THE KILLING OF DEI AND THE MYTH OF MERITOCRACY

By Ann Menasche

This article is the opinion of the author and doesn’t necessarily represent the opinions of FIST as an organization.

Many feminists breathed a big sigh of relief when President Trump issued his Executive Order on gender ideology, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/, recognizing two immutable sexes and restoring the definition of women to adult human female, without which any women’s rights, even the ERA, lose all meaning.  This has the immediate benefit of women’s bathrooms and changing rooms, prison cells and sports teams at least on the federal level being reserved once again for us alone apart from males, regardless of their gender identity.

At the same time, Trump revealed through another EO that what he had in mind for the sex class of women wasn’t exactly what we feminists have struggled for over the past century.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/ Instead, he sought to undermine women’s right to equal job opportunities alongside men and to return to the mythical past of a “meritocracy” where white males somehow were always the ones who managed to get ahead not of course because of the “old boys” network providing a leg up, but because they were simply the smartest and most qualified around.

Trump’s direct target was to destroy DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs, which he labelled “radical and wasteful”, both in the federal government and in private companies that contract with the government. DEI is the corporatized watered-down version of the robust affirmative action programs of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s that helped even the playing field and advance women and African Americans in all sectors of society where they had previously been excluded.  Those affirmative action programs were eroded by successful court challenges and Proposition 209 in California in 1996.

DEI, reduced to a shadow of its formal self, at times even became a caricature -removing sex as a protected class in favor of gender identity, targeting gender critical feminists and lesbians as “bigots”, and emphasizing “politically correct” language (the rules of which changed frequently), virtue signaling, avoiding micro-aggressions, and urging brow-beating and confessions of guilt, as a substitute for real meaningful measures that would provide equal opportunity to women and people of color in the workplace.  Yet DEI was the only way the white males that still dominate the workplace were forced to pay a little attention to whether they were truly the only ones capable of exercising leadership and doing a job well or whether a few Blacks, Latinos or women should be allowed that opportunity.

As anyone  knows who has looked at the research or who has opened their eyes to the dynamics in the workplace, sex and race discrimination are still widespread though difficult to prove on an individual basis.  (Employers and managers frankly don’t always tell the truth.) See https://hbr.org/2017/10/hiring-discrimination-against-black-americans-hasnt-declined-in-25-years. See also https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/.  And it is not white males that are experiencing the brunt of the discrimination.

Yet the Trump administration is making the preposterous claim – rooted in white supremacy and male supremacy – that without DEI, there will be a meritocracy that will return us to the time where our “betters” – white males like himself- the only or best qualified, will regain their rightful place in society. He is being cheered on by people who are claiming all over social media that the problem with the Los Angeles fires arose because the Mayor and Police Chief are two “unqualified” women (one, also a person of color) rather than due to policies of austerity and the failure to maintain the fire hydrants which have nothing to do with sex or race.

The most frightening part of Trump’s actions against DEI is his mandating that people report their co-workers who violate his new DEI policy, launching a witch-hunt against anyone who is suspected of utilizing DEI. Of course, the best way to prove one’s innocence is to never hire or promote women or people of color in the first place.

It is essential for women’s existence as a sex to be recognized, but obviously, it is not the whole enchilada.  WE WANT EQUALITY! And affirmative action is a necessary part of getting us there.

 

 

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM PLANNED FOR SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1st: THE TRUTH ABOUT PEDIATRIC “GENDER AFFIRMING CARE” FEATURING WHISTLEBLOWER JAMIE REED

Feminists In Struggle is proud to host JAMIE REED who will be providing an in depth educational presentation on Zoom about so-called “Gender Affirming Care” for minor children and its life-long negative impacts on them.  

The Educational event will take place on Saturday, February 1st at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time/2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feminist-educational-the-truth-about-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-tickets-1114924201299?aff=oddtdtcreator

Jamie is one of the first public whistleblowers from a pediatric gender clinic in the United States. Her explosive first person account, “I thought I was saving trans kids, Now I am blowing the whistle” was published in The Free Press in February 2023. The story traveled the globe.

