FOSTA and Online Censorship - A Legal Update

Join us on September 23rd (also Sexual Freedom Day!) when Larry Walters and Robert Corn-Revere will update us on all things FOSTA and share insight on Woodhull's pending case. RSVP here.  

New Texas Abortion Law Likely to Unleash a Torrent of Lawsuits Against Online Education, Advocacy and Other Speech (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

David Greene, Cindy Cohn, Corynne McSherry, and Sophia Cope detail how the new Texas abortion law, SB8, will have devastating effects on online speech: “The law creates a cadre of bounty hunters who can use the courts to punish and silence anyone whose online advocacy, education, and other speech about abortion draws their ire. It will undoubtedly lead to a torrent of private lawsuits against online speakers who publish information about abortion rights and access in Texas, with little regard for the merits of those lawsuits or the First Amendment protections accorded to the speech. Individuals and organizations providing basic educational resources, sharing information, identifying locations of clinics, arranging rides and escorts, fundraising to support reproductive rights, or simply encouraging women to consider all their options—now have to consider the risk that they might be sued for merely speaking.”
Read more.

“My Body, My Choice” Doesn’t Meet the Demand of this Moment (Bitch Media) 

Barbara Sostaita writes about language around reproductive justice: “While the right’s unrelenting campaign to criminalize abortion is both infuriating and inhumane, it’s about time that feminists reframe the language we use to defend abortion. ‘My body, my choice’ is highly individualistic and—in the end—fails to convey the ways we’re bound up with each other. Especially as Texas institutes a near-complete ban on abortions, it’s crucial that we embrace language and frameworks that emphasize our mutual responsibilities and interconnectedness.”
Read more.

Teens Moms Say the Pandemic Has Made School a Huge Challenge (Teen Vogue) 

Grace Lee highlights how the pandemic has challenged teen moms: “According to Nicole Lynn, founder of Generation Hope, childcare is a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lynn founded Generation Hope in 2010 with the goal of helping more teen parents get a college education. She says that this past year, around 30% of teen parents in the Generation Hope program have been without childcare. ‘Sometimes you make the assumption that, hey, online courses means you don’t need childcare. But it’s very hard to concentrate when you have a little one at home,’ says Lynn.” Read more.

LGBTQ+ People Are Facing a Housing Crisis as Eviction Moratorium Ends (them.) 

Oliver Haug explains the housing crisis that many LGBTQ+ folks are facing: “Nearly half of LGBTQ+ renters who are behind on rent risk eviction within the next two months, according to a new report. One in five (19%) of LGBTQ+ renters is behind on rent amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to an August brief from The Williams Institute. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, the LGBTQ+ public policy research center found that nearly half of queer and trans people who owe back rent—47%—fear being displaced from their homes as a result.” Read more.

Why Universal Family Care Belongs Atop the Progressive Agenda (The American Prospect) 

Enjoying our fundamental human right to sexual freedom requires that we and our families have access to basic needs, including healthcare. David Dayen argues why universal family care should be at the forefront of the progressive agenda: “Family life today involves a perpetual strategizing to figure out how to incorporate care work into busy lives and strapped budgets. When a child is born, the family must figure out who can raise them; when a parent grows ill, their care must be worked out. Often these things can happen simultaneously, squeezing sandwiched families to the breaking point. Families with children are typically in the earliest part of their career cycle, while seniors are beyond their working life and often on fixed incomes; in both cases, the care needs occur at the worst possible financial moment. And an unexpected illness or disability creates an even bigger shock.” Read more.

OnlyFans’ Banning of Porn and Reversal  (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph comments on OnlyFans’ recent reversal of its proposed on sexually explicit content: “It’s no secret that OnlyFans’ success is overwhelmingly due to the labor of sex workers. After all, Kirshner writes, the company’s name has become ‘synonymous with the adult performers who use it to sell content to their fan bases without going through the old-school porn industry.’ Even with OnlyFans’ massive success—a testament to the adage that ‘sex sells’—several banks, according to founder and chief executive Tim Stokely, cut off OnlyFans from making wire transfers to creators, thus making it almost impossible for many of the contributors to the site to be paid for their labor.” Read more.