In 2015, Jennifer Marie Russo sought a protection order against her estranged husband Travis Lee Stroud. Ms. Russo, a writer who uses the pen name “Juniper Russo,” and also known as Juniper Russo Tarascio, had married Stroud in 2013 and the couple lived in an apartment in the Chattanooga suburb of Red Bank, Tennessee. In a petition filed July 21, 2015, in Chancery Court of Hamilton County, Tennessee, Ms. Russo alleged that Stroud had engaged in “extreme verbal and psychological abuse” of her daughter from a previous relationship. In her petition, Ms. Russo also alleged that she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by Stroud, who she said had subjected her to “physical violence.”

Ms. Russo’s accusations against her husband in that case made no headlines, unlike another story six months earlier in January 2015:

Chattanooga transgender woman

lands $100,000 book deal

If Cinderella landed a big book deal instead of a prince, her story might resemble Meredith Russo.

New York-based Flatiron Books, an offshoot of MacMillan, is publishing Russo’s first book, a young adult novel called “If I Was Your Girl.” Russo says she is getting a $100,000 advance for the book, a number backed up by her editor at Flatiron who won’t give an exact number but says it’s six figures.

Editor Amy Einhorn, who oversees Flatiron’s YA division, is the same editor who found “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett and shepherded into print and the top of bestseller lists. It later became a movie that won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Octavia Spencer.

Unlike Cinderella, Russo, 28, never relied on magic to change her life. Russo’s success is due to talent, toil — she supported her writing career with unglamorous jobs ranging from dishwasher to call center aide — and courage. Russo, who grew up in Chattanooga, was born male and began living life as a transgender woman when she became an adult. “If I Was Your Girl” is about a beautiful, intelligent, blonde transgender teen girl who forms a loving bond with a straight male high school football player. The story is set in the Chattanooga area with descriptive details based on Rhea County, where much of Russo’s family still lives.

Travis Lee Stroud, aka “Meredith Russo,” apparently has never faced any criminal charges related to the allegations of abuse and sexual assault made in Jennifer Russo’s 2015 petition for a protection order. However, Stroud had been arrested in Hamilton County, Tennessee, in November 2014, on a charge of “interference with emergency calls.”

Travis Lee Stroud, aka “Meredith Russo,” published a New York Times opinion column Tuesday with the headline, “What It Feels Like to Use the Wrong Bathroom.” That column made no mention of the abuse allegations made against Stroud by Jennifer Russo.

Documents related to the July 2015 protection-order case were posted on the Facebook page of Missi Faulkner, who wrote: “And this is the voice that the New York Times thinks deserves to be heard? A man who assaults women and children? This is disgusting!”

Travis Stroud’s estranged wife, Jennifer Russo, is an advocate of “ecofeminism” and “gender egalitarianism.” While she was pregnant with her son, Ms. Russo wrote on her blog, “My family doesn’t ‘do’ gender norms,” and said she had “realized it’s much harder to encourage boys to live confidently outside of restrictive gender norms,” recommending her “favorite books for, and about, gender-nonconforming boys.”

Judging by photos posted to the @Mer_Squared Twitter account, Stroud/”Russo” has custody of (or at least visitation rights with) a 2-year-old son, Darwin, that he/”she” and Jennifer Russo had together.

An online biography states: “MEREDITH RUSSO was born, raised, and lives in Tennessee. She started living as her true self in late 2013 and never looked back. . . . When she’s not busy writing she can be found . . . raising her two amazing children, Vivian and Darwin.” However, an October 2015 affidavit filed in a Hamilton County circuit court indicates that Stroud/”Russo” was only allowed to see one of the children under the supervision of a relative, who was required to swear that the child would never be left unattended with Stroud/”Russo.”

When his/”her” New York Times column was criticized, Stroud/”Russo” retorted on Twitter: “I have a toddler and an eight year old.”

A Twitter message was sent to Stroud/”Russo,” as well as to his/”her” editors at the New York Times and Flatiron Books, seeking comment about Jennifer Russo’s allegations. No response was received.

(Hat-tip: Cathy Brennan on Twitter.)

UPDATE: Steven Crowder actually had most of this story Wednesday evening, and Cathy Brennan says Gender Trender (@GallusMag on Twitter) deserves credit for helping expose the story.

There may be further developments in the story, but right now, the focus should be on the complete absence of standards at the New York Times.

Young feminist Landen Gambill noted the irony:

So Russo's victim gets to see her rapist publicly praised as a hero while liberals ignore violence because it doesn't fit the narrative. — Landen Gambill (@landengambill) May 26, 2016

Maybe “rape culture” only matters when it involves college boys.















Share this: Share

Twitter

Facebook



Reddit



Comments