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This 74 year old lesbian, who grew up with a gay brother, would add that children who grow up playing with toys more associated with the opposite sex may turn out to be gay.

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Same here, and definitely unwise, generally, to proceed on the basis of anecdote when judging the veracity of a study.

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Today, Aug. 30, the documentary on trans widows and trans orphans, will premiere at Lime Soda Films YouTube channel. Vaishnavi Sundar, who spent three years interviewing, editing and setting animation for trans widows who could not appear on screen, is posting Behind the Looking Glass on her channel at 2pm east coast US time. I appear under Ute Heggen pen name, speaking of my ex husband's defamation of anyone not affirming his "female identity" as well as his claim of motherhood. Helen Joyce and Lisa Marchiano both make appearances, commenting on society's callousness. A trailer: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HxrNQ-VeNbE

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Thanks, Ute. I tried contacting her several times but she never got back to me. I'd be happy to share the video here if she wants, or conduct an interview about it.

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Link to the full documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frffv2sB8zE

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I will post the link to the feature length documentary on my community page when the premiere is up on Lime Soda Films YouTube channel. This project had Vaishnavi working around the clock for many months. I thank you for your interest.

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I just finished watching the documentary and commend it to all. I tip my hat Sundar, to you, Ute, and to all who participated. Your courage sends a message to us all that, even if we only feel we have a wee small voice, we can nonetheless speak up. Thanks to all of you for your courage and perseverance, in the face of vertical odds.

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re Tali-bans “Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.

The Taliban rejected the U.N. report."

Thanks Fiona Frazer.

Where’s the stern denouncement against these tragic rules for women and girls trapped by Islam from the White House?

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Census-ship falling!

In Australia there is an unfolding drama involving the Federal Labor Government backtracking on its stated intention that questions on sexuality, gender identity and intersex characteristics would be included in the next national Census in 2026, thereby provoking a huge backlash from the diverse people covered by the acronym LGBTQI as well as from within the Labor Party. In response to this the Prime Minister has decided that a question on sexuality will be included in the Census, but apparently not the questions on gender identity and intersex characteristics. This intervention by the PM has displeased the advocates for the people represented by the T, Q and I in the acronym, including the Greens party and significant parts of the Labor Party. This story is still developing and information is still coming to light about how the whole situation transpired, but the general consensus is that the government has made a hash of the issue politically.

Insofar as we can make sense of the situation, it seems that what may have happened is that the questions on gender identity and intersex identity being developed within the relevant government agencies spooked some people inside a government that, despite being nominally left of centre, has tried to govern in a reassuringly conservative way focusing on "bread and butter" issues and avoiding arguments on "Culture War" questions which it fears it will lose. The extent and the manner of the decision to exclude these questions *and* the one on sexuality surprised almost everyone and provoked a much broader and deeper reaction than expected.

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Re: the Chicago Public School curriculum: this is why my granddaughter is starting at a Catholic school this month. Although the specifics of the curriculum may be hard to find, there are other webpages that show things like the policy to hide social transition from parents.

https://www.cps.edu/globalassets/cps-pages/about-cps/department-directory/education-policy-and-procedures/tl_transgendernonconformingstudents_guidelines.pdf

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Welcome Lizzy Rose!

And, I've started reading Joe Klein's substack, "Sanity Clause."

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