Bi-Weekly Sexual Freedom Newsletter
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

"Through the Darkness, We See the Light"

We’re revisiting this keynote address from Carmen Vázquez from our 2019 Sexual Freedom Summit. Carmen speaks about human rights as an aspirational flame of freedom and justice—and the importance of knowing that our aspirational visions are a part of every fight for justice. According to Carmen, “We must embrace and elevate our dreams. We must move beyond equality to justice and human rights or we will not survive.” Watch the video

📢 Our Call for Proposals for #SFS20 is officially live: bit.ly/SFS20cfp. We need advocates like you to share your skills, knowledge, visions, and expertise on sexual freedom and human rights. Make sure to submit your proposal for #SFS20 by February 20th!

South Dakota Law Puts Trans Youth At Risk With New Bill Banning Medical Treatment (them.) 

Michelle Kim explains a South Dakota law, House Bill 1057, and its potentially devastating consequences for trans youth: “Under the proposed law, doctors could be charged with a misdemeanor if caught treating children under the age of 16 with hormone replacement therapy. It also bans them from performing sex reassignment surgery on people in that age range. It carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.” Read more

Increased Police Presence in New York Subways Is a Reproductive Justice Issue (Rewire.News) 

Police presence in New York Subways is, as Merlee McGee contends, a reproductive justice issue: “Access is about affordability, safety, education, and cultural attitudes pertaining to all facets of sexual and reproductive care. The nature of policing in New York City can be predatory, with police officers often hiding in wait for people to jump the turnstile in neighborhoods of color. Parents should never have to fear that their children will suffer police brutality on their ride home from school. When our youth have guns pointed at them for hopping a turnstile, that is reproductive injustice.” Read more

The Growing Threat to Free Speech Online (Time) 

David French discusses the threats to free speech in the online world posed by reforming or repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: “Politicians have campaigns and ad budgets, and they also have abundant opportunities to speak online and in the real world. If they succeeded in making social media companies liable for users’ speech, they would pay no meaningful price. You would, however. Your ability to say what you believe, to directly participate in the debates and arguments that matter most to you would change, dramatically.”
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The Best Advice from Therapists, From 50 Different People (Teen Vogue) 

Alexa Lisitza compiles a list of the best pieces of advice from therapists (as reported by 50 different people who benefited from such advice), including Juan, who shares his thoughts on his therapist’s advice to learn self-compassion: “When you spend your whole life being very cruel/hurtful to yourself, this translates to a lack of self-esteem that feels permanent. If you've hurt someone else, you don't remedy that by blindly praising them and hyping them up; the right thing to do is to acknowledge your offense, apologize and change your actions. The biggest breakthrough I had was realizing that I could do that to myself, too.” Read more

Structural Racism in Medicine Worsens the Health of Black Women and Infants (Truthout) 

Akilah Wise explores the reasons why Black women in the U.S. are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared with their white counterparts: “Black women experience high levels of chronic stress produced by systematic racial bias and institutionalized racism structures, which have physiological consequences that can lead to higher health risks. Black women also encounter discrimination and bias in clinical and health-care settings from providers, contributing to the disparity in maternal care and fatality rates.” Read more

The Emancipatory Past and Future of Black Politics (Jacobin) 

Paul Prescod considers the emancipatory past of Black politics before turning his focus to the future of racial justice: “The labor movement is decimated, but still significant and diverse. Battles over the public sector will be key to resisting the horrifying plunge in black workers’ living standards. Campaigns on issues like public education, saving the post office, and robust job programs are rooted in the concrete concerns of black working people across the board. Moving forward in this spirit is the only way true racial justice can be achieved.” 
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