To ask about JK Rowling - can someone tell me what happened?

[christmaspigeon]

Just that really. I like her. I like how she gives so much for charity and how she put Trump in his place, but I know people's views on her have changed. Something to do with trans comments?? Can someone explain (in really simple language!) what happened? Thank you!

@TheBuffster

I feel like we have quite a few unanswered questions on this thread. Anyone fancy trawling back and making a list? I don't imagine they'll be answered, but would be good to have a summary for lurkers.

It's always the same. The same simple questions are never ever answered. I wonder why?

I'm busy at the moment but I will try and get them down. Then we can just repost every time 😉

Its not irrational to be scared of men

Well, you have your opinion and I have mine, I think it is so we'll just have to leave it there then otherwise we'll be spending Xmas Eve going "yes it is, no it's not"

@Quaagars

Its not irrational to be scared of men

Well, you have your opinion and I have mine, I think it is so we'll just have to leave it there then otherwise we'll be spending Xmas Eve going "yes it is, no it's not"

Oh you have to go before you answer our questions. How convenient.

Question.

You are a 14 year old girl walking along a deserted road when a car driver stops, and asks you to come over to give directions. You want to be helpful so you do.

Do you treat male and female drivers exactly the same? Or, if it's a male driver and his male passenger, are you maybe a bit more careful to keep your distance?

The whole team falls down when most men won't consider a relationship with one

Interesting. I've seen men (OK it was Twitter, so ) declare that "Transwomen are women. No Debate" but when asked about a relationship they'll say "Oh no, except for relationship purposes" Gay men are pretty frank about this re transmen.

It seems it's only lesbians who are told they're bigoted for not wanting sex with penises.

@Biffbaff

I can understand the irritation with feeling that language is erasing women. I particularly dislike it when the term "pregnant people" is used. It's supposed to be inclusive but it doesn't sound that way to me.

HOWEVER Jk lost me at that letter she wrote in defence of her comments about women being the "people who menstruate". Because suddenly she starts talking about trans women, who might attack her in the bathroom, and her fear of this being the basis of her anti-trans position. That really is "phobic" to see transwomen as a homogeneous group of potential attackers, and then to use that fear to justify comments about trans men is bizarre, how is a trans woman in a bathroom relevant to a discussion about trans men, women and menstruation? She's lost me there.

It's completely fair to see men as a group of potential attackers given they commit the overwhelming majority of violent or sexual crimes (whether their victims are male or female). A single biological woman objecting to biological men in our sex segrated spaces should be enough. Or are we ok with telling a woman that she can simply opt out of her victimhood the same way men can opt out of their perpetrator-hood?

She’s bloody wonderful. Supports women’s rights. In regards to Johnny/amber well, they were both as bad of each other. Can’t blame JK for supporting one of them.

You can see why a whole host of feelings about not belonging, being unhappy with your body, uncomfortable with being sexualised or having a same sex attraction etc could easily be confused for "I'm actually meant to be a boy"

And this is why we'd hope that a young woman in this mental anguish would receive help to untangle her thoughts & feelings, rather than change her body, leaving her tangled thoughts & feelings unexamined.

I often wonder whether young women in that situation should be introduced to some sort of (sex-segregated) sport or bodily technique which allows them to realise that their bodies are amazing, and can do wonderful things.

I often wonder whether young women in that situation should be introduced to some sort of (sex-segregated) sport or bodily technique which allows them to realise that their bodies are amazing, and can do wonderful things.

Absolutely definitely.

If I was a teen today, reading tumblr etc, I would pursue the 'meant to be a boy' road. I met all the vague criteria bandied around today. As it was, I didn't have tumblr, and I took up sport. I stopped focusing on how I didn't look like a magazine cover girl, and took pride in the physical skills I'd developed.

I honestly think it was a turning point in my life.

You are a 14 year old girl walking along a deserted road when a car driver stops, and asks you to come over to give directions. You want to be helpful so you do
Do you treat male and female drivers exactly the same?

Yes I do - and have, as in have given directions to both and have kept a distance, it's just common sense not to go right up to the car and keep a distance whether it's male or female in it asking.
So yes, I do treat them the same.

Beautiful story @PotholeParadies [flower] I was never a particularly team-sporty teen, but I rode horses (obsessively), learnt jazz ballet, and then took up aerobics. I'm now learning how to lift really heavy weights - it's wonderful to feel that my body is strong, powerful, and I can trust it.

