Free Republic

Why do men become feminists? Carl Benjamin, better known as Sargon of Akkad, breaks down his answer into three broad categories of male feminists.

South Dakota would be the first state in the U.S. to approve a law requiring transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their sex at birth if the governor signs a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate. The Senate voted 20-15 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who initially responded positively to the measure but said last week he'd need to study it more before making a decision. Advocates say the bill is meant to protect the privacy of students, but opponents say it discriminates against vulnerable adolescents. [...] The American Civil...

Charles, a reader I'll identify as "PJM" emailed me about the Washington Post's treatment of that quote. Here's the email with some light edits: Please tell me that you or someone at NR is going to take on this hatchet job at the Washington Post. The article is headlined, Ted Cruz cites reports that Planned Parenthood shooter could be ‘transgendered leftist activist.' What? The article reports that, "on one side," a representative of Planned Parenthood blamed the shooting on hateful rhetoric from the right, and then cites Cruz's statement, "on the other." But if you read far enough down you...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with reporters during an event in Iowa on Nov. 28, 2015. (Photo by Patrick Svitek) NEWTON, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is condemning the fatal shooting of three people at a Planned Parenthood location in Colorado but also aggressively pushing back on suggestions the shooter was part of the anti-abortion movement. Speaking reporters after a stop here Sunday afternoon, Cruz rejected a potential connection between anti-abortion activism and the shooting, instead taking issue with "some vicious rhetoric on the left blaming those who are pro-life.” The shooting, which happened Friday in Colorado Springs, left a police officer and...

When Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, unveiled her new name, appearance and TV show last week, it shined a light on transgender Americans. But much about the community, such as its size, remains opaque.The main reason is that the United States Census Bureau and other keepers of official records do not ask about gender identity. Also, gender identity can be fluid and hard to define in a multiple-choice list. There are now more than 50 gender options on Facebook, for instance.Some researchers are also concerned that the number is undercounted because of a reluctance among some transgender people...

I probably would have missed this story were it not for Maggie Gallagher at The Corner. It seems that the good people on the appeal board considering a case at Atherton High School (part of the Jefferson County public school system) have determined that you can use the girls’ bathrooms, locker room and showers if you say you’re a girl. No physical required. A transgender teenager, who was born male but identifies as a female, can continue to use a women’s restroom and locker room at a Jefferson County Public School. In a 5-to-1 vote, an appeal board upheld...

At a ceremony commemorating some of the bravest Americans of World War II, President Barack Obama reminded the "greatest generation" how the U.S. military has changed under his command, by slipping in references to immigrants and women. "Rock, I want you to know that Staff Sgt. Melvin Sabillo Martin, who is here today, is following in your footsteps. He just had to become an American first. Because Melvin was born in Honduras, moved to the United States, joined the Army. After tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne. And Sunday, he'll parachute into Normandy. "Wilson,...

NEW YORK – A transgender man has sued New York City after he says he was booted from a male locker room at a public pool. Bryan Ellicott said Tuesday that he went to the Staten Island pool last July to cool off. He says a staff member ordered him to use the women's locker room.

NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – Judge Carl Ginsberg presided over two ceremonies its participants believe are the first, legal gay marriage in Texas. Two couples said their “I-do’s” and all four people consider themselves female. But one member of each couple has had their gender changed surgically from male to female. “On all of my information, it still says male,” said Ashely Boucher. “So, legally I’m still male in the state of Texas. My presentation would suggest otherwise. But my documentation says that I can marry Genevieve no questions asked. “If you were born male and became female through...

(CNN) -- A young man in his 20s -- let's call him George -- sits across from me in the exam room. "Dr. Youn," he says, "I have man boobs." I notice a not-so-unfamiliar smell wafting from his body. It's the same odor that floated my way during a rock concert I recently attended. "How long have you had a problem with this, George?" "Hard to say. But it seems to have gotten worse over the past year or so." "George, the first thing you need to do is stop smoking pot. Marijuana could be causing your man boobs."

