Anti-trans panic in the wake of the Nashville shooting | Attempts to ban “pornographic” Bible
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Bi-Weekly Sexual Freedom Newsletter
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Top Stories This Week

  • What’s happening at Woodhull;
  • The current state of censorship in the U.S.;
  • Watering down an Oklahoma bill aimed at helping survivors;
  • Anti-trans panic in the wake of the Nashville shooting;
  • The collapse of an abortion pill service;
  • Attempts to ban “pornographic” Bible; and
  • Tess’ take on abortion rights in Wisconsin.
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Did you see Ricci’s email last week announcing Woodhull’s 20th Anniversary? That’s two decades! That’s 7,300 days. That’s 175,200 hours spent fighting for sexual and human rights. We have no intention of stopping that work now. We’re asking for your support to keep up this fight for the next 20 years. Our goal is to raise $20,000 in honor of our 20th year. 

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Join us for our next Censorship Series Program tomorrow: Why Does the Internet Hate S3x?

Samantha Cole, author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex, will join Woodhull COO Mandy Salley on Zoom on Thursday, April 13, at 3 pm ET for a discussion about her book, censorship on the Internet and how the Internet has impacted sex workers. This program is the third installment in our Censorship Series, and we’re thrilled to have Samantha join us for this timely conversation. Registration is free, and ASL will be provided. See you there!

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Spokes Hub is a virtual educational program aimed at supporting new advocates in developing their voices and authority.  Join us for one of our two upcoming programs - Advocating for Men in Sex Work & Media Training. Both of these programs are free to attend, but registration is required. 

We are seeking a part-time contractor to help coordinate Spokes Hub. Preference will be given to those currently or formerly involved in the sex trade. Learn more and apply here.

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We joined Bookshop! Now you can shop for books and support Woodhull at the same time! We even created a few book lists with books by authors who have presented at the Summit or won the Vicki Sexual Freedom Award. Start shopping today!

Vintage black and white photo, 3 students reading or interacting with books in a library

(FPG; Archive Photos; Getty Images)

Conservatives Are Banning Books in America, Not Liberals (Jacobin) 

Luke Savage writes about the current state of censorship in the U.S.: “In recent years, some liberals have attempted to remove particular books from libraries or school curricula, a few of them successfully — most often because they contain racist language or imagery. But organizations like the ALA and PEN who monitor book challenges and censorship are absolutely categorical that such examples are dwarfed by those originating from the Right. Conservatives are banning books in America, not liberals.” Read more.

3 photo collage of April Wilkens, left of a parents and a child, middle is a close-up of her, B&W, the right is a wedding photo of a married couple

(Mother Jones illustration; Photos courtesy of April Wilkens)

Oklahoma Lawmakers Are Watering Down a Bill That’s Supposed to Help Domestic Violence Survivors (Mother Jones) 

Samantha Michaels reveals how Oklahoma lawmakers are watering down a bill that’s supposed to help domestic violence survivors: “Not many states have laws that allow survivors to retroactively seek shortened sentences—and those that do, such as New York, California, and Illinois, are more liberal than Oklahoma. So I was initially surprised last week to read that Oklahoma’s House unanimously passed the bill, sending it on to the state Senate. [...] But there was a big catch: To make the bill more palatable to other Republicans, Rep. Hasenbeck watered it down—significantly—before the House vote. Instead of limiting prison terms, the new bill simply requires courts to consider a person’s history of abuse as a mitigating factor, and it gives judges the option ‘to depart from the applicable sentence’ and offer a shorter prison term.” Read more.

Hand holding a fist with the trans flag painted on it

(DBENITOSTOCK)

The Right Is Weaponizing the Nashville Shooting to Whip Up an Anti-Trans Panic (Truthout) 

Zane McNeill details how the Right is weaponizing the Nashville shooting to promote anti-trans panic: “The Trans Journalists Association has cautioned that it is unclear how the police came to the determination that the shooter was transgender. [...] The far right quickly sensationalized this information in a mass disinformation campaign against transgender people. Several far right media figures, including Tucker Carlson, Matt Walsh, Benny Johnson and Andy Ngo, along with Republican politicians Senator J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia) took to social media to blame the shooting on Hale’s gender identity, instead of guns.” Read more.

Cell phone visual with yellow screen, MAP_US app orders,  but the entire visual is cracked, like a broken phone screen

(Photos and graphic by Austen Risolvato/Rewire News Group)

Exclusive: How One Abortion Pill Service Collapsed Just After Launch (Rewire News Group) 

Garnet Henderson uncovers the collapse of an abortion pill service called MAP_US: “Even if they eventually received their orders, some of these people may not have had enough medication for a complete abortion. MAP shipped blister packs containing one 200-milligram mifepristone tablet and four 200-microgram misoprostol tablets. For people fewer than ten weeks pregnant, this is sufficient. However, for those more than ten weeks along, additional doses of misoprostol are often needed. The founder said she was aware of this, and hoped to add the option of extra misoprostol doses eventually, but that the five-pill packs were all she could source initially.” Read more.

Famous painting of a nude Adam reaching his hand toward the finger of

(Getty Images)

A Utah Parent Wants Schools to Ban “Pornographic” Bible, Citing Book Ban Laws (them.) 

James Factora explains a recent request from an anonymous Utah parent to ban the Bible on the grounds that it’s “pornographic”: “While this complaint was obviously exaggerated to satirize the concerns of conservative Christian book banners, it’s sadly not far off from reality. Earlier this week, a Florida principal was forced to resign from her position after failing to ‘warn’ parents that a sixth grade class would be learning about Michaelangelo’s Statue of David.” Read more.

A photo of various contraceptive methods on top of a blue background. Methods featured include a diaphragm, birth control pills, an IUD, internal and external condoms and a Nuvaring.

(Mickey Bernal/Getty Images)

Tess’ Take: Restoring Abortion Rights in Wisconsin (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph writes about the status of abortion rights in Wisconsin: “On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs, overturning Roe and, in so doing, eliminating our constitutional right to abortion. After Dobbs, many states reverted back to draconian abortion statutes that were in place prior to the ruling. For Wisconsin, the 2022 decision turned the clock of our rights back nearly 200 years, to a 1849 law that broadly criminalizes abortion.” Read more.

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