Jamie is now the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Courage Coalition, an American based nonprofit of lesbians and gay male adults seeking to reform youth gender medicine. The Courage Coalition seeks to impact culture and medicine to accept and support gender non-conformity in a non-medicalized way. Jamie recently spoke on the steps of the United States Supreme Court at a rally on the day of the US v Skrmetti oral arguments.

Jamie is an accomplished public speaker and has been interviewed and profiled in The New York Times, the podcast Triggernometry, Gender: A Wider Lens, and Transparency. She has spoken at numerous conferences including Genspect: The Bigger Picture in Colorado, at the International Perspectives on Evidence- Based Treatment for Gender-Dysphoric Youth in New York, and Psychotherapeutic Process with Young People Experiencing Gender Dysphoria in Tampere, Finland.

Jamie is a lesbian and foster and adoptive parent of five boys. She holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology.

Feminists in Struggle’s forums and educational events are interactive, encouraging questions and participation from the audience. This special event is open to both men and women; however, women will be given priority during the discussion segment of the event.

 

 

 

FIST establishes collaboration with LGBT Courage Coalition in Campaign to End Child Transition

On November 20, 2024, three members of FIST’s Coordinating Committee and an additional FIST member met with Jamie Reed and Lauren Leggieri of the LGBT Courage Coalition to plan joint work to stop the misogynist and homophobic practice of child medical transition.  That practice targets for sterilization and permanent medical harm mostly girls and gender non-conforming children, the large majority of whom are likely to grow up to be lesbians or gay men.

We all agreed about the importance of challenging mainstream LGBT organizations that promote this practice in the name of the LGB community and that the voices of gender critical lesbians and gay men are particularly vital in this struggle.

The common work we outlined at the meeting includes:

  • Participation at the December 4th “Do No Harm” rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C..  That day the Court will hear oral arguments in the case of United States v. Skrmetti, on the issue of whether state bans on so-called “gender affirming care” for transgender identified minors are unconstitutional.  FIST members and supporters on the east coast in particular should consider attending this important protest!
  • Participation in protests at medical conferences planned for the spring and summer of 2025 in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Stay tuned for details!
  • Educating FIST members and our periphery on the effect of puberty blockers on developing adolescents and the other permanent harms associated with these “treatments”.

All of us in FIST look forward to working together with the LGBT Courage Coalition in the coming months!

Report on the Nov 1 Solidarity action with German Women—by Butch Barbie

On November 1, 2024 Germany’s new “Self-ID Law” went into effect.  Under this law, any man can declare himself a woman without any verification. They can do this once per year.  Parents can determine the gender of their babies; from age 5, children can agree to this. Children age 14 and up can determine their own gender with parental consent.

There is a ban on disclosing the former name and sex of a person; any violation can incur a fine of 10,000 Euro. Any quotas German law had for women are cancelled; gender identity, not sex is the determining factor for quotas for women. German feminists asked for a solidarity action around the world and women responded. In addition to holding demonstrations on November 1, they asked for letters of support to be sent to the German embassies and consulates.

I and other FIST members participated in some of these demonstrations. I attended a zoom following the day of action which was attended by 25 women around the world.

Here is a summary of the reports:

Berlin turned out 250 people and had a tent labeled “Ministry of Truth”. There was an opening in the tent made to look like a jail, where people’s faces peered out. The German media didn’t respond, but the press in Italy and France did report on it. Activists felt they broke through the “wall of silence.” Trans activists who attended claimed the feminists were paid by Russian and Mexican evangelicals. The media portrayed the TIMs as ugly old men, instead of pretty young boys as usual.

London’s demo had 300 women.  Maya Forstater made an appearance.  Other UK actions included Ireland.

Other demos in Europe were held in Spain and Portugal.  Brazil had demos in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo; women showed up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Women in Columbia and Chile delivered letters to their German embassies.

Canadian women held protests in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

In the US, women gathered to protest in Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Oregon.  The German women expressed heartfelt gratitude that their American sisters showed so much support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_slN_HKObc

YouTube post from Rona.

For more information on the law, see Rona Duwe’s Substack Ronalyze.

