Well what a mind altering interview. I know the video is described as a debate but it really was a conversation. At first I was bored and almost shut it off even though I mostly enjoy the channel. Then I noticed something. The call in guest got angrier and ever more abusive getting very insulting yet Vaush never reacted to that and instead tried to keep the conversation going centered on the topic. I loved it. I have tried to talk to right wing bigots and I have not had the same composure that Vaush did. It is a great watch if you want to see how a person on the right starts out trying to show how trans people are bad and confused then moves to the point where the one saying this stuff gets very abusive and then just gets really out classed with information to the point where he has to just admit he doesn’t like those trans and hates those people that accept them. Like I said the first part is boring and forgettable, but fast forward through that if you must and watch the rest. For me it was worth it. Hugs
As is the normal fact all the sky is falling from all the claims of what horrible things will happen from accepting gay people or trans people never happen, yet these same people making these claims never apologies and admit they were wrong when the horrible shit they predicted never happened. I say this because in the US these anti-gay people claimed all the horrible effects from recognizing the fact that gay people exist will destroy the country. But that did not happen. So the anti LGBTQ+ people then said letting gays marry legally would destroy the country / society, but again that did not happen. In fact different countries have had legal gay marriage for over 20 years and the Christian god has not destroyed the world. Plus in the US same sex marriage has been legal country wide since 2015! Yet no country destroying events not already underway due to climate change and republican obstruction to make a decent country has happened. Yet again no republican or religious leaders have every admitted they were wrong. They keep repeating all their dire warnings with no proof and withholding the information that they things they are claiming are the key to their go destroying the nation has already been here a long time. I am 60 years old. Ron and I promised ourselves to each other 33 years ago and there were many others before us who did so longer than we have. Yet these god thumpers that want to force the country to follow their view fail to point out that their god never acted to stop that. Why would a supreme power deity need to depend on a religious leader demanding money to accomplish its goal? I am not going to colorize this one, sorry. I recently got up and Ron just came over and told me I am looking very bad and need to go to bed. We argued about it, but I am now so tired I may do so after refusing just on principle. I hate being told what I should do. I was in too much pain to eat tonight and now Ron is hovering over me to force me to bed. Hugs
Ruadhán Ó Críodáin, executive director of Irish charity ShoutOut, received his gender recognition certificate eight days after he applied thanks to self-ID. (Supplied)
One day in December, Ruadhán Ó Críodáin applied for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) over noodles in a Dublin restaurant. Eight days later, it arrived.
That’s because in Ireland trans people can self-declare their own gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2015. There’s no need for a medical diagnosis or doctor’s reports, nor is there a panel of experts who get to decide if you are who you say you are.
Instead, trans people simply fill out a form, have it witnessed by a solicitor or another official, send it to the government, and wait to receive their GRC in the post.
“It was pretty simple for me,” Ruadhán tells PinkNews. “I was very fortunate in that I have a friend who works as a solicitor who was willing to come and witness it for me, for free. She witnessed and signed the document, but also – helpfully – walked me through it so I knew exactly what to fill out and where, and so that I understood everything on the form.”
Self-ID, as it’s often known, has been a quiet, everyday reality for trans people in Ireland for more than seven years. And as Ruadhán points out, “the sky hasn’t fallen in”.
None of the baseless fearmongering pushed by those who describe themselves as “gender critical” has come to pass. Instead, all self-ID has done is make the legal system a little bit more compassionate.
Ruadhán Ó Críodáin, executive director of ShoutOut, an Irish LGBTQ+ charity. (Supplied)
Living in a country with a simplified gender recognition process means “nothing and everything all at once” to Ruadhán. The whole thing was “a bit of an afterthought” to him when compared to the more complicated aspects of transitioning, such as coming out and navigating Ireland’s “mess” of a healthcare system.
But it’s also true that having self-ID was exactly the reason getting a GRC wasn’t much of a concern – he knew it would be straightforward.
“It was pretty emotional when the certificate came in the post. It felt like a huge relief,” he says.
“I’m really grateful to live in a country where it is so easy, and I know it’s all thanks to the long, lonely battle of Dr Lydia Foy [a trans woman who fought for 20 years for the legislation] and her fellow activists.
