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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Thoughts on this academic paper about JKR?

115 replies

tuneafish · 20/09/2026 14:21

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392397.2026.2660544

TRA talking points on JKR laundered into a research article. There's so much bullshit in there I don't even know where to start.

OP posts:
Rollingpinofdoom · 22/09/2026 06:27

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 06:22

Given ambiguity in presentation exists as a consequence of biological diversity & medical intervention, observation isn't always accurate. Just ask the scores of natal women who have been harassed in public toilets for not being 'feminine' enough.

Outing violates fundamental human rights because it strips away personal autonomy, privacy, and safety. In communities with high levels of prejudice being outed can expose an individual to targeted violence, harassment, and hate crimes. Unwanted disclosure frequently leads to job termination, housing eviction, and complete social or familial ostracization. Forced disclosure can trigger severe trauma, anxiety, depression, and heightened risks of suicidality.

Deciding when, how, and to whom to disclose one’s identity is an essential exercise of human dignity and self-determination. Taking that choice away is a form of coercion and control.

So why don’t we normalise men wearing female coded clothes? I mean women already often wear male coded clothes and no one bats an eye. That way, no one will ever have to know the gender identity of the person wearing the clothes, they’ll just assume it’s a man who likes wearing female coded clothes. So trans people will not be “outed” and will feel more comfortable using the facilities for their sex. Everyone wins.
where are these “scores of women” being confronted for not being feminine? Are you saying every woman who doesn’t wear dresses and makeup are being confronted in female spaces? Really? I think you might be er….. a bit light in the truth there.

ArabellaScott · 22/09/2026 06:24

You are working very hard to try to suggest that men should be allowed to use womens spaces and services.

Sorry, but no.

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 06:22

Given ambiguity in presentation exists as a consequence of biological diversity & medical intervention, observation isn't always accurate. Just ask the scores of natal women who have been harassed in public toilets for not being 'feminine' enough.

Outing violates fundamental human rights because it strips away personal autonomy, privacy, and safety. In communities with high levels of prejudice being outed can expose an individual to targeted violence, harassment, and hate crimes. Unwanted disclosure frequently leads to job termination, housing eviction, and complete social or familial ostracization. Forced disclosure can trigger severe trauma, anxiety, depression, and heightened risks of suicidality.

Deciding when, how, and to whom to disclose one’s identity is an essential exercise of human dignity and self-determination. Taking that choice away is a form of coercion and control.

Rollingpinofdoom · 22/09/2026 06:06

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 06:04

The right to privacy (not being outed) & the right not to be 'othered' as some sort of third entity both of which are in violation of Human Rights law.

But everyone has that right. Do you mean “outed” as in people seeing they are trans? But wouldn’t that presume either every transperson passes or that society should accept men can wear feminine presenting clothing but it does not mean they are trans? So you would get TIM wearing female coded clothing and mom TIM wearing female coded clothing but only some would be allowed in female spaces?

how would that work?

ArabellaScott · 22/09/2026 06:06

There is no third sex, you're quite right.

And people being 'outed' as the sex they are is unavoidable when we live in a world where people have bodies and interact with each other in any way.

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 06:04

Rollingpinofdoom · 22/09/2026 05:56

So what rights do trans activists believe they are missing that everyone else has? I mean, with the SC judgement, TIF get concrete maternity, pregnancy and abortion rights, and can now access female only RCC and refuges etc? That’s such a good thing no? They now have the same rights as every other female person. TIM also have the exact same rights as every other male. So what are TRA complaining about?

The right to privacy (not being outed) & the right not to be 'othered' as some sort of third entity both of which are in violation of Human Rights law.

Rollingpinofdoom · 22/09/2026 05:56

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 00:15

Whataboutery.

That trans activists don't believe their rights should be up for 'negotiation' is irrelevant to whether JKR has chosen the path of stereotyping to frame this discussion.

So what rights do trans activists believe they are missing that everyone else has? I mean, with the SC judgement, TIF get concrete maternity, pregnancy and abortion rights, and can now access female only RCC and refuges etc? That’s such a good thing no? They now have the same rights as every other female person. TIM also have the exact same rights as every other male. So what are TRA complaining about?

quantumbutterfly · 22/09/2026 01:43

GrumpyPanda · 21/09/2026 20:37

It's a junk journal. Here's more data on it:

https://www.journalmetrics.org/journal/celebrity-studies

Does that link really show there are 'journals' ranked lower? Surely the correct term would be comics.