 

ERA Attorney Wendy Murphy Blows Whistle on New York State’s Equality Act, Amendment 1

A few years ago, the Equality Act was pending in the U.S. Congress that would have harmed women’s and lesbian/gay rights by allowing gender identity to override sex based protections for women, including for lesbians. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5  Feminists in Struggle called for amending the Equality Act by adopting the Feminist Amendments to the Equality Act that would make sex protections separate and distinct.   Now, a New York initiative is trying to do the same thing as the Equality Act threatening the rights of women in New York in the name of equal rights for marginalized groups.  New York’s Equality Act to be voted on November 5th, would, if approved, similarly erode women’s rights by conflating gender identity with sex.  https://ballotpedia.org/New_York_Proposal_1,_Equal_Protection_of_Law_Amendment_(2024) Under New York’s Proposal 1, sex becomes no longer a distinct protected class under law with women entitled to sex based protections.  Rather, some men , those who claim to be women, must be included.

To understand this issue better and why it is such a threat to women’s rights, we highly recommend the Thursday, October 24, edition of Joy of Resistance: Multicultural Feminist Radio at WBAI that featured esteemed women’s rights attorney Wendy Murphy being interviewed by host/producer Fran Luck, in a passionate and legally informative takedown of the New York State Equality Act (on the November 5 ballot) and how it pushes backward our chances of obtaining equal rights under the law.

This omnibus anti-discrimination legislation, which, if passed, will be permanently added to the New York State Constitution, claims to give protection to people in every possible vulnerable category, such as age, race, disability, religion, etc. However, when it comes to the category of sex, we see the following language: “or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

As Wendy points out, including “gender identity” as a sub-category of “sex” waters down the meaning of “sex” and the idea of women being a separate “sex class” worthy of our own piece of legislation — i.e., an Equal Rights Amendment, with a requirement of “strict scrutiny” (the highest level of legal commitment to monitor and enforce discrimination laws). “Gender Identity” also implicitly asserts that sex is “mutable” (change-able) and “strict scrutiny” is only granted to groups of people whose status is immutable: they cannot change their status because they are born into a particular group and will be part of it for their entire lives. (The category of race is granted strict scrutiny for this reason.) So, although “sex” is included in this omnibus “equal rights” legislation, its use for women is undercut by the inclusion of “gender identity” within the category of “sex”.

Wendy Murphy makes many other important points about how the law works and doesn’t work in regard to women in compelling and accessible (to non-lawyers) language and the strongest clearest LEGAL argument for immediately adding the 101-year-old already fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that you will hear anywhere. The program contains a feminist news segment and listener call-ins at the end — including one by a FIST member! You can hear it at https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=53797.

You can help to keep this radical feminist radio program — one of the only ones on terrestrial radio — on the air by contributing in its name at https://wbai.org or by becoming a sustaining member of the station (non-commercial, alternative) for as little as $5-$10 a month. Just go to https://buddy.wbai.org. (And please don’t forget to check Joy of Resistance as your “favorite program” on the donation form.)

Below is contact information for Joy of Resistance.

Joy of Resistance: Multicultural Feminist Radio @ WBAI,
99.5 FM, NYC, airing Thursdays, 11:00 AM (Eastern)
Broadcasts to NY/NJ/Conn, streams live at https://wbai.org/listen-live/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/joyofresistance

Blog: http://joyofresistance.wordpress.com

AFTER THE ELECTION: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

By Ann E. Menasche

This is the opinion of the author alone and does not represent the official views of Feminists in Struggle (FIST).  FIST is a non-partisan organization and takes no position on the Presidential elections.  

It should go without saying that whoever wins the 2024 Presidential election, women will not be free, and we feminists will have a long struggle ahead of us. I would go further and predict that the nature and extent of the struggle that we will need to engage in after November 3rd will not substantially change regardless of which of the two leading candidates, Harris or Trump, wins.

The U.S. has one of the least democratic systems among the so-called democracies.  Our big money-soaked winner-take-all corporate duopoly with its undemocratic Senate and electoral college (both violate one person one vote principles) and its denial of ballot access and media attention to third parties, has never represented ordinary working people.  It certainly has never championed the rights of women.

