Latest news with #genderIdentity
Wall Street Journal
13 hours ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Transgenderism Turns the World Upside Down
While reading Jessica Hart Steinmann and Leigh Ann O'Neill's op-ed 'Transgenderism Won't Let Girls Say No' (June 6), I was reminded of a 17th-century English ditty: 'If buttercups buzz'd after the bee, if boats were on land, churches on sea; if ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows, and cats should be chased into holes by the mouse; if the mamas sold their babies to the gypsies for half a crown; if summer were spring and the other way round, then all the world would be upside down.'
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Boy George's criminal past gets called out by J.K. Rowling after picking fight on transgender rights
Print Close By Rachel del Guidice Published June 19, 2025 Singer Boy George got called out in a particularly sharp way by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling after he picked a fight with the author this week on transgender rights. In an X post from June 11, Rowling asked, "Which rights have been taken away from trans people?" The singer, whose full name is George O'Dowd, and was convicted of falsely imprisoning and assaulting a male escort in 2007 and served four months in prison in 2009, responded to Rowling's post, saying, "The right to be left alone by a rich bored bully!" 'HARRY POTTER' ACTOR STANDS BY JK ROWLING AT TONY AWARDS AMID CRITICISM OF HER TRANSGENDER VIEWS Rowling posted a reply of her own, calling out the differences between the author and singer, citing gender, fame, O'Dowd's crime and freedom of speech. In her lengthy reply, she addressed why she believes it is critical to keep biological men out of women's spaces. "For more than half my life I was a regular anonymous person," Rowling said. "Some of those years were spent in poverty. That's why I understand the importance of single-sex spaces for women who're reliant on state-funded services. That's why I understand why mixed public changing rooms are a problem for women. That's why I have a problem with men 'identifying' into women's rape crisis centres, domestic abuse and homeless shelters that are supposed to be single-sex. I don't stand against gender identity ideology because I personally still need those services, but because my life has taught me exactly how vulnerable women are when they don't have the money/influence I have now." JK ROWLING FIRES BACK AT LIBERAL COMEDIAN AFTER HE DOUBLES DOWN ON TRANS ATHLETE STANCE The world-famous author and advocate for women also brought up Boy George's assault and prison time. "You yourself have been convicted of violent assault," Rowling said in the post. "The overwhelming number of people who commit crimes of violence are male, just like you. That's why I don't want to see men identifying into women's prison cells or any of the spaces mentioned above. Not all men are violent or predatory, but enough are to make safeguarding necessary." She ended her reply by saying she thinks that the singer no longer values "non-conformity." "Lastly, I'm a writer who believes in freedom of speech and belief," Rowling said. "As we both know, the safe, fashionable thing in the arts world right now is to do exactly what you're doing: parrot TWAW [Trans Women Are Women] and sneer at the unenlightened plebs who think sex is important and matters. For a man who was once all about non-conformity, George, you couldn't have become more predictably or more tediously conformist." CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE In a Monday reply on X about the feud with Rowling, Boy George addressed her personal appearance. "The demolition of her filler face is more laughable! The dragon has been slayed!" he stated in the post. In a subsequent post on Tuesday, he said, "I do not hate women. I cannot be clearer than that. I don't hate men either. I'm just not anti trans. We have [lived] together for centuries without having to be separated. Some men need to be taught to respect women more and some women need [to] stop blaming all men for the bad deeds of the few." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Print Close URL
Fox News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Oklahoma is leading the fight to save girls' sports – and they're winning
Let me say it plainly: boys don't belong in girls' sports. That used to be common sense. Now it's a fight we have to win in every school, every courtroom, and every community in America. The radical Left is pushing the lie that gender is a choice, that biology doesn't matter, and that feelings trump facts. And they expect the rest of us to nod along and stay quiet while they bulldoze fairness, safety, and truth. Not in Oklahoma. Riley Gaines didn't stay quiet. She spoke up when a biological male tied her in a major collegiate swimming championship—stripped of her rightful place on the podium. And for that, the Left has tried to smear her ever since. The most recent insult came from Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who decided to take cheap shots at Riley on social media, not for anything