Northernlightsss · 22/09/2026 00:15

MarcTheGenderSkeptic · 22/09/2026 00:00

Oh yes, all those trans activists organisations like Stonewall who were up for a civilized discussion on balancing rights.
I think you need to revisit your history from the last decade.
No debate was the norm.
Third spaces for trans and open categories on sports coils have been up for discussion. But I don't recall any TRAs prepared to even entertain the notion other than full permission for men to enter women's spaces, and zero discussion on the medicalization of teens.
Try not rewriting history in your aim to appear oh so reasonable as the sympathy of the public at large drifts irreversibly from your cause.

Edited

Whataboutery.

That trans activists don't believe their rights should be up for 'negotiation' is irrelevant to whether JKR has chosen the path of stereotyping to frame this discussion.

MarcTheGenderSkeptic · 22/09/2026 00:00

Northernlightsss · 21/09/2026 23:32

Maybe start on the disconnect between JKR's work & her private opinions.
She can't have it both ways being the point.

Whilst its one thing to be concerned about the practical logistics of competing rights between trans women & women its quite another to stereotype trans people as either confused tom boys or dangerous predators which her 'manifesto' implied.

JKR could have had it both ways by focusing on a civilised discussion about balancing rights but chose the path of dehumanisation & demonisation instead causing the disconnect.

Oh yes, all those trans activists organisations like Stonewall who were up for a civilized discussion on balancing rights.
I think you need to revisit your history from the last decade.
No debate was the norm.
Third spaces for trans and open categories on sports coils have been up for discussion. But I don't recall any TRAs prepared to even entertain the notion other than full permission for men to enter women's spaces, and zero discussion on the medicalization of teens.
Try not rewriting history in your aim to appear oh so reasonable as the sympathy of the public at large drifts irreversibly from your cause.

Northernlightsss · 21/09/2026 23:32

tuneafish · 20/09/2026 14:21

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392397.2026.2660544

TRA talking points on JKR laundered into a research article. There's so much bullshit in there I don't even know where to start.

Maybe start on the disconnect between JKR's work & her private opinions.
She can't have it both ways being the point.

Whilst its one thing to be concerned about the practical logistics of competing rights between trans women & women its quite another to stereotype trans people as either confused tom boys or dangerous predators which her 'manifesto' implied.

JKR could have had it both ways by focusing on a civilised discussion about balancing rights but chose the path of dehumanisation & demonisation instead causing the disconnect.

GrumpyPanda · 21/09/2026 20:37

It's a junk journal. Here's more data on it:

https://www.journalmetrics.org/journal/celebrity-studies

HartSeven · 21/09/2026 18:38

It's extremely poor work, badly written. I'm not shocked as I've come across so much of this dross. The authors of Trans Dross World constantly cite each other to make it seem like there's a solid body of academic research they're referring to but it's they same old nonsense all the way down. There's never the slightest attempt to define and explain terms properly, and they have no idea how to evaluate evidence or construct an argument. It's little more than fancified abuse. And as for examining their own biases, that's not a thought that would ever occur to them. University departments are under lots of stress these days, financial, global competition, AI - and while I used to work in one I am running out of sympathy when departments get abolished and lecturers made redundant. They've undermined themselves completely allowing this kind of garbage.

TempestTost · 21/09/2026 17:28

MyThreeWords · 20/09/2026 17:38

I'm just starting, finally, to learn that 'academic' doesn't mean the same as it did a generation or so ago when I was a post-grad. The enshitification of undergraduate education that today's young people seem to feel forced to purchase at extremely poor value has produced a complete devaluing of the whole university sector at every level.

It's so hard for someone who was lucky enough to receive an adequate university education to really accept what the sector has become.

I find it kind of heartbreaking.

MyDpsanarse · 21/09/2026 16:59

It makes you wonder what sort of a career they're hoping to have, a lot of people take Gender studies (and most can't get a job that reflects their degree) but I really can't see where Celebrity studies is going to take anyone, but then I'm old enough to remember when the vast majority of degrees led to the professions

MarcTheGenderSkeptic · 21/09/2026 15:08

GCScot · 21/09/2026 14:26

"Evil"? What kind of word is that to use in a 21st-century academic paper?

