I’m Joining MelinaPendulum in Saying Goodbye to Harry Potter

It’s basically well-known at this point that J.K. Rowling is incredibly transphobic. So much so that the cast of the films have come out in support of trans people. Rowling has been problematic for years, but for privileged assholes like me, there was always a level of plausible deniability to it, up to and including Death of the Author.

Not so anymore. I mean… really I should have seen this years ago. It’s not the first time Rowling has outed herself as transphobic… it’s just the first time she’s publicly embraced it and doubled-down.

Now, to be fair, this is decently easy for me. The reason is because Harry Potter itself doesn’t influence my life now the way it did when I was a kid. The reason for that is… kind of embarrassing… but it’s worth talking about a little bit…

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More Controversy and An Apology… Also, I Say Trans Rights

That title feels way more dismissive than I intend it to be, but I can’t think of anything else. And this is going to be a short one.

First… to Essence of Thought and everyone in the Trans community who was hurt by the actions of Rachel Oates and her followers… I apologize for not saying anything about it here or anywhere else. The honest truth is that I didn’t know it was happening.

I was subscribed to Essence of Thought before Stephen Woodford’s transphobia, so I knew about that, but most of the Rachel Oates drama happened on Twitter.

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Supreme Court Takes Coward’s Way Out on Trans People’s Rights

From the New York Times…

Prompted by the Trump administration’s reversal of the federal government’s position on transgender rights, the Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would not decide whether a transgender boy in Virginia could use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.

The decision not to take his case, which came as the court is awaiting the appointment of a ninth member, means there will be no ruling on the highly charged issue of transgender rights this term. The issue will almost certainly return to the Supreme Court, probably in a year or two.

Until then, lawsuits in the lower courts will proceed, the political climate and public opinion may shift, and the court’s composition will almost certainly change.

Monday’s development was a setback for transgender rights advocates, who had hoped the Supreme Court, which established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage two years ago, would aid their cause.

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Our Very Own Siobhan Wrote For An Actual News Site!

So hey! You know Siobhan, right? She blogs right here, at Freethought Blogs.

But now she’s also published on an actual news publication! She wrote an article about a Canadian law that would very much help with trans equality that was published at The Establishment. You really should read that.

Also, while you’re at it, Siobhan and H.J. Hornbeck did a collaboration about a really disgustingly transphobic BBC “documentary”. Here’s what H.J. wrote, and here’s what Siobhan wrote. You really should read those, too.

Government-Approved Transphobia (or… Things Keep Going Backwards)

Trump Drops Defense of Obama Guidelines on Transgender Students

The Trump administration has dropped the federal government’s challenge to a nationwide injunction issued last year that blocked the fulfillment of Obama administration guidelines stating that transgender students’ access to bathrooms and other gender-segregated school facilities was protected under existing federal civil rights law.

The injunction was issued in August by Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas as part of a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen states over the Obama administration’s position that Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools, protects transgender students.

Under that interpretation, transgender students have access to facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity, a proposition to which social conservatives strongly object. They argue that allowing transgender students to use those facilities poses a threat to the privacy and safety of other students.

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This is Our Country Right Now

I just wanted to post this picture because I feel like it accurately sums up where the US is right now. I got it from the TWiBNation Facebook group (on a separate note; does anyone here listen to TWiBPrime? I highly recommend it.)

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Picture with two columns and three rows.

First row..
On Left – “Largest Nuclear Waste Storage Site in US is Leaking”
On Right – “Meh”

Second Row…
On Left – “Shell Dumps Nearly 90,000 Gallons of Crude into Gulf of Mexico”
On Right – “Meh”

Third Row…
On Left – “Target Lets Transgenders go Pee in Bathrooms”
On Right – *face red with rage*

ETA:
I just realized that “transgenders” is not the appropriate terminology? I’m really sorry for that. I didn’t catch it initially. I should have. I wish I knew who made this, now…