Girls and women are too often socialised or conditioned out of a happy relationship with their bodies.

Going back to the "racial insensitivity" accusation, one of the things that's utterly bizarre about it is that the complaint about Cho Chang's name is so off base it's actually painful. For one thing, those spellings aren't Chinese OR Korean, because they are using anglicised letters - they are always going to be an approximation of Chinese sounds.

"Chang" is an anglicised version of a Chinese surname, the character for which can be seen here along with other, alternate Western spellings:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_(surname)#:~:text=It%20was%20listed%2080th%20among,as%20%E7%AB%A0%20in%20both%20systems
It can also work as a Western spelling of a Korean surname (Jang), but just because Westerners use the same spelling for a surname in two different East Asian languages doesn't mean that one language cancels the other out!

"Cho" is also a Chinese surname, and is usually the Western alphabet transliteration of the Cantonese form of Cao:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_(Chinese_surname)#:~:text=Cao%20is%20romanized%20as%20Ts,it%20is%20now%20written%20T%C3%A0o.

Where things get really interesting is that the Chinese given name "Qiu" does sound a lot like "Cho" to an Engish-speaking ear. In Chinese editions of Harry Potter, the character's name is written as "Zhang Qiu" (張秋). That may not have been intended by Rowling, but it hasn't taken a massive effort to produce a feasible Chinese name in Chinese out of Cho Chang.

So, at the absolute worst Rowling may have unthinkingly given her character two surnames, or she gave her an unusual transliteration of Qiu. If that's "racist" if your world, you're pretty sheltered!

@Quaagars

You are a 14 year old girl walking along a deserted road when a car driver stops, and asks you to come over to give directions. You want to be helpful so you do Do you treat male and female drivers exactly the same?

Yes I do - and have, as in have given directions to both and have kept a distance, it's just common sense not to go right up to the car and keep a distance whether it's male or female in it asking.
So yes, I do treat them the same.

Earlier you implied that women were paranoid to take precautions against attack. It reeked of it hasn't happened to me thinking. Either we're vulnerable or we're not. Sounds like doublethink to me.

The racial insensitivity someone has detailed more upthread, so not utter shite

Just because someone has "detailed it more" it doesn't stop it being utter shite.

So if its irrational to be afraid of attack from males, what exactly is stopping trans women staying where they belong?
With their own sex, in the mens provision.
There's nothing to be scared of surely?

Also re: racial insensitivity I don't think anyone else was even including Asian people in children's literature. Cho comes across pretty well and nothing like a stereotype. She's sporty, feisty, dramatic, clever but not geeky, popular and established to be one of the prettiest girls in the school. She shows herself to be sensitive as she deeply grieves Cedric and she's brave in the battle of Hogwarts. Her main flaw is not putting up with Harry's emotionally clueless treatment of her. That and trusting a friend who dobs them into Umbridge.

I thought we were being emotionally blackmailed into accepting men in our safe spaces because they are so unsafe in their own?
So either men are dangerous and scary and might assault or abuse people when they get the chance.
Which is partly why women want safe spaces.
Or thats irrational in which case they dont need to be in with us at all.
It cant be both.
Not that im expecting there to be any logical consistency at this point.
Because they want to is not a good reason.
Actually even them being in danger from men is not a good enough reason to shit on womens boundaries.

To be perfectly blunt, a particularly glaring bit of racial insensitivity on this thread was the attempt to make out that the very common Chinese surname Chang/Zhang (張, or 张) doesn't exist, and only the Korean Chang/Jang (장) does.

Which is the problem with Internet whisper campaigns. Most of the people starting them don't know what they're talking about, and don't think anyone else will either.

I can't stand her. She thinks because she has money she has more clout and her opinion matters more.

More than who?

What eresh said

Do you know this about her for a fact or just your opinion?

Either is fine

@Viviennemary

I can't stand her. She thinks because she has money she has more clout and her opinion matters more.

Mefuckingow

I think she's mint. How many women can stand up to violent, nasty people wishing rape and death threats for months and months on end? Trying to ruin her lively hood like that because it's succeeded with other women who's spoken out?

She's amazing.

Can someone tell me more about the pen name=conversion therapy thing? I have googled but cant locate anything specific?