Hello JMU Feminists! This week our newsroom was run by orangejuice, notjustagirl13, and me (camofrog481)! We covered a wide variety of topics including one local, one national, and two global stories. I hope you learn something new.
Local: Rockingham County Schools Book Ban
In early January, Rockingham County Public Schools voted 4-1 to “temporarily ban” 57 books from their schools’ libraries. The board claimed that these books had violence, profanity, and sexually explicit content. A few examples of books that are no longer available to students include Gender Queer, All American Boys, and Red, White, & Royal Blue. Many books on the list include LGBTQ+ characters and queer relationship. The School Board issued a statement claiming there will be meetings held to work on creating a list to help review future literature. This action caused many students to protest and perform a walk out demonstration. One student said, “taking away the ability to access knowledge puts you in the dark, and takes away your power.”
Story from WHSV 3 on February 2, 2024
National: Florida Bans Transgender Residents from Changing Gender Identity on Driver’s License
In a memo sent out, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Deputy Executive Director Robert Kynoch said “misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver’s license constitutes fraud” and those with licenses that represent their gender identity can face “criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver license.” Kynoch also stated that gender and sex are the same thing. National medical organizations such as the NIH and CDC have two distinct definitions for the terms sex and gender. On top of Florida’s restrictive Don’t Say Gay bills, LGBT+ organizations and activists are saying that Florida is attempting to “erase transgender people from public life”. 22 States currently let residents change their gender identity on their license and also include a gender neutral option.
Story from abcnews.go on February 2nd, 2024
Global: Pregnancy and Menstrual Care in Gaza
Due to a lack of functioning hospitals and hospital staff, many women are being forced to give birth in tents – resulting in large amounts of newborn and maternity deaths. Those that are able to make it to the hospital are given cesareans and asked to leave within the hour to free up a bed. Typically following a c-section, women stay in the hospital for at least 2 days for observation and extra care. Once they leave the hospital, they go back to the streets with a fresh scar and a newborn baby. This leaves lots of women without help should they have complications, bleeding, or infection following this major surgery. One pregnant woman was crushed in rubble after an attack, and her baby stopped moving inside her. She was able to see a doctor a month later, only to discover that the baby was dead inside her, and had been for a month. In addition to pregnancy and birth issues, women in Gaza are experiencing a lack of supplies and care on all fronts. They are being forced to use tent scraps and extra cloth as feminine hygiene products.
Story from KASU.org on January 31, 2024
Global: Femicides in Argentina
Femicide is a term used when a man murders a woman, for no other reason besides she is a woman. Anger toward women has been fastly growing around the world following the overturn of Roe v. Wade and a post-Trump world. Argentina had the largest increase in femicides between 2022 and 2023, seeing a spike of 33% for a total of 322 women murdered. In December of 2023, Argentina elected a Republican President, Javier Milei, who has taken aggressive right wing stances during debates on controversial reforms on gender laws. Despite law enforcement’s best efforts to protect women, the violence continues to increase. Argentina is now the world’s third leader in femicides, following El Salvador and Jamaica. Argentinian women and allies have started a movement with the motto, “Ni Una Muerta Más”, which roughly translates to meaning “not one more”.
Story from The Guardian on January 30, 2024
ShoutOut! James Madison University 