Every victory women have won, without exception, was wrested out of the hands of the ruling elite, through our own determined mass struggle. That’s true whether it was Alice Paul leading the suffragists against Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, or the radical feminists of the Second Wave who won abortion rights starting at a time when every state and both parties made abortion a crime.

Some feminists, me included, have rejected lesser evil politics for a long time. I have seen the evils get greater and greater each election cycle while a genuine independent Left, along with an independent feminist movement become weaker and weaker to the point of disappearing entirely.  As a strategy for change, even for winning modest reforms, it has proven time and again its utter bankruptcy.  Besides, some evils are just too darn evil to be deemed “lesser.”  Even when the face of one of these evils is a woman of color who could possibly become our first woman President.

So, horrified at the unfolding genocide in Gaza carried out with U.S. bombs and taking the lives of tens of thousands of women and children with the support of both Harris and Trump, and cognizant of the imminent existential threats of nuclear war (90 seconds to midnight according to the Union of Atomic Scientists) and climate catastrophe (devastating storms and rising temperatures), I voted for the only viable peace candidate, Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein. It was important to me to register my dissent at the ballot box to the unfathomable violence being perpetrated in our name and to work toward creating a real alternative to the twin parties of war, empire and patriarchy, an urgent task that we cannot afford to put off any longer.

I voted for Stein despite the major flaw of the Green Party and her campaign in fully embracing gender identity ideology, following blindly in the footsteps of the Democratic Party. Indeed, there is no daylight between the positions of the two parties on this issue, in contrast to most of Stein’s platform in which the differences are stark and Stein’s planks far stronger.  There can be no substantive social change that leaves behind the sex based rights of half of humanity born female.

At the same time, when it comes to women’s rights as a whole,  the Democratic Party leadership has failed women miserably.   Though they all talk a good game during election time, as Harris is doing during her campaign, the Democratic Party has missed every opportunity to secure abortion rights nationally, both before and after Dobbs. Most recently, the Biden/Harris administration did nothing to even attempt to fix the Supreme Court or open up abortion clinics on federal land.  The administration has also done nothing and actually worked against the Equal Rights Amendment arguing in court against it, and refusing to instruct the archivist to register the ERA into the Constitution.  In terms of actions, not rhetoric regarding the ERA, the current administration is indistinguishable from the Trump administration before it.  Despite Stein’s faults, she has made the pledge to register the ERA into the Constitution. The ERA is a central issue because with sex in the Constitution, women are on far stronger legal ground to fight for everything else including abortion rights. (Of course, we must continue to fight for sex to mean sex, and not be conflated with, “inclusive of”, or overridden by gender identity, so the potentially powerful impact of the ERA on the status of women will not be undermined.)

Should Trump prevail on election day, there will be those inclined to blame Stein for this victory.  But it doesn’t work that way.  If I had no option to vote for Stein or another anti-war, anti-genocide candidate for President, I would leave that ballot line blank.  (Or else write-in Alice Paul.) That’s the case for the vast majority of Stein’s voters including the many Arab and Muslim voters who are  voting third party for the first time.  With their families being killed in Gaza or Lebanon, they are refusing to vote for perpetrators of genocide, no matter what.  Can you blame them? Harris could have taken a stand against arming Israel at least during this ongoing massacre of civilians in Gaza and won back much of that support. She didn’t.  Instead, she has emphasized her uncritical loyalty to Israel, and to United States imperial dominance and its forever wars.   Reinforcing her pro-war message, she has travelled around the country with neo- con war criminals including Dick Cheney.

I respect that many feminists have made or are making different choices than I have this election. Some feminists have argued that Harris is far better than Trump on reproductive rights, and other issues of concern to women and that she is at least not Trump, who some label a “fascist” and whose circle of supporters are promoting Project 2025, a truly frightening agenda, that if implemented could set women back a century.  Other feminists, many life-long Democrats and liberals, argue that Trump is the lesser evil because of his opposition to gender identity and the transitioning of children. They believe that Trump will save women’s sports and spaces, get convicted rapists with women gender identities out of women’s prisons, and stop this horrendous medical experimentation on children’s healthy bodies (mostly same sex attracted girls) that is tearing apart so many families.

