To think that JK Rowling is being very unfairly treated.

YANBU

I am what some would call as “woke” as it gets. I am a lefty millennial.

However I am also a scientist by training.

I agree that JKR is being unfairly demonised.

The whole trans debate is a massive philosophical rabbit hole (ontology, anyone?)

We have physical realities and social realities. Yes, you can question physical realities and bring up quantum theory if you want to, but pragmatically speaking, a banana is a banana.
There may well be people out there who are writing phds questioning the banana-ness of bananas and arguing that because one banana in every million is orange and sometimes they are short or fat ot wiggly or straight, then we can’t define a banana as a long curved yellow fruit, and that there is therefore no reason why a satsuma could not also, theoretically, be called a banana. Their arguments would probably have philosophical merit, but in the end we must be pragmatic and defining fruits and veg by their colour shape and taste is the way we have collectively organised our reality. There are always going to be exceptions, and our categorisations are admittedly imperfect, but we need them to get by and function.

Now I realise the comparison is crass and no doubt some people will be offended by it, but really the principle is the same for people (and most living creatures in fact. The exceptions tend to prove the rule). Males have penises/sperm and females have vaginas/eggs. Man is a word for a human male, and woman is a word for a hunan female.

There are always exceptions: I know that intersex people exist.
And I know that people with gender dysphoria / trans people exist.
Their experiences are difficult, real and valid.

Looking specifically at trans people, do I think they should have the right to use whatever name and pronouns they wish? Yes. Do I think they should be able to dress and live as they wish? Yes. Do I think society should make a conscious effort to be as inclusive as possible, respect their individual experience and celebrate the vastness of human diversity? Yes, absolutely!!

Do I think that their existence means that we must redefine what it means to be a man or a woman? No.

Do I think that anyone who is against redefining what it means to be a woman, is a bigot? No!!

The word "Transphobia" is throw at anybody who so much as questions anything.
I saw someone torn apart on twitter for asking what it meant to "feel like a woman". They were genuinely questioning, not being rude or anything.

I’m no fan of Harry Potter, but I’ve always admired J K Rowling for what she’s achieved and I’ve admired the way she speaks her mind.

It’s turned into a witch hunt, with other famous women being demonised for speaking out. I remember that last year there was an attempt to force the BBC to fire Martina Navratilova from her role as Wimbledon commentator because she spoke out about the implications of transwomen being permitted to play on the women’s tennis tour. I don’t know what came of that, and of course Wimbledon was cancelled last year because of Covid.

What worries me is that we’re not allowed to speak up about this.

Whilst I might not agree with everything she says, I think it's damn unreasonable that she's being forcibly removed from entertainment. I would love a Harry Potter series, and really don't think that the personal opinions of the author are at all relevant.

She's not an ardent fascist, criminal or perpetuator of any really harmful ideology, nor are her personal views conveyed in the HP universe. It seems to be yet another attempt for a company spokesperson to seem 'woke' and inclusive, when it's really making rather a meal out of nothing.

JK isn't even incredibly vocal on the matters, she has a large platform and could be saying much more inflammatory or damnable things, but she's not. Still love and enjoy Harry Potter, as do my kids, and the author's personal views won't change that.

YANBU.

The vitriol and murderous threats Joanne are meant to serve as a warning to any other brave female public figure who dates to stand up for women. It is cowardly and bullying and completely disgusting. I immediately lose respect for anyone who, having NOT read anything she wrote, parrots that "Tphobia" nonsense.

And no, I will not be silenced.

Thank you, Joanne for your tremendous sacrifice and integrity in the face of such viciousness and cravenness.

She’s a wonderful human being and spoke nothing but the truth.

Except, of course, she didn’t say either of those things, did she? She went out of her way to say that she empathised with trans women, that they deserved protection, that she’d met trans men and they were sensitive and lovely, that people should be able to wear what they want, that transition might be the answer for some, etc etc.

YANBU. I bloody love her - and she’s absolutely right in what she’s said. Every single word.

It’s just woman-hatred, pure and simple, the reaction against her. If she’d been male and said what she’d said nobody would have batted an eyelid. But women aren’t allowed unpopular opinions.

It's absolutely disgusting the way she has been treated. She is a very brave person with a lot of integrity. A certain faction of society will always be triggered by a woman who speaks her mind.

so it devastated them to suddenly be told she thought they were so awful.

At no point has she said this, though. She has always stated quite clearly that she supports trans rights, but is concerned about women’s rights being eroded in the name of trans rights. If people lack the ability to understand that the argument isn’t as simple as “women = good, trans = bad”, well... that’s kind of on them, really. It’s very obviously a difficult issue and she has always made that clear in an articulate, sensitive and balanced way. What’s “awful” is that some people want her cancelled or whatever, simply for acknowledging that the issue is complex and difficult, and that gender self-ID has obvious ramifications for women.

@TheLovleyChebbyMcGee - did you read what she wrote? Where did she say her fans were awful please?

I agree with all of the points you've mentioned her making. The essay she wrote was incredibly eloquent.

Of course, others are free to disagree with her opinions. That does not make her transphobic.

She accepted everyone

Including women who don't have a gender , including women who have been harmed by gender

She did not say they were aweful at any time

All she says is that sex and gender are different

Like round is not square

I ❤️ JK Rowling for doing that.

She's always been someone who seemed to want to do good with her wealth and whose books (whether you like them or not) sent a positive message about the need to fight against evil.

I think the problem is that she writes about acceptance and that being an outsider or a bit odd is totally ok. Her fans took that so much to heart, so it devastated them to suddenly be told she thought they were so awful.

@BudgieHammockBananaSmuggler - absolutely, and there is a real sense now that you are not allowed to question this statement. Since unhappy people are desperate to find out why they are unhappy, understandably, and humans are really bad at working out what is making them unhappy, it stands to reason that lots of people will drop on this mistakenly. I work in mental health and know a lot of people who worked in this field who were truly committed to supporting people who really have this issue, but who have left because of the pressure to accept every statement immediately, and not question. Very dangerous, and not helpful to people who are struggling in this way.

The problem is Twitter

Walk away

If all women did that ...

JKR is tremendous. Misogynists hate articulate, opinionated and successful women like her, so all they can do is resort to violent threats and name-calling, in this case hiding behind the trans rights movement. ’Twas ever thus.