hateful—but for daring to say that girls deserve fair competition. It wasn't just petty. It was cowardly. Let me be very clear: As a father of two young girls, a former high school teacher, and the head of Oklahoma schools, I stand with Riley Gaines. The people of Oklahoma stand with her. And millions of Americans do too, whether the media admits it or not. This is not a hypothetical debate. This is happening in our schools. In one Oklahoma high school, a fight broke out after a biological male was allowed to use the girls' bathroom. We've seen female athletes lose to boys in track meets, then be told to "be more inclusive." Parents are told to sit down and shut up. Teachers are afraid to speak. Girls are being pushed aside—sometimes literally—to make room for a political agenda that has nothing to do with education and everything to do with control. I've spoken directly with superintendents, coaches, and parents across the state. They all say the same thing: we're done. We're done pretending. We're done letting boys dominate girls' sports. And we're done allowing activists in Washington, D.C. or on TikTok to tell us how to raise our kids. That's why Oklahoma passed the Save Women's Sports Act—to make it illegal for biological males to compete in girls' sports. We didn't ask for permission. We didn't wait for D.C. We acted. And as State Superintendent, I'm enforcing it. You violate the law, you lose funding. It's that simple. Of course, the Biden administration was threatening states like ours. They proposed new Title IX rules that would force schools to allow boys in girls' locker rooms and athletic programs. I put them on notice: Oklahoma will not comply. With President Trump in office, we are now seeing a return to normalcy. We will not be bullied into abandoning reality, faith, or parental rights. Because here's the truth the media won't say: we're winning. States across the country—red, purple, and even a few blue—are rejecting this nonsense. Twenty-six states now have laws protecting girls' sports. More are on the way. Poll after poll shows that everyday Americans—regardless of party—oppose letting boys compete against girls. This is not a 50/50 issue. This is an 80/20 issue, and the radicals are losing. The Left thought they could shame us into silence. Instead, they've woken up a movement. Parents are fighting back. Coaches are declaring enough is enough. Leaders are drawing the line. They say this is a culture war. Fine. Then let's be clear about who's winning. This isn't the end of the fight—it's the beginning of the rollback. Common sense isn't just surviving. It's making a comeback. And in Oklahoma, we're leading the charge.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Trans people have been lied to on legal rights, says equalities chief
Transgender people must accept a 'period of correction' over their rights after the Supreme Court ruling on gender because they have been 'lied to' about their legal status for years, an equalities chief says. Akua Reindorf, who is drafting guidance on how to treat trans people following April's ruling on the definition of a woman, added that the blame lay with their lobbyists. Ms Reindorf, a barrister and one of eight commissioners on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), made her remarks in a personal capacity during a debate hosted by the London School of Economics. She said: 'Unfortunately, young people and trans people have been lied to over many years about what their rights are.' The EHRC has been given the task of developing new guidelines on transgender people for public buildings such as cafes, schools and hospitals, after the Supreme Court ruled transgender women are not legally women. Shortly after the ruling the EHRC released interim guidance advising: 'Trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities.' Ms Reindorf's words came as the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, scrapped its old guidance allowing transgender patients to use the toilets of the sex they identify with. A spokesman for the NHS Confederation said their old guidance is now 'dated' and requires updating to align with the Supreme Court ruling. The two developments will be seen as a major blow to transgender activists, who have been petitioning for public organisations such as the NHS to ignore the court's decision. The Girl Guides and Refuge, the largest domestic abuse charity for women, have both said they have no intention in changing their policy on allowing trans women to use their female facilities. Ms Reindorf described their approach as ridiculous, arguing it amounted to a 'huge farce'. She said transgender people 'have been lied to and there has to be a period of correction'. She added: 'The fact is that, until now, trans people without Gender Recognition Certificates, were being grievously misled about their legal rights. 'The correction of self-ID policies and practices will inevitably feel like a loss of rights for trans people. 'This unfortunate position is overwhelmingly a product of the misinformation which was systematically disseminated over a long period by lobby groups and activists.'
