News and Updates

April 15, 2020, 8:58 a.m.

An Epidemic of Misinformation: Murder Rates and the Transgender Population

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 26 transgender or “gender non-conforming” people were killed in the United States during 2018. Transgender rights activists say the murder of trans-identified people is a growing problem in the US. But does this rhetoric really stand up to scrutiny?

April 15, 2020, 8:54 a.m.

The Knobjective Worldview

UK journalist Jo Bartosch investigates how the male-dominated technology industry helps create the conformist online sphere that silences feminists and discourages open discussion of transgender issues.

March 29, 2020, 8:47 a.m.

Title IX turns 45 today. Its impact goes beyond women playing sports.

As Title IX celebrates its 45th anniversary, one impact of the law is clear: Millions more girls now grow up playing sports, a reality that seemed impossible in the early 20th century. But the law encompasses much more than providing equal athletic opportunities for girls and women. Title IX touches every aspect of the educational system in ways that are not always apparent to the law's target population: students.

March 22, 2020, 9:03 p.m.

How the new EU gender strategy fails east-central European women

The alarmingly rapid spread of the coronavirus has exposed the depth of the care crisis in Europe. As more and more countries shut their schools and nurseries, someone will have to take care of the children—and it is advised that this should not be the grandparents, as they face higher risks if they contract the virus. Elderly people’s need for special protection demonstrates what feminists have long highlighted: Europe is struggling with eldercare infrastructure, at home and institutionally, and in both settings women carry out the lion’s share of the work.

March 4, 2020, 3:22 a.m.

Women must have the right to organise

In February 1988, a group of lesbians abseiled into the House of Lords to protest against section 28; a few months later, Booan Temple disrupted the Six O’Clock News for the same cause. Margaret Thatcher had claimed the promotion of homosexuality was undermining the family, and as Sue Lawley read the news, you could hear Temple’s muffled shouts as Nicholas Witchell held her down. Gay men, gay women and their allies were all on the same side back then, in solidarity against Tory repression. How we identified sexually was not paramount. We all read a lot of queer theory, but, more importantly, we knew that bodies existed in history, in a context, for we were seeing a generation wiped out by Aids. If you lived through that, solidarity took precedence over sexuality.

Feb. 12, 2020, 6:07 p.m.

Transgender student withdraws from Sookmyung Women’s University

A transgender student, the first to gain admission to a women-only university in South Korea, has decided not to attend due to massive opposition from other students, according to media reports Friday. “I withdrew my admission, because of growing fears on voices of opposition,” she told Yonhap News. She also wrote in an online community Friday afternoon, the last day to accept the offer, after withdrawing. “I was scared of the recent situation. I was afraid of the words and actions of those people, who were not allowing me to achieve my hopes, not even the slightest bit,” she said. The 22-year-old transgender woman, who wished to remain anonymous, received an offer of admission from Sookmyung Women’s University’s law department last week, becoming the first transgender student to be admitted to a women-only university in Korea.

Jan. 31, 2020, 6:47 p.m.

NPO1 Radio debate about the transgender law

Caroline Franssen wrote an opinion article for Trouw about the clash between trans rights and women's rights. She debates with transwomen Sophie Schers and Nora Uitterlinden, both from Transgender Network Nederland. The debate was at NPO1 on January 28th 2020

Jan. 28, 2020, 11:46 p.m.

Wijziging Transgenderwet brengt de veiligheid van vrouwen in gevaar

Minister Dekker van rechtsbescherming is van plan de Transgenderwet voor een tweede keer aan te passen. Hij wil dat iedereen voortaan zelf zijn geslacht mag bepalen, zonder artsenverklaring. Maar de consequentie is een fundamentele aantasting van rechten van vrouwen.

Jan. 28, 2020, 5:20 a.m.

‘Her penis’ and other facts we all should know

If you believe that there are only two sexes, male and female, you may well be a bigot. And if you choose to express that belief on social media you deserve to be fired. This is the upshot of a ruling in December 2019, which was heralded as a victory for equality by transgender activists. The case in question centred on consultant Maya Forstater, whose contract at the think tank Centre for Global Development (CGD) was not renewed after she expressed such views on social media. Forstater took CGD to an employment tribunal on the basis that her “gender critical” beliefs should receive protection under the law. She lost. Defending her stance, Forstater explained: “Fundamentally I believe in fairness and equality. I do not harbour any ill-feeling towards people who identify as transgender or transsexual, I simply think it is important not to forget about the power dynamics between men and women in society.