Category: Gender studies

How Florida’s ‘don’t say gay’ law could harm children’s mental health

by philg

“How Florida’s ‘don’t say gay’ law could harm children’s mental health” (The Guardian, today):

LGBTQ+ parents and pediatric psychologists say the law stigmatizes being gay or transgender and could harm the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth.

Stella, 10, attends a private school in Atlanta, Georgia, and explains to friends that she has four moms. Two of them are the lesbian couple that adopted her. The other two are her birth parents, one of whom recently came out as a transgender woman.

“I’m so grateful that [Stella] is somewhere that sees” the family “as what it is: her moms just love her”, said Kelsey Hanley, Stella’s birth mother, who lives in Kissimmee, Florida.

But Hanley, 30, worries that children who have multiple moms or dads or are LGBTQ+ themselves won’t get the same acceptance in Florida.

That’s because the state recently approved legislation that bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade and prohibits such lessons for older students unless they are “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate”.

(It is unclear how this anecdote relates to Hate in Florida because a 10-year-old with four moms, six moms, or any other quantity of moms would be in 5th grade and the new Florida law prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity only in grades K-3. Also, young Hanley’s four moms have sent her to a private school and the new law does not apply to private schools.)

What I find fascinating about this story is that, in the context of children’s mental health, it shows mentally healthy children outdoors in the baking Florida sun in rated-low-risk-by-the-CDC Hillsborough County… wearing masks:

Note the range of styles from covering face to under-nose to chin diaper and that none are N95 masks that could provide some protection against the unmasked. How can we be sure that these children are mentally healthy? The new law hasn’t taken effect yet, so these masked-outdoors children are among those whose mental health has presumably been maximized by unfettered public school sexual orientation and gender identity instruction starting in kindergarten.

Related:

  • The happiest children in Spain live with two daddies (“children who lived with their two mothers were extremely unhappy”)
  • One reason that Hillsborough County is “low risk” is that the CDC completely changed its standards in March 2022 (NPR: “Critics of CDC’s new approach say the agency seems to have moved the goalposts to justify the political imperative to let people get back to their normal lives.”)
  • CDC gives us a new canonical example of chutzpah? (after locking down children for a substantial percentage of their lives, the CDC now alerts us to poor mental health among children)
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Women’s History Month at Disney Springs

by philg

Today is the last day of Women’s History Month (does that mean that the other 11 months of the year should be devoted to learning about the historical achievements of people who identify as genders other than “female”?).

Here’s are some photos from Disney Springs:

The “Celebrate Her Story” banners were placed at 30-foot intervals throughout the outdoor shopping mall.

Inside an art store, a person who had a “brief” career in animation, but who nonetheless qualifies for “legend” status:

(I asked a 35-year animation professional if he had heard of Retta Scott, pointing out that she was a “legend” while he was not. He was dimly aware of Mx. Scott, but did not know of any of her legendary achievements.)

Banners remind us that Johanna Pemberton, a pharmacist who identified as “female”, invented Coca Cola:

In other Disney Springs news, House of Blues stays true to its Maskachusetts roots and California headquarters by demanding that Floridians turn over medical records:

Even if you don’t wait in line for an hour to get into the LEGO store, there are LEGO sculptures to see:

The volcano in the background belongs to the Rainforest Cafe, which shows its commitment to the environment by flaring off enough natural gas, every 30 minutes, to power half of Germany:

(apologies for the vertical video, but the primary goal was phone re-play for the kids)

We enjoyed the Cirque du Soleil show (they went bankrupt during coronapanic, but emerged after the shareholders were wiped out in favor of the secured creditors):

Readers: What stories can you share about Women’s History Month now that it is almost over?

Tip for getting food in Disney Springs: the lines are epic almost anywhere near the center of the mall, but the restaurants and counter-serve places on the far west end, near the Cirque du Soleil theater, were comparatively quiet. Another fun to do is book a ride on an Amphicar, wander around for an hour or two, and then come back to take the $125 trip around the lake. Disney owns eight of these German marvels, four that can be scavenged for parts and four in operation.

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Should Disney World offer a ride educating kindergartners on sexual orientation and gender identity?

by philg

“Disney pledges to help repeal Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill” (The Hill):

Disney has pledged to help repeal Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law on Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

The Walt Disney Company issued a statement shortly after the bill was signed on Monday that said, “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”

“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that,” the spokesperson said.

“We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country,” the spokesperson added.

The bill is set to go into effect on July 1 and will prohibit primary school teachers from classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity, while educators of all grade levels will be prohibited from instruction on those topics that is not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” for their students.

