Edition 16: Money Behind the Transgender Movement and Impact on Lesbians

WLRN’s Edition 16 podcast focuses on the money behind the medicalized transgender movement and the impact that the movement has on the lesbian community. We were inspired to these topics by the canceled Left Forum panel that was set to explore them in detail. Our interviewees were all involved in that panel, and WLRN is proud to give them a platform after Left Forum silenced them. Mary Lou Singleton is a lifelong women’s liberation activist. She practiced as a homebirth midwife for 20 years and now works as a family nurse practitioner. She has served on the boards of directors of the Midwives Alliance of North America, the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives, the Stop Patriarchy Abortion Rights Freedom Ride, and the Women’s Liberation Front. Jane Chotard is a former attorney whose specialty was regulatory healthcare, including Standards of Care and Informed Consent. She participated in the formation of California Lawyers for Human Rights, as well as the Women’s Committee at GLAAD in the 1990’s. Currently, she is the mother of two teenage boys and works in the area of Contemplative Care for those facing end-of-life issues. Taylor Fogarty is a Brooklyn-dwelling freelancer who writes about feminism, politics, and anything else she has an opinion on. She also tweets a lot: @theloudlesbian. You can check out her website at www.taylorfogarty.com WLRN staff member Nile Pierce wrote this edition’s commentary, exploring how and why the powerful men in the US-based pharmaceutical industry profit from the transgender movement. This edition’s music spots are Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies” and Ali Bee’s “Look How the Money Rolls In.” Photo credit goes to Alix Dobkin for our featured image of two lesbians in the 70s, Louise and Liza Cowan. As always, this month’s podcast was sound mixed by our resident audio magician in chief, Jenna Di Quarto.