The author of a book that criticizes transgender ideology, has said Amazon banned the book from its inventory based on a false argument.

Amazon quietly removed the book, titled “When Harry Became Sally,” last month without explanation. When probed for the reason by several Republican senators, the online retail giant said it has chosen to not sell books “that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” in a March 11 letter to the lawmakers obtained by The Wall Street Journal (pdf).

But the book does no such thing, author Ryan Anderson told The Epoch Times.

“Nowhere have I ever said or framed LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” he said via email. “The phrase ‘mental illness’ does occur in the book twice—but not in my own voice: once quoting a ‘transwoman’ writing in The New York Times, and once quoting the current university distinguished service professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins.”

Anderson makes a distinction between transgenderism, which he describes as a belief system that’s in major part political, and gender dysphoria, an established mental condition of extreme and persevering discomfort with one’s biological sex. He acknowledges that the discomfort is genuine, not imagined.

“The book also discusses the American Psychiatric Association’s classification of gender dysphoria in the most recent edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Amazon, curiously, still sells that. Gender dysphoria is listed in the most widely respected and consulted book on psychiatric disorders because it is a serious condition that causes great suffering,” he said. . . .

The Republican governor approved the measure despite objections from medical and child-welfare groups that it would have devastating impacts on transgender youth.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday signed a law banning transgender women and girls from competing in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, making the state the second to approve such a restriction so far this year.

The Republican governor approved the measure despite objections from medical and child-welfare groups that it would have devastating impacts on transgender youth. Hundreds of college athletes have also urged the NCAA to refuse to hold championships in states that enact such bans.

“This law simply says that female athletes should not have to compete in a sport against a student of the male sex when the sport is designed for women’s competition,” Hutchinson said in a statement released by his office. “As I have stated previously, I agree with the intention of this law. This will help promote and maintain fairness in women’s sporting events.”

Republicans in at least 20 state legislatures have been pushing for similar bans this year. Mississippi’s governor signed a prohibition into law earlier this month. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem had initially said she would sign similar legislation sent to her but has since pushed for changing it to exclude college sports.

Arkansas’ law covers K-12 as well as collegiate sports.

Only one state, Idaho, has enacted a law curtailing transgender students’ sports participation, and that 2020 measure is blocked by a court ruling as a lawsuit plays out.

Arkansas’ law, if it isn’t blocked by a legal challenge, would take effect this summer. Under the new law, a student or school who suffers “direct or indirect harm” could take a school to court for violating the ban.

The measure is among several targeting transgender people advancing through the majority-Republican Legislature this year. Another bill on Hutchinson’s desk would allow doctors to refuse to treat someone for moral or religious reasons, a measure opponents says would allow LGBT patients to be turned away.

A final vote is also expected next week on legislation that would ban gender confirmation surgery or treatment for minors.

The measures have won support as a hate bill measure backed by Hutchinson has stalled, facing conservative resistance. The current version of the bill would impose additional penalties for committing a crime against someone because several characteristics, including gender identity or sexual orientation.

Arkansas is one of three states without a hate crimes law. . . .

Transgender actor Elliot Page knew he ‘wanted to be a boy’ at age NINE: Juno star says he had to ‘compromise’ his true gender identity to become a child actor and reveals he’s undergone top surgery as he appears on TIME cover

• The 34-year-old Juno star came out as transgender in December, when he shared an emotional statement on social media while revealing his name change
• Elliot, who was born in Nova Scotia and began acting at age 10, has now revealed that he first realized he ‘wanted to be a boy’ when he was nine years old
• He cut his hair short and began embracing a male identity – however months later he landed his first acting role and had to make ‘a difficult compromise’
• The Umbrella Academy star is currently filming the third season of the Netflix show, in which he stars as queer female character Vanya Hargreeves
• In his first interview since coming out as trans, Elliot told TIME that isolating during the pandemic gave him time to focus on his gender identity
• He revealed that he has undergone top surgery, which is a subcutaneous mastectomy during which the breasts and breast tissue are removed
• Elliot uses he/him and they/them pronouns, and identifies as non-binary, however TIME referred to him as a transgender man, and he called himself a ‘guy’
• ‘It’s a complicated journey and an ongoing process,’ he said of the labels
• Elliot also discussed his relationship with ex-wife Emma Portner; they split in summer 2020, and divorced early this year but ‘remain close friends’

by Andrew Trunsky

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law Thursday barring transgender athletes in public schools and colleges from competing in women’s sports.

