To think that JK Rowling is being very unfairly treated.

[Impatiens]

For some people the name JK Rowling seems to have become a byword for 'bigot' or 'transphobe' - you only have to mention her name on twitter to cause a storm of accusations and abuse about her and I think it's really unjust.

This week it was announced that a new Harry Potter TV series is in development. Cue howls of outrage from certain people, repeating the same insults and even accusing her of being a bad influence on children. I feel so bad for her. She's always been someone who seemed to want to do good with her wealth and whose books (whether you like them or not) sent a positive message about the need to fight against evil.

A very brief recap of things Rowling has said about the trans debate that have caused anger -

1. Human biological sex can't be changed (females can't become males/vice versa) and no one should lose their job for saying that.

1. The word 'Woman' is being erased, particularly from important health messages that only affect females, and replaced with dehumanising terms like 'menstruators', 'cervix-havers' etc

1. Children/young people who have Gender Dysphoria/Identify as Transgender, shouldn't be given medication as part of any treatment because they're too young to understand the potential side effects.

YABU = JK Rowling's comments were offensive and she deserves the abuse she gets
YANBU = JK Rowling's comments were respectful opinions and she's entitled to voice them without getting abuse.

YABU, she has wrote some disgusting things

You'll need quotes to back that up.

and has advertised merchandise such as badges that say 'F your pronouns' and 'Notorious Transphobe'*

See, this just isn't true. She shared a photo of a T-shirt she had bought (with the slogan, "This Witch Doesn't Burn") and gave a link to the website. The website also stocks the more transphobic products you mentioned. But Jo wasn't promoting those.

www.insider.com/jk-rowling-terf-online-store-selling-anti-trans-merch-2020-9

I agree with you! I was shocked at some of her comments at first but then I realised they were twisted by the media and used for click bait. Her article on her own defence was very insightful, and outlined the many valid reasons why she felt that way. Was an eye opener for me, the world is not black and white...

From the Insider article:

"Rowling, the globally revered "Harry Potter" author, recently published a novel about a man who dresses up in women's clothing to attract murder victims. "

Statement of fact, right? Unless you read the book, and discover that you have to put it a slightly different way: "A novel in which in a single paragraph a male character is reported by another as having on a single occasion in the past having worn a woman's coat and a headscarf in order to disguise his identity as a male murderer."

Not quite the same as "anti-trans", somehow.

You should lose your job because you are ignorant. The sex chromosomes merely TYPICALLY determine gender: females typically have two X chromosomes (XX), while males typically have one X and one Y chromosome (XY). The Y chromosome contains the SRY gene, which triggers the development of male reproductive structures, and its presence TYPICALLY leads to a male designation.

In some cases, variations in sex chromosomes can occur, leading to conditions known as differences of sex development (DSD) or intersex conditions. These can include conditions with extra or fewer sex chromosomes, such as Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), or mosaicism where a person has both XY and XX cells.

Sometimes a person's sex chromosomes may differ from their developing reproductive structures or other sex characteristics

Consider yourself educated.

Eveert single person with a DSD is either one sex or the other. But you know that, right, considering how educated you are.

They'll spin literally anything.

I agree with you @Impatiens , it seems that she had been unfairly scapegoated. And now Stephen Fry who I used to think was intelligent has jumped on the bandwagon. Stop the world, I want to get off.