“We’d be tempted to pat ourselves on the back for that here in Ireland but Dr Foy fought 23 years for this legislation. Every trans person here who gets a GRC only has one thanks to her.”
UK gender recognition process is ‘paternalistic and unfair’
Still, Ruadhán knows how lucky he is when he looks at the UK, where anti-trans figures often baselessly claim introducing self-identification would put women and girls in danger.
The culture war reached a fever pitch in December when the Scottish government passed its own reforms to the Gender Recognition Act to ensure trans Scots could self-declare their own gender.
The UK government swiftly invoked Section 35 of the Scotland Act to stop the bill going for royal assent. Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to challenge the decision in court, and the row seems certain to fuel the devolution movement.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to fight back after the UK government decided to block Scotland’s gender reform bill from becoming law. (Getty)
Watching on from Ireland, Ruadhán can’t help but feel angry.
“I’m devastated to see the UK government has decided to block it. It’s infuriating on a political level to see the UK government interfere with Scottish political autonomy for a bill which would affect such a tiny community, and to further fan the flames on this ridiculous debate,” he says.
Ruadhán adds: “The current process for getting a GRC in the UK is brutally paternalistic and unfair.
“Why should a panel of strangers decide if you deserve a GRC or not? Why make someone go through two years of social transition before being eligible? Why is a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or proof of surgery needed?
“Trans people are the authorities in our own gender. We know who we are. Transition is already difficult enough without adding further barriers. And crucially, being trans isn’t an illness.”
Ruadhán Ó Críodáin with a giant “R” balloon. (Supplied)
Self-ID should be seen as a basic human right – Ruadhán just wishes all trans people were trusted to know who they are.
“I’m grateful for my GRC, and how easy it was to obtain, but I’m also entitled to it.
“No politician, no legislator, no change in public opinion, can take it away from me. This is who I am, and I shouldn’t be expected to live any other way.”
While watching the morning Sunday broadcast shows I was helping Ron deal with getting Sunday breakfast together. Ron likes to do a big breakfast on Sunday morning, but as we age it has shrank in size but not in stuff. As we were getting stuff out of the bottom freezer drawer Ron was on one side I was on the other. After getting stuff out I was holding a couple things in my hands so I lowered down and stretched out to place them on Ron’s side of the large drawer to better even things out in the freezer. As I was putting the first of the things down I got a horrible stabbing pain in my middle back and then the muscles contracted adding more pain. I gave a gasp and cried out. I dropped the things in my hands and partially stood up, turned and leaned up against the nearby door frame and just tried to breathe. My right leg from the calf down went numb. Ron rushed over to me but the damage was done. I was in trouble. I shuffled to my desk, took more medications, sitting was very painful, but standing was also very painful each time I tried. I am not going to be able to help Ron with breakfast as we planned. Just that damned quick a mistake, an action without thinking has seriously impacted me this morning.
A time later. Ron made a great breakfast of hashbrowns and an egg scramble with mushrooms, tri-colored peppers, and bacon. Normally we have ham steak and maybe sausage with breakfast but after I hurt myself Ron declared we did not have those things and did not need them. Plus we had toast. I ate until I was a bit overfull. I won’t be able to help him clean up like I normally do and when the current show “Face the Nation” is over I am going to bed for a long while to release my back. I took extra medication when it happened and that plus the food is making me very tired. I hope when I get up, I can get to some comments. If you don’t hear from me, you know I was not able to do so. My right foot still is screaming with the stinging numbness feeling. Hugs for everyone.
This is well known and the medical has repeatedly said that affirming the gender identity of the person while assisting with necessary age appropriate treatments including puberty blockers or hormone therapy when needed is the best medical practice. That is something the anti-trans people cannot refute, the majority of medical associations including the AMA and the largest pediatric medical associations believe in supporting trans people transitioning. But at the same time the red state republican leaders who mostly have no medical training are trying hard to ban or make the need medical assistance illegal. Why are they doing this? For political gain mostly, and religious indoctrination for others. This is very much like these same legislators denying abortion / reproductive rights to pregnant people or requiring women to cover their arms and where long skirts in state legislative bodies. It is people acting on an ideology to roll back advances in medical understanding and society to return to a time they feel more comfortable with. It is about their comfort not your needs and their ability to force their ignorance on others against the doctors best medical advice. ** BTW this happened to me in Florida. I was on a great medication for muscle spasms called Soma. The state legislators in an attempt to look tough on opioid addictions made it nearly impossible for pain doctors, and only pain doctors, to prescribe Soma. I spent months trying to get a replacement that worked and none were as good. **Hugs
Researchers tracked 315 trans and non-binary young people in what is reportedly the largest study in the U.S. to date.