The bill, SB 2536, is the first of such legislation to be signed into law this year, though similar initiatives have appeared in other states across the country. South Dakota’s Senate sent a similar bill to the desk of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday.

The legislation’s supporters have argued that such bills are necessary to ensure fairness in women’s sports, saying that trans women have a physical advantage over biological women in athletics.

“This important piece of legislation will ensure that young girls in Mississippi have a fair, level playing field in public schools,” Reeves said at a bill signing event.

The bill sailed through the state’s Republican-dominated legislature, passing the state House by a vote of 81-28 and the state Senate 34-9.

I never imagined dealing with this, but POTUS left us no choice. One of his first acts was to sign an EO encouraging transgenderism in children. So today, I proudly signed the Mississippi Fairness Act to ensure young girls are not forced to compete against biological males. pic.twitter.com/INZgKQRMJr

— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 11, 2021

Critics of the bill, however, have argued that it is discriminatory against transgender students.

Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group, called Reeves’ anti-transgender push “appalling,” and said the law is “a solution in search of a problem,” according to a statement.

Mississippi lawmakers have not “provided any examples of Mississippi transgender athletes gaming the system for a competitive advantage because none exist,” he said in a statement following its signing.

Other critics likened the bill to Republican-led bathroom bills several years ago, which sought to mandate that people use restrooms corresponding to their biological sex.

“Just like it was never about restrooms, this bill is not about sports,” Chase Strangio, the American Civil Liberties Union deputy director for trans justice, told Law and Crime. “It’s about pushing trans people out of public life.”

– – –

Andrew Trunsky is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.

Model Leyna Bloom has become the first transgender of color to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine after landing a spot in the 2021 issue.

“I’m promoting something that has been missing in the world: trans beauty in all shapes and all sizes,” the black and Filipino model told The New York Times on Tuesday.

“I’m representing Filipina, I’m representing Black, I am representing people who have been immigrants,” she added. “For them, I’m a vessel of change.” . . . .

(AP) — Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.

The final vote was 52-48. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Levine.

Levine had been serving as Pennsylvania’s top health official since 2017, and emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. She is expected to oversee Health and Human Services offices and programs across the U.S.

President Joe Biden cited Levine’s experience when he nominated her in January.

Levine “will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability,” Biden said. . . .

Keating then spoke about movement she launched three years ago called the GenderCool Project, which she said aims to “help replace opinions with real experiences meeting transgender and nonbinary youth who are thriving.”

After explaining the program, Keating took the opportunity to reintroduce herself to lawmakers, this time disclosing that she is transgender.

Keating said she is testifying to represent “the hundreds of thousands of kids, just like me, who are supported and loved by their family, friends, and communities across the country.” . . .

On the first day of his administration, President Biden issued an executive order saying student-athletes should compete under the sex they identify as.

His action spurred a tug of war, pitting those who oppose allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports against those who support it.

Some of the nation’s largest and oldest women’s rights groups were quick to establish which side of the line they fall on, declaring that transwomen rights are women’s rights and drawing questions about whether they are backing what some say is an uneven playing field.

“As courts and scientists overwhelmingly have stated, transgender girls and women are girls and women,” the National Organization for Women (NOW) said in a statement following the House’s passing of the Equality Act. “Unfortunately, transgender girls’ and women’s participation in school sports consistent with their gender identity has become a cudgel used to attack the [Equality] Act.” . . .

The Arkansas House of Representatives voted Tuesday by an overwhelming margin to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto of a bill that would block the use of hormone treatments and puberty-halting drugs on young children.