Note that public elementary schools are not prohibited from providing classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The prohibition is only for kindergarten through third grade. Starting in 4th grade, a student could receive 2 hours per day of instruction on these topics, which would prepare him/her/zir/them to “earn salaries ranging from $329,000 to $430,000” as a diversity, equity, and inclusion administrator in a state university (source: the dreaded Fox News, which seems to have pulled public salary data) and, perhaps, even more at an elite private college.

The question for today is why Disney can’t act directly, rather than trying to overturn the law passed by the Florida Legislature? Disney has announced an official corporate policy in favor of sexual orientation and gender identity instruction for K-3 children. Millions of K-3-age children visit Disney World every year. Many of them are from Florida and thus, due to this new law, are at risk of being denied “classroom instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity”. Why can’t Disney step in to fill the gap? In the photo below, a (masked outdoors) Disney employee (maybe in California?) holds a sign reading “Help us teach our children kindness and inclusion”. But, with a captive audience of millions, Disney shouldn’t need any help to teach whatever it wants to teach.

How about a dark ride along the lines of It’s a Small World? Children of all ages, including K-3, could travel in a vehicle shaped like a Mazda Miata and learn about myriad options for sexual orientation and gender identity. By including video screens, the ride could be kept continuously updated with the latest Science and, e.g., newly developed gender IDs.

You might say that sexual orientation and gender identity isn’t as much fun as some other topics, but if Disney isn’t passionate enough about 2SLGBTQQIA+ to offer this to the children who are already on site, can we accept their passion for 2SLGBTQQIA+ in the public schools as sincere?

Readers: What should the scenes of the sexual orientation and gender identity dark ride include? I can start with the cisgender heterosexual section. A “man” and a “woman” (Kentaji will bring in a biologist to assist with these terms) are alternately bored to death by each other’s company and annoyed to death by their biological children. A banner overhead reads “Marriage means that we solve problems together… problems that we wouldn’t have if we had stayed single.” The second scene is family court where the plaintiff asks for “permanent alimony” under Florida family law. The third scene is a pickleball court in The Villages where the now-leathery heteros congregate in single-gender groups while their adult children are ignoring them from 1,000 miles away.

A separate idea: Because Americans don’t have to work anymore, every Disney World ride requires waiting in line for 1-3 hours, even on weekdays. K-3-targeted sexual orientation and gender identity instruction could be provided to those waiting in line, a literal captive audience.

Potentially inspiring, scenes of African and Mexican life from It’s a Small World (September 2021):

Related:

  • Carousel of Social Progress for Disney World? (see image below)
  • “I got a ‘dress code’ violation at Disney World over my revealing top” (New York Post), in which K-3-age children were protected from seeing some portions of a 23-year-old’s body. Disney prohibits “clothing which, by nature, exposes excessive portions of the skin that may be viewed as inappropriate for a family environment.”
  • LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia (Wikipedia): “Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal. LGBT rights are not recognized by the government of Saudi Arabia. … Homosexuality and being transgender are widely seen as immoral and indecent activities, and the law punishes acts of homosexuality or cross-dressing with capital punishment, fines, public whipping, beatings, vigilante attacks, vigilante executions, torture, chemical castrations, imprisonment up to life and deportation.” (Disney Plus operates cheerfully in Saudi Arabia and Disney has not suggested any changes to these laws and customs.)

Note that SeaWorld has a 2SLGBTQQIA+ section in the gift shop, but no rides specifically on the topic of 2SLGBTQQIA+. From earlier this month:

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Who has ordered Jeremy’s Razors?

by philg

A reader sent the following:

The product can be ordered at jeremysrazors.com.

Based on the photos, it doesn’t look like this is yet another private-label Dorco (the Korean experts behind the marketeers at Dollar Shave Club).

The commercial is fun and the product description includes “It identifies as the best shave kit ever assembled and its preferred pronouns are Buy/Now.” However, I’m not convinced it is worth $60 (8 blades, handle, and some shaving cream in a “socialism-resistant bag”). The comparable Dorco product has a trimmer on the back, a “3D Motion” handle, and is available on Amazon for $23 (then every time you stop at CVS for a COVID-19 vaccine booster pick up some Edge, which is no doubt superior to Jeremy’s cream). Dorco hasn’t taken any position on American politics as far as I know. If you’re in Maskachusetts and need to disguise the fact that you’re not using Gillette anymore, put all of the above in this zippered pouch:

Update: for those who wondered about where razors are made, I did some exhaustive Scientific research (i.e., drove to CVS). I found Gillette products made in China (the latest and greatest “GilletteLabs” razor) and Germany (the core Fusion5 cartridges).

