Personal Struggles, Agnès Varda and the Tragedy in Minneapolis
- Anne Marie
- Sep 21
- 15 min read
Updated: Sep 30
By Anne Marie
Part One: I honestly don’t know what is going on right now
I don’t know what to think of/call myself these days, in terms of gender. I don’t mean that I think I have a gender identity; I mean, what am I? Gender critical? A gender ideology unbeliever? That seems a little wordy, and I wish I had something pithier. Some people call themselves gender atheists, but since I was an actual atheist for many years, and am not anymore, I’m a little uncomfortable with that one.
In the past couple of years, I have written a few articles from France about the common ground between women in France and Canada as we fight to stop men who claim a “woman identity” from stealing our sex-based rights and invading our single sex spaces and activities, and as we attempt to stop the abuse of young people by adherents of this horrendous neoreligion.
But I haven’t been able to think much about the gender wars the last six months (though I have tried to follow the big events like court cases in Australia and the U.S., the shift in sports policies, stuff like that) because earlier this year my house burned down in eastern Canada while I was, guess where, in France. Several members of my family were in the house, but everyone managed to escape, even the animals. However, we lost everything else. My husband and I got back as quickly as we could.
The last few months have been a swirl of shock, confusion, attempts at recovery, and dealing with other complications. The fire occurred just as we were in negotiations to move our business to a new host. As we were staying in a hotel immediately post fire (multiple family members, two dogs, and a cat), and beginning to look for longer-term short-term accommodation, every single member of the family got the flu, or covid, or some such illness. And while we were all reeling from events, and many of us unable to get out of bed, things began to unravel from the financial end, as our former commercial host took advantage of our situation and attempted to steal our business from us. Enter the lawyers.
But still we soldiered on, and just kept putting one foot in front of another. Then yesterday, our 18-year-old cat died, and my two younger sons, who were 11 and 6 years old when we got her, were plunged into overwhelming grief.
What does this have to do with gender woo in Canada?
A lot, I think.
While our situation may be extreme, at the moment, the reality is that Canadian families are under extreme stress and pressure. We are all fighting our own private wars. I was asked recently to consider becoming a rep for Women’s Declaration International, and had initially accepted, but a stress-related health issue made me rethink. In the end I felt I had to decline.
I know I am not alone, and that many, many Canadian women feel very strongly about the loss of our sex-based rights in this country, but we are so overwhelmed by our responsibilities that we can’t take the time to write a letter, much less join an organization or volunteer. And because the media in Canada is so captured, many women who would be horrified if they knew the facts about things like men in women’s prisons, or the treatment of parents who challenge the indoctrination of children, never hear them.
On April 7, 2025, on behalf of Canadian Women's Sex-Based Rights, lawyers provided by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms filed a lawsuit seeking an end to the practice of forcibly confining female inmates of federal prisons with trans-identifying male inmates.
But here I am, back in France for a few weeks. And today I went to an exhibition at the history of Paris museum (this is not the first time I have written about them). This one was devoted to photographer and film director Agnès Varda.
Varda was born in Belgium in 1928, but came to Paris during the war. She started her long, fruitful career after doing coursework in photography, and soon found a home, and a studio, near Montparnasse, where she lived and worked for more than 50 years, raising two children, and holding court amongst the art and film-making world of Paris until her death in 2019.
The first observation regarding the exhibition (which my husband immediately pointed out): the crowd was at least 80 percent female. My 6’3” husband was constantly being elbowed out of the way. He didn’t mind. He understands the female craving for exposure to women’s art, women’s achievements, women’s thought.
I found myself so moved by this exhibit, by Varda’s work, her images, her words, her hope, her photos of women, children, families (and cats) that I walked out feeling as if I had been thrown a life buoy as I was drowning.
Varda knew what a woman is. She understood our importance in the world. She was fearless, and supported the work of other women. She was unafraid of the female body, valued motherhood, produced work that was fascinating and respected by artists the world over, and moved with the times. She was completely unafraid of change, but also respected reality.
Varda took pictures of celebrities, but also of the Spanish refugee family she took into her home, her Italian neighbours, and the elderly couple who lived down the street. She photographed women in every aspect of feminine life. She made films about a woman facing a possible cancer diagnosis, about young women’s encounters on the street, about children making their way to the Louvre to take art classes, and about herself and her own life as a photographer. She was engaging, charming, and humorous. She seemed oblivious to sex-role stereotypes in her own life, but was very aware of the role things like fashion play in the lives of most women.
