This is Northumberland Calling 10.2.23
The first a trickle and then a flood edition
Yesterday, the Scottish Prison Service announced a U-turn on its self-id gender policy. Prisoners will now be housed in the first instance in prison estate which accords their birth sex. Is it too late as Sturgeon’s other failures (the failure to upgrade the death trap which is the A9 in the Highlands, the attempt to ban whiskey advertising including whiskey visitor centres, despite whiskey contributing over £84 million to the tourism industry – U-turned this week, the ferries debacle – still no firm date on when they will be delivered over 6 years late, education etc) are being talked about. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/02/09/scottish-prisons-abandon-nicola-sturgeons-trans-self-identification/
The Scottish Green party have had to suspend one of their more prominent LGBTIQA+ spokespeople because of the violent tweets and threats against women. The person in question is trans woman (aka birth sex male). https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/scottish-greens-suspend-trans-activist-29173907?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
Scottish police identify trans butcher as the kidnapper of a little girl and call the alleged paedophile him, despite the transition from Andrew to Amy six years ago. No one knows the Police despite being told they are supposed to use the gender the prisoner self-ids with decide to call Andrew/Amy he/him. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/07/scottish-police-defy-nicola-sturgeon-trans-self-id-law/
Waterstones decided to allow several dubious books for children -- one by Lewis Hancock, Welcome to St Hell promotes self harm, including puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, the use of breast binders and surgery as well as promoting body loathing in teen aged girls, and the another promotes meeting strangers that you have fallen in love with over the internet. One has to wonder how ideologically captured an organization must be to actively promote this. Waterstones has defended the book saying it portrays the feelings and the objectionable pages have to be read in context and should form part of a respectful conversation. It was Waterstone’s bad luck to announce this the day, the Free Press whistle blowing article hit…
And I do know that it is not the just the largest bricks and mortar bookseller in the UK but also the publisher (Scholastic), the editor who has just been promoted to run the children’s book editorial of another publisher, and the agent who championed the book who did not see the potential for harm. From what I understand, Scholastic used to be very aware of the dangers in promoting self-help books for anorexia or self-harm. Few authors or agents want to raise their heads because the potential for sabotaging one’s own career in going up against powerful people. This anon account from someone in production has the photos from some of the pages.
With a little help from Julie Bindel, a 14 year old teen explains the trans hysteria which is sweeping UK schools. Heart breaking and something most parents are ignorant of. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11729001/What-like-pupil-today-trans-hysteria-grips-schools-One-14-year-old-girl-speaks-out.html
More about the rise of sensitivity readers and the quest for the ‘authentic’ or lived experience in fiction (a somewhat oxymoronic quest imho, given that fiction is supposed to be not real but ho hum, that is how publishing rolls). https://unherd.com/2023/02/what-authors-hide-about-sensitivity-readers/
The Scottish Book Trust (remember them and their compelled morality clause?) have decided to axe certain children songs and rhymes being said at their children’s events. Not because the current words are offensive, but because of historic racism in that the words previously used were offensive. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/09/nursery-rhymes-banned-scottish-library-events-historical-racism/
The chancellor of Oxford, Baron Patten (formerly the Conservative politician and last British governor of Hong Kong) has called intellectual ‘safe spaces’ mad and that ‘no platforming’ should be anathema to a university. Students need to learn an argument is not the same as a quarrel. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/08/safe-spaces-mad-says-oxford-university-chief/
Filed under life’s absurdities Waiting for Godot cancelled as it is not inclusive enough as it has an all male cast and the Irish director only auditioned men for the parts (under the directions set down by Samuel Beckett) https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/2023/02/04/irish-directors-all-male-beckett-play-cancelled-as-only-men-could-audition/
Finally, if you want to know all things about the Coronation, including recipes for an official Coronation lunch (Ken Hom’s Coronation Roast rack of Lamb Asian style and Nadiya Hussian’s Coronation Aubergine and for dessert Coronation Strawberry and Ginger trifle), a King Charles curated celebration playlist, and the timings of various events, the official Coronation website went live this week.
Thank You for taking the time, Ma’am. Always enjoy it.
A ray of light at the end of the tunnel? Maybe Sturgeon will fall. -TQIA+ member shown for what she is. People realizing that a trans woman is a man.
But then that Hancock book. Advertising self-harm and what-all? No wonder kids are mixed up like they are. And that article by the anonymous schoolgirl. Sad. But she says “gay” and “lesbian” are now insults?
I could only smh at that about the sensitivity readers. I would like to meet the Indian who was offended by the word “scalpel.” Because it’s similar to “scalp.” Is there some Indian who is so stupid? Or just the sensitivity reader. And the author who went along with it. But, then again, they explain an author’s need to get the stamp of approval from a sensitivity reader. Let’s everyone know the author is a moral person. <puke>
OTOH (On The Other Hand), I wish there were more like the Chancellor of Oxford. Saying it like it is. “Intellectual Safe Space” is an oxymoron. Indeed.
And that thing about the “Waiting for Godot” play. Like the (female) producer said, the team as a whole was primarily women and included representatives of near all “marginalized groups.” But that wasn’t good enough. The *rigidity* of these Woke people never ceases to amaze me.
All that to say… All-star cast of interesting articles. Always enlightening, Michelle. Thank You again, and still keeping fingers crossed.