A response to JK Rowling

[Hjft]

J.K. Rowling, like so many others, has recently been accused of transphobia and targeted for expressing some of her opinions on sex and gender. This is a very nuanced issue which many people struggle with, including members of the trans community. Assuming bigotry and shutting down debate is not the way to address these issues. Instead we should engage in reasoned debate in order to better understand the subtitles and find a way to live together with mutual respect.

On 10 June 2020 JK Rowling wrote about her reasons for speaking out on sex and gender Issues ( www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/ ) . It is a welcome calm voice in what she calls a toxic environment and I commend her bravery for standing up to the bullies. The essay explains eloquently what she believes and why she holds the opinions she does. She opens up about some very personal issues, and I hope all her detractors will read it before shouting her down.

An essay, however well written, carries a bias, and a reasonable author will recognise that bias and be willing to consider that they could be wrong. And so should the reader of an essay. By writing this essay, JK Rowling has exposed some very valid points which the other side of the debate wish to brush aside. However, she has also indicated a bias which I hope to address.

She conflates sex and gender, and she conflates the law and medicine. Firstly she worries that trans activism is ‘pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender’. This legal definition is for the protection of the civil rights of trans people and has no bearing on biology. Trans people still receive healthcare appropriate to their individual biological truths. Every trans person is acutely aware of their biological sex because it is incongruous with their gender. Remember when Harry Potter uses Polyjuice potion to take on the form of Goyle in ‘Chamber of secrets”. He does not stop being Harry. Now imagine if Harry had got stuck, and had to live his life with everyone believing he was Goyle. It would be intolerable for him and would likely lead to mental illness or worse. This is what it’s like for trans people, and why the law is in place to protect their right to be their authentic selves. Being Harry is ‘not a costume’.

This conflation is further illustrated when she expresses alarm that ‘A man who intends to have no surgery and take no hormones may now secure himself a Gender Recognition Certificate and be a woman in the sight of the law’. Again, this demonstrates a conflation of law and medicine. If a trans person can find relief from their gender dysphoria by permanently expressing themselves in an authentic manner then why should we expect them to accept medical intervention in order to get legal protection. Imagine you have a migraine. If sitting in a dark room with a glass of water provides you with sufficient relief, then you shouldn’t be expected to take strong pain killers or accept brain surgery. The ‘man’ she describes is not masquerading as a woman - she is living her authentic identity as a woman. The law protects her rights to do so. She is not a predator, and it should not be assumed that she is. Without these rights, her transgender status would be revealed every time she tries to hire a car, or open a bank account, and it is her safety that is in danger. A man masquerading as a woman is not able to legally get a Gender Recognition Certificate - because they are a man.

[redacted*] I hope JK Rowling’s essay will mark a turning point in the tone of these discussions, and people can start to properly address them.

• [edited by MNHQ to remove inflammatory content - we're allowing the challenges to this section of the OP to remain]

Fanfic and such, am I right in thinking that if JKR wanted to be a cunt, she could actually shut all those things down?

I am not 'into' that stuff and didn't even know it existed until fairly recently, but the way a lot talk about it, it seems JKR 'allowed' all the fanfic stuff, so there is a way she could..disallow it too I take it? Not sure how it all works. Sure she wouldn't, but she could if they keep going on like idiots and it annoyed her enough?

Either way, the way some are going on is just fucking pathetic. And getting worse and more OTT by the day. God forbid, someone has a different opinion on a topic to you..is this REALLY such a rare thing to these fucking people that they have to go on this way? Its odd. Whats even weirder, is all those desperately trying to distance themselves from what she said, don't even seem to know what she said, or are purposely misrepresenting it..why?! If they were honest about what was said at the time, and what was said after, there is no huge problem that they need to panic about anyway..they are creating this issue, then blaming JKR for it. Just really really strange behaviour to me.

At least half of them seem to just be reacting to what the TRAs are shouting that she said, without at any point backing up and checking what she ACTUALLY said.

So far, the nearest to "hate" speech has been the tweet about the menstruators, because she is definitely "denying" transmen in that post. But that's only if you believe transmen are men. It has fuck all to do with transwomen, who are, as usual, the ones going off on one.

The rest of her tweets have not been anything like that, but it doesn't suit the TRAs narrative to be reasonable, proportional or rational - they've just gone full tilt with the "terf" screeching, to start a war against her. And like all cults, the Koolaid Krew are just swallowing it.
If they manage to bring her down (as someHachette staff are apparently refusing to work on her books now, and threatening to strike if they are made to, or if Hachette refuse to ditch her books entirely www.dailywire.com/news/publishing-staff-threatens-to-strike-if-company-keeps-j-k-rowlings-book) then it will be seen as the greatest triumph for the "cause" and NO ONE will be safe. Freedom of speech won't be safe, we'll be heading into a dictatorship slightly different from the one we thought we were heading into, where books won't be published if they don't conform to this madness.
I wish I knew what Margaret Atwood makes of all this...