While at least one online review has attempted to portray the current exhibition as Varda’s “Photographic Odes to Queer Paris,” this, if you will excuse my language, is BS. It is another example of the alphabet squad attempting to hijack women’s lives and work for its own ends.
What I saw was not only Varda’s fascination with women, but women’s fascination with her work, her thoughts and images. Virtually every photo, film clip, magazine layout, advertisement and interview at the exhibit was surrounded, as women engaged with Varda as a group, and as individuals.
A couple of things struck me, and I mean struck as with a metaphorical slap to the head.
One was a photograph of a very young Gerard Depardieu, perhaps the most famous French actor of all time, who has recently been convicted of sexual assault in the French courts.
The museum posted a statement that it stands with the victims, but that his involvement in Varda’s projects in the late 1960s/early 70s required a mention. Someone had written the word “PORC” on a piece of paper, and placed it on top of the photo. Depardieu was also visible in a collection of clips taken from Varda’s short and feature-length films. My takeaway? There is more than one way that men can sabotage the work of women. Association is a powerful influence on our thoughts.
The other thing was that this was the first women-focused exhibition I have been to in years that did not include a single reference to gender ideology, or to men who pretend to be women. This is also the first exhibition I have been to in a long time where I did not see an actual man larping as a woman in the venue itself. It was a joy to experience this event in the company of women, and a few interested men. I am hoping that this is a harbinger of real change. Certainly, the feeling I got from the women who attended was of celebration, and hope.
Part Two: After the Minneapolis Shooting
When I submitted this essay to Gender Dissent, the editor and I pondered whether it was too personal, too short, and perhaps not well-enough connected to the gender world of Canada. In the end, GD offered to publish it as it was. But I didn’t finish it and send the final draft. Why? Because of August 27.
August 27 is our wedding anniversary. As we sat enjoying a beautiful meal in a Paris restaurant, celebrating, despite the year we are having, more than 40 years of marriage, a confused young person in the United States was committing one of the most evil acts a human can do: the murder of innocent children.
As soon as we heard, I had a horrible fear. Soon it was borne out. Yes, the killer was a young person who had been convinced that he was the opposite sex.
Much has been made of the fact that this was not the first attack on children and others in a Christian school. As a Catholic myself, this fact has made an impact on me emotionally and spiritually, and has contributed to my feelings of overwhelming horror and sadness. But since so many people have examined this issue, I feel no desire to go into detail about my own feelings on that particular issue. Rather, I feel the need to say something that I haven’t seen anyone addressing.
Many people are becoming aware of the horrors of the physical damage caused by “gender affirming care” to young bodies. But what is less well known, I believe, is the effect that these “gender affirming” treatments have on mental health.
Here’s what we know. We know that young people do not have complete executive functionality in their brains until the age of 25 (or even later, especially for males). We know that young males tend to be the most violent of humans. And yet some gender-affirming luminaries, such as Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy (who was recently excoriated for delaying the publication of a potentially negative report on the effects of “puberty blockers”) have decided that it is a great idea to experiment on human adolescents by giving them cross-sex hormones.
Recently Olson-Kennedy and friends conducted a study on youth who had been treated with hormones, and the results, they gushed, showed that “During the study period, appearance congruence, positive affect, and life satisfaction increased, and depression and anxiety symptoms decreased.”
The authors, and the mainstream media that covered the study, seemed unfazed by the fact that out of the 315 study participants, 11 of the young people experienced suicidal ideation and two of them actually killed themselves.
Again, recent research sounds the alarm on giving estrogen to males of any age, but add the instability of the developing young brain to the mix and that alarm becomes infinitely louder. As biologist Colin Wright reported in a recent article on this new research:
“One especially unsettling section explores how estrogen may affect the male brain. A few small brain-imaging studies found that several months of estrogen use led to “an increase in ventricular volume and a decrease in brain volume.” Studies in male rats showed similar effects: estrogen and testosterone blockers reduced brain volume and altered brain chemistry. The authors suggest these changes may result from disruptions in how water is regulated in brain cells—potentially mimicking patterns seen in degenerative diseases.
