NZ genderish update: 12 May 2023

Since the sad day when a bunch of once-were progressives gleefully joined old school misogynists and held a Don't Let Women Speak demo, sex-denialism in NZ continues its merry way.

Embedding the anti-science, anti-child and anti-women gender ideology into New Zealand institutions and cultures continues apace. There are some chinks of light though. The Ministry of Health publicly stated an interest in actual evidence rather than ideology about puberty blockers and the NZ Herald published Jan Rivers’ article about puberty blockers—possibly the first article in a mainstream New Zealand newspaper that is not squeamishly starry-eyed about the mass medical experimentation being conducted on our kids.

27 March. MoH disputes misleading article about puberty blockers info on Ministry site: On 25th March Marc Daalder had published an article in Stuff (and tweeted about it) with the headline “Health advice scrubbed due to anti-trans pressure”. It contained lies and conjecture about the removal of the lines ‘safe and reversible’ on the Ministry of Health’s page about puberty blockers. The article is widely shared by trans activists as evidence of anti-trans sentiment and quoted by trans activists in interviews. In response to Ministry feedback and numerous complaints, Daalder deletes his tweet, the headline is changed, the article updated and a correction issued. The Ministry’s twitter comment on 27 March was significant:

Kia ora David, much of Marc’s story is false, including the headline. The website was not changed due to an anti-trans pressure or any other external pressures. The website was updated in light of new studies underway in Sweden and the UK, the outcome of which will inform the Ministry’s position on the effectiveness and reversibility of puberty blockers. Manatū Hauora will always endeavour to ensure advice and guidance it posts to its website reflects the latest clinical evidence. We have taken a clinically cautious approach to updating our public-facing guidance while the new work is being done.

30 March. Young New Zealander of the Year

Shaneel Lal, NZ Herald columnist and trans-activist who actively fostered the Don’t Let Women Speak bullying campaign against Posy Parker becomes Kiwibank’s Young New Zealander of the Year.

30 March. Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 3)

Submissions open (and close a month later) for the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 3): Among other less odd things the Bill if passed will update “the criteria for co-opting and appointing board members to reflect today’s school communities, by adding the genders, sexualities and sexes of the school’s students and of the school community…”. Some groups are concerned this will lead to the appointment of anti-science, sex-denying rainbow advisors being appointed on to school boards.

6 April. Integrity Sport and Recreation Bill

Submissions open (and close less that a month later) for the Integrity Sport and Recreation Bill. The purpose of the bill is to: enhance integrity within sport and physical recreation to protect and promote the safety and well-being of participants and the fairness of competition. The Bill specifically names the rainbow community as among those whose needs must be reflected, whose views must be sought and who must be consulted with on any changes. There is no mention of women or females anywhere in the bill.

24 April. Puberty blockers article in the NZ Herald

After NZ mainstream media (the NZ Listener a welcome exception) refusing to publish anything but good news stories about the medicalisation of gender-questioning young people, Jan Rivers’ article ‘Questions over puberty blockers for children' is published in the NZ Herald. The Herald rejected complaints about the article.

26 April. Pink Shirt Day

Shaneel Lal becomes a frontperson for the Mental Health Foundation’s anti-bullying campaign Pink Shirt Day 2023. Lal frequently insults and abuses people he disagrees with on social media, and has never spoken out against the man who repeatedly punched a women’s rights supporter at the Auckland rally and instead thanked Auckland for the protest.

1 May. Covid advice for ‘pregnant people’

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand advises that boosters are available for ‘pregnant people’. There is no mention of women in the social media campaigns or on the media release. When challenged by those who feel this is dehumanising and may also breach our new plain language laws, the organisation says that Te Whatu Ora will continue using inclusive language.

5 May. Disinformation project

The Disinformation Project releases a working paper, widely reported in mainstream media, claiming measurable increase in harm and hate towards transgender and non-binary people between 18 March and mid-April 2023 since the visit by Kelly-Jay Keen-Minshull. Woefully lacking in serious methodology the paper seems to show that a handful of extreme misogynistic and racist accounts turned their attention to anti-trans sentiments. Without evidence it goes on to amplify the idea that the majority of those who wish to defend sex-based language and single sex spaces are conservative, extremist and aligned with nazism. It does not examine at any time Keen-Minshull’s views or those of the groups in New Zealand who invited her here but rather assumes that they are anti-trans, bigoted and hateful. In its short description of the Auckland protest it makes no mention of the trans rights activist who repeatedly punched a women’s rights campaigner in the face. The paper ends with a quote from a trans identified person who refers to Let Women Speak attendees as fascists and misrepresents mainstream media coverage of the event. The media coverage since was almost universally supportive of those who protested the Let Women Speak group.

7 May. Speak up for Women’s (SUFW) response to Disinformation Project

In response to the Disinformation Project report Stuff asks SUFW a number of questions which they answer and publish in full on their website. When asked what do you think disinformation is the group said:

Disinformation: The deliberate spread of incorrect information in order to further a political purpose, for example associating one’s political opponents with Nazis in an attempt to discredit or distract from their message or cause.

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WARNING: One of these is a fake headline.