Category: ERA

The 2026 Mid-Terms: Republicrats, Fetishists, and Asshats

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This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Well, it’s time for the gearing up of the duopoly for the midterms, and it is notable that both major parties once again think that targeting the rights of women and girls is a great idea. On the Republican side we have the zygote zealots attempting to block Mifepristone, criminalize abortion, and even wishing they could strip women of the right to vote. They should make Monty Python’s “Every Sperm is Sacred” their anthem because their fealty is more to Christian dominionist male supremacy than to the Constitution.

On the Democratic side, candidates are still pushing gender ideology, apparently ok with gender ideologues screaming “Trans women ARE women!” to anyone who is reality based enough to recognize biological sex, attacking defenders of girls’ sports, grown men calling young teenage girls “trash”. It’s ok, apparently for 12-year-old girls who don’t think they should have to undress in front of entitled, (and in the case of the recent plaintiff in the sports case, “BPJ”, who sexually harassed one of the girls in the locker room) revolting, little boys who claim they are “trans” in order to gain access to their sports and locker rooms.  It also appears to be completely acceptable to Democrats for trans-identified males to make rape and death threats to anyone who reminds them of the biological reality that men cannot be women.

Republicans continue to run woman haters and Democrats continue to run woman impersonators. The special treat this election season, after candidate for the Maine Senate, Nazi tattooed misogynist candidate Graham Platner, who finally was asked to step down after rape allegations (why should the Republicans get to be the only ones to run sex offenders?), is a trans “woman” who claims to have “ovaries” and menstruate from his rectum. This development prompted one person on social media to post “Susan Collins is the luckiest woman alive!” Either that or Democrats are doing a hell of a vetting job.

I’ve got news for you deluded Democrats and gender ideologues, “Ashley” Webb with his colonic periods and Bryon Noem of “bimbofication” and “looning” fame are what the majority of trans “women” are like—they are fetishistic, deranged men. Transgenderism is not a “human rights issue” or “just another healthy choice”, however hip, “innate”, or “kink positive” (a spurious and oxymoronic term if there ever was one) you think it is.

Republicans need to be reminded that there are women not only in their voter base but make up large percentages of elected representatives in state houses throughout the country, so maybe trying to deprive them of their right to vote, whether by passing the SAVE Act or attempting to roll back the 19th amendment, may be self-defeating, and that putting women’s health and lives in danger by criminalizing abortion and treating women like incubators is not only cruel and inhumane but not a winning strategy. Letting mothers die who need emergency abortions is not exactly “pro-family”, and elevating fetal life over the life of the mother is not exactly “pro-life”, since the woman’s life is primary. Republicans also should be reminded that the majority of voters do not support the views espoused by social “influencers” in the Manosphere or the brazen misogyny of Hegseth, Fuentes, or the Tate brothers, and that sexual harassment and assault are criminal and moral offenses.

Democrats, who hypocritically claim the mantle of “science” and “free speech” meanwhile engaging in the denial of biological, material reality in favor of metaphysical nonsense based on circular definitions and undefinable vagueries, attempt to silence anyone who even questions gender ideology, calling them “bigots” and “transphobes”, callously disregarding the proven harm of “gender-affirming care,” and dismissing the opportunities, privacy, dignity, and safety of women and girls in sports. “Blue” states like Connecticut, Washington, California, New Jersey, and Illinois have even opened up domestic violence shelters to men masquerading as women, and are putting trans-identifying sex offenders in the same cells with women prisoners. This is nothing short of “cruel and unusual punishment”, prohibited by the 8th Amendment, if anyone cares anymore about the Constitution.

Both Democrats and Republicans need to be reminded of the basic fact that women are human.

Democrats and those to their left, like the Greens, the Democratic Socialists, Peace and Freedom, etc., who have remained obeisant to gender ideology and callously heedless to its assault on the rights of real women and girls will be the focus in this post. But in the future, there are serious reforms we need to make to the system by breaking up the duopoly—some would call a uniparty. Here are some ideas:

  • get Independents and third party candidates on the ballot and on the debate stage
  • ensure candidates are vetted thoroughly for honesty and ethical, pro-social (or at least not anti-social or sociopathic) conduct; eliminate malignant narcissists (it is too much to hope for that we could sift out the shameless self-promoters or opportunistic soul sellers?)
  • institute rank choice voting across the country as well as proportional representation
  • validate and enforce the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment
  • pass the We the People Amendment to end the two illegitimate legal doctrines of corporate so-called “personhood” and money as protected “speech”
  • pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting criminals from holding federal office
  • end impunity for oligarchs and corporations
  • pass Single Payer healthcare
  • stop funding endless wars
  • publicly fund political campaigns
  • end legal bribery and corporate lobbying of candidates
  • tax the billionaires into penury
  • institute citizen oversight of all three branches of government

But for now, we need to rein in the insanity of the current administration and hopefully curtail some of its egregious excesses, so we are dependent on the Democrats getting in office and hopefully holding it accountable. But first Democrats need to realize that Trump was elected in 2024 due to the following top 3 concerns according to polling:

  • The economy/inflation
  • The border/immigration
  • Opposition to gender identity

Democrats need to read The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls and course correct.

