Open letter by UK writers in solidarity (not with us obviously)

Yes, because as you say, they are utterly unhinged. Impervious to facts, sense, ethics, thinking exactly like the most zealous cultists... and (ironically for people who are always wanging on about this) busy "othering" . Many have got beyond the point that they can even see those who differ in their view as human beings. Even if they knew them personally before.

What I find terrifying—and I do also know some on that list personally, many are on the grassroots writing and poetry scene, even if they aren't 'big name' writers— is that they are perfectly happy to believe terrible things about women that many of them actually know and to claim such women hold beliefs that they simply do not, to allow lies to fester about them and to condemn them to a virtual witchburning on that basis.

Given that SO many of their beliefs are the opposite of factual, seeing that they believe nonsense so fervently that they actually think anyone opposing them is a "literal fascist" and are happy to spread and support that narrative, hound and target women who don't agree with them, and cheer on those who would commit violence on the basis of it, then yes, they are very dangerous. In the same way that throughout history terrible atrocities have been enabled once tribalism takes hold, among people who were once rubbing along perfectly well as neighbours.

And I think that guttural fear is perfectly natural. These are no longer rational people. Having to be VERY careful of what you say to whom because you might unleash real violence against yourself is not a normal state of being. This ideology and people's behaviour over it is one of the most toxic situations I can EVER remember.

Georgina Wright has not called or messaged her parents since Wednesday, the day the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
Wright, 23, from London, has been avoiding the argument she anticipates will eventually erupt when her family sit down for Easter lunch this weekend.
“My mum is an old-school feminist,” she said. “I get she’s from the generation where women really had to fight for equality but I just don’t think trans people having rights takes away from my rights as a cis woman. It’s infuriating having to hear their recycled arguments about loos and pronouns.”

So Georgie hasn’t called mummy and daddy for days because she’s having a hissy fit but she’s still expecting an invite round on Sunday for roast lamb, she doesn’t want to hear about second wave feminism at the table though, it’s just sooooo boring for this top class feminist 😂

I know! Has he learnt nothing from all his time spent presenting the infinite monkey cage? Maybe they need to do a special episode for him on basic biology.

I have hope in the development arc I see in my daughter's friends. She is 23 and trans was THE buzz word when she was at school. Everyone talking endlessly about the trans issue and gleefully slapping labels on themselves and everyone else. She was also GC but kept quiet about it, but we have noticed that a lot of her very woke school friends have toned it down. They are rather boring 'cis' 20 somethings now, and while still quite woke, find that real life takes up a lot more of their time! Things have definetly been turned down a couple of notches and by the time they are 30, many may lean more toward the GC point of view. It has become a social contagion and I think a lot of the kids walking around saying, "I am a non binary trans person" are just going to find all this too exhausting as grown ups. I wonder if genuine trans people, who don't really feel as if they have any choice about their identity, are going to be relieved?

I adore those books and I won't get rid of them, even though he has proven himself to be such an ugly person. Unless someone has doen something utterly heinous, like Marion Zimmer Bradley, I try to seperate the artist from their work. But I would only buy secondhand, he's not getting my money! What I thought was really disgusting was a trans author who lectures asked on FB how they could use JK Rowling's work in their class without giving her any credit. One author feeling perfectly entitled to rip off another, because they don't like what they say! Sorry, I am derailing the thread now!

I have hope that today's young liberals are tomorrow's middle aged conservatives and that their views change and mature as they get older.

Because let's face it we do all get more conservative and sensible the older we get and if / when we start a family. Not always, but that's a pattern I've noticed.

As long as any of these young people argue for male inclusion in women's sports then you just cannot give credit to anything else they say to be honest. Viva the supreme court of adults.

OK - at some point, I will.

It's going to be tough to be succinct with this one!, so I'll have to find a way of condensing this stuff so that I'm not writing an essay. When I get a moment, I'll see what I can do.

Daisy Meadows is not a real person. It is a group of ghost writers. If you are talking about the fairy book author.

Didn’t Russell Brand write a book or two as well?

Took me a moment!

Most names on that list are complete unknowns.
Disappointed in Caryl Churchill though.

They all bloody know.

Really, really disappointed to see Caryl Churchills name on that list. Her writing has always been about strong women and she is of an age when she knows what struggles women have gone through in her lifetime (and in history) to achieve anything looking remotely like equality.

Most of the names are total unknowns - I don’t think writing a self promoting blog really counts as being a writer, any more than signing your name on a colleagues leaving card does - a few usual suspects , and the rest are rent a signatures, which means the few people , like Churchill, who are respected for their body of work should be ashamed of adding their names to such a barrel scraping list.

Patrick Ness is an obnoxious arsehole in general and is particularly toxic on this issue.

Patrick Ness is gay, I met him once and whilst he was quite nice his partner was acting like a total dick to the staff, and Patrick seemed absolutely fine with it.
His judgement didn’t seem great tbh.

I didn’t know that about Erin Hunter and it’s really upset me. DS has just started getting into those cat books. 😥

I’m astonished that Patrick Ness is on the list - he wrote a book about a society in which all of the men kill all of the women because they can’t read the women’s minds. And he’s not a ‘nobody’ author afraid of being ‘cancelled’, surely? It just doesn’t compute.

Aisling Bea can get in the bin then.

Ince only ever saw science as a cool t-shirt.

Robin "science is important and most people don't understand it" Ince? Shows that anyone can stop thinking at any point.

They just want women to know how very, very right they are without ever explaining why.

I do find it interesting that a group with so little skin in the game, makes such a loud noise about it.

Me too

Quite likely. Also, there may be a sprinkling of those who sign because not to do so will be outing and that will affect their career. I belong to a writing group and have realised I need to be careful what I say and what I read out and what I might recommend - not very creative encouraging.

Didn’t believe Oli Lipski was real but yep, they is.