In my view, it is a mistake to believe any one of the promises from Harris or Trump that would help women.  None of our issues are likely to disappear regardless of who is elected. Women’s rights will be defended and secured, as always, by the relationship of forces on the ground, by the women’s liberation movement that we build that addresses the full panoply of women’s rights.  This is the case whether we are talking about winning back abortion rights, fighting against male violence in all its myriad forms,  getting the ERA at long last into the Constitution, or putting a stop to the sex-denying gender ideologues and the transition industry that have done such harm to women and children.

My hope is that we feminists put aside these differences post-election without recriminations and join hands together.  We have a lot of work ahead of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES FROM THE WDI CONFERENCE

by Christy Hammer

FIST’s inaugural conference last July was my first conference on gender critical/sex realist issues, and WDI in Atlanta this last weekend was my second.  Both had fascinating presentations, deep dialogue , and networking on important issues of sex and gender in our culture, social institutions, and political economy.  Provocative and deeply political issues were bravely shared, including historical perspectives and future collective actions.  I was delighted to meet the incomparable Kara Dansky, who along with Ann Menasche both supported me when I was canceled and punished by a few trans activists and current DEI madness for not admitting to more than two sexes and for accidental misgendering.

Protecting sex-based rights politically as Democrats was the first plenary session that including analysis of gender identity in schools that led one to admit she was going to vote for Trump.  I learned histories of both the poor definitions of gender dysphoria in the DSM by Amy Sousa and the increasing anti-female sentiment in fetal personhood laws by Marylou Singleton.  I appreciated analysis of transgender ideology in cartoon fanfiction popular among current youth, and Karla Mantilla on the some of the flashpoints between the LGBT movement and transgender ideology.  Of note, several sessions were fashioned specifically with a cross-generational focus.  Especially with desisted and detransitioned women participating and in the context of what is happening to butch lesbianism it was powerful for younger women to hear from older ones how they would likely be encouraged to transition to males when they were that age with the rush to trans young females adding to the persistent misogyny and sex-role stereotypes.

Learning more from FIST members Suzanne Forbes-Veiling and Denice Traina at WDI was wonderful, as it was to see the remarkable leader of LGB Alliance, Arianne Gieringer, again.

I’m  grateful for my involvement in both FIST and WDI, and look forward to future conferences, especially as my book develops.  If you’re interested in responding to a 10-item interview with your anonymous reflections on critical issues for Canceling sex: Gender ideology, Title IX, and DEI in schools and society please email me ASAP at chammer@maine.edu.

FIRST NATIONAL FIST CONFERENCE BOOST TO GRASS ROOTS FEMINIST ORGANIZING

Thirty-five women representing  a range of ages and backgrounds,  participated in the first national conference of Feminists In Struggle July 5th through 7th.  The beautiful relaxed indoor/outdoor setting with gardens and walkways, and a comfortable breezy conference space, allowed for women to get to know each other face-to-face and to actively participate in growing a multi-issue radical feminist democratically run membership organization.

Aptly named, “Our Radical Roots”, A women’s Liberation Organizing Conference,” both plenaries and workshops provided for plenty of time for  everyone to share questions, thoughts and ideas with the group.  We heard from Ann Menasche, Thistle Pettersen, Christy Hammer, and Denice Traina, women who have been targeted for witch-hunting for their refusal to deny the material reality and importance of sex.  We heard Feminist historian Max Dashu, and Kathie Sarachild, one of the founders of Second Wave feminism, speak  about the radical Leftist roots of the Second Wave; listened to ERA lawyer Wendy Murphy explain the importance of the ERA that would place strong sex based rights in the Constitution and advance the status of women across the board; and held an interactive discussion with Merle Hoffman, founder of the earliest abortion clinics and author of a new book, Choices: A Port-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto” where she argued that we must learn to love the struggle even in the face of setbacks.   Hilla Kerner from Vancouver Rape Relief shared her perspective on defending women’s spaces and working collectively to build the movement.

Workshops included strategizing on working in mainstream feminist groups such as NOW where many are not yet gender critical, and a discussion led by Arianne of LGB Alliance and Carol, a de-transitioner, on the homophobia of gender affirming care.