We therefore invite members of the public who care about the rights of actual biological women and girls to direct the following questions to primarily Democratic candidates who are running for the first time or for re-election but others as well who subscribe to sex denialism.

QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES CAPTURED BY GENDER IDEOLOGY RUNNING FOR OFFICE

  • Democrats/Greens/Socialists claim to care about the rights of women, but the only right you defend is abortion. Why don’t you care about the obstruction of the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment, the degradation of women in prostitution, and the incursions of males into our sports and private spaces? Why are you not speaking out about those rights?
  • Why are you pursuing policies that prioritize trans rights over women’s rights, when women remain the only demographic left out of the federal Constitution and comprise half the population?
  • Why do you not seem to be concerned about the impact of these policies on biological women and girls whom you purport to represent?
  • Why are trans people who represent a fraction of the population being given more consideration than 51% of the population?
  • Why are trans rights always at the expense of biological women and girls? What legitimate civil or human rights movements have demanded that their rights supersede the rights of others?
  • What legitimate activists attempt to compel the speech of others and demand that they adhere to their terms and beliefs, in defiance of reality?
  • What legitimate movement attempts to silence, de-platform, smear, or threaten anyone who questions their beliefs and demands? Why is there no debate of these issues allowed?
  • Who are your donors, and how much are you getting from trans rights groups or groups promoting pornography and protecting pornographers, pimps, johns, and traffickers?
  • Why are you supporting the whitewashing of prostitution by calling it “sex work” as if it’s a legitimate job? Prostitution is the oldest oppression (NOT profession) and the commodification of women in this way is sexual slavery. Why are you not condemning this?
  • Are you aware that pharmaceuticals are prescribing Lupron, a chemical castration drug, off label to children to arrest puberty, and that it prevents bone and brain development?
  • Are you aware that gender clinics are prescribing cross-sex hormones and sex-rejecting surgeries on children and minors, including increasingly on young girls, referrals for which have skyrocketed in recent years, and who are now getting mastectomies and hysterectomies, and experiencing osteoporosis and menopause in adolescence? What are you doing about this?
  • Are you aware of the Cass Review of the GIDS Tavistock Clinic in the UK that exposed the faulty research and junk science on which so-called “gender-affirming care” is based and that countries in Europe are backing away from the affirmation model with its iatrogenic, irreversible medical procedures that render these children sterile, sexually dysfunctional, and dependent on hormones for the rest of their lives? What action are you taking to combat this?
  • Are you aware that children and youth are being fast-tracked without thorough psychological evaluation for sexual abuse history, and that many of these children are autistic or same-sex attracted and have internalized homophobia? Is this something you wish to support?
  • Did you know that WPATH has been exposed as promoting medical experimentation on children and vulnerable adults, knowing of the deleterious effects including sexual dysfunction, sterility, and retarding bone and brain development? Why are you treating this organization like it is the authority on gender confused youth when it is perpetrating harm?
  • Did you know that WPATH is encouraging practitioners to submit fraudulent insurance claims so they can receive payment for sex-rejecting interventions whitewashed as “gender medicine”? Are you aware WPATH is being sued for fraud and deceptive practices by several states and the FTC?
  • Did you know that the claims of suicidality of youth denied sex-rejecting medicalization is spurious? The plaintiffs admitted in oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the Skrmetti case that the suicide claims were not true, yet this falsehood continues to be repeated by Democratic candidates like Tom Steyer in the California Governor’s race. Why?
  • Are you aware that states like California are trying to pass legislation smearing actual exploratory psychotherapy, practiced for over a century, as “conversion therapy” if it doesn’t abandon its ethics, training, and clinical judgment to fast-track clients into “gender affirming care” without thorough evaluations? Why aren’t you speaking up about this?
  • Are you aware that gender ideology indoctrinates young children with regressive sexual stereotypes and the negation of sexual orientation that the women’s liberation movement worked for decades to overcome? Why are you promoting sexual stereotypes over allowing gender non-conforming children to express themselves freely?
  • Why is it tolerated to refer to another human being by only her body parts, such as “uterine-havers, birthing bodies, or front-hole havers”? Why is this not correctly identified as misogynist dehumanization and denounced? Why would you support motherhood being reduced to and redefined as “pregnant people”, as if anyone but a woman gives birth?
  • Did you know that trans-identifying men are now demanding that they be given lactation-inducing drugs like domperidone so that they can “chest feed” infants for their own gratification, putting babies at risk of harm from these chemicals? What are you going to do about this disgusting practice?
  • Are you aware that the invasion of trans-identifying males into women’s safe spaces like locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms are enabling predation and nullifying laws against indecent exposure and voyeurism? What are you going to do to ensure the safety, privacy, and dignity of women and girls?
  • Are you aware that women and girls are not only being denied opportunities, awards, and endorsements in sports, but even scholarships and are being subjected to physical injuries by trans-identifying males being allowed to play on the female teams? This is a clear violation of Title IX and its intent. What are you going to do to stop this?
  • Why do Democrats perpetuate the reprehensible falsehood that those trying to save women’s sports are trying to enable “genital checks” when all that is required to identify whether an athlete is male or female is a simple cheek swab?
  • Are you aware that trans-identified males are making rape and death threats online towards any woman who does not recognize them as females? Are you aware that trans-identified males have physically assaulted women, including elderly women, at Let Women Speak rallies? What are you going to do to protect women from trans violence?
  • Are you aware that men, some of whom are actual pedophiles, have been exposing themselves to young children at Drag Queen Story Hour performances, welcomed into young children’s classrooms without even having had background checks?
  • Did you know that children are being sexualized by pornographic material in grade schools under the guise of sex education? How do you explain the shift from exposure to pornography as a reportable sex crime to an educational tool for kids who identify as LGBTQ?! When are you going to address this?!
  • Did you know that there are men calling themselves “Beyond the Plus” who are pedophiles lobbying to be seen as a legitimate “sexual orientation”? This is a direct result of gender ideology. Do you intend to allow this to happen?
  • Are you aware that sex offenders, some of whom are also murderers, are being put in women’s prisons in the same cells with biological women, just because they self-id as “trans”, and that women are being raped and impregnated? Did you know that it is the WOMEN who are disciplined when they complain? What are you going to do about this horrific injustice?
  • Are you aware that rape victims are being required to refer to their trans-identified rapists as “she” in rape trials? What are you doing about this?
  • What are you going to do about crime statistics being skewed and rendered meaningless by attributing violent crimes like rape to women when they are being committed by trans-identified men?
  • Are you aware that there are 4 women murdered every day in this country by men (however they “identify”)? What are you going to do to put a stop to this public health crisis and ensure that it is prosecuted as the hate crime that it is?
  • How much money do you receive from Big Pharma and medical or political organizations who are practicing and greatly benefiting financially from gender medicine or pornography?
  • Why are you selling women out to a men’s rights movement and the corporate lobby that supports it?

