In this episode Sasha and M.K. dive into the topic of non-binary identity, in particular when adopted by women. With Demi Lovato as a recent and famous example, and the general trend of young women currently taking on the label, they consider why a certain segment of women today are attempting to flee womanhood through this new identity.
In this episode, Sasha and M.K. discuss the story of Valerie Pelletier, who was fired from a Canadian women’s organization last year for expressing her gender critical views outside of work. Valerie went public with the details of her story on May 14th, in an interview with Plebity. They discuss the ins and outs of the story, what we think of it, and why this is so ominous for free speech and women only spaces.
Valerie Pelletier is a feminist, street musician and survivor of the sex industry from the age of 16 to 23 years old.
Valerie joins me to talk about her life story and the most recent event of being fired from a women's resource organization in Canada for her gender critical Facebook posts.
Public shame has been a method of social control since the beginning of human societies and shame is described by some psychologists as a “survival emotion.” Today, public shaming is often used to discourage unwanted behaviors or ideas ranging from the genuinely awful (sexual assault) to the questionable (off-color tweets from a decade ago). Thanks to the internet, public shaming is no longer limited to the stocks in the town square but can include viral videos spreading the globe in a matter of hours. The stakes are higher than ever.
Bad data generates bad research; bad research generates bad treatments; bad treatments generate bad outcomes.
This episode is about shame.
We begin with our usual segment, ICYMI—'In Case You Missed It' where we highlight some of this week's events in the gender critical world.
Then we do a deep dive into shame. Does shame play a role in encouraging people to remain silent rather than to speak out about a controversial issue? Does it have a role in helping bad ideas to disseminate?
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In this episode Sasha sits down with Jodi Shaw and Colin Wright for a conversation on gender identity ideology, critical race theory, and what it was like to be excommunicated from their careers after going against the grain of political and cultural orthodoxy.
Cancellation, like the death of a loved one, is a loss. It can be the loss of a job, the loss of friends, the loss of community, the loss of home, the loss of a sense of safety and security, the loss of a future you had planned, and, often, the loss of an identity.
After the immediate crisis passes, when you are forced to get back to some semblance of “normal,” can be when the weight of these losses really hits the hardest.
Most people I know who have been cancelled define their life in two stages: The Before, and The After. The change is often one so great that it impacts nearly every aspect of your life. For some, being “cancelled” becomes a new, defining part of their identity.
For me, cancellation proved that I couldn’t rely on others for my financial safety. It also proved that anchoring my support system in a community that required strict adherence to a particular ideology was untenable. I decided I needed freedom, and set out to create a life for myself centered around this idea.
This episode is the second part of a two part series on surviving cancellation (part one is episode 14). MK and Sasha talk about how to rebuild after a cancellation or firing.