Related:

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Could a Black judge have obtained consideration for the Supreme Court job by identifying as a woman?

by philg

I haven’t been following the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson (CNN) closely, but it seems that nobody could apply for the job unless he/she/ze/they identified as a “Black woman”. From state-sponsored NPR:

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue in my view.

A person who switches racial identity from white to Black may be condemned (see Nkechi Amare Diallo, formerly “Rachel Dolezal”), but we celebrate those who change gender identity from “man” to “woman” (see Rachel Levine, for example).

If a Black judge who previously identified as a “man” had, after Dr. Biden’s husband announced his hiring policy, said “I identify as a woman and am proud to be a member of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community”, would that judge then have become eligible for the Supreme Court position?

William Thomas, for example, who was nominated by President Obama (see “Rubio Withdraws Support for Gay Black Judge’s Nomination to the Federal Bench” (NYT)) and who continues to serve as a judge in a Florida state court. Judge Thomas was already identified by the newspaper of record as “Black” and, under our prevailing theories of gender, only Judge Thomas can pick his/her/zir/their gender ID. What would have stopped Judge Thomas from being considered for the Supreme Court job as a “Black woman”?

Related:

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How is Women’s History Month going?

by philg

How is Women’s History Month going for you? Here’s what happens when you type “women’s history month” into an incognito browser (i.e., not affected by your previous search history):

Note that Black History Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month are related events, as far as Google is concerned. I’m not sure what corner of Google’s algorithms decided that “Oh Bondage! Up Yours!” was a good theme song for the month.

Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard
But I think “oh bondage, up yours!”
One-two-three-four!
Bind me, tie me, chain me to the wall
I wanna be a slave to you all

Here’s another choice from Google for “Women’s History Month” music, “Girls Need Love”:

I just need some dick
I just need some love
Tired of fucking with these lame n****s
Baby, I just need a thug
Won’t you be my plug, ayy

Do the above lyrics fall into the “resilient”, “brilliant”, or “boundless” category? (from the preceding image)

(Separately, if the girl seeking a “thug” to be her “plug” is also seeking $millions in tax-free cash, she might wish to verify the thug’s income with IRS Form 4506-C and also arrange for the plugging to occur in a state where unlimited child support profits are available. What rhymes with “4506-C” for updated lyrics?)

The first page returned by Google includes a link to a Presidential proclamation. Dr. Biden’s spouse notes that “LGBTQI+ women and girls are leading the fight for justice, opportunity, and equality — especially for the transgender community.” (contrast to the use of “2SLGBTTQIA+” by Justin Trudeau) Yet Mx. Biden never defines what he/she/ze/they means by “women” or “girl.” Maybe that is a job for a new committee?

I established the first White House Gender Policy Council to advance gender equity across the Federal Government and released the first-ever national gender strategy to support the full participation of all people — including women and girls — in the United States and around the world.

Readers: What have you done so far to observe Women’s History Month 2022?

In our family, we showed the kids Welcome to Earth, Descent into Darkness, in which Will Smith goes down in a research submarine with Diva Amon, who apparently identifies as a “woman of color” (26:40):

A big part of my work is trying to change that. I’ve been on like 16 expeditions now and there is hardly ever anyone who looks like me. Whether it’s a woman, a person of color, or a person from a developing country. And I want that to change. That’s a big part of why I do what I do.

Dr. Amon provides a technical explanation of the sub at 25:00 in which she explains that there is “horrible creaking” that is “unnerving.”

A person who doesn’t look anything like Diva Amon makes an unfortunate appearance at 3:09. It seems that the technical aspects of the dive and the submersible and, therefore, the safety of Will Smith and Diva Amon, are entrusted to someone who could appear in Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male Power.

The Nadir submersible is an off-the-shelf product described in “Blue Planet gives super-rich their new toys – submersibles” (Guardian), a Triton 3300/3. The engineers who designed it are not credited in the show, but searching for the sub’s name eventually leads to the Triton Team page and the engineering team that made the machine possible:

Plus two engineers on the top management roster:

In addition to being an inspiring story for Women’s History Month, by not mentioning any of the engineers who made the dive possible, the show serves as a great lesson for anyone considering making the mistake of majoring in engineering!