Hutchinson had vetoed the Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act on Monday, and implied it was immoral after an outrage campaign from left-wing activists.

The Arkansas House voted to override the veto by a margin of 71-24, defeating Hutchinson’s attempt to block the bill.

BREAKING: Arkansas House has overridden the Governor’s Veto of this bill #arpx https://t.co/Tjxsy6OtYy pic.twitter.com/8NnVwQn8k3

— Jay Bir (@TheJayBir) April 6, 2021

Left-wing activists appeared devastated by the news on Tuesday, with several expressing last-ditch hope that the SAFE act could somehow be overruled by a judge, though this outcome appears unlikely.

As National File reported Monday, Hutchinson had referred to the bill as a “product of the cultural war” that “while well-intended, is off course”:

Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Monday that he has sided with far-left activists and chosen to veto HB 1570, which would ban the use of puberty blockers, hormone replacement procedures, and gender transition surgery on young children.

“I was told this week that the nation is looking at Arkansas because I have on my desk another bill passed by the general assembly that is a product of the cultural war,” Hutchinson said during a press conference. “I don’t shy away from the battle when it is necessary and defensible, but the most recent action of the general assembly, while well-intended, is off course and I must veto House Bill 1570.”

Arkansas has been the subject of an intense social media campaign by transgender activists to pressure Hutchinson into vetoing the bill.

The Florida legislature this week approved a measure that requires athletic sports teams designated for girls to only be open to biological female athletes.

The measure was amended into the education-related Senate Bill 1028 by Republican leaders after a standalone bill on the issue failed to garner the support it needed.

The language of the provision means that transgender female athletes, who were biologically male at birth, can only participate in sports designated for males. It applies to high school and college sports sponsored by public schools. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk for signature.

There are numerous opportunities and long-term benefits for females that come from competing and demonstrating their strength, skills, and athletic abilities, the text of the provision states.

“The Legislature finds that maintaining the fairness for women athletic opportunities is an important state interest. The Legislature finds that requiring the designation of separate sex-specific athletic teams or sports is necessary to maintain fairness for women’s athletic opportunities,” the text of the provision reads.

The move generated emotional debate from Democrats in the legislature, who lamented the last-minute change. . . .

Walter Duranty was possibly the worst foreign correspondent in the history of the Western press. Reporting on Russia for the New York Times during the 1920s and 30s, he not only lied through his teeth about the death of millions during the Ukrainian famine, but conspired, with some success, to prevent anyone else from telling the truth about it.

He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1934 for his reporting, but ever since 1990, when a biography of him was published that emphasized the extent of his mendacity, there have been efforts to have the prize symbolically rescinded (Duranty died in 1957).

A man may be honestly mistaken, but Duranty had knowingly and persistently lied about matters of world importance. At the very least he deserved the sack rather than a prestigious award, but was never called to account during his lifetime; and the Pulitzer committee has twice decided that the award should not be withdrawn.

I can see the argument for rescinding the prize because Duranty’s conduct was truly despicable, and the prize had been for what, morally, was a great crime.

But there is also an argument for not rescinding it, for the posthumous withdrawal of an award can look like an attempt to rewrite the history of the awarding authority by an act of auto-absolution. An admission that the Pulitzer committee had made a terrible error of judgment might have been sufficient.

We seem to have advanced greatly since Duranty’s time. Richard Dawkins, the great popularizer of evolutionary biology, has not had to wait until many years after his death to have an award withdrawn, that of the American Humanist Association given to him in 1996 for his services to public scientific understanding.

He dared (or at least was imprudent enough) to broadcast incorrect thoughts on the matter of transsexualism which were deemed incompatible with humanistic values, and so the association withdrew the award.

What did Professor Dawkins say that entirely vitiated his past contributions to popular scientific understanding that were deemed worthy of reward?

Here is his Tweet: “In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a white chapter president of NAACP, was vilified for identifying as black. Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men. You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as. Discuss.”

What the Association probably did not know was that, when Dawkins was an English schoolboy, examination questions often took the following form: “Lady Macbeth was worse than her husband. Discuss.” . . . .

