JK new post on her reasons for writing about gender

I emailed my MP today. I just asked them to read JKRs blog, linked it and said I agreed with every word and asked if he would be considering women when voting on any pertinent legislation.

Equally though an employer insisting that employees must believe in God, always wear a cross and never take the Lords Name in vain or face being dismissed wouldn't be OK

So why is it employers are being compelled and abused for not wearing pronoun badges or having pronouns in their email signature and must answer the right way in diversity training on pain of being dismissed if they fail to do so?

The "God doesn't exist" line is pretty much my line for understanding trans issues too. I can respect that you believe these things, and do so sincerely, and that it has a very profound impact on how you live your life and interact with people, without believing it.

It also, I think, gives a handle on when behaviour tips over into genuine transphobia that might be covered by, e.g., workplace anti-discrimination policies.

Saying "I don't believe in god myself" in the context of a discussion about religion should be fine.

Describing someone's belief in god as being like "having an imaginary friend" or "sky fairies" makes you a bit of an arse (as, conversely, does any attempt to evangelise your work colleagues if you're religious).

Repeatedly saying "Fred believes in sky fairies" completely unprompted, just to get a laugh out of your colleagues in the staff canteen - you should be up on a disciplinary for workplace bullying at that point.

Stating “God doesn’t exist” or using the terms “imaginary friend”, “sky fairy” etc is inflammatory and painful for religious people. Doesn’t mean people should be subject to abuse for saying those things though. We are all allowed to have an opinion on each other’s beliefs.

You can try that line at MF’s appeal. Good luck with that.

ItsLeviooosar Excellent email, I'm going to write to them too. I will also write to my MP, in case they're getting from the papers that no-one is on Rowling's side.

Anyone emailed their MP about this? Mine isn’t great on the whole (uber woke lefty labour) but I feel like I should and can’t seem to word it properly.

I just emailed the body shop ceo. No more body shop for me. I also emailed J.K. Rowling and thanked her

Stating “God doesn’t exist” or using the terms “imaginary friend”, “sky fairy” etc is inflammatory and painful for religious people. Doesn’t mean people should be subject to abuse for saying those things though. We are all allowed to have an opinion on each other’s beliefs.

I’m assuming you can see why that’s inflammatory and painful to many trans people?

So what? They are choosing to take offense at someone stating a true fact. It’s absurd that everyone else should be careful not to speak the truth in case it upsets someone whose thinking is willfully divorced from reality.

Really, so bloody what if the TRUTH upsets someone? Breaking it to my daughter that she can’t be a unicorn when she grows up because they’re not real - is that painful and offensive?? FGS.

I’m assuming you can see why that’s inflammatory and painful to many trans people?

People who are in denial about reality need mental health support. Demanding that everyone else also denies reality doesn't help them.

People cannot change sex.

Thanks for the responses, apologies if I have irritated anyone by asking something that has been asked before. I think I need to go and re-read what has been said and the break it down for me thread again. Perhaps I am just afraid and I need to channel that into getting angry.

And I'm assuming you can see why telling women they have to shut up and let male-bodied people access every single sex space they have fought long and hard for, never mind if they have PTSD from rape/sexual assault, never mind if they're a DV survivor, or of a religion that specifically disallows them from doing so, or if they find it utterly upsetting, demeaning and intimidating might just a little BIT be inflammatory and painful to women?

No? Because women don't matter, do they? We just have to suck it up.

I am so utterly confused by all this. I read jk's tweets and the essay and it all seems reasonable- how is stating sex is real a bad thing?

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But “stating sex is real” has become a code for saying: trans women are not women they are male and therefore are men and always will be men. And trans men are not men, they were born female so they will always be women.

I’m assuming you can see why that’s inflammatory and painful to many trans people?

Seeing the vitriolic responses to her does not compute with what I read, this makes me question my sanity,

There are lots of immature foul mouthed horrible people on Twitter. As there is on YouTube, Reddit etc. Anonymity on the internet does that.

If my child attended that school, Sandy, I would be concerned over what the hell they were teaching them!

What does Aidan Comerford actually do for a living? Literally whenever I look at his twitter he just constantly seems to be on there slagging off Graham Linehan, every time I look! 😂

However, JK's essay has provided me with much needed clarity and explained a very complex topic

Amazing. Because it's people like you who need to get this. There are more and more women who wake up to the reality of this situation every day. It's a horrible debate and so many people haven't looked beyond trying to be kind to vulnerable trans people. Which is fair enough, but they need to. Glad you found us here

@Enormouscroc me too but as you'll see in one of my other threads, there doesn't seem to be much room for discussion.

The DM writers are perfectly capable of pitching an article to produce a certain result. Well played.

@collidascope I agree as the inverted commas for 'transphobic'

Remember, they're tied by the press code which bans misgendering (even for convicted sex offenders, which led to the bloody ridiculous and frankly dangerous "Sex offender Lisa Hauxwell escaped from prison and is now on the run, and may be dressed as a man... very dangerous, should not be approached by the public" nonsense). This is quite a clever way of getting their readership to go "WTAF? But if that's what Rowling's said, surely she's just stating the obvious? Why is there this crazy witch-hunt going on?"

😄 That Daily Mail screenshot. They're taking the piss. They're actually on her side for this one.

I don't think headline writers do anything by accident

I saw the report on the BBC lunchtime news. It was surprisingly balanced for the BBC.
However at one point the reporter said something along the lines of both sides were being nasty on Twitter

I can't figure out if the mail are trying to point out how ridiculous it is in the last sentence...or if they're being serious.

I got a reply to my email from JKR’s office a while ago (sent email last night so presume they are wading through), it was very short “thanks for your kind words and support” but I really hope that receiving such messages helps to strengthen her resolve that what she is doing is 100% right and that she’s has the backing of the majority of women.