Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be oblivious to the issue people have with JKR? I thought she was a feminist. What have I missed?

381 replies

laughingnow · 15/06/2025 14:05

People have warned me not to state the view above as ‘it’s more complicated’

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
JLou08 · 15/06/2025 19:04

Why did you write that you thought she was a feminist?
Being a feminist doesn't automatically make someone a good person.

laughingnow · 15/06/2025 19:02

ssd · 15/06/2025 18:53

Of course this is possible. I was the exact same and this thread has been really invaluable for me. Thanks for starting it @laughingnow .

Happy to help and, yes, I am genuine in my bafflement though much better informed now

OP posts:
Waitwhat23 · 15/06/2025 18:55

heathspeedwell · 15/06/2025 18:52

It's pointless to hope to find any logic or reason from trans activists. India Willoughby was saying earlier that sex realists like JK Rowling and Ricky Gervais are 'like Hitler' because they are kind to animals.

This is level of thought and accuracy they put into the debate. It's hardly surprising that public opinion is changing and people are realising that men who identify as women are, and always will be, men.

Just for anyone doubting the veracity of this (and I wouldn't blame you as it seems unbelievable...but then, these two)

And the haunted bawbag's 'entirely cordially' is undoubtedly red faced shouting.

To be oblivious to the issue people have with JKR?  I thought she was a feminist.  What have I missed?
JHound · 15/06/2025 18:55

I know George orwell explored some interesting ideas but if we just used plain English instead of twisting and adding assumed layers of meaning without any justification the world might be nicer

Amen

ssd · 15/06/2025 18:53

JHound · 15/06/2025 15:14

There is no way you genuinely were completely clueless as to why some people take issue with JKR.

Of course this is possible. I was the exact same and this thread has been really invaluable for me. Thanks for starting it @laughingnow .

heathspeedwell · 15/06/2025 18:52

It's pointless to hope to find any logic or reason from trans activists. India Willoughby was saying earlier that sex realists like JK Rowling and Ricky Gervais are 'like Hitler' because they are kind to animals.

This is level of thought and accuracy they put into the debate. It's hardly surprising that public opinion is changing and people are realising that men who identify as women are, and always will be, men.

JHound · 15/06/2025 18:50

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 15/06/2025 18:42

Why do we need to be aware of people who aren't having sex?

  1. Asexuality and abstinence / celibacy are not
    the same

  2. The fact you have conflated the two is probably why people wanted an asexuality awareness day.

  3. As people who are asexual can often be made to feel there is something “wrong” with them for not experiencing sexual desire (and find
    it has caused them non-stop issues in relationships) increased awareness that it’s not necessarily a condition but just an innate way of being can bring
    peace to people with.

  4. Who the fuck cares?! Why on earth is this something to get huffy about among all the other “awareness” days out there.

Comes across like “old man shouting at the clouds”. Or like people whining about Pride month “why do we need to know who people prefer to have sex with?!?!111”

Pollqueen · 15/06/2025 18:48

AwardGiselePelicotTheNobelPeacePrize · 15/06/2025 16:44

I consider myself pretty gender-critical but jKR is increasingly coming off as off-puttingly obsessive and mean on social media.

Oh gosh, is she using hurty words?

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 15/06/2025 18:42

JHound · 15/06/2025 18:36

I don’t use Twitter but the weirdest post of hers I came across was her being huffy an
”asexuality awareness day”. Seemed like an odd thing to be huffy about!

Why do we need to be aware of people who aren't having sex?

JHound · 15/06/2025 18:42

FOJN · 15/06/2025 17:44

I'm not sure I do.

Do you mean she wouldn't shut up and roll over for men's rights activists?
Did she have the temerity to hold an opinion on an issue which affects women?

If you think supporting women's rights must mean you hate trans people you are a misogynist.

🙄

”So what you really mean is…<followed by a lot of made up nonsense>”

What I meant is what I wrote.

That some people have taken against her because they disagree with her stance on trans rights. To answer OP’s question of why some people have an issue with her.

Pollqueen · 15/06/2025 18:39

IShouldNotCoco · 15/06/2025 15:03

Is this satire? 🧐

It most certainly is, but not to detract from the fact some people truly believe this. Obviously not very well informed, educated people, but still

Helleofabore · 15/06/2025 18:36

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:32

JKR has made life very difficult for women who present as more masculine, whether she intended to or not. She doesn't care about throwing some women under a bus, so I think she's a poor feminist for that reason.
I'm aware that's not a popular view on Mumsnet.
She's shown some pretty abhorrent bullying tactics on social media too, which in my view ruins any credibility she claims to have about standing up for minority people. You don't criticise others and copy their tactics at the same time.

