JK Rowling came to Filia 2023 and it was emotional

Second that. Must be hard for anyone under 30 who doesn't follow the party line.

I think the talk will be up on Filia at some point, there was an “ official “ woman filming and we were asked not to film.

Please have a look at the film on women in the Congo as their presentation was on at the same time as Jo was being interviewed.

There were goosebumps, cheers , tears, and laughs, she was fantastic! The arches rattled with the applause!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/15/rowling-trans-issues-harry-potter/

"I can afford to take the hit and speak out on trans issues"

I'd like to know what rights they think trans people don't already have and why, if there is some glaring injustice that needs to be fixed, they haven't fixed it in the last 13 years.

I either call them "trans activists", dropping the "rights", or use the somewhat unwieldy phrase "proponents of gender identity theory".

I prefer the first when talking about people who wave placards and shout intimidating slogans, and the second when talking more generally about people who believe in gender woo.

Also in the Scottish section of the Times today, by Raquel Rosario Sanchez:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c74007f0-6b68-11ee-b5d7-5487922f056f?shareToken=89bdfb49ae1acf61b9a061c7fffb3723

What do we call them? Gender ideology activists/extremists works for me.

I used to write to my MP a fair bit about this and the collisions with women's rights, and he'd then forward my concerns to the relevant government minister. Those ministers early always replied about tw and their 'rights', never a mention of women's rights.

I've seen people call this a conspiracy theory? Upending science and facts for a delusion?
They're certainly fantasists using intimidation and bullying to enforce their niche belief that sex is not real.

I'd like everyone to stop referring to them as trans rights activists.
I think 'gender extremists' is the most accurate.

At the time, Rowling shared a video of one young man with a microphone shouting “F* you” at the women.

She wrote: “Inside the venue: women from 35 different countries discuss their sex-based issues and concerns, including the harassment and intimidation they face from men. Outside the venue, this prick.”

“To prove his point that the female fear of male harassment is groundless, he got up early to bellow ‘f* you’ at a group of peacefully assembling women. Is he genuinely that thick?”

Love this.

"This prick."

That's a great write up. I only have one small bugbear. Well, two, really.

Firstly, I'd like the media to stop referring to her views on "trans issues" or "trans rights" and start saying "women's rights".

She doesn't even have to mention the word "trans". All she needs to do is object to women being called "menstruators", or tweet her support for a woman fired for saying humans can't change sex, or say female rape survivors should have single sex support, and immediately the world media starts talking about her views on trans rights.

No.

WOMEN'S rights.

Unless you think WOMEN having the right to a view on how they should be referred to, the right to express their lawful opinions, and the right to safe spaces which are respectful of their dignity and their identity (i.e. the same things you argue are non negotiable for trans people) is a threat to "trans rights", she is not actually saying anything about trans rights.

Not everything is about trans people.

Most things, in fact, are not about trans people.

The world does not revolve around trans people.

Women should be allowed to discuss their own rights without it becoming a discussion about trans people.

If you have decided to position "trans rights" in direct opposition to women's rights to have the exact same things, that's a YOU problem. If you didn't expect to get pushback on that from women, that's also a YOU problem. If you think a tiny minority of trans people are more important than women, who make up 51% of the population, and you expect people to agree with you, that's a "you being deluded and shit at maths" problem.

Which brings me to my second bugbear.

I'd like everyone to stop referring to them as trans rights activists.

None of the things they are demanding are actually rights.

I wonder who that was. Her daughter, maybe?

Lovely write up in Monday’s Times:

JK Rowling makes surprise appearance at feminist conference in Glasgow

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/d57ee08c-6b88-11ee-9296-6cf683906956?shareToken=9940c271409be43466a81e6286d2610b

She was so funny. And knowledgeable.
There were jokes about Sally Hines, she had read her bizarre writings in the hope of establishing whether there is any science or logic to gender ideology.

The ungrateful threesome are such arrogant, humourless little idiots. I can't think of a single thing any of them have said that has either impressed me or made me laugh. Fancy thinking they know better than The Queen. What a wonderful friend they have rejected.

She mentioned you @IamSarah and asked where you were in the audience!

No mention of MN but it is referenced in her latest Strike novel!

One thing she said was that she spoke out 18 months later than she had intended to, due to someone else ( a family member?), until they said, they didn't want to be the reason why she wasn't. So she was obviously aware of this for a long time.

I was there and the atmosphere was electric. She is so humble, articulate and sincere. What an amazing surprise.

There were hearty belly laughs at mention of The Guardian and "he who must not be named" 😂. Beira's Place has helped around 170 women already.

It was such a fabulous surprise, everyone was on their feet, it was truly awesome and gave everyone such a boost! I was so so thrilled to have been there.

@GrainneWail Thinking about it, it's quite remarkable that two women in their early 20s would use a phrase like "major Dumbledore energy".

I think we take the success of Harry Potter so much for granted that it seems completely normal to us now. But Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997, which may well have been before they were even born. I'm struggling to think of many books published before the mid 80s that I could just use as a cultural reference like that and expect everyone to know what I was talking about. At a push, I'd expect people to know what I meant if I referred to Narnia, someone being down the rabbit hole or through the looking glass, or Elizabeth Bennett or Mr Darcy. Maybe Cathy and Heathcliff although I hated Wuthering Shites.

She's joined the ranks of those classic authors well within her own lifetime and now she's changed genre and is writing another bestselling series whilst also saving feminism.

What a queen.

Sorry I don’t think there’s any recordings, anyone who had made one “ by accident “ was asked to delete it.

Ah, bummer!

Do you know what, though. Because of MN and FiLiA and women talking, I know who you are and that you are an amazing woman. Are you still raising funds? I'll look for it.

Indeed, some women were sitting in the overflow rooms to the side and only saw JKR on a screen that cut out a few times.

This!

It was fab to be there, and SUCH a privilege.

I was in the first few rows right in front of the stage. The affection between the three of them on the stage was palpable.

And Jo and Julie would make a formidable comedy double act!

This version?