The Guardian
06-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
EHRC commissioner calls for trans people to accept reduced rights after years of ‘lies'
Transgender people must accept a reduction in their rights after the supreme court decision on gender because they 'have been lied to over many years' about what their rights actually were, one of the commissioners drawing up the official post-ruling guidance has said. Speaking at a debate about the repercussions of April's ruling that 'woman' in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman, Akua Reindorf said trans people had been misled about their rights and there 'has to be a period of correction'. Reindorf, a barrister who is one of eight commissioners at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), who was speaking in a personal capacity, said she believes the fault lay with trans lobbyists. However, the human rights campaign groups Liberty and Amnesty called on the EHRC to make sure the rights of trans people were properly considered when it draws up guidance for public bodies on how to implement the changed legal landscape. A director of the trans campaign group TransActual said Reindorf's remarks were profoundly unhelpful. Speaking at the event, organised by the London School of Economics law school, Reindorf argued that the impact of the ruling was very clear, condemning what she called 'this huge farce with organisations up and down the country wringing their hands and creating working groups and so on, and people in society worrying that they will have nowhere to go to the toilet'. Asked by an audience member about worries the ruling could reduce the rights of trans people, another panellist, the barrister Naomi Cunningham, said trans people 'will have to give way', adding: 'It can't be helped, I'm afraid.' Reindorf, speaking next, agreed: 'Unfortunately, young people and trans people have been lied to over many years about what their rights are. It's like Naomi said – I just can't say it in a more diplomatic way than that. They have been lied to, and there has to be a period of correction, because other people have rights.' Reindorf said her comments reflected the fact that before the ruling, the law had been commonly misunderstood because pressure groups argued that trans people who self-identified should be treated as their identified sex, when this was in fact just the case for people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC). The supreme court decided that this mix of different rights made the Equality Act unworkable, said Reindorf, speaking in a personal capacity. She called this 'the catalyst for many to catch up, belatedly, with the fact that the law never permitted self-ID in the first place'. 'The fact is that, until now, trans people without GRCs were being grievously misled about their legal rights,' she said. 'The correction of self-ID policies and practices will inevitably feel like a loss of rights for trans people. This unfortunate position is overwhelmingly a product of the misinformation which was systematically disseminated over a long period by lobby groups and activists.' In April, the EHRC released interim, non-statutory advice about how to interpret the ruling, which set out that transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets of the gender they live as, and that in some cases they cannot use toilets of their birth sex. A number of critics have called the advice oversimplistic. Chiara Capraro, head of gender justice at Amnesty International UK, said: 'The EHRC has the duty to uphold the rights of everyone, including all with protected characteristics. We are concerned that it is failing to do so and is unhelpfully pitting the rights of women and trans people against each other.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Akiko Hart, Liberty's director, said: 'Any updated guidance from the EHRC must respect and uphold the rights of everyone in society. The supreme court's judgment was very narrow, and there are a lot of very legitimate questions about how it's implemented that must be carefully considered.' A director of the trans campaign group TransActual, jane fae, rejected Reindorf's argument: 'The characterisation of what was previously a widely held view both by the EHRC as well as by civil servants and lawyers working in the field of equality as 'lying' is profoundly unhelpful. 'Prior to the ruling of the supreme court in April, trans people just wanted to live their lives within the framework as it was understood. 'Activism' has only really come into being over the last few years in response to a never-ending campaign designed to deprive trans people of rights.' A spokesperson for the EHRC said: 'Akua Reindorf KC spoke at this event in a personal capacity. This was made clear at the event and in the video recording published online. 'As Britain's equality regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission upholds and enforces the Equality Act 2010 to ensure everyone is treated fairly, consistent with the act. 'Our board come from all walks of life and bring with them a breadth of skills and experience. This helps us take impartial decisions, which are always based on evidence and the law.'