A membership meeting was convened Saturday afternoon in which FIST members discussed and voted to approve an action  plan to grow FIST through developing local chapters, planning actions that can gain national media attention, improving our internal functioning, and expanding our coalition work with other feminists.  Areas of focus for the future work of FIST that members approved include participating in the Final Impact Campaign to demand that the Biden Administration instruct the archivist to publish the duly ratified E.R.A. into the U.S. Constitution, promoting the Cass Review in opposition to so-called “gender affirming care” for minors; and defense of women’s spaces including women in prison.

Saturday night we were treated to the feminist folk music of Thistle Pettersen and hilarious stand-up comedy of Francesca de la Pense.  One memorable line from her routine on those who don’t seem to know what a woman is because they are not “biologists”, was: “I don’t know what a brain is, I’m not a neurologist!”

Kathie Sarachild coined the slogan “Sisterhood is Powerful” many decades ago.  Those of us who were fortunate enough to attend FIST’s conference knew what she meant.

 

 

 

 

SISTERHOOD IS POWERFUL!

Check the Feminists In Struggle You-tube channel for videos of portions of the Conference that should be posted soon.

FIST CONGRATULATES ANN MENASCHE FOR REACHING A RESOLUTION OF HER WRONGFUL DISCHARGE CASE

At the FIST National Conference on July 5, 2024 Ann Menasche, co-founder and co-coordinator of FIST, was one of four speakers at the opening plenary entitled “No More Witch-hunts: Tactics & Strategies for Defending Feminists Jobs, Livelihoods and Public Activism. ”

Ann spoke about the witch-hunt that resulted in her termination from Disability Rights California after twenty years of employment, having been targeted by a trans-identified female with whom she previously had no contact,  and a group of 15 or more  co-workers, mostly supervisory staff.  The group originally went after Ann for asserting  during a diversity training that she is a lesbian (same-sex rather than “same gender” attracted, the new definition imposed by trans extremists that includes males), and began investigating her outside political activities (protected under California Labor Law),

They were  ready to strike when on May 6, 2022,  the Executive Director released a statement on the leaked Dobbs decision  and welcomed staff feedback. The statement mentioned a long list of groups that would be negatively effected by banning abortion, but left out women.  Ann responded, “So glad DRC came up with a statement in defense of Roe! Thank you! Access to safe legal abortion is a life and death necessity for women as a biological sex across the board…and an absolute prerequisite to equal female participation in society.”

In response to this benign statement about the importance of abortion rights to women, she was called a “hate monger” and a TERF”, and the following workday, condemned by her workgroup of civil rights lawyers. She would later learn that that same day 15 people submitted  a petition  to the management team demanding that she be fired.  The petition referenced her statement on abortion, her lesbian sexuality and her outside political activity.  Two days later, without warning, she was terminated.

“The witch-hunt was merciless”, Ann said. My employer denied my unemployment because of my abuse of staff.  I had to wait six months to win it back.  Fortunately, I had started collecting Social Security, had some savings.  If I was a younger person without those things, my liberal employer would have effectively thrown me out onto the streets.”

Ann emphasized the importance of lawsuits, building broad political support and media in fighting back against the witch-hunters.

“Ultimately, the only way to stop a witch-hunt is for enough people to speak out in opposition to it. When more and more people say as Joseph Welch said to McCarthy in 1954, “Have you no sense of decency?,”  it will end…They can’t fire all of us.”

At the end of the presentations, a FIST member from the audience asked about the status of her lawsuit.   Ann replied, “After close to a year and a half of hard fought litigation, the case has been resolved.  I am not at liberty to provide details of the resolution the parties reached.  I will emphasize how important it is to find a good lawyer who understands the issues and is willing to fight for you.  I was very lucky to have found one. Also invaluable was the support I received from other feminists and male allies in the Justice for Ann Committee and the multiple media interviews and coverage that helped get the word out.  It was pretty clear to my former employer that I was not going quietly into the night.”

Ann was heartily congratulated by her sister FIST members and others attending the conference.

