Opinion: #StopAsianHate and International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (South Seattle Emerald)

Amanda Ong shares her thoughts about the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers: “Dec. 17, exactly nine months after the Atlanta massage parlor shootings, is the annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. First observed in 2003, the day was founded by the Sex Workers Outreach Project. It was actually first observed in light of crimes against sex workers here in Seattle, as a memorial and vigil to honor the sex workers murdered across Washington State by the Green River Killer over the 20 years prior. Violent crimes against sex workers regularly go underreported and unpunished. Every year, the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers serves to remind us of the discrimination against sex workers, of those lost, and that we cannot end the marginalization and victimization of all sex workers without also fighting transphobia, racism, stigma and criminalization of drug use, and xenophobia.” Read more.

John Roberts Has Lost Control (Slate) 

Dahlia Lithwick opines on the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) recent decisions regarding abortion: “The real story of the two decisions in U.S. v. Texas and Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson is that Chief Justice John Roberts has now lost control of his court. As was the case in the very first shadow docket order that allowed SB 8 to go into effect, despite abundant evidence that it was materially harming pregnant people and clearly violated Roe v. Wade, the vote […] was 5-4, again with the court behaving as though there is nothing unusual about the Texas scheme. The chief justice had over three months to change a single mind on the conservative flank of the court. He failed to do so.” Read more.

Arkansas Legislature Introduces Texas-Style Abortion Ban (Rewire News Group) 

Rachel Cohen draws our attention to Arkansas’ anti-abortion legislation: “As Arkansas launched a special legislative session [December 7] nominally dedicated to passing income tax cuts, a leading anti-choice Republican in the state senate introduced a copycat version of Texas SB 8, legislation that effectively bans abortions after six weeks and allows any citizen to sue those who help a pregnant person get the procedure. Reproductive rights advocates have been bracing for this moment for several months, ever since Republican Sen. Jason Rapert, who has sponsored some of the most aggressive bills to restrict abortion access over the last few years, came out in September to praise SB 8.” Read more.

These Adult Sites Are the Latest to Close Down Because of Big Banks (them.) 

Samantha Riedel explains recent closing of adult sites due to big banks: “Especially after the 2018 enactment of SESTA-FOSTA — a federal law ostenisbly intended to curb sex trafficking that has been used more broadly to target online sex work — many banking institutions and payment processors have barred many types of transactions on adult websites. Other sites, including XTube, have also shut down in part due to pressure from anti-porn advocacy groups that gained cultural force during the Trump presidency. These unexpected shutdowns can be gutting for thousands of sex workers, many of whom moved to or increased their presence on AVN platforms after the confusing OnlyFans debacle earlier this year.” Read more.

I wasn’t allowed to celebrate holidays growing up. Now, I revel in hosting my queer, polyamorous family. (The Lily) 

Patricia Fancher discusses celebrating holidays with her queer, polyamorous family: “Polyam family is like any family. We get our hearts broken. We have petty fights and legitimate conflicts. We complain about one another from time to time. We don’t choose one another because we’re perfect. Chosen family means choosing complex humans, including our faults and struggles. It’s vulnerable to build a family with deeply flawed humans. But there’s no other option.” Read more.

These trans kids and their families are fighting to overturn discriminatory birth certificate policies (Xtra) 

Nico Lang writes about birth certificate policies which discriminate against trans youth: “Lambda Legal has successfully challenged discriminatory birth certificate laws in states such as Idaho, Kansas and Ohio—all of which previously banned trans people from amending the gender marker on their birth records in any form. Just one state still prohibits gender corrections on birth certificate: Tennessee (legal action against the policy is currently pending). If Lambda Legal is successful in North Carolina, the win would represent a major first: of more than a dozen states that require some form of affirming surgery before trans individuals are allowed to change the gender marker on their birth certificates, none have ever been forced to drop the policy.” Read more.

Tess’ Take: Youth Abortion Rights (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph discusses youth abortion rights: “In October 2021, New Orleans Juvenile Court Judge Tammy Stewart granted a Louisiana teenager’s request to be allowed to have an abortion. As Caroline Reilly writes, with the help of Louisiana Right to Life, her mother then sued the State of Louisiana, ‘painting the judicial bypass process as a nefarious loophole to parental involvement.’ Louisiana’s judicial bypass law, which permits young people like this teenager to obtain a judge’s permission to have an abortion in lieu of a parent’s permission, is constitutional. Yet, as Reilly notes, ‘the Louisiana mother’s challenge was enough for a judge to grant a temporary restraining order, blocking all judicial bypasses in the state.’ Thankfully, a challenge to the restraining order by Lift Louisiana successfully led the court to lift the order, after which the mother agreed to drop her lawsuit.” Read more.