College wrestler Olivia Rondeau told the Daily Caller that biological men don’t belong on female wrestling teams, noting a biological disadvantage for female athletes.

“It is also our right to feel safe competing against other biological females. It’s unfair for these young girls who have worked so hard to win these titles and college scholarships only to be overshadowed by biological males,” Rondeau said.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association Board of Governors says that it “firmly and unequivocally supports” transgender biological male athletes competing in women’s sports at the college level.

The organization, which regulates college athletics in the United States, responded on April 12 to an ongoing push by Republican-led states to enact measures that seek to protect female athletes, who are likely to have a biological disadvantage if forced to compete against transgender student-athletes who were born male.

“The NCAA Board of Governors firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports,” the board wrote in the statement. “The NCAA has a long-standing policy that provides a more inclusive path for transgender participation in college sports.”

Under the association’s policy, a transgender female athlete is allowed to participate in NCAA women’s competitions if the athlete is being treated with testosterone suppression treatment. Similarly, a transgender male athlete is allowed to participate in NCAA men’s competitions if they have received a medical exception for treatment with testosterone.

NCAA also addressed questions about how the association determines which states will host championship games.

“When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected,” the board wrote. . . .

Trevor Noah thinks men competing against women is awesome, and we think Trevor Noah is an idiot. Expect a THOROUGH debunking of his recent puberty blocker segment. We also expose the Left’s latest court-packing scheme. And as shocking as this sounds, Ben & Jerry’s found a way to be more insufferable jackwagons. All this and special guest Jason Whitlock!

Thanks, Trevor Noah! Erasing Women’s Achievements One Puberty Blocker at a Time!

youtu.be

BIDEN AND DEMS WANT TO PACK THE COURT

• Last week, Biden established a commission to study “reforming” the Supreme Court. The commission will produce “an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals.” SOURCE: White House
• House Democrats, led by Jerry Nadler, are expected to introduce legislation today to add four justices to the Supreme Court. SOURCE: The Intercept
• Why do we have nine justices? SOURCE: FJC
  • The Judiciary Act of 1869, passed during Reconstruction, established nine SCOTUS justices and allowed for the appointment of circuit judges.
  • This was done to provide more uniform justice, particularly in the Reconstruction South, and lessen the burden of traveling to circuit courts.
• With all the media coverage about court “reform,” you might be surprised to hear most Americans oppose court-packing.
  • An October 2020 Rasmussen poll found 53% of Americans oppose court-packing. SOURCE: Rasmussen
  • Calls for expanding the court really ramped up after Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, as Democrats incorrectly defined filling a vacancy as “packing the court.”
  • Court-packing is now framed as “depoliticizing” the court.
• And even Ruth Bader Ginsburg was against court-packing because it would politicize the court: “Well, if anything, it would make the court appear partisan. It would be that one side saying, ‘when we’re in power, it was only to enlarge the number of judges so we will have more people who will vote the way we want them to,’ so I am not at all in favor of that solution to what I see as a temporary situation.” SOURCE: Post-Gazette