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THESE QUESTIONS TO ASK DEMOCRATS, AND ALSO A PDF FOR QUESTIONS TO ASK MEDIA CAPTURED BY GENDER IDEOLOGY BELOW

References:

Male Anatomy vs. Female Anatomy

https://genspect.substack.com/p/the-sex-binary-what-it-is-and-why

https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/biology-is-not-binary-but-sex-is

https://www.citationneededpodcast.com/p/male-or-female-separating-fact-from

Women Count USA

Affirming Trans Identities is Harmful

School Boards – Grooming Kids for an Orwellian World

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/4/19/cass-review-feminists-accused-of-being-unkind-have-been-vindicated

https://segm.org/Suicide-Gender-Dysphoric-Adolescent-Young-Adult-Finland-2024?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files

How the Debate Over Men in Women’s Sports Both Obscured and Advanced Sport Science

The Female Category – WHAM (Women’s Hockey Assoc. of Minnesota)

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-transgender-ideology-and-totalitarianism-part-i/

California transgender convict pulled from female prison for alleged rape

DOC employee reports men are claiming to be women to transfer prisons

USA: Almost 50% of Trans Inmates in Federal Custody for Sex Offences

Jeffrey Epstein Was Into ‘Trans Kids’

NAMBLA’s Secret Weapon-Who’s Behind the “Sex Offender Rights” Movement

https://nypost.com/2026/02/21/us-news/trans-minnesota-dem-leigh-finke-argues-queer-kids-need-access-to-porn-sites-for-educational-reasons/

https://washingtonstand.com/news/pornhubs-year-in-review-sextrafficking-abuse-and-age-verification

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/07/us/politics/porn-actors-project-2025-ad.html

https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/10/10/porn-industry-runs-ads-for-harris-in-wake-of-vps-appearance-on-sex-podcast/

https://voz.us/en/politics/241009/17063/adult-film-industry-jumps-into-campaign-in-support-of-kamala-harris.html

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/why-womens-rights-are-not-really-unpleasant-and-harmful-a-response-to-jon-ronson-dr-em/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/understanding-your-nigella-the-harms-of-transvestic-paraphilia/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/martine-rothblatt-a-founding-father-of-the-transgender-empire/

Canadian Mounties Blame Mass Shooting On Random Gunperson, Pronouns Bang/Bang

https://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/2454-A-The-Corrosive-Impact-of-TI-ppi-110-WEB.pdf

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-transgender-ideology-and-totalitarianism-part-i/

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-rainbow-reich-part-ii-academia-no-platforming-silencing-of-women/

https://gaysagainstgroomers.substack.com/p/pornhub-queers-the-algorithm

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/evolution-transgender-care-doctor

https://genspect.substack.com/p/dysphoria-inc-how-language-sells Dysphoria Inc: How Language Sells a Diagnosis

https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/forget-gender-dysphoria-almost-all Forget ‘Gender Dysphoria’: Almost All The Hormonal ‘Gender Medicine’ Is Billing Fraud