The question of fanfic - the Harry Potter novels are the intellectual property of JK Rowling therefore any use of the character or storylines in fanfic is plagiarism. Authors usually don’t do anything as no money is made as a result and it’s by fans and for fans.

Some authors have publicly stated an anti-fanfic stance and some of the big fanfic archives won’t allow works by those authors.
But JKR is pro-fanfic IIRC

This opinion piece articulated what scares me about this situation:

J.K. Rowling backlash shows how progressives are turning on their own kind

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-jk-rowling-backlash-shows-how-progressives-are-turning-on-their-own/#comments

11/06/2020 10:08Kit19

What does it mean to live as a woman without resorting to gender stereotypes?

This right here is what I dont understand. In modern western society, when men and women can both be feminine or masculine or neither, what is gained by wanting to be a different gender? Gender no longer truly exists in the west and its impossible to change biological sex so.. what's the point

And yet:twitter.com/_AdultHumanMale/status/1274080350499737611 here we have a man questioning the validity of the Mermaids' stance on transgender protocols - do we see calls for him to be assaulted? De platformed? Hated unreservedly? Of course fucking not

I'm glad to see the spirited response of Rowling's agent to the attempt by several authors' demands: “We are disappointed by the decision that four clients have taken to part ways with the agency. To reiterate, we believe in freedom of speech for all; these clients have decided to leave because we did not meet their demands to be re-educated to their point of view. We respect their right to pursue what they feel is the correct course of action."

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/22/authors-quit-jk-rowling-agency-over-transgender-rights

Ahh thats the way to do it.

Cannot believe people tried getting her dropped tbh. Its pathetic

Or pushing for a 'statement' even. Jesus..why can a woman not have independent views. Why does everyone in her life have to denounce her for believing in sex..its bonkers.

Sorry but what was your fucking point OP? Why exactly did you make such a long post for no particular reason copying and pasting? It strikes me as rather manipulative.

And you know what? JK Rowling just gave half a million pounds to Refuge. I am so sick of this shit.

I've known a number of trans people over the years - gay men dressing up mostly but one straight one and support their right to do it without harassment- as do the vast majority of women.

But you can fuck right off with your 'trans women are women even though they look like men, have penises and are sexually attracted to women' shit.

Why should vulnerable women in rape crisis centres and prisons be terrorised? The way the trans lobby is acting is exactly how men act. Jesus.

I love the subtext of that statement, that they refuse to be “re-educated”. I can just imagine the conversation. That mentality drives me mad. “If you don’t think like us, then we’ll make you do so.”

@Vodkacranberryplease

Sorry but what was your fucking point OP? Why exactly did you make such a long post for no particular reason copying and pasting? It strikes me as rather manipulative.

I suspect the OP left the thread a loooong time ago - but it has made for another interesting and useful discussion thread, that almost certainly did not go the way the OP hoped. Or perhaps they were a TRA troll, and it went exactly the way they hoped, as they all consider MN to be "terf"-central anyway. (APOLOGIES FOR USING THAT TERM - it is what they would say themselves, I do not agree with it)

@ThumbWitchesAbroad yeah no doubt. But since we are all broadly in agreement and this is transparent as hell it didn't exactly work 😁

I don’t agree with what you have written. I only wanted to pick up a few points. Near the end, you state that the transgender person’s “safety is in danger” if she is obliged to reveal that her sex is male. Surely what we need to do is address that problem, rather than be moving towards simply handing out GRCs to anyone who feels like they want one?

Why does a bank even need to know your sex to open a bank account? When you stop and think about it, Why isn’t your name, address, date of birth adequate?

And surely what we need to do is address why there is this inherent danger for trans people from daily processes. Who cares what sex you are? Frankly I don’t, unless I’m entering a sexual relationship with you, or unless you are in a women-only safe space. The car hire company cares because it wants to sell you insurance and the premia are weighted differently for women. Why is that fair? Should we not be tackling that bias and insisting on equality (which in this case might make insurance more expensive for women)? We would not dream of making insurance cheaper or more expensive for reasons of ethnicity or sexual orientation, would we?

What I passionately DO care about is the hard-won rights of natal women. Especially the right to have safe spaces without people with penises (or should I call them “people who produce spermatozoon?”). If I saw a naked, apparently-male person with a penis in a ladies changing room, I would call the police and the establishment’s manager. I would not politely enquire to see a certified copy of their GRC whilst delicately cupping my private parts and asking my young daughter to avert her eyes. I would be angry and probably unpleasant, because I’m going to assume that the person with the penis should not be in a women’s changing room. Am I wrong to assume that? How am I supposed to tell the difference between men with penises, and women with penises, when confronted by this dilemma in a day-to-day situation?

Should a young girl feel her safety is in danger, if she sees a penis unexpectedly in a changing area reserved for women? Is it now fine for girls to see penises, as long as they belong to women?

OP I just cannot see how, in reality, it will work. Because, transphobic or not, I think most people will, quite rationally based on the fact only a tiny proportion of women will ever have a penis, assume it’s a fella with a penis every time , and react accordingly. How do you solve that?