The Good News Supplement: Monday 30th September - Sunday 6th October

Fall Harvest (2015) by Christi Belcourt

A bumper edition of good news stories from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!

A Sporting Chance

UN human rights expert, Reem Asalem, has again spoken out to defend fairness and safety in women’s sport.

Reem Alsalem, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, has submitted a report to the UN General Assembly about the dangers of allowing trans-identified males to compete in women’s sport.

Her report states: “Sports have functioned on the universally recognised principle that a separate category for females is needed to ensure equal, fair and safe opportunities in sports…Undermining the eligibility criteria for single-sex sports results in unfair, unlawful and extreme forms of discrimination against female athletes on the basis of sex… In order to ensure safety and fairness in sport at all levels, ensure that female categories in organised sport are exclusively accessible to persons whose biological sex is female.”

The report goes on to recommend that, in cases where the sex of an athlete is ‘unknown or uncertain’ (to avoid situations like the recent women’s boxing fiasco at the Olympic Games) then, “A dignified, swift, non-invasive and accurate sex screening method (such as a cheek swab) or, where necessary for exceptional reasons, genetic testing should be applied to confirm the athlete's sex”.

Reem addressed the UN General Assembly this week, talking about safety and fairness in women’s sport. She told Sky News that she hopes the recommendations made in her report will influence the policies of states and sports.

Sisters On Court

In the US, women’s college volleyball players are raising their voices in protest against a squad which is fielding a trans-identified male player.

The San José State University (supposedly) women’s volleyball team has been much in the news recently over its inclusion of a trans-identified male player, Blaire Fleming. The 6ft 1in tall outside and right-side hitter has helped his team achieve an unprecedented record of 10-0 so far this year. Unsurprisingly.

But female college volleyball players are not standing for this outrage any longer and many are protesting Fleming’s inclusion in their sport. Even a player from Fleming’s own team - the San José captain, Brooke Slusser - is making her feelings known. She joined a lawsuit filed earlier this year against the NCAA over its Title IX inclusion of trans male athletes in women’s college sports.

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) wrote to the Mountain West teams, encouraging them to “Withdraw from any competition in which any male competes”. And in recent weeks four college volleyball teams have forfeited their games rather than have to play against San José.

The Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State college teams have all chosen to forfeit the games they were scheduled to play against San José. It’s wholly unfair that they have been put in this position, but it’s so gratifying to see them all take a stand. All power to you, sisters.

School Board Learns Hard Lesson

A school teacher sacked over his refusal to use male pronouns for a female student has been awarded a six figure sum in damages.

Peter Vlaming taught French at West Point High School in Virginia for almost seven years. When asked to refer to a trans-identified female pupil with male pronouns, he declined, as doing so would have compromised his Christian faith and his own conscience. He would not be compelled to lie.

In 2018, Vlaming was fired by the school board following his refusal to comply with a written directive ordering him to use male pronouns for the girl in question. He took legal action against the school, initially unsuccessfully as a circuit court ruled against him. In December, however, the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated Vlaming’s case, ruling that his freedom of expression rights had been violated.

This week, the school board agreed to pay Vlaming $575,000 (approximately £433,000) in damages and legal fees. Furthermore, the school has now changed its guidelines and will conform to the new Virginia education policies that respect fundamental free speech and parental rights.

The Bodies in the Library

A New England library has reversed its decision to cancel a talk about the importance of differentiating between the sexes in sport.

The Tewksbury Public Library in Massachusetts was due to host a Zoom webinar titled “Males and Females are Different, and that Matters in Sports” by Gregory Brown, a professor of exercise science.

On Monday, just two days before the event, registrants for the presentation received a notice from the library cancelling the event. In its statement, the library admitted that it was cancelling the webinar due to pressure from trans activists. “The levels of intolerance for a discussion around this issue has brought bullying to our staff. This has created a level of unhealthy pressure on our library staff that they do not deserve. We are cancelling this program in order to prevent any further stress on our staff.”

However, the following day, Professor Brown’s webinar was reinstated and attendees were informed that it would now take place on 3rd October.

No reason was given for the re-instatement of the event but it seems that the library has chosen not to give in to bullies.

Sallying Forth

Steel-spined women’s rights legend, Sall Grover, is appealing the Australian Federal Court’s judgement in the Tickle v Giggle case.

“This appeal is not just about one social media platform; it is about the fundamental rights of women and girls everywhere to safety and dignity in their own spaces. We call on the community, policymakers, and all advocates for fairness to join us in this important fight for the preservation of single-sex spaces, where women can feel safe, respected, and valued.”

For more information and/or to make a donation towards Sall’s legal costs, please use this link to her funding page.

We wish Sall and her legal team the very best of luck.

Sisters, Uber Alles

On the subject of taking a stand against the lunacy of gender woo, there are huge plans to protest the appalling self-ID legislation about to come into force in Germany.

Germany’s new Self-Determination Act (SBGG) comes into effect on 1st November. This legislation will allow any man, even a convicted sex offender, to change his legal sex with a quick bit of paperwork at the local registry office. It will also mean that a fine of up to €10,000 could be imposed for revealing someone’s real name and true sex. It will be a disaster for German women, erasing their single sex rights and spaces.

However, a group called Initiative Lasst Frauen Sprechen! is planning a mass protest, not only in Germany but across the world. “From 12:05 till 4 p.m. in the afternoon [on 1st November] we will be protesting in front of the German Bundestag in Berlin. We ask our feminist sisters to show their solidarity and protest on the same day in front of German embassies and consulates of their country.”

To learn more about this global feminist protest and how you can get involved, please see this link to the website. (There’s a draft letter to German ambassadors, too.)

All power, strength and solidarity to our sisters in Germany.

This Unsporting Life

Our friends at For Women Scotland Sport and Sex Matters have undertaken a project to list the trans-identified males currently competing in women’s sports in the UK.

If you have information for them, please get in touch by email - Sport@forwomen.scot and TellUs@sex-matters.org - or via their social media account.

For The Reading List

Our friend, Jenny Lindsay, has a new book out. ‘Hounded: Women, Harms & The Gender Wars’ is published by Polity Books and released this week.

“Hounded charts the often hidden and unspoken harms women face for prioritising and defending sex-based language and rights. Outlining the often-bewildering array of tactics used by opponents against such women, as well as the resilience required to refuse to be silenced, Lindsay presents a compelling argument for recognition of the individual and social harms that are being enacted under the auspices of ‘gender identity activism.’”

Order your copy here!

And Finally…