Mel Wymore is a typical city council candidate in many ways, campaigning as a community board appointee, ex-PTA chair and founder of a roster of local organizations. But Wymore’s community-leader resume has an unusual feature: He built much of it while he was a woman. If he wins, Wymore would be the first openly transgender officeholder in the nation’s biggest city and one of only a handful ever in the U.S., though his campaign isn’t emphasizing his personal story—or sidestepping it. … Wymore, a Democrat, faces several opponents who also have long records of community involvement on Manhattan’s upscale, liberal...

Maine’s highest court will soon decide which restroom Nicole Maines, a 15-year-old transgendered student, should use. Last week the state supreme court heard oral arguments about whether a school district violated her civil rights when it forbid her from using the girl’s restroom. She was in fifth grade at the time. Maines is biologically male but has identified as female since she was very young. As such, she wished to use the girl’s restroom. State law, however, mandates that boys and girls use separate facilities. Her school told her to use the staff restroom instead. These requirements violate the Maine...

A former member of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs has come out to say she's now a woman.

A transgender high school student who applied to prestigious, private, all-female Smith College has been rejected because the school only accepts women. Smith returned Calliope Wong’s application — and application fee — earlier this month, reports The Advocate. “As you may remember from our previous correspondence, Smith is a women’s college, which means that undergraduate applicants to Smith must be female at the time of admission,” admissions dean Debra Shaver wrote in a letter to Wong, The Advocate says. Wong has identified as female for several years, according to the Keystone Student Voice. However, on the FAFSA (Free Application for...

After much controversy and a rule change, the first-ever transgendered contestant competed in the Miss Universe Canada pageant in Toronto on Thursday night. Jenna Talackova, 23, is from Vancouver, and though she was born male, she underwent sexual reassignment surgery four years ago and was allowed to compete. According to the Daily Mail, Talackova was one of 62 women who strut their stuff in evening gowns and bikinis on stage for a panel of 15 judges. The winner will be crowned on Saturday.

Do you feel, as a Conservative, you are being deported to the political Siberia of the national political scene? Common sense is being ignored, gas prices are soaring, animals are demanding transgendered rights and Republican "leadership" enjoys being wooed by the president's wily and winsome ways. Well, you can enjoy the trip with your laptop, iPad or smartypants phone and play the 2011 version of Yahoo Pro Football Pick'em, Free Republican-style. We will include the new Playoff option (whatever THAT is), all weeks are included, the confidence points system will be used but we won't bother with the Tie Breaker....

A transgendered father of four received two years behind bars Wednesday for starving and beating his kids after they refused to call him "mom." The 31-year-old South Korean, identified only by his last name Oh, is taking hormone injections once a week and considering sex reassignment surgery, the Yonhap news agency reported. His ex-girlfriend and mother of three of the children was sentenced to two years in jail on the same charges, the news agency reported. The couple had lived together from 2006 until last year. "Although the defendants claim that the beating was for educational purpose and legitimate, their...

And how much do they pay for the Happy Ending?

PHILADELPHIA - A 22-year-old transgender man has been charged with murder in the killing of a Thorndale man inside an upscale Old City hotel, where the room was later set ablaze, police said. Herman Burton, of the 2400 block of South 63rd Street, faces murder and arson charges, according to authorities. Detectives said 49-year-old Patrick Brady, of Thorndale, suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and body, was strangled to death and robbed at the Omni Hotel, located on the 400 block of Chestnut Street.

For that is the true genius of America -- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.-- Barack Obama, Election Night 2008 How is that "hopey-changey thing working out for you? -- Sarah Palin, February 2010 America is at war with change, as a time of decision approaches. Anger rears its ugliness from a nation stripped of its hope, whether a silly confrontation between a passenger and a beleaguered flight attendant, a state of fear in Arizona, or the political fabrication of...