 

 

OPEN LETTER TO DEMOCRACY NOW: COVER THE CASS REPORT ON LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR “GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE” FOR MINORS!

This letter was sent out on May 9, 2024 to Amy Goodman and Democracy NOW, written by a FIST committee, and approved by FIST’s membership.

Feminists in Struggle (FIST)
Attn: Democracy Now!
RE: Coverage of the Cass Review

May 9, 2024

Dear Amy Goodman and team at Democracy Now!

We are Feminists in Struggle, a national female-only, radical feminist network fighting for women’s liberation from sex-based oppression. Many of our members have been long-time listeners and supporters of Democracy Now! We appreciate your contributions to U.S. journalism over the past several decades – and for the information you continue to disseminate every week.

That said, we are curious about the conspicuous lack of coverage into The Cass Review, an Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, conducted by British Pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, and released on April 9, 2024 to major headlines around the world. The Cass Review constitutes the largest and most comprehensive examination of the evidence base to date for pediatric gender medicine, including 237 papers from 18 countries and 113,269 children and adolescents.

Dr. Hilary Cass was commissioned by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to lead this exhaustive, systematic review due to her decades of renowned work as a British pediatrician with research interests including autistic spectrum conditions, cognitive impairments, and the care of children with multiple disabilities. Conducted over a four year period, the Cass Review contains nearly 400 pages and 32 recommendations — with a rather damning commentary about the “lack of an effective evidentiary base” supporting youth gender medicine practices. This includes the effectiveness and safety of prescribing puberty blockers, and emphasizes the importance of using “extreme  caution” when prescribing hormone or other medical interventions for minors due to the risks for causing permanent infertility, chronic medical conditions, and impairment of the permanent infertility, chronic medical conditions, and impairment of the ability to experience sexuality outweighing the possible benefits.

The UK formally closed its pediatric Gender Identity Services (GIDS) on March 24, 2024 and other nations (including Finland, Norway, and Sweden) have also been rolling back their services for youth and favoring a much more conservative approach to treatment
and clinical care with this vulnerable population. The Cass Review specifically highlights the necessity of using comprehensive, “holistic” clinical screenings and assessments in treating minors, as childhood and adolescence are unique developmental stages distinct from adulthood, and require non-medicalized approaches to care.

Additionally, the Cass Review underlines the fact that there is often an extremely high rate of co-occurring mental health conditions in minors seeking gender identity services (including complex post-traumatic stress, major depression, eating disorders, and neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism) that must be considered, addressed, and treated using a bio-psycho-social model, rather than an affirm-and-medicalize approach. Evidence also demonstrates that a significant number of gender confused youth will eventually  “grow out” of their distress – as many are simply gender nonconforming, neurodifferent, and/or bisexual, lesbian, or gay. To medically transition an autistic, gay, lesbian, or bisexual child on the basis of “gender identity” alone constitutes reparative therapy and eugenics as well as what has been long delegitimized and rejected as “conversion therapy.”

The Cass report also raised alarms about the striking, historically unprecedented increase in the number of adolescent girls referred to the UK’s Gender Identity Services (rising from 15 to 1,071) over the seven year period from 2009 – 2016. What, exactly, is driving this entirely new cohort to seek services from gender medicine clinics? Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, recently expressed her concern about the “devastating consequences on the human rights of children and girls” being caused by the blind adherence to gender identity ideology over sound, long-established clinical practice.

It is beyond time to bring all of the evidence to light in the discussion of gender identity ideology and to return to the use of unbiased journalistic principles —we’d like to see your fair and unbiased coverage of the Cass Review.

In solidarity with other radical feminists:

● We request a published explanation as to why the Cass Report, taken very seriously in Europe, and covered by all major European media outlets, has not been mentioned at all on Democracy Now!

● We request that Democracy Now! repair this serious omission immediately.

● We request that Democracy Now! differentiate between sex and gender in reporting.

● We request that Democracy Now! cover gender identity issues going forward in compliance with basic rules of journalism — balanced, presenting multiple opinions from multiple sources.

Again, we thank you for the valuable work you do and look forward to your future reporting on the important findings of the Cass Review.

Sincerely,

FIST