Related:

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Blueprints for International Women’s Day

by philg

We happened upon these blueprints that are relevant to International Women’s Day:

The house was designed for a couple with no pronoun imagination (“his” and “hers”). “HER BEDROOM” is the size of a studio apartment. HER walk-in closet is 11×11′, the size of an average child’s bedroom. HER bathroom includes a luxurious recessed tub, a shower, a bidet, a toilet, and enough open space for an additional bed. “HIS BEDROOM”, on the other hand, seems to be about one third the size of HER domain.

Related:

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Racism against Asian American and Pacific Islander women

by philg

On International Women’s Day (however the term “women” might be defined), we can celebrate Eileen Gu’s successful escape from racist America to non-racist China.

Despite President Biden’s efforts, “74% of Asian American, Pacific Islander women experienced racism in past year, report says” (NBC, 3/3/2022):

As anti-Asian attacks on Asian American and Pacific Islanders continue to rise, a report released Thursday underscores how women in the racial group endure a disproportionate number of such incidents.

The research, spearheaded by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, revealed that 74 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander women reported having personally experienced racism or discrimination in the last 12 months, roughly the time since the Atlanta-area spa shootings, in which eight people, most of them Asian women, were murdered, the report pointed out.

Russell Jeung, a co-founder of hate incident tracking forum Stop AAPI Hate, which also worked on the report, said many are likely to be dealing with the intersectional harassment of being both Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders and women.

With an anti-racist president in the White House, who could be responsible for this?

Choimorrow said the results show that the danger that women across ethnicities in the community are in goes far beyond issues caused by racist “China virus” rhetoric and long predate the pandemic. It’s why, Choimorrow said, the solution isn’t as simple as passing hate crime legislation, like the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

“To be honest, if you think about it, having something like the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act also sort of reinforces that notion that this is a creation of Covid, and therefore we’re addressing it as that,” Choimorrow said. “There’s no recognition of what we have endured as people for hundreds of years. You’re not looking for the right solutions if you’re only looking at the context of the last two years.”

The article illustrates the importance of wearing masks outdoors (2/15/2022 in NYC):

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Resisting on International Women’s Day

by philg

Nostalgia for our old neighborhood, a lawn sign in front of a successful divorce plaintiff’s $1.8 million (Zillow estimate) house:

One good thing about Massachusetts family law is that it relieves quite a few people who identify as “women” from the need ever to work at a W-2 job again and thus these folks can resist on a full-time basis.

Readers: What are you doing to celebrate International Women’s Day? If you’re looking for suggestions, how about a Melinda Gates video watch marathon?

Speaking of Melinda Gates, a former Microsoft employee, “52% of women believe their gender is limiting their careers in the tech industry” (Atlas VPN):

Today we can celebrate many great women who have helped shape the world of technology as we know it. From Katherine Johnson, a mathematician whose pioneering work at NASA was instrumental in the success of sending astronauts into orbit, to Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Girls Who Code, which aims to increase the number of women in computer science — these and many other talented women continue to pave the way for others in tech.

Nevertheless, women are still largely underrepresented in the tech industry and face many obstacles when pursuing a career in the field. According to data presented by Atlas VPN, 52% of women believe their gender is limiting their career in tech, and one-fifth of women are thinking about leaving their current position.

Despite increasing discussions about gender diversity in the technology industry, men still hold the vast majority of positions in tech, even in top companies.

If “top companies” are measured by stock market valuation, see Six-year anniversary of the SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF.

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Six-year anniversary of the SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF

by philg

Happy 6th birthday to the SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (symbol: SHE):

Seeks to provide exposure to US companies that demonstrate greater gender diversity within senior leadership than other firms in their sector

Companies in the Index are ranked within each sector by three gender diversity ratios

The Index seeks to minimize variations in sector weights compared to the composition of the index’s broader investment universe by focusing on companies with the highest levels within their sectors of senior leadership gender diversity

There are nearly 200 holdings in the fund out of the roughly 3,500 significant publicly traded U.S. companies (Wilshire 5000, in which 3,500 is the new 5,000). In other words, roughly 5 percent of U.S. public companies do things the correct (gender diverse) way.

To celebrate Dr. Marissa Mayer‘s brave stewardship of Yahoo! (history, which included 30 days of daily new logos in 2013) we should get a custom chart comparing SHE to the Wilshire 5000 over the past 6 years from Yahoo! Finance.

The stocks of companies that failed to enter the gender diversity Olympics were up by roughly 107 percent in nominal dollars (but don’t forget that inflation eroded these gains; a house in our Florida neighborhood has gone up in price by much more than 107 percent in the same period and even the government’s cooked CPI number is up roughly 20 percent). Stocks of companies with people identifying as “not men” in leadership positions were up by 44 percent.

Related:

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