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Original poster

Biden's State of the Union address and his disregard for women's rights

57 replies

Cailleach1 · 02/03/2022 07:05

Joe Biden has doubled down on the 'rights' of anyone, and everyone who wishes to do so, to encroach on the safety, dignity and fairness of women.

Only recently hard won opportunities, places and spaces for women will now be open to males who simply wish to access or take them. Thus depriving a woman of her right to something which was created for her in order to address inequalities and challenges specific to women.

And for our LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong.

As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your President, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.

Is it a male's god given potential to destroy women's sports, and force them to have to undress in their presence (as the Penn women's swimming team reportedly are coerced to do, in fear of censure or removal from the team). Whose potential is being enhanced in medication and surgical removal of body parts in healthy young people?

The phrase 'open your mouth and remove all doubt' springs to mind. Kamala apparently busy clapping him on. Just wondering out loud if some backer is demanding their misogynistic wishes be implemented before they'll open their purses for the next election. Is that democracy in action?

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/01/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered/

OP posts:
Delphinium20 · 02/03/2022 18:47

Who actually in these threads has ever been threatened, abused or have their rights denied by a transgender person?

My DD lost a top spot on her sport team to a transgirl, which meant no opportunity to play with the elite team (they only took top girls from each lower team) and because I'm in the US that means she has fewer opportunities for a scholarship in that sport.

OvaHere · 02/03/2022 18:46

@wingscrow assuming you're new to this and not just here to be provocative (we do get a lot of that) you should probably familiarise yourself with some of the many threads here that explain in intricate detail what the problems are.

Many are to do with English or Scottish law so if you are from the US or elsewhere I would start with the threads on women's sports (notably L Thomas).

Or the threads about women's prisons where women in many countries are being locked up with violent male offenders, many whom have raped and murdered women. Those two areas have relevance everywhere and the potential to impact women globally.

FalopianUtopia · 02/03/2022 17:51

He mixed up Iranians and Ukrainians in a speech.

“Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.” Grin Hmm ]grin]

Not surprised he doesn't know the difference between male and female. That man is a senile puppet.

MichelleScarn · 02/03/2022 17:32

@wingscrow so if it didn't happen to you or your friends it didn't happen?

wingscrow · 02/03/2022 17:27

When I read threads like this one my first thought is always that you are not speaking for all women and I am not clear what rights I am losing as a woman if someone wants to transition...

I really don't understand this. I must be living on another planet because I don't wake up every day thinking that my life would be so much better if I did not have to share spaces or come in contact with transgender women or transgender men.

Who actually in these threads has ever been threatened, abused or have their rights denied by a transgender person?

I was raised by an abusive father, faced male aggression, discrimination, sexism and misogyny many times and was sexually assaulted by a male friend. All were cis men living as men. Those are the people who have tried to threaten my rights...

I don't know a single person who has had any issues with a transgender man or woman.

I am asking myself again, what is the reason for this constant obsession with demonising them?

Kilimanjaro97 · 02/03/2022 17:04

@Floisme: Point taken Grin

Delphinium20 · 02/03/2022 16:46

I've said this before but Joe Biden (a person I genuinely respect) has no clue what's happening in trans rights vs women's rights. He thinks it's about gay, sad, weak boys who are getting beaten up in schools. He** should be paying attention to Lia Thomas but he's also in the middle of a pandemic and there's a war in Ukraine. I can't blame him for not understanding the trans bill because our own media fails to report on it accurately. He set this shit in motion because his friend Sarah McBride, a transwoman, has his ear. While Biden is accountable, he's also clueless. Also, it's the GOP who are always against LGB and women's rights so it takes a lot of will to override your cognitive dissonance and accept the Republicans are right about it this one issue. Biden isn't alone in his utter cluelessness-I see it in my own Democrat friends.

It's up to critical thinking Americans to reach out to their senators to change the language in the Equality Act and ADD "sex" which currently isn't in it. We have to fight this because the president isn't bothering to pay attention (and I won't fault him for it too much considering all the other issues).

Floisme · 02/03/2022 16:20

I think you might be making some fair points kilimajaro but has it been suggested that you might have more impact if you were less aggressive? Wink

Kilimanjaro97 · 02/03/2022 16:14

And yet 'op' just quoted straight from Joe Biden's speech! How very misleading, indeed.
Transgender 'rights' was the only part of the Equality Act Joe Biden was focused on in his speech. Are you saying the transcript from the Whitehouse was misleading?