Unsealed Court Documents Show That Admiral Rachel Levine Pressured WPATH To Remove Age Guidelines From The Latest Standards Of Care

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-queer-theory-and-paedophilia-part-i-dr-em/ The Trojan Unicorn: Queer Theory and Paedophilia, Part I. | Dr Em

https://uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-qt-and-paedophilia-part-ii-dr-em/ The Trojan Unicorn: QT and Paedophilia, Part II. | Dr Em

https://adflegal.org/article/leaked-files-reveal-ethical-concerns-pseudoscience-wpath-standards-care/ Leaked Files Reveal Ethical Concerns, Pseudoscience in WPATH Standards of Care

https://collider.com/linda-lovelace-deep-throat-complicated-relationship/ Linda Susan Boreman (Linda Lovelace) was coerced into filming Deep Throat, was sexually assaulted during it, and a gun was held to her head during filming.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/opinion/project-2026-2028-democratic-platform.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xlA.a2Fz.wb–Ojfre8Y5&smid=url-share If the Democrats Actually Want to Win, This Is What They Have to Do

https://www.thefemalecategory.com/p/embarrassing-the-scotus-decision/comments Sarah Barker on the ludicrous arguments of the dissenters in the SCOTUS sports ruling

https://www.racket.news/p/meet-the-censored-kara-dansky – Interview of Kara Dansky by Matt Taibbi June 8, 2022

The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls

https://apnews.com/article/gender-affirming-care-transgender-health-wpath-ftc-91825f64800a6aadfa4f2da989742124 Federal Trade Commission sues leading transgender health group

FTC v. WPATH https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/wpath-ftc-v

https://womensliberationfront.org/poll-data

https://www.facebook.com/WDI.USA/posts/womens-liberation-front-shares-new-polling-shows-that-support-for-gender-identit/670878805209240/

https://hecheated.org/ A record of MALES who have robbed FEMALE athletes of success and opportunities in sport and the organizations who have helped them do so.

https://x.com/babybeginner/status/1885231518521712937?s=20 “Kill all terfs”

The Three Questions I’d Ask Someone Who Says, “Trans Women Are Women”

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Download a pdf of the Questions to Ask Democrats

Download a pdf of the Questions to Ask Media

CAN THE DRAFT SAVE THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT? Forum planned for Saturday June 13th with Wendy Murphy!

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 FEMINIST FORUM: CAN THE DRAFT SAVE THE  EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT?

Saturday, June 13  •  11 AM – 1 PM

Get your tickets HERE:

On Saturday, June 13th at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time/2:00 p.m. Eastern, join us for a dive into the latest ERA court case and arguments for legal equality for our sex!

This Zoom forum features renowned feminist attorney WENDY MURPHY and should be a stimulating presentation and discussion!

 

WENDY MURPHY is adjunct professor of Sexual Violence and Law Reform at New England Law in Boston where she also co-directs the Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project (WCAP) under the Center for Law and Social Responsibility. WCAP runs the Judicial Language Project, and the Hate Crimes Against Women project, WCAP also files amicus briefs and engages in public interest litigation to advance the rights of women and children. On January 7, 2020, WCAP filed a first-in-the-nation federal lawsuit to validate the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Massachusetts federal court.

Wendy is an impact litigator who practices in state and federal courts and specializes in advancing the constitutional and civil rights of women and children. She has authored numerous scholarly articles including a landmark piece explaining the legal relationship between sexual assault on campus and Title IX. Her most recent law review article is a feminist critical re-examination of the history of women’s struggle for equality and is entitled, “Unequal Protection of the Laws for Women is Constitutional Terrorism, So How Come Nobody Knows about It?”

She has also appeared on television as a legal analyst for many years and has worked for NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News and has provided legal analysis for print and television media. She is the author of two books, “And Justice For Some,” published by Penguin/Sentinel in 2007 and “Oh No He Didn’t: Brilliant Women and the Men Who Took Credit for Their Work,” published by Cynren Press in 2024.

Wendy’s recent article in the Boston Herald, “Unequal draft, unequal rights: Automatic registration for men means women will lose standing in fight for rights” addresses the issues of the Equal Means Equal v. Donald J. Trump case that she will cover in this seminar.

 

FIST forums are held remotely on Zoom, and are women only, interactive events, allowing for time for questions and discussion. Registrants will be provided with a zoom link closer to the event date. Please arrive ten minutes before the scheduled start time. Our forums are also recorded and uploaded to our You Tube channel,  for later viewing by women and men.

Get your tickets HERE:

Celebrate Women’s Rights on July 4, 2026

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On July 4, 2026, the nation’s semiquincentennial, we are enlisting women and men across the country to acknowledge the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment by reading a Women’s Declaration of Independence 2.0 (an updated version of the Declaration of Sentiments) and singing The ERA Song (sung to the tune of America the Beautiful) and the Battle Hymn of Equality (sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic) and recording both and posting them online. Anyone wishing to do so can gather together 2 or 3 friends, a group of women, a choir, or any configuration they choose to read and perform the songs and may download them here.