Hormone therapy improves the mental health of transgender youth. That’s the takeaway from a new study from The New England Journal of Medicine, released last week.
The study is reportedly the largest in the U.S. to date. Over the course of two years, researchers tracked 315 trans and non-binary young people between the ages of 12 and 20 receiving hormone therapy. According to a summary of the research, “During the study period, appearance congruence (alignment between gender identity and physical appearance), positive affect, and life satisfaction increased, and depression and anxiety symptoms decreased.”
Researchers reported that young people who were assigned female at birth saw greater benefits when taking testosterone than those assigned male at birth who took estrogen. Several factors could be at play here, they speculated, including the speed with which the outward effects of testosterone manifest and greater social stigma faced by transfeminine people compared to transmasculine people.
The authors note that “marked increases in referrals but limited evidence as to long-term outcomes have led to controversies and debate” over providing adolescents with gender-affirming hormones (GAH). Across the U.S., state legislators have introduced bills restricting or outright banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
“Research like this is significant because it provides more longitudinal data,” Dr. Kareen Matouk, a clinical psychologist in the gender identity program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Self magazine. “This helps individuals and their families navigate the health care system with more ease and confidence, and protects access to gender-affirming care that lawmakers are attempting to deny.”
Opponents of gender-affirming care for trans young people frequently argue that puberty blockers and GAH may have harmful or irreversible effects. But Matouk said, “We have some data suggesting that gender-affirming hormone therapy is generally safe and effective under the supervision of an endocrinologist or medical provider who specializes in transgender health care and has experience initiating hormone therapy.”
Gender-affirming care for both adolescents and adults has been endorsed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, and many other professional groups as necessary and frequently lifesaving for transgender individuals.
While the authors of the new study stress that more research into other factors – including access to mental healthcare and the quality of peer relations and family support – is needed, their findings show that “that mental health improves with GAH, whereas withholding treatment may lead to increased gender dysphoria and adversely affect psychological functioning.”
At a time when red state republicans are trying to stop any progress in society since the 1950s with anti- woke laws, stopping the fighting of injustice, and try to remove gay / trans people from the public square, they still keep indoctrination kids by forcing Jesus speakers / promoters on them who lie about gay / trans people to mislead children with their incorrect views. I hate it, everything the right accuses the left of doing is a confession of what the right itself is doing and has done. Hugs
Video shows media personality Woah Vicky lying to kids about LGBTQ people, while urging them to accept Jesus
Woah Vicky, a white girl who uses the N-word, tells fans about Jesus (screenshot via Facebook)
Reading Time: 2MINUTES
Earlier this month, Victoria Rose Waldrip (a.k.a. Woah Vicky, “Atlanta’s new age trap queen”) visited Jonesboro High School in Georgia and preached to the girl’s basketball team. She told them to accept Jesus, promoted her church, told the girls to remain celibate until marriage, and lied about LGBTQ people.
When one girl asked her if being gay was bad, Waldrip said she couldn’t answer the question because she’s not God. She then added there was no such thing as a gay preacher (which is a lie), and said people become gay as a result of getting “touched on” (which is also a lie), and said being gay is like murdering people because they’re both sins (which even most Christians would say is a lie because they don’t think being gay is a sin). And then she praised Jeffrey Dahmer for supposedly discovering God in prison.
You better believe there’s video of it. (The anti-gay stuff begins around the 13:20 mark.)
It raises all kinds of questions for the school: What the hell was she doing there? Who invited her? Why would anyone think this was a good idea?! That’s what @capn_cut_throat and @deconversiontherapy wanted to know when their videos about the matter began picking up steam on TikTok.
Keep in mind that this wasn’t a voluntary event where students were told what they’d hear in advance. In fact, some of the girls later “expressed their outrage” online.