The paper also notes that levels of BDNF—a brain chemical critical for mood and memory—tend to decline in patients on cross-sex hormones. Low BDNF is associated with depression and shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory. Taken together, these findings raise the possibility that estrogen may produce lasting changes in male brain structure and function.”
Can it be any more clear? Cross-sex hormones have the potential to destroy male bodies and brains. Should we be giving them to young people, before they have the full executive function in their brains to make such life choices? —Anne Marie
The effects of the so-called “puberty blockers,” like Lupron, on adults and children alike, are well known. I remember clearly, many years ago, speaking to my doctor about my concerns regarding the administration of Lupron to children:
“Who is giving Lupron to children?” he shouted.
“Umm, our provincial children’s hospital,” I replied.
I could tell he didn’t believe me, and I could only encourage him to find out for himself. This is what I mean when I say that Canadian media has failed us on this issue. Even doctors do not always know what is happening in our hospitals and clinics. But I digress.
[ESSAY CONTINUES BELOW]
Andrew Lam @ 1:54: There are puberty blockers, which temporarily stop the progression of puberty and provide the child with more time to seek supports and to explore their goals and gender identity. For example, through clothing. The treatment is reversible, with puberty beginning typically within three to six months.
[Image displays of a syringe underneath which the drug name "Leuprolide acetate" is written. "Lupron" is a brand name for Leuprolide acetate.]
Editor's note: Somehow, CBC, and the entire acquiescent medical establishment, when broadcasting that the effects of puberty blockers are "reversible", failed to consider that a little boy's penis remains a little-boy penis if the little boy's puberty is blocked. It does not "grow in" once the boy's natural hormonal process is "unblocked" years later. Just ask gender-hoaxed poster child, Jazz Jennings.
Jazz was put on puberty blockers at 11 years old. His resulting "micro penis" did not provide enough flesh to create Jazz a new hole as desired when, in 2018, at the age at 17, he underwent a penile inversion (a "gender-affirming" surgical procedure) under the supervision of Dr. Marci Bowers, former president of the now-discredited World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
Canada's hospitals, except in Alberta, continue to follow WPATH's "Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (V.8)." even while many countries that have undertaken careful review have ceased do so after determining "there is no reliable proof of benefit, and the risks are too serious to allow the experiment to continue."
[ESSAY CONTINUES]
What about females? Does the administration of testosterone affect the mental health of young women? It is honestly difficult to find good sources on the effects of testosterone on the female human brain, but a site called TRANS BRAIN FX, which provides links to a variety of scientific studies, says this:
“Testosterone has been linked to female autism and psychiatric disorders: Females with high testosterone conditions have elevated rates of autism, and females with autism have elevated rates of testosterone-related disorders.
This was reported by researchers from the U.K. in 2018 and Sweden in 2016. Researchers said in 2010 that high testosterone conditions might be a “biomarker” for female autism. Researchers began to correlate testosterone with autism in females back in 2007.
Researchers also linked high testosterone conditions to female psychiatric disorders and behavioral problems, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, suicidal behavior, criminality, psychopathic traits, cognitive problems, mood problems, body dissatisfaction, risky decisions, and aggression.”
So, I guess that’s a yes. And as we recently saw in Nashville, confused young women are also capable of horrific acts of violence.
Can I tie all this up with a neat bow? Absolutely not. That’s part of the sad reality of this rather dark moment in human history. But the last two weeks have reaffirmed my commitment to step back into the fray, regardless of my personal situation. We must all commit ourselves in this struggle for, as Colin Wright calls it, "Reality’s Last Stand."
There is nothing more important, in my opinion, than resisting the impetus towards passivity, towards an inclination to just give in and give up because life right now is a challenge for most people. Yes, it is. But our grandchildren depend upon us to get this right. —Anne Marie
You can’t change your sex. And trying to pretend you can hurts your brain. It’s that simple.
Author Anne Marie is an artist living in Atlantic Canada who will not give up her fight against gender ideology until her granddaughter's sex-based rights are respected by Canadian federal and provincial governments.
EDITOR'S AFTERWORD
As this article was being prepared—two weeks to the day following the Minneapolis school shooting—Charlie Kirk, icon of the American conservative and Christian youth movement, was assassinated in broad daylight in front of thousands of young people at Utah Valley University.