Women’s Declaration of Independence 2.0 reads as follows:

When, in the course of human events,
it becomes necessary for one-half of the people
to call a nation back to its own truths,
we declare the causes which compel us to speak.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:
that all persons are created equal;
that women are persons;
and that government exists to secure these truths—
not to delay or deny them.

The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in stone.
Yet they have never applied fully to women,
because women have never had full legal equality
under the United States Constitution.

Although the Fourteenth Amendment promised equal protection,
it has never been applied equally to women.

And although the Equal Rights Amendment—
ratified in 2020—establishes equality,
it has not been implemented.

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Women bring forth life,
sustain families,
serve their communities,
and defend this nation.
To deny them constitutional equality
is to deny their dignity, humanity, and rights.

Yet courts apply a lesser standard—
intermediate scrutiny—
to laws that discriminate on the basis of sex,
allowing inequality to continue.
The highest standard, strict scrutiny,
remains unavailable to women.

As a result, women are denied equal protection,
economic equality,
and full protection from violence and exploitation.

These injustices are not accidental—
they are legally authorized.

We declare:
women are equal citizens of this Republic.
Equality must be clear in law
and in its enforcement.

We call upon the people to demand:
the full implementation and enforcement
of the Equal Rights Amendment—
by all courts,
and all government officials.

A nation that treats women unequally
cannot be a democracy.

Therefore, we declare:
the Equal Rights Amendment is part of the Constitution.
It is the law.

Women will no longer accept inequality.
We demand equality now—
nothing more, nothing less.

In the spirit of 1776, the Declaration of Sentiments of 1848, and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in 2020.

Drafted in 2026 by a Committee of the National ERA Publication Task Force. org.

#untilwomenareequal

#wewillnotbesilent

For more information on this campaign, go to: https://untilwomenareequal.org/

AN UPDATE ON ERA LITIGATION – SPECIAL GUEST POST BY WENDY MURPHY

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By Wendy Murphy, J. D., Impact Litigator

Last week we received a ruling in our lawsuit (Equal Means Equal v. Donald Trump) to establish women’s full legal equality by challenging the constitutionality of the Selective Service Act, which forbids women to register for the military draft. It is a very rare example of a law that explicitly treats women and men differently. Most instances where women suffer unequal treatment are in the enforcement of laws, and in the actions and inactions of government officials.

As expected, the judge ruled that we do have standing because the primary plaintiff is a woman who tried to register for the draft, but was rejected solely because of her sex.

Because women have standing, the court had to address the merits. This is vitally important because courts routinely deny women standing as a way of avoiding having to address the issue of women’s inequality. This keeps the problem of women’s inequality invisible, which obviously contributes to the problem of activism. Simply put, most women aren’t even aware that the Constitution has established them as unequal second-class citizens. This helps to maintain women’s subjugation because women will not fight for equality if they don’t know they don’t have it. They will, instead, suffer horrendous injustices, and feel hopeless and upset, but never come to understand that the primary cause of their suffering is the Constitution.

Because standing is so important, we are happy to have prevailed on the standing issue, especially considering that the government spent most of its brief arguing that we lacked standing.

As for the merits, the court ruled that it cannot address the question of whether the Selective Service Act is unconstitutional because the Supreme Court has already ruled – in 1981 – that it is, and only the Supreme Court can reverse itself. This ruling is inconsistent with what a different judge ruled on the exact same issue a few years ago in New Jersey where the court said that the Supreme Court’s decision is not binding precedent because the conditions under which that ruling was decided have changed.

The court also ruled that the ERA is not valid because the deadline expired long before the last state ratified. Again, we were not surprised by this, and to some extent we wanted this to be the ruling because it enables us to appeal.

An appeal is appealing (pardon the pun) because it is an opportunity yet again to show the federal courts that many people support our view that the ERA is valid, and while courts have yet to agree, we will not stop fighting until the Supreme Court decides the issue.

We do intend to appeal, which  means the First Circuit Court of Appeals will soon decide the issue.

We will have an amicus brief and welcome all the help we can get.

Meanwhile, we will also be filing similar cases in other jurisdictions. It is important that we file more cases soon because in December 2026, women will no longer be able to achieve standing on the Selective Service Act challenges. This is because Congress quietly inserted into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act in December 2025, changing the registration process so that men will be registered automatically for the draft when they turn 18. For now, they must fill out a form, but in December the government will do that for them. This will deprive women of standing because they can no longer suffer the “legal injury” of being rejected by the government, and it is not enough of an “injury” to say the law itself harms women by excluding them.

This law change was done solely because of our case, so it’s a good sign that they are paying attention and so worried about women filing lawsuits that they bothered to burden Congress with the task of making the draft registration process automatic even though we haven’t had a draft since 1973 and won’t likely have another one anytime soon.