It turns out we do know who’s responsible for this: Frances Miller, a “digital creator” who works as a “character coach” for the team and promotes them on social media. She’s seen in the background of the video. (One source told me that Miller has no official connection with the district.)
Miller bragged about the proselytizing as soon as it happened:
**at the link above to the orginal post there is a facebook thing here. I do not have facebook and due to my security settings they wont show. Hugs **
If, in fact, Miller’s role is unofficial, then her access to students—and how she used that opening to get her friend to push Jesus on them—is especially troubling.
We ask that the District immediately investigate this incident and provide an assurance that outside adults will not be allowed to preach hate and bigotry to students during school-sponsored activities again in the future. If any school employees or administrators were involved, they should be reprimanded and reminded of their obligations as public school employees.
… If the district has no policies that prevent outside adults from delivering hateful religious messages to students as part of school-sponsored activities, one should be adopted.The district should take all actions within its power to ensure that something like this cannot happen again in the future.
It’s possible the school was already taking action here but the nudge can’t hurt.
Can you imagine the outrage if a coach invited a Muslim, or atheist, or Satanist to speak to students about any damn thing? You can’t imagine it, because it would never happen. But when Christianity’s on the menu, everything is just treated as fine and normal even though it shouldn’t. If the administrators aren’t watching out for the children, and the coach of this team isn’t, then who the hell is interested in their well-being? Because it’s definitely not Woah Vicky, whose only goal is gaining clout on social media.
I regret I am so far behind. It is too hard to sit at my desk, every 15 minutes or so I have to get up and walk around, but then after a few minutes have to sit. If I have a task I need to do standing for more than 15 minutes I have to take more medication to stop my back from giving out. I managed to get my MRI I needed this morning, came home ate and went right to bed. I got up at 2:30 as my back was not getting better. I see my pain doctor on the 6th of Feb. Hopefully I can quickly schedule some shots to my spine. I was getting them regularly to keep the pain down but I got hit with a couple very expensive bills from the spine shots and decided to see if I could handle the pain with muscle shots and pills. Turns out that won’t work. I have already had to take more medication than I like to take. If this doesn’t work I will go to the next level of pain medications. In the state of Florida it is hard now to get the drugs that caused such problems which can be managed but they want to force everyone to fentanyl even as the republicans scream about how deadly it is. The clips below are pure republican hate, making it so poor people on snap cannot buy any affordable foods not even can soup. No meats no matter the kind, no canned vegetables and so much more. And the continued attacks by republicans and DeathSantis on the idea of inclusion and anything LGBTQ+. I again today wont be able to catch up but there is always tomorrow I guess. Hugs
They’re using every angle they can to legalize discrimination, what’s next, LGBT people can’t own property? Blacks are not legal voters? This is just the tip of the iceberg that FL is becoming in it’s drive towards a state rooted firmly in the 1850’s and reestablishing laws from back then. It’s incidious and creeping slowly towards pre-civil war laws and acceptance.
This is exactly what (other) fascist takeovers did. Made teaching anything contradictory to their own agenda illegal, and arrested teachers who didn’t comply.
Like, it’s not even a jump. Even if this feels tame, this is fascism, done in the frog/boiling pot fashion.
What comes next are RightThink mandatory courses to re-educate teachers about the “correct and approved” Republican party dogma, which is that white Christian nationalism is doubleplus good.
See also the influence that creationists in Texas had on school textbooks. I’m a member of NCSE and they seem to be relatively quiet these days, but…eternal vigilance and all that.
Nov. 14, 1960…
At the age of 6, Ruby Bridges was the first black child to go to an integrated school. It’s American history. Your child can learn about it.
Why is Ron afraid of allowing this knowledge to be taught?
His preference to withwashi it comes off as very racist.
Hmmmm, So far Republicans have done NOTHING on the economy, immigration, jobs. Done a lot on education though like banning books, harassing teachers, & librarians and choosing for college students what they can and cannot study even though they’re paying for it 🤨🤨🤨🤨
Great point Daddy. Imagine what will come out of the mouths of the future Florida educated workforce when they migrate to other states to work. HR departments need to prepare.
Trump Calls For ‘Certifying’ Patriotic Teachers, Election Of Principals By School Parents
He also demands funds be slashed for schools teaching “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.”
Scottie's Playtime 