What has she done to deserve being called evil - did she curse Goody Willoughby's second-best cow and cause it to sicken and die?

You've put your finger on a very relevant point.
In a secular/atheist age, we still need our gods and devils.
JKR makes a very convenient devil. Alongside Trump and Musk, she completes the Unholy Trinity.
And the mass hysteria over her and trans activism generally, the rapid horizontal radicalisation of those lacking critical thinking skills is a society-wide version of The Crucible.

GCScot · 21/09/2026 14:26

"Evil"? What kind of word is that to use in a 21st-century academic paper?

What has she done to deserve being called evil - did she curse Goody Willoughby's second-best cow and cause it to sicken and die?

MarcTheGenderSkeptic · 21/09/2026 14:07

TheKeatingFive · 21/09/2026 12:19

Watching ‘academia’ dig its own grave is quite something

It's the kind of PhD that Rick from The Young Ones would have proudly submitted.

flyingbuttress43 · 21/09/2026 13:29

I was going to read the "research" but the fact that the introduction includes the words "cis woman" tells you immediately where it's coming from. Would have thought the normal declaration of any conflict of interest at the end of serious peer reviewed research articles is needed.

AlwaysExtraHot · 21/09/2026 12:41

Pingponghavoc · 21/09/2026 12:27

The idea of socially constructed gender used to be feminism 101 until the men made it necessary to go back a step an explain sex to them.

One of the many problem with reading and understanding gender ideology is they use common words but clearly dont use the common definition. How is sex not biological and not fixed?

It was a sleight of hand, conflating 'sex' and 'gender', so they can use whichever one in whichever context suits the current argument.

Pingponghavoc · 21/09/2026 12:27

AlwaysExtraHot · 21/09/2026 11:39

Not 100% sure about that; while sex is biological and fixed, and as a TERF I know that, I don't 'reject' the idea of socially constructed gender. I think we humans absolutely construct gender in e.g. dressing girls in pink and saying 'boys will be boys'.

The idea of socially constructed gender used to be feminism 101 until the men made it necessary to go back a step an explain sex to them.

One of the many problem with reading and understanding gender ideology is they use common words but clearly dont use the common definition. How is sex not biological and not fixed?

TheKeatingFive · 21/09/2026 12:20

NormalityIsOverrated · 20/09/2026 19:39

A helpful explanatory note appended to the academic paper illiterate fuckwittery.

Emily Hotine (Citation2021) explains:
TERFs are members of a branch of feminism whose ideological beliefs hinge on the idea that sex is biological and fixed, rejecting the idea of socially constructed gender. In essence, TERFs don’t recognise transgender women as women, and their beliefs undermine the rights of trans women by implying that they cannot ever truly be women.

Nailed it I’d say.

Why would anyone have the ‘right’ to force others to pretend they are the opposite sex?

The lack of critical thinking here is terrifying.

TheKeatingFive · 21/09/2026 12:19

Watching ‘academia’ dig its own grave is quite something

NormalityIsOverrated · 21/09/2026 12:06

AlwaysExtraHot · 21/09/2026 11:39

Not 100% sure about that; while sex is biological and fixed, and as a TERF I know that, I don't 'reject' the idea of socially constructed gender. I think we humans absolutely construct gender in e.g. dressing girls in pink and saying 'boys will be boys'.

True

AlwaysExtraHot · 21/09/2026 11:39

NormalityIsOverrated · 20/09/2026 19:39

A helpful explanatory note appended to the academic paper illiterate fuckwittery.

Emily Hotine (Citation2021) explains:
TERFs are members of a branch of feminism whose ideological beliefs hinge on the idea that sex is biological and fixed, rejecting the idea of socially constructed gender. In essence, TERFs don’t recognise transgender women as women, and their beliefs undermine the rights of trans women by implying that they cannot ever truly be women.

Nailed it I’d say.

Not 100% sure about that; while sex is biological and fixed, and as a TERF I know that, I don't 'reject' the idea of socially constructed gender. I think we humans absolutely construct gender in e.g. dressing girls in pink and saying 'boys will be boys'.