We take such small victories very seriously –

Sometimes victories don’t look like victories, but in high stakes litigation, anything that teaches us something or helps educate the public is important.

See also Wendy’s article in the Boston Globe: Unequal Draft, Unequal Rights

Who are the Men Who Oppose Women’s Equality?

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Well, the list is quite long indeed. There are the unabashed women haters of the Manosphere, the Broligarchs, the corporate moguls, the tech billionaires, the pornography pushers, the pimps, the johns, the sex traffickers, the Evangelicals, the Catholic church, the Christian Nationalists, the Dominionists, the fundamentalists and male supremacists of every variety of patriarchal religion, the incels, rapists, pedophiles, and lest we forget, the trans-identified fetishists and autogynephiles, sex addicts, and sadists.

All across the political spectrum, women are commodified, vilified, debased, silenced, dehumanized, and sentenced to second-class citizenship and would be rendered handmaidens of the Right, transmaidens of the Left if these men had their way. Women’s agency, bodily sovereignty, freedom, and autonomy are restricted on the one hand, and exploited on the other, but denigrated and dismissed by both. From the bedroom to the boardroom, women are treated as nothing more than objects to be manipulated and used. The tyranny of the ruling sex class of men, however they ‘identify’, reveals itself not only in the handling of the Epstein files and case, but in the staggering statistics:

  • Over 4 women a week were murdered in California in 2020; now there are 4 women a day being murdered in the U.S.
  • Over 298.000 rapes of women were reported in the U.S. in 2020
  • Spousal abuse of women is estimated at 4.8 million every year
  • Approximately 1 million women are stalked annually in the U.S.
  • Over 78% of sexual harassment charges were filed by women between 2018-2021
  • 7 in 10 human trafficking victims are women and girls
  • Over 500,000 cases of female genital mutilation have occurred or are at risk of occurring in the U.S.
  • Abortion rights and birth control are increasingly under attack, risking women’s health and lives
  • “Women in every state report injustice in their family law cases, especially battered mothers trying to protect their children from abusive fathers who aggressively litigate against them, using family court to stalk, harass, punish, and impoverish their former partners and children” according to NOW
  • Child marriage is still prevalent in the U.S., 87% of victims of which are girls
  • Women still earn around 82 cents to every dollar men earn
  • Single women and mothers with children are the two fastest-growing groups of people experiencing homelessness in the United States
  • Sexual assault victims are overwhelmingly female and their assailants are male
  • Women and girls’ safe spaces are being invaded by trans-identified males, including prisons where female prisoners are being assaulted and raped
  • Women and girls’ achievements, opportunities, endorsements, scholarships, and trophies are being stolen by mediocre male athletes – over 600 individuals in 29 different sports have been affected
  • Girls are the fastest growing group to be medicalized, sterilized, and mutilated by sex-rejecting “gender affirming care”

See:

Women Count USA

Domestic Violence Abuse Rates

Violence Against Women Statistics

Human Trafficking in the USA

FGM Statistics

Crisis in Family Courts

Child Marriage

Gender Pay Gap

Women and Homelessness

UN Report on Effect of Trans-identified Males in Female Sports

How the Debate Over Men in Women’s Sports Both Obscured and Advanced Sport Science

The Female Category – WHAM (Women’s Hockey Assoc. of Minnesota)

California transgender convict pulled from female prison for alleged rape

DOC employee reports men are claiming to be women to transfer prisons

USA: Almost 50% of Trans Inmates in Federal Custody for Sex Offences

https://washingtonstand.com/news/pornhubs-year-in-review-sextrafficking-abuse-and-age-verification

No platforming and Silencing of Women in Academia

Special Report on Trans Youth

Irreversible Damage

If you’re wondering why the system enables this abuse and exploitation, and why there is little to no accountability, read this:

If We Win, This Changes Everything

And join us on March 24th, 2026 2:00 pm to listen to oral arguments on the Equal Means Equal vs. Donald J. Trump case scheduled to be heard before Judge William G Young in the Boston Division of the US District Court of Massachusetts.  At that time, the Court will hear arguments on the Trump Administration’s Motion to Dismiss in the matter of Equal Means Equal, et al v Trump, et al.

For those unable to attend in person, please register at this link, for that date. Registration will open two days prior to the hearing.

https://forms.mad.uscourts.gov/courtlist.html

Tell PBS News Hour to Interview Equal Means Equal

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PBS News Hour recently aired some segments entitled “On Democracy” wherein they failed to acknowledge the fully-ratified Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment, in addition to other errors and omissions in their reporting. They also interviewed Colleen Shogun, the previous National Archivist, without mentioning her failure to publish the ERA onto the Constitution, as was her duty. Equal Means Equal protested this failure of Shogun and the Biden Administration at the National Archives in January of this year.