Would you like to tell us who it is that you view her interactions with as bullying please? So we know who you are referring to exactly.

Because the people I see her pushing back on are male people who have been abusive towards her. I am happy to list the main ones so you and others can check for yourselves. Start with India Willoughby and Sophie Molly.

Is she supposed to, in your view, accept and absorb the direct abuse they send her way?

Are you inadvertently siding with abusers when you say she is a bully?

I would be interested in seeing the examples of bullying behaviour you are calling out.

JHound · 15/06/2025 18:36

AwardGiselePelicotTheNobelPeacePrize · 15/06/2025 16:44

I consider myself pretty gender-critical but jKR is increasingly coming off as off-puttingly obsessive and mean on social media.

I don’t use Twitter but the weirdest post of hers I came across was her being huffy an
”asexuality awareness day”. Seemed like an odd thing to be huffy about!

Helleofabore · 15/06/2025 18:27

Waitwhat23 · 15/06/2025 14:28

She's the witch they can't burn and it makes them really mad.

That about sums it up nicely actually.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 15/06/2025 18:25

greencartbluecart · 15/06/2025 18:21

Isn’t it funny how transmen are finally getting mentioned ?

anyway if they pass as a man which is what you are implying ( my transmen friends don’t at all so wouldn’t be any problem in the ladies ) then they can use the gents - the gents can complain

but at least we can keep the obvious males ( aka transwomen ) out thank you

It's pretty obvious, isn't it?

The only value of trans men (as far as the TQ+ lobby is concerned) is that they can be exploited to help trans identifying male people get what they want.

Which is why the TQ+ lobby is suddenly up in arms about them, right after the Supreme Court told trans identifying male people that they can't have everything they want.

Waitwhat23 · 15/06/2025 18:22

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:58

@MissScarletInTheBallroom I could understand if you agreed to disagree, but to actually be clueless as to how JKR has perpetuated that culture is baffling. I can only assume you haven't seen half of her output online.
Also whilst I didn't expect you to have any empathy for my trans masc friend, you seem to have missed the point that JKR's expectation makes other CIS women uncomfortable, ie those people who you are supposedly protecting. Unless you're now going to tell me that you want someone with a full beard in men's clothing walking into a women's bathroom or changing room.

JKR has done a lot of damage. At least some people have the decency to acknowledge it and say it was a necessary side effect of 'winning' their cause. To pretend she hasn't, is at best ignorant.

Out of interest, how do you feel about the culture which was perpetuated by the illegal adoption of self id by Government and institutions?

Just in Scotland, that culture perpetuated violent male sex offenders being held in the female prison estate following policy, women self excluding from rape crisis services which claimed to be single sex and were not and told to 'reframe your trauma', women being suspended from their jobs for avoiding changing with male colleagues, and little girls being sexually assaulted in supermarket toilets.

Did you have any empathy for them? And are we now just, after women's rights were merely clarified, to throw our hands up and say 'you know what? Fuck it! Let's just have a self id free for all!'

And cis is ideological bullshit.

greencartbluecart · 15/06/2025 18:21

Isn’t it funny how transmen are finally getting mentioned ?

anyway if they pass as a man which is what you are implying ( my transmen friends don’t at all so wouldn’t be any problem in the ladies ) then they can use the gents - the gents can complain

but at least we can keep the obvious males ( aka transwomen ) out thank you

RedNine · 15/06/2025 18:06

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:58

@MissScarletInTheBallroom I could understand if you agreed to disagree, but to actually be clueless as to how JKR has perpetuated that culture is baffling. I can only assume you haven't seen half of her output online.
Also whilst I didn't expect you to have any empathy for my trans masc friend, you seem to have missed the point that JKR's expectation makes other CIS women uncomfortable, ie those people who you are supposedly protecting. Unless you're now going to tell me that you want someone with a full beard in men's clothing walking into a women's bathroom or changing room.

JKR has done a lot of damage. At least some people have the decency to acknowledge it and say it was a necessary side effect of 'winning' their cause. To pretend she hasn't, is at best ignorant.

Hiya thank you for engaging.

Could you tell me what is a CIS woman, please?

I think I know what you mean but I am keen to not get it wrong, thank you.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 15/06/2025 18:01

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:58

@MissScarletInTheBallroom I could understand if you agreed to disagree, but to actually be clueless as to how JKR has perpetuated that culture is baffling. I can only assume you haven't seen half of her output online.
Also whilst I didn't expect you to have any empathy for my trans masc friend, you seem to have missed the point that JKR's expectation makes other CIS women uncomfortable, ie those people who you are supposedly protecting. Unless you're now going to tell me that you want someone with a full beard in men's clothing walking into a women's bathroom or changing room.

