To agree with JK Rowling?

[StraightenUpAndFryRight]

mobile.twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1207646162813100033

‘Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?
#IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill’

I agree too

I agree

I agree with her.

I agree. I thought this decision was both astounding and terrifying.

YANBU.

There are valid points on both sides of the TRA / GC debate. It is wrong to silence one side of the debate.

I agree

Yadnbu. I’m so, so pleased she has spoken up. I really hope this makes people realise how completely ott some of these trans activists are. That statement, to 99% of the world, is completely inoffensive. If anything it’s a positive message. Since when was ‘live your best life but not at the expense of others’ hate speech?

I agree.

I agree.

Sadly a very small minority are very vocal, very aggressive and sadly becoming more influential.

JK Rowling is usually right about most things.

Of course you are right. The good news is that people are starting to hear what’s been going on behind closed doors. They don’t like it.

YANBU.

I agree completely.

YANBU.

Nobody really thinks you can change sex. Not if they're being honest with themselves.

Of course you can change gender - but gender is made-up, and all in the head, anyway.

#IstandwithMaya
I greatly admire the women who stick their heads above the parapet. Well done JK, Sharon, Paula and all the non celebrity women out there standing up for women.
If you have a penis you are a man. Simples!

YANBU it's absolutely insane that things have come to this situation where we can't talk about reality.

I agree.

Force women to compete in sports with male bodied people.
Girl guides to share rooms and tents with male bodied people.
Single sex facilities and services to be lost.
Refuges that want to stay single sex or employ only women to risk losing public funding.

She's right of course but I do worry about the backlash. Some TRAs are relentless and probably capable of being quite dangerous when provoked given their threats.

I agree

YANBU because JK Rowling said nothing that could be deemed insulting, "phobic" or threatening. She simply defended a woman's right to free speech. I looked through some of the replies to her tweet and some were way over the line - threats, cursing, and over and over again telling her to shut up. Nowhere did I see any valid or cogent arguments against her position - only poison and narcissistic rage.

We are sick of being told to shut up. Women have valid concerns and we want to talk about them. That is not bigotry, it is a normal part of a democratic society where the needs of one group need to be balanced against the needs of another group. When respectful debate is shut down, it does not lead to good things.

It is worth pointing out that had Maya won, it would have established a legal precedent of protection for people on BOTH sides of the debate - a belief in innate gender identity and a lack of that belief. I don't see any winners here.

Thank you JK Rowling. I hope you know how much you are appreciated by so many.

As I understand it, the woman was posting "gender critical" messages on her workplace slack that were in reality directed at one particular trans person in the workplace. She was not kept on as a consultant as a result. The judgment found that this was a reasonable decision by the employer.

I mean that seems... fine to me? She's entitled to her beliefs (as the judge apparently acknowledged) but posting goady views on a workplace message board that are clearly intended to denigrate a colleague's own perception of their sexual identity is just disruptive behaviour.

I also think it seems from the reporting that she rested her defence on the acknowldgment that although her words were prima facie in breach of the Equality Act 2010 (or rather would have put the employer in breach if it had allowed her to keep making them) the words themselves were also protected under the Equality Act 2010 as they were a "philosophical belief". It's pretty obvious why the judge did not fancy this argument - opening the door to saying "oh no, the idea that white people are superior to black people is my philosophy" would not be a good direction to take the law in.

Can anyone link to the full judgment? I can't find it online.

I agree

I wish I was brave enough to publicly stand with Maya

Isn't there a thread on the feminism board about this? I'm not sure what to think but I certainly think JK Rowling is brave to say what she did. Just as Chimimanda Ngozie Adichie was when she took a similar stand publicly a couple years ago. Interesting that feminists who I respect seem to share the same view.

I hugely admire JKR for putting her head above the line and saying this. It’s helped more women than she will ever know.