To think that JK Rowling is being very unfairly treated.

These kids are essentially being used as guinea pigs. It is sickening.

An 18yo is more likely to be able to make a complex decision than a 12yo. And in the meantime their body hasn’t gone through the physical changes of puberty. That’s the point of puberty blockers. I accept your point that they may cause brain changes that arguably might affect later decision making, hence the need for detailed evaluation. You seem to be characterising me as simplistic, when actually I am trying to point out that the reality is more complex.

The small group that lots of people here recognise as being harmed by the current trans rights activists?

Of course I don’t think it that’s simple @ToadsThePeanutButterSnob. Hence the need for detailed and critical assessment of an individual’s situation rather than the current gender-affirmation culture of assessment. I’m not sure if anyone on MN is getting what I am trying to say. I 99.99% agree with you all, but there is a small group where the situation is different and the risk of gender transition and all that entails outweigh the risks and they have capacity to make that decision. It’s rare so unlikely that you will have any personal experience....

A quick Google search shows that there is little to no research on how puberty blockers impact brain development. So if we don't know how they effect brain development then how does the argument that they will be able to make a decision later hold any weight? And more importantly why the hell are we dishing them out to our kids when we have no idea how it is impacting their brains or if any impact is reversable?

It's more like saying I only killed Jesus because he upset me

I'm calling her view transphobic, not her as an entire person.

It’s like saying ‘hang on! I only bombed Bin Laden because I didn’t like their terrorism. I didn’t want to kill him really!’.

(Sorry for the macabre analogy)

*if

It seems somehow strange to be certain that someone has written something but be unable to say what it is.

Perhaps this is a literal case of something being "unspeakable".

For the record, I have had a low opinion of the Harry Potter books since, oh, when is it the first one came out, 1997? because I found them derivative and unoriginal, and the grammar in them, especially the later ones, was dire (someone needed to tell her the difference between a , and a ; and that they are not interchangeable, for instance). But I think she has been calm, reasonable and able to write sense on this subject, and I applaud her for that. Especially in the face of death threats, rape threats, attempts to silence her, vilification, and rather stupid people parroting the above from what appears to be a position of ignorance.

They don’t. But they stop development of sex characteristics and hopefully allow the child to reach an age where they can make a more informed/educated/capacitous decision.

And what happens if they decide they don't want to transition? Do you think they just stop taking the puberty blockers and then puberty returns as normal? Do you really think it's that simple?

A lot of brain development happens during puberty. Do puberty blockers not stop that brain development? Or are puberty blockers able to distinguish which aspects of puberty to stop and which ones not to?

And here's an important one; if puberty blockers do block all aspects of puberty including brain development then how is that child/teen supposed to make an informed decision is their brain development has been delayed?

Do we even understand the long term effects of puberty blockers on brain development?

YANBU. It’s insane.

IRL I don’t know anyone who doesn’t agree with her.

She is bloody amazing. She is supportive of trans people by the way. She isn’t remotely transphobic. She just wants a decent discussion around the nuances of some of the consequences and for hard fought women’s protection not to be eroded

Nothing she has said is even an opinion, it’s all factual and I’m unsure why people find the truth so upsetting.

@SionnachRua why not? You're getting into things quite deeply with the OP.

Someone posted a link to JK's essay earlier in the thread. All you have to do is find a couple of views expressed by her that you find transphobic. It's surely not that difficult.

I am very gender critical, and as I said already I fully agree with JKR. I just don’t think it is a totally black&white issue. There is a difference between the childhood gender dysphoria that has always existed (extremely rarely) and the adolescent onset dysphoria of the last 10 years or so.

I'm calling her view transphobic, not her as an entire person.

Yes but which of her views are transphobic? You seem to be struggling to answer that .

What view isvi transphobic

Spit it out

[quote Impatiens]@SionnachRua I don't know Mike Lindell either, lol!

No, it's fine, I asked and you've been upfront. Trouble is, like I said, calling someone transphobic is a very serious accusation and the ppl who attack her online seem to feel justified in any level of sick abuse because they do consider her to be evil and not just a person with another opinion.[/quote]
Ah ok. Maybe I am just very bad at thinking of examples of people I boycott! Harvey Weinstein then but I don't want to compare JKR to an actual rapist.

Yeah, I'd agree that there's a huge amount of online abuse in her direction. Which is wrong imo. I do think some of it has to do with the age of some fans and the fact that they related so strongly to Harry... I don't think it justifies it but I feel it must play in.

I'm calling her view transphobic, not her as an entire person. I feel there is a difference there - another forum I'm on has the rule of "attack the post, not the poster". If you're arguing over views rather than someone's entire personhood it seems easier to maintain a civil debate, you know? Maybe that is just me getting bogged down in detail.