The Good News Supplement: Monday 20th May - Sunday 26th May
Just a handful of the good news stories from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!
Leaving Them Kids Alone
South Carolina’s governor has signed into a law a ban on medical interventions for gender dysphoric minors.
This week Governor Henry McMaster formally signed legislation - H 4624 - which bars physicians from prescribing puberty blockers to or performing so-called ‘gender affirming’ surgeries on minors suffering with gender-related distress.
The law passed earlier this month by 28-8 in the state Senate and 67-26 in the state House. It takes effect immediately.
South Carolina is now the 25th US state to ban the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat children under 18 with gender dysphoria.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins, announced her intention to ban private gender clinics from prescribing puberty blockers to children.
She told MPs that she would bring in a banning order on puberty blockers under rarely-used provisions in the 1968 Medicines Act. While acknowledging that this ‘extraordinary use of that power’ is unusual, she said that she intends to take bold steps to protect the welfare of vulnerable children.
A government source told The Daily Mail that Ms Atkins intends to implement the ban before dissolution of the current parliament.
Trustee Time
Sex Matters are recruiting for trustees to join the board.
They are particularly looking for trustees who have expertise and experience in safeguarding, human resources, charity governance and fundraising (though they will consider applicants with other relevant experience).
If you fit the bill and are interested in applying, you can find more information here.
Booking Brilliant
Last week we reported on the forth-coming publication of a fabulous new book, Women Won’t Wheesht.
It is edited by the redoubtable Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn, features over thirty essays - authors including JK Rowling and Joanna Cherry MP - and tells the story of the fight for women’s sex-based rights in Scotland over the last five years. You can pre-order it here.
Not only is the book already shooting up the charts ahead of its release, the launch event sold out so quickly - within 48 hours - that hosts, FiLiA, have had to increase capacity. If you missed out, you can book your place here.
Party Animal
Kellie-Jay Keen (aka Posie Parker) is to stand in the forthcoming general election in Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s constituency of Brighton Kemptown.
Labour MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, you will remember, famously raged at, insulted and then tried to intimidate Miriam Cates MP during a debate on self-ID last year. He was also forced to apologise after he wrote an article for The Tribune magazine in which he accused JK Rowling of "Using her own sexual assault as justification for discriminating" against trans people.
Standing outside Russell-Moyle’s Labour Party HQ in Brighton, Kellie-Jay Keen announced the reasons for her candidacy:
“It’s very unlikely that I’m going to take his seat… The reason we’re going to stand against him in The Party of Women is because he needs to have conversations with women who don’t back down, who don’t have to be polite, don’t feel like they have to put up with his misogyny and I think it would be so much fun.”
For more information about the Party of Women, please use this link.
Gaels Just Wanna Have Fairness & Safety
A new organisation has formed in Ireland to defend the women’s division of Gaelic sports and uphold the rights and safety of female players.
Gaels for Fair Play is a group of players, coaches, volunteers and parents involved in all three Gaelic Games associations who believe allowing males to play in the female category is unfair and unsafe.
Give ‘em a follow to find out more and show them a bit of support.
Glinner Of Hope
Don’t miss Our Graham on the Spiked podcast this week.
Don’t forget that Graham’s memoir, Tough Crowd, is still available from Amazon, The Express shop, Lightning Eye, Waterstones, Blackwells and all other discerning outlets. (There are also audio versions available on Audible and Spotify too.)
Go, our Lady of the Posie! Just the thought of all the blue fringe, alphabet toddlers going into total meltdown in that constituency during the campaign is enough to dine out on for a long time to come. 🥳
I’m in bed with a stinking cold 🎻 so thanks for this cheering news JL.
Go KJK 👏 and I love the top picture and the end bit. Who’d have thought that the Sesame Street characters would be such transphobic terfs. Cancel them immediately and get that poor trans sheep affirmed and medicalised asap.