Did you actually read the whole of Biden’s speech? Are you deliberately quoting only a very small section? Because that is indeed misleading.

Did you miss the bit that said “Advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women”? Did you spot the section on on Roe v Wade? Preserving a woman’s right to choose and advancing maternal care? Did you see the bit about srengthening the Violence against women act? I do not see these as Biden demonstrating “a disregard for women’s rights”. Quite the opposite.

The Equality Act, with which you take issue, will stop certain US states (29) keeping laws which allow them to discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a range of areas. eg banning lesbian couples from renting homes. It will also expand protections for people of colour. There is a lot of really positive stuff in the bill.

I happen to agree that the definitions of “sex” in the bill are too broad and that they could endanger sex based rights of women and girls.
But would it not be more productive to focus on getting those definitions changed rather than opposing the bill in its entirety?

And be in no doubt that the majority of people who are opposing the bill in its entirety are doing so because they think it is right to allow discrimination against women, people of colour, and all LGBT people in all situations.

ToastieCrumbs · 02/03/2022 15:29

[quote Kilimanjaro97]@Cailleach1

I am saying that the issue is MUCH more nuanced than your posts suggest.

And you would have more impact if you were less aggressive.[/quote]
And when is Biden going to discuss that nuance then?

There isn’t an ounce of aggression in Cailleach1’s posts. Assertiveness and engagement yes. Aggression no.

It would very much suit some people to have women get back in our box, stop being assertive and not question the details, but false accusations of aggressiveness won’t work here.

Delphinium20 · 02/03/2022 14:48

@MoltenLasagne

Slightly off topic, but isn't the US supposed to be secular now? How do the atheists in the country feel about their president still using phrasing like "God given potential"?
Oh no. The US still has a very, very strong religious bent. It's why gender identity is so tough to counter because Americans are primed to respect subjective internal feelings and those little in the know nod their heads and say Amen to the gender god.
OvaHere · 02/03/2022 14:35

[quote Kilimanjaro97]@Cailleach1

I am saying that the issue is MUCH more nuanced than your posts suggest.

And you would have more impact if you were less aggressive.[/quote]
There's fuck all nuance over whether men are women because they say so. They are not.

Stop tone policing the OP. She is rightfully angry as we all are.

Floisme · 02/03/2022 14:30

And you would have more impact if you were less aggressive.

If the point of your post was to remind us that the USA is not the UK then that's fair. However I lost track after this absurd accusation. Being passionate and direct is not the same as being aggressive and, if you can't tell the difference well then maybe that says more about you than it does the op.

spacehardware · 02/03/2022 14:06

We are all happy to see the back of the orange toupe wearer, but Biden is an actual moron non? Like a reanimated corpse reading from an autocue

Kilimanjaro97 · 02/03/2022 14:04

@Cailleach1

I am saying that the issue is MUCH more nuanced than your posts suggest.

And you would have more impact if you were less aggressive.

Original poster
Cailleach1 · 02/03/2022 13:19

The pledge of allegiance has 'one nation under God' in it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cailleach1 · 02/03/2022 13:15

@Kilimanjaro97

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/25/fact-sheet-the-equality-act-will-provide-long-overdue-civil-rights-protections-for-millions-of-americans/

It is much more nuanced than OP has suggested. The proposed legislation will stop US states passing laws discriminating against LGBT people in a whole range of circumstances, similar to the UK Equality Act.
Eg it will become illegal to say I am not renting an apartment to you because you are a lesbian couple, or I will not employ you because you are homosexual. Surely we should all be supporting these aspects of the legislation.

As is the case with UK laws, there will be issues around clashes of rights - particularly between women and trans women. But these will be addressed during the legislative process. The first drafts of laws are rarely the laws which are actually passed.

And yet 'op' just quoted straight from Joe Biden's speech! How very misleading, indeed.

Transgender 'rights' was the only part of the Equality Act Joe Biden was focused on in his speech. Are you saying the transcript from the Whitehouse was misleading? Are we not to believe politicians when they tell us who they are? Are we to twist his speech to pretend that he didn't just focus on those two paragraphs dedicated to this ideological movement, without any care to the associated inherent decimation of women's opportunities, dignity or fairness? Please link to the missing part of the speech that the Whitehouse must have forgotten to write up. Again one would simply wonder if his vocal and singular focus on transgender 'rights', seemingly without any care to ramifications and implications for the wellbeing and rights of others is to appease (or at the behest of) backers with large purses.