The Green Alliance for Sex-Based Rights has posted a letter it penned to PBS in this regard, and are calling for supporters of the ERA to write and call PBS to get Wendy Murphy, J.D., Kamala Lopez, CEO, and Arlaine Rockey, Legal Consultant, of Equal Means Equal on the show. If EME gets on the show, it can correct the reporting by PBS News Hour  and update their viewers on current cases EME lawyers have filed to validate the ERA in the courts, like Equal Means Equal v. Donald J. Trump.

We urge our members and allies to pressure PBS News Hour to get Equal Means Equal on their show. Women need to unite behind securing Equality and end the second-class handmaiden citizenship to which we are currently subjected. #ERAis28A!!

FEMINIST FORUM ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS SET FOR OCTOBER 25th

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JOIN US FOR A TIMELY PANEL DISCUSSION ON TRUMP POLICIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 25, 2025  TIME: 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 2;00 p.m. Eastern

PLACE: On Zoom

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS

ORDER TICKETS HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-trump-administration-and-womens-rights-tickets-1724903626179?aff=oddtdtcreator

Whether it is the elimination of DEI, the attacks on free speech and dissent, the crackdown on immigrants, cuts in Medicaid and other vital social programs, the dismantling of large portions of the federal government, the firing of government workers, and the continued refusal to recognize the ERA as the law of the land, women appear to be losing ground. How are women being affected by this Administration’s policies and how can we fight back?

SPEAKERS:

FRAN LUCK: Long-time Radical feminist and grassroots housing activist, Fran is the host of the reknown feminist radio show, “Joy of Resistance: Multicultural feminist radio” on WBAI, 99.5 fm in New York. Joy of Resistance covers “the ongoing and world-wide struggle for the full liberation of women…”

DIANNE POST: A lawyer and feminist activist, Diane has represented battered women and molested children in family and juvenile court, and for the last several decades has worked on international human rights law focusing on sex-based violence. She is active in the Arizona Commission on African American Affairs, NOW, and ERA Task Force in Arizona.

ANN MENASCHE: A founding member and Co-coordinator of Feminists in Struggle (FIST), Ann has been a lifelong radical feminist and socialist. She has had a long career as a civil rights attorney, for the last several years focusing on the rights of homeless people and low-income tenants.

THIS IS A WOMEN-ONLY EVENT.

THIS IS A REMOTE EVENT. AS IN ALL FIST EVENTS IT IS INTERACTIVE WITH PLENTY OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION.

ZOOM LINK WILL BE PROVIDED TO ALL REGISTRANTS BY EMAIL.

 

Equal Means Equal v. Donald J. Trump

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Equal Means Equal has been steadfastly pursuing validation of the Equal Rights Amendment, and most recently filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The reason for the lawsuit is in response to a case brought by a man in California who is attempting to use the ERA to force women to register for the draft. He is arguing that the ERA is valid, but does not challenge the level of judicial review, which if it remains at the intermediate level, keeps women in second-class status. The entire purpose of the ERA is to give women strict scrutiny, the gold standard of judicial review, which other ‘suspect’ classes receive. Without this, every case at every level of the judicial system can allow for a great deal of discrimination when rulings are applied to women. We at FIST support EME’s case and have signed on as a signatory to the amicus brief. For more information about the case and the amicus brief, see EME’s post.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE SKRMETTI DECISION

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By Ann Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Radical feminists, parents and many others holding a range of political views, welcomed the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti issued on June 11th upholding the constitutionality of a Tennessee law banning the practice of so-called “gender affirming care” for minors under 18.  Many were anxious to put a stop to this medical experiment on a vulnerable group of children and teens, mostly girls, who are gender non-conforming, autistic, and/or survivors of trauma, a majority of whom, if provided appropriate support, would be likely to grow up lesbian or gay with their bodies and fertility intact.

The decision moved the struggle to the states against this sexist and homophobic practice (based on the idea that some people are born “wrong” and need “fixing” so their bodies “align” with sex stereotypes).  Already, 26 states have passed restrictions or bans on use by minors of puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and cosmetic surgeries for “sex change” and more such laws are now likely.  This is good news especially for these “trans kids” whose bodies are being experimented on and permanently harmed.

But like all victories issued under this right-wing court, some of the reasoning in the decision may be a bit of a two-edged sword that could be used against women’s rights in the future.

The majority decision by Justice Roberts held that Tennessee’s law was not subject to heightened (“intermediate”) scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because it did not classify based on sex.  Neither did the law classify based transgender status but merely regulates a medical procedure, removing one set of diagnosis – gender dysphoria or incongruence – from a range of treatable conditions.  Such classifications based on age or medical use are subject only to rational basis review.  This is easily passed here.  The Court points to medical and scientific uncertainty and the reviews and restrictions on use of these treatments on minors coming out of the UK, Sweden, Norway, and other countries.  Justice Roberts also distinguishes Bostock; and further points out that Tennessee law has nothing to do with sex stereotyping or restrictions on clothing, behavior etc. All good news.

