Top Stories This Week

• What’s happening at Woodhull;
• Extremism in Idaho;
• 2023’s legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people;
• Opponents of social and emotional learning;
• A landmark United Nations report calling for sex work decriminalization;
• An upcoming SCOTUS decision on mifepristone; and
• Woodhull’s take on teachers using OnlyFans

                                                        (Walls.io)

Happy New Year! 

It’s hard to believe that 2023 is already over, but we’re gearing up for an even busier year in 2024!

Stay tuned to your inbox or follow @WoodhullFreedom on social media for updates about our programming. We will be announcing our first Censorship Series program very soon! Here’s to continuing to defend, discuss, and celebrate sexual freedom this year! 

If you haven’t had a chance to check out our Impact Report,
take a look!

(Bob Karp/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

ICYMI! Woodhull President & CEO Quoted in Reason! 

Bans on drag performances were popular in statehouses nationwide last year. These bans are a clear and blatant violation of our First Amendment rights, and the courts agreed—every single one of these bans lost in court. Elizabeth Nolan Brown writes about this and quotes our very own Ricci Levy in her piece for Reason Magazine. Read more here. 

(Sarah Miller/Rewire News Group)

In Idaho, Extremists Have Created a Culture of Fear Around Pregnancy (Rewire News Group) 

Garnet Henderson covers mounting extremism in Idaho: “In the 2023 legislative session, Idaho lawmakers created the new crime of ‘abortion trafficking,’ making it illegal to help a minor travel within the state to access care. They also dissolved the state’s maternal mortality review committee, rendering Idaho the only state without one, and voted against expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage. [...] And while outsiders may see Idaho as a ‘red’ state where voters are essentially getting what they asked for, many Idahoans—including self-identified conservatives—say that their current government doesn’t represent their values. But few are willing to speak out openly for fear of retaliation.” Read more.

(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

2023’s Legislative Attacks on LGBTQ+ Rights, by the Numbers (them.) 

Nico Lang underscores the devastating scale of legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ rights in 2023: “Each passing year feels like a difficult one for LGBTQ+ rights, but even by the standards of recent history, 2023 was historically tough. The year boasted, by far, the largest-ever number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures. Although estimates vary widely, even conservative totals put the number of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative proposals at over 500 — a 60% increase from the year prior.” Read more.

(Ayo Walker/Truthout)

The Right Is Passing Bills That Ban the Teaching of Empathy and Care in Schools (Truthout) 

Eleanor J. Bader writes about bills banning social and emotional learning: “Between 2021 and early 2023, at least 25 states saw bills introduced into their legislatures to remove social and emotional learning (SEL) from public school curricula. While most failed, the bills rely on talking points developed by right-wing SEL opponents who liken lessons meant to increase students’ emotional intelligence — teaching them skills like empathy, collaborative problem-solving and emotional self-regulation — to a Trojan Horse for left-wing ideologies of race, gender and sexuality.” Read more.

(AP Photo/Bikas Das)

Landmark UN Report Calls for Sex Work Decriminalization (Human Rights Watch) 

Erin Kilbride highlights a landmark United Nations report: “The struggle for sex worker rights has been a marathon, not a sprint, but the chorus of voices calling for an end to stigma, abuse, and criminalization is growing. The United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls released a landmark report in October calling for the full decriminalization of voluntary adult sex work globally. The report examines the ‘polarizing’ debates around sex work, which often usurp calls for evidence-based policies to protect the rights of affected women and girls.” Read more.

(Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

SCOTUS decision on mifepristone will disproportionately impact BIPOC (Prism) 

Alexandra Martinez highlights an upcoming SCOTUS decision on mifepristone: “The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Dec. 13 that they would hear arguments in a case that will decide on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the medication abortion pill, mifepristone. Medical professionals and abortion advocates say the case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, is fueled by far-right anti-abortion extremists who are seeking to pull FDA approval of mifepristone and that the pill’s suspension would bar millions of Americans from access to a safe and effective method of terminating unwanted pregnancies. Advocates also say the ruling would disproportionately impact BIPOC, who already face higher rates of maternal mortality.” Read more.

(Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash)

Woodhull’s Take: Teachers, OnlyFans, and Our Right to Sexual Freedom (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation share our take on teachers using OnlyFans: “We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation firmly believe that disciplining, suspending, or terminating teachers who post adult content online is ethically repugnant. It should not concern employers – or, quite frankly, parents or students – what a teacher does to legally earn money outside of school hours. Our right to sexual freedom involves our right – including teachers – to engage in consensual sex work without the threat of adverse employment actions being taken against us.” Read more.

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