.

In June last year, the government appointed the first Muslim cleric to
the advisory group, Imam Sheikh Mohamadu Nawas Mohamadu Saleem. Its
other members are the Reverends Gary Lock, Allan Harman and Murray Earl,
Monsignor Peter O’Keefe and Bishop Ian Lambert.

The Department of Defence has been contacted for comment.

(15) Australian of the Year says, "Don't say 'Guys'"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-01/david-morrison-wants-australians-to-stop-saying-'guys'/7465824

David Morrison wants Australians to stop saying gender-based terms like
'guys'

By defence reporter Andrew Greene and Kristian Silva

Australian of the Year and former Army chief David Morrison says the
term "guys" should no longer be used in workplaces.

The retired Lieutenant General on Wednesday launched a new Diversity
Council Australia video which aims to crack down on language which
excludes minority groups.

"Exclusive language, gender-based language or inappropriate language,
has as much a deleterious or disadvantaged effect as something where
you're saying something blatantly inappropriate to another human being,"
General Morrison told ABC News Breakfast.

He said he was not trying to become the "language police" by supporting
the new campaign, and expected to be criticised for the idea.

The #WordsAtWork campaign video depicts a group of women rolling their
eyes at being called "girls" by a male colleague.

"All the campaign is doing is saying look, it's a proven fact that more
inclusive [and] more diverse workforces create real diversity of
thinking and are more productive, more effective," General Morrison said.

"And one of the ways that you can engender that type of environment is
being careful about how you speak to other people, talking to them with
respect and listening to their views with respect."

The campaign also promotes gender equality, calls for the word "gay" not
to be used in a negative fashion, and strongly discourages the use of
other offensive terms.

General Morrison said he was now trying to stop using the word "guys"
when speaking to groups of people.

"I have now removed that from my lexicon as best I can, I think it's
important."

However, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop cautioned against interfering
with freedom of speech.

Ms Bishop said words such as "guys" were generic enough they should not
cause offence.

"I don't think we should try and interfere with the freedom of speech in
this country to a point where people are too concerned about day-to-day
conversations," she said.

'Guys' commonly accepted by males and females: expert

Australian National University language expert Catherine Travis said she
supported the campaign to rid stigmatised words from workplaces, but
believed its aim to eliminate the term "guys" was trivial.

David Morrison wants Australians to stop saying "guys" in the workplace
because it isn't inclusive. Here are seven more words not to use about
women.

Dr Travis said the phrase "you guys" had evolved to include all genders
and was commonly accepted.

She said the male element in the phrase "you guys" could be linked to a
trait seen in languages like French and Spanish, where a masculine
version of a word can be used when it is in plural form.

"The masculine form may be seen as more basic," she said.

"The form that's going to take off is the more frequent one, it's going
to be used in more circles and used with a more general meaning.

"'Guys' is much more generalised than the other examples in the clip,
and so has much less risk of offending.

"That is, mum really only refers to a mum, girls only refers to girls,
whereas the meaning of guys has changed to include males and females."