However, the Court majority relies on and reinforces some very bad law – that discrimination based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, including bans on abortion do not constitute sex discrimination because not all women are pregnant, even though only women can get pregnant or seek abortions.  “Thus, although only transgender individuals seek treatment for gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder and gender incongruence – just as only biological women can be become pregnant – there is a ‘lack of identity’ between transgender status and the excluded medical diagnosis.”  Therefore, even were the ERA recognized as part of the Constitution and sex treated as a suspect class subject to strict scrutiny, abortion bans or other discriminatory treatment based on pregnancy could not be successfully challenged as sex discrimination with the current Supreme Court majority.

The concurring opinions are noteworthy.  Justice Thomas’ description of the horror of what “gender affirming care” actually consists of in practice is quite good; as is Justice Barrett’s review of why the transgender population does not share “the obvious, immutable or distinguishing characteristics of a discrete group” to be a suspect class, like sex or race.  Rather, the transgender population is “large, diverse, and amorphous.” and lacks a history of de jure discrimination that women and people of color have faced. The dissent points to bans on cross-dressing and sodomy laws as proof of de jure discrimination against transgender persons; however, in my view, those laws target gays and cross-dressers, and do not specifically target individuals with transgender identities or who medicalize to hide or deny their sex.

Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion argues that discrimination based on transgender status is a sex-based classification, and that the Tennessee law is discriminatory.  She believes that hormones and surgeries are “a matter of life or death”; she also implies that it is possible to switch puberties.  Justice Kagan, while also calling for heightened scrutiny, to her credit, takes no view on how the Tennessee law would fare under such scrutiny.

Finally, not one Justice thinks sex discrimination claims under Equal Protection should be subjected to strict scrutiny.  Of course, there is no mention of the ERA.  Though sex is deemed immutable, because of the existence of biological sex differences that society “celebrates”, the Court unanimously rejects strict scrutiny for “sex” that is accorded race discrimination.  The entire Court is therefore committed to maintaining women’s second-class status.

EXCITING FORUM MAY 10th ON PERSPECTIVES & STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

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Tickets on sale now for forum on the ERA with well-known feminist leaders and activists. 

PERSPECTIVES & STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ERA

Feminists in Struggle is honored to have three amazing guest speakers who have been in the forefront of the fight to register the already ratified Equal Rights Amendment into the Constitution. This is a strategic discussion not to be missed!

This will be a remote event on Zoom. A link will be sent to everyone who registers. REGISTER

WENDY MURPHY is an adjunct professor of Sexual Violence and Law Reform at New England Law | Boston where she also co-directs the Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project (WCAP) under the Center for Law and Social Responsibility. WCAP runs the Judicial Language Project, and the Hate Crimes Against Women project, WCAP also files amicus briefs and engages in public interest litigation to advance the rights of women and children. On January 7, 2020, WCAP filed a first-in-the-nation federal lawsuit to validate the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Massachusetts federal court.

Wendy was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School from 2002-03 and served as the Mary Joe Frug Assistant Professor of Law at New England Law | Boston from 2001-2002. She is a former child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor and founded the first organization in the nation to provide pro bono legal services to victims of violence involved in the criminal justice system. Wendy is an impact litigator who practices in state and federal courts and specializes in advancing the constitutional and civil rights of women and children.

Wendy has authored numerous scholarly articles including a landmark piece explaining the legal relationship between sexual assault on campus and Title IX. Wendy filed many impact litigation cases involving Title IX and campus sexual assault resulting in groundbreaking victories and leading to widespread awareness and reforms, including the well-known April 2011, Dear Colleague Letter. Her most recent law review article is a feminist critical reexamination of the history of women’s struggle for equality and is entitled, “Unequal Protection of the Laws for Women is Constitutional Terrorism, So How Come Nobody Knows about It?”

She has also appeared on television as a legal analyst for many years and has worked for NBC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News and has provided legal analysis for print and television media. She is the author of two books, “And Justice For Some,” published by Penguin/Sentinel in 2007 and “Oh No He Didn’t, Brilliant Women and the Men Who Took Credit for Their Work,” published by Cynren Press in 2024..

KAMALA LOPEZ, is a founder and President of Equal Means Equal, filmaker, activist & President of Heroica Films,.Kamala Lopez, launched the movement and documentary film Equal Means Equal, to educate Americans about the importance of equal rights under federal law for women and complete the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

JEAN SWEENEY graduated from the College of the Holy Cross as part of the third class of women and is a New York attorney who spent 15 years on Wall Street as counsel to the money managers. In 2001 she joined the litigation practice of Maloof and Browne LLC as a managing attorney. For the last 12 years she has had the privilege of following her passion of getting women to be honored and respected as equal citizens. She was one of the activists working to get the last 3 States to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and has worked for the last 5 years on getting our Constitution published with the ERA by leading the National ERA Publication Task Force. She is also an award- winning photographer, Kripalu-trained yoga teacher, writer, speaker, and founder of Rethinking Eve LLC, a business focused on uplifting women.

This is a woman-only event and is interactive, with plenty of time for questions and discussion from participants.