DEBUNKING TREVOR NOAH’S PUBERTY BLOCKER LIES

• There’s no evidence trans kids are stealing opportunities from everyone else, and youth sports aren’t about going on to compete at an elite level. SOURCE: YouTube
  • Throughout American history, males competed against males and females against females. This was the basis of Title IX in sports. This cross-gender athletics experiment is BRAND-NEW in high schools. To suggest we have no evidence of its potential harm because we haven’t tried it yet isn’t proof of anything at all!
    • AVERAGE TESTOSTERONE:
      • Men: 300-1200 ng/dL SOURCE: Mayo Clinic
      • Compare Women: 20-70 ng/dL SOURCE: Mayo Clinic
      • Testosterone enhances red blood cell production, decreases fat, increases muscle, and increases bone density. SOURCE: Mayo Clinic
    • BONE DENSITY: MEN: 26-45.5% higher bone mass than women. SOURCE: PubMed
    • LUNGS: Women have smaller lung capacities and decreased pulmonary function during exercise. SOURCE: PubMed
    • BODY FAT %: In general, men have less body fat than women. SOURCE: PubMed
  • Maybe not ALL high school athletes want to compete at the elite level, but some do. And trans athletes compete at the elite level too.
  • Trevor Noah said this example doesn’t matter, but actually, it does! Female Connecticut high school athletes are routinely cheated out of state track titles by two biological males. SOURCES: NYPost, NBC
    • Cece Tefler of Franklin Pierce University won the NCAA championship in the women’s 400m run … as a biological male. SOURCE: Outsports
    • Rachel McKinnon, a biological male, won a women’s cycling world championship. SOURCE: CTV
    • “Mary Gregory” set the masters world record for the squat, deadlift, AND bench press while competing as a woman, before being stripped of the records and screaming outrage. SOURCE: WaPo
    • New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard won two gold medals at the Pacific Games and was on track to dominate the sport until a serious injury. SOURCE: Wired
    • The Australian women’s national soccer team lost 7-0 to a team of 15-year-old boys. SOURCE: Evening Standard
    • 203rd-ranked German Karsten Braasch beat Serena Williams and Venus Williams back-to-back at the 1998 Australian Open. SOURCE: TennisNow
• CLAIM: No negative effects of puberty blockers. SOURCE: YouTube
  • Negative effects: SOURCE: Mayo Clinic
    • Weight gain
    • Hot flashes
    • Headaches
    • Bone density
    • Future fertility
  • Stunted genital growth SOURCE: GenderHQ
  • Mood disorders SOURCE: Pubmed
  • Not to mention the 42% attempted suicide rate as the result of becoming transgender!

• CLAIM: Republicans are just against this because of hate! SOURCE: YouTube
  • Actually, it’s because of the negative medical effects, suicide rates, co-occuring psychiatric disorders, prevalence of past trauma among transgender people, and the danger and injustice of having biological males compete against women.
  • And the cherry on top is the VAST MAJORITY of Americans oppose biological males in women’s sports. SOURCE: Rasmussen
  • Just 28% supported transgender athletes participating on the sports team of their gender identity.

Two-hundred sixty-one California state prisoners have requested transfers to facilities that house the opposite gender since a new law went into effect on Jan. 1 — and 255 of them have requested to move from a male to a female corrections facility.

The law, SB 132, provides that a prisoner who self-identifies who is “transgender, nonbinary, or intersex” must be “addressed in a manner consistent with the incarcerated individual’s gender identity,” and be “housed at a correctional facility designated for men or women based on the individual’s preference.” The law applies “regardless of anatomy.” Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law last September, declaring on that occasion that “our march toward equality takes an additional step forward.”

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that while only a few transfers have been approved thus far, none has been rejected:

Just over 1% of California’s prison population — or 1,129 inmates — have identified as nonbinary, intersex or transgender, according to the corrections department, populations that experience excessive violence in prison. A 2007 UC Irvine study that included interviews with 39 transgender inmates found that the rate of sexual assault is 13 times higher for transgender people, with 59% reporting experiencing such encounters.

So far, the prison system has transferred four inmates to the Chowchilla women’s prison, approved 21 gender-based housing requests and denied none. Of the 261 requests, all but six asked to be housed at a women’s facility.

…

Some prisoners are also concerned that inmates are making false claims about their gender identity in order to transfer to women’s prisons and say staffers have told them that this has slowed the process.

The Times adds that several inmates are thought to have applied “under false pretenses” and some female prisoners are afraid. . . .

British scientist Richard Dawkins is stripped of his Humanist Of The Year award after comparing transgender people to race faker Rachel Dolezal

• Richard Dawkins, 80, has been stripped of his ‘Humanist of the Year’ title
• American Humanist Association revoked its honour from evolutionary biologist
• Comes after he compared transgender people to to Rachel Dolezal on Twitter
• Mr Dawkins said honour ‘hadn’t meant enough to be worth recording in his CV’