JKR has done a lot of damage. At least some people have the decency to acknowledge it and say it was a necessary side effect of 'winning' their cause. To pretend she hasn't, is at best ignorant.

To be clear.

I don't believe she has perpetuated "that culture" because I don't believe "that culture" exists.

I think that everyone who claims that their "trans masc" and "cis female" friends are now being threatened in women's toilets is a trans activist with an agenda and they are lying because that is what trans activists do.

I don't believe this is happening because, well, I wasn't born yesterday.

So there is nothing to blame JKR for.

Does that clear things up for you?

singthing · 15/06/2025 17:59

As @Pleasealexa said, it is fashionable to hate her. This was also alluded to by Tom Harris who recently said "But others with less of an excuse for holding insane opinions took the same line, on the basis that (a) trans people are a minority, (b) fighting for minority rights is A Good Thing; and therefore (c) if you demand minority rights you are On The Right Side Of History."

It's what happens when your beliefs are so paper-thin you can simply be told what they are without ever having looked at the topic yourself.

Mea culpa: my part in the rise of the trans cult

The Gender Recognition Bill looked harmless enough. If only I'd known. . .

https://tomharris2.substack.com/p/mea-culpa-my-part-in-the-rise-of?triedRedirect=true

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:58

@MissScarletInTheBallroom I could understand if you agreed to disagree, but to actually be clueless as to how JKR has perpetuated that culture is baffling. I can only assume you haven't seen half of her output online.
Also whilst I didn't expect you to have any empathy for my trans masc friend, you seem to have missed the point that JKR's expectation makes other CIS women uncomfortable, ie those people who you are supposedly protecting. Unless you're now going to tell me that you want someone with a full beard in men's clothing walking into a women's bathroom or changing room.

JKR has done a lot of damage. At least some people have the decency to acknowledge it and say it was a necessary side effect of 'winning' their cause. To pretend she hasn't, is at best ignorant.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 15/06/2025 17:58

AccidentallyWesAnderson · 15/06/2025 17:55

Utter nonsense. These hoards of women who look soooo masculine (even when up close and personal and after they open their mouths to speak) that they are now getting hounded in toilets is bollocks. And if, IF, that’s happened it’s not the fault or responsibility of JKR. Maybe if boundary pushing men (that includes trans women) stuck to the social contract that’s been in place since day dot about not going into spaces not for them, women wouldn’t be on such high alert. Or if TRA’s hadn’t started insisting that trans women are literal women. Your ire is misplaced.

Has JKR actually said that trans men should be in female spaces? Or is she just bothered about men being in spaces and places they shouldn’t?

Can anyone who makes such bold claims ever back up anything they say on here?

Edited

https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/10/31/cis-woman-harassed-transphobe-female-toilet-short-hair/

An oldie but a goodie.

Troll-lol-lol!

Cis woman harassed by ‘transphobe’ who followed her into female toilet

A viral TikTok video has shown a cisgender woman getting confronted over her gender identity in a public toilet because she had short hair.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/10/31/cis-woman-harassed-transphobe-female-toilet-short-hair/

WhereIsMyJumper · 15/06/2025 17:57

Waitwhat23 · 15/06/2025 17:51

I didn't even get onto the real life stuff!

That's a looooong list.

Yes, good point

AccidentallyWesAnderson · 15/06/2025 17:55

Hibernatingtilspring · 15/06/2025 17:43

@MissScarletInTheBallroom I don't understand why you're bringing up the law, that isn't relevant to the point I made?
JKR has helped perpetuate a culture where bullying of women who look more masc or non binary is acceptable. Things have gone backwards in that regard. This is happening to my friends. I don't rely on Mumsnet for my news stories, baffling why you think I would.
I also have a trans masc friend who is really struggling at the moment with not feeling welcome anywhere (according to JKR they should be in women's spaces, my friend does not feel comfortable doing that at all)

Utter nonsense. These hoards of women who look soooo masculine (even when up close and personal and after they open their mouths to speak) that they are now getting hounded in toilets is bollocks. And if, IF, that’s happened it’s not the fault or responsibility of JKR. Maybe if boundary pushing men (that includes trans women) stuck to the social contract that’s been in place since day dot about not going into spaces not for them, women wouldn’t be on such high alert. Or if TRA’s hadn’t started insisting that trans women are literal women. Your ire is misplaced.

Has JKR actually said that trans men should be in female spaces? Or is she just bothered about men being in spaces and places they shouldn’t?

Can anyone who makes such bold claims ever back up anything they say on here?