So, maybe women might just be lucky, and there is a chance (outside?) the legislation will not decimate women's rights to equality and fairness as it proceeds. Or, maybe they won't be so fortunate. However, whatever happens, women should be thankful as others always come first. Should we leave the opportunities, dignity and fairness for our daughters and granddaughters to the vicarious goodwill of others? No, thank you.

I think it would be better for women's rights not to be reliant on a wing and a prayer. To hold women's rights (not even advance) the misogynistic and anti-equality (to women) elements should be rooted out now. Before it proceeds. How wonderful it would be to start out with a proposal to advance rights that doesn't contain elements which are inherently damaging to women's rights.

The young women at Penn State University swimming team have to race against a certain L. Thomas. Young women whose achievements, scholarships and future is being destroyed.

Women are forced to share prison cells and have no refuge from males even when deeply vulnerable to abuse. Whose 'rights' are paramount to Joe Biden there do you think? From his focus in his 'State of the Union' address.

Screwing women over is not a 'right'. It is misogyny and has no place in even the starting point of any legislation.

OP posts:
OvaHere · 02/03/2022 11:36

@MoltenLasagne

Ovahere thanks for correcting me - I really thought it was like France and all about separation of church and state. I find it jarring to hear religious language in political speeches.
I think a lot of Democrats try to straddle a fine line. Many may not be religious themselves but the electorate who vote Dem is very broad. The atheists or agnostics of the US are very likely to vote Democrat but so are many immigrants from SA countries and the Black community, both those groups can be deeply religious.

I think the US is a long way from being able to separate church and state, if ever.

MoltenLasagne · 02/03/2022 11:27

Ovahere thanks for correcting me - I really thought it was like France and all about separation of church and state. I find it jarring to hear religious language in political speeches.

OvaHere · 02/03/2022 11:22

@MoltenLasagne

Slightly off topic, but isn't the US supposed to be secular now? How do the atheists in the country feel about their president still using phrasing like "God given potential"?
It's very much not secular. Joe Biden has made much of his Catholic faith during his decades in office. A lot of Democrats do downplay it some of the time compared to Republican counterparts but God and religion does still work it's way into speeches on that side of the aisle in both the House and Senate. I recall a couple of years ago listening to a Nancy Pelosi speech about something and God/religion was invoked as part of the speech.
Kilimanjaro97 · 02/03/2022 09:59

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/25/fact-sheet-the-equality-act-will-provide-long-overdue-civil-rights-protections-for-millions-of-americans/

It is much more nuanced than OP has suggested. The proposed legislation will stop US states passing laws discriminating against LGBT people in a whole range of circumstances, similar to the UK Equality Act.
Eg it will become illegal to say I am not renting an apartment to you because you are a lesbian couple, or I will not employ you because you are homosexual. Surely we should all be supporting these aspects of the legislation.

As is the case with UK laws, there will be issues around clashes of rights - particularly between women and trans women. But these will be addressed during the legislative process. The first drafts of laws are rarely the laws which are actually passed.

Youmadeyourbed · 02/03/2022 09:59

I think the Democratic Progressive wing were going to issue a rebuttal of the State of the Union criticising Biden, so he's appealing to his own party rather than the electorate.

Youmadeyourbed · 02/03/2022 09:55

@Lovelyricepudding

When are the midterm elections?
November this year. The Democrats are forecast to get a hammering and there's a good chance they will lose control of the House of Reps. There's been a bit of wild conjecture that, if the Republicans get the House, they will instal Trump as Speaker (this does not have to be an elected congress person), thus making him the 3rd most powerful person in the country after Biden and Harris, and in a position to create all kinds mischief. It is possible in practice, but probably improbable, not least because Trump's popularity has really taken a nosedive. Nevertheless, whoever the Republicans instal as Speaker, they will be blocking Biden every step of the way.
Lovelyricepudding · 02/03/2022 09:53

@Lovelyricepudding

When are the midterm elections?
To answer my own question - November.
LondonWolf · 02/03/2022 09:32

Hmm, what a vote winner.

Wonder where all the future votes will come from though. after many of those voters are made infertile and unable to pass their values on to offspring?