Experienced in real time, in real life, Charlie Kirk was killed right before their eyes with a single bullet shot through the neck.
As founder and president of Turning Point USA—a conservative nonprofit championing Republican and right-leaning ideas—Kirk was not only influential but also personally close with the President. His murder was therefore immediately cast as a political assassination. During the 33-hour manhunt that followed, it seemed all of North America was on high alert as we waited confirmation that Kirk's killer had been caught.
Kirk's confessed assassin, Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on September 11 at his parents' home in Washington County, Utah, after investigators were shown incriminating text messages on his roommate's phone. According to the indictment, Robinson's mother stated that he was “dating his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders.”
A message inscribed on the spent bullet casing of the murder read, “NoTices Bulge OwO What’s This?”, a social media meme popularized by persons engaged in "furry” culture (link NSFW)— a sexually bizarre and literally de-humanizing corner of the queer lifestyle.
Not unironically, Kirk was shot as he was responding to a student question about the prevalence of transgender mass shooters in the US:
Hunter Kozak: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?
Kirk: Too many.
Kozak: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"
Kirk: Counting or not counting gang violence?
[A "pop" is heard. Charlie jerks slightly as blood pours from the bullet wound through his neck. He slumps sideways.]
By now, millions upon millions of people around the world have seen, and absorbed the psychological impact of, the horrific image of Charlie Kirk's killing.
Kirk faced frequent criticism from left-leaning commentators and organizations for his views on transgender rights, for reinforcing conventional male/female gender roles, and for challenging “progressive” ideology.
Kirk also engaged, however, in open dialogue with people who do not share all of his views—including radical feminists.
In February 2022, Kirk hosted Identity and Gender with Charlie Kirk on the Trinity Broadcasting Network on which Kara Dansky, an attorney and then-president of the US chapter of Women's Declaration International, was a guest.
Dansky recently reflected on the interview in her Substack piece, My 2022 interview with Charlie Kirk. She notes that through that conversation, a “lot of political conservatives were made aware of the radical feminist critique of so-called gender identity.”
It seems that Dansky's message was received. A lot has changed in the US since then, in policy and in law, towards re-recognizing the rights of women and the protections of children. It gives hope to many Canadians that the same sweeping policy and legislative changes could eventually happen here, under a different federal government.
Continuing to raise awareness of the pro-realist critique of gender among as many audiences possible—conservative, liberal or otherwise—remains essential for our movement that aims to reclaim our sex-based rights and protect children from body- and mind-destroying ideological forces.
“I get a lot of flak for going on conservative media. To anyone who would criticize me for accepting conservative platforms, I say: ‘If you can get me a platform on CNN, MSNBC, or the New York Times, great. I’m happy to accept’ as I mentioned in a 2024 post called “Why Can’t We Talk About This” —Kara Dansky
In introducing the show, Charlie said:
"Tonight, we’re going to talk about some controversial topics, some people would say—topics about gender, transgenderism, identity, and how this all fits with the gospel and with American Christianity. "I get questions from people all across the country. They say ‘Charlie, what is a Christian supposed to do about this issue? What is the church supposed to do? Is the Bible clear about transgenderism or gender roles in particular?’ "We have answers to all those questions.” – Charlie Kirk
Whether the church, the Bible, Charlie Kirk, or anyone, has the answers to ALL those questions remains a point of debate. However, the damage done to the physical and mental health of young people undergoing medical treatment for gender dysphoria—and of all vulnerable youth currently steeping in gender ideology—cannot, must not, continue to be disputed while the evidence of harm is so damn clear.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians shared the shock and horror of Charlie Kirk's assassination with our American sisters and brothers. Thousands attended vigils in his honour. In Alberta alone, vigils were held in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Cochrane.
A Gender Dissent reader attended the vigil for Charlie in Calgary on September 14. She writes:
I was glad to be part of the Calgary vigil for Charlie Kirk. I am not religious but I found comfort in coming together for this impromptu gathering which leaned heavily on faith. It made be realize how useful it is to have a higher belief system to help us make sense of senseless thing. I felt welcomed and it was touching to hear prayers and songs to honour a person who only wanted to increase human connection and understanding in the world. I personally felt his mission was to honour truth and reality and feel it is up to us remaining to continue using our voice to promote truth. —Christine Lilge
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