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.

[quote BudgieHammockBananaSmuggler]@ImpatiensTo be direct, if person going through male puberty lives their life as a woman, they will just look like a man in a dress. Which may have have ongoing psychological impact for their whole lives. A more ‘natural’ transition may avoid this. That’s the basic point.

It would be difficult to identify this small group as you say. However I would exclude anyone who experienced dysphoria as a teenager and would only consider those where there was strong collateral information that the person had lived as the different gender for essentially their whole life[/quote]
This comment is a disgrace.
The group is so tiny that none of us can identify it. There are no other options left on the face of this earth, in this time and age. So a child who cannot vote and is being used as an experimental rat basically has to go through with it and the world is so black and white that there is no other support available to help this child. All that’s left is a puberty blocker to ‘naturally’ transition into the rapid decline of a body that is perfectly healthy and rigorously growing otherwise.

What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you ever read even the most basic biochemistry before writing such irresponsible shit online?

Where does the money trail lead to?

I think for a good proportion of transitioning kids, prescribing puberty blockers is tantamount to child abuse.

@printmeanicephoto
I would quite like to see the data that say it is not abuse to use puberty blockers in a tiny minority of kids.

F your pronouns' and 'Notorious Transphobe'*

Those badges are funny/ironic - nothing wrong with them

How is that funny?
Fuck your pronouns
Hilarious

I know of some woke parents who have pretty much planted the idea in their kid's mind from birth that they maybe in the wrong body - so all orchestrated by the parent - all for the parent's own woke vanity. Very damaging to the child's sense of identity and mental health. Again, it's a form of child abuse.

And calling the child "they" or whatever other pronoun FROM BIRTH - wtf! Makes me so angry - on behalf of the poor child. Cue years of therapy.

To be direct, if person going through male puberty lives their life as a woman, they will just look like a man in a dress. Which may have have ongoing psychological impact for their whole lives

This is really mixed up Budgie. The person will look like a man because they are male. They need to go through puberty in order to ensure proper development of their brain and body - it's not a process that can be opted in or out of.

And 'psychological impact' - what is going to be the impact on them of possibly being in chronic pain all their adult lives or suffering mental impairment?

No matter what the WHO says, I don't see how believing you were 'born in the wrong body' or that you 'feel' like you should be the opposite sex can be anything other than a psychiatric issue and requires psychiatric therapy.

I agree, and am called a TERF for it, but I believe in safe spaces for biological women and girls. I have nothing against trans people, and am for anyone living the best and happiest life they can, but this is sets a dangerous precedent for women. I feel particularly defensive of lesbians who, it seems, have no place anywhere.

Of course YANBU, OP.

As no one has managed to explain why they think her views are transphobic, I’m supporting her right to free speech. I’m showing that support by buying her books as gifts for birthdays / Christmas etc.

The poll looks healthy! 95% of over 1000 votes agree that she hasn't done anything wrong. I feel a bit more reassured that one day sanity will prevail on this issue.

She was so vilified for speaking common sense. It was awful how so many in the public eye turned against her when she spoke sense.

I think that there is a lobby now which conflates any questioning or difference of opinion as transphobia. Like the lobby which rolls up not agreeing with Israeli policies with anti Semitism. We are losing a lot of nuance, and enabling those at the extreme end of the view point (whatever that is) to dictate terms. Which then closes down any discussion. Which is really scary.

And that's exactly what the vilification of JKR is - an attempt to shut down discussion. Can someone please point me in the direction of evidence of her supposed transphobia because everywhere I've looked for it (including this thread) hasn't turned up a single solitary example. And yet the accusations persist. Why is that? Could it be that JKR's heartfelt and personal essay is being misrepresented by those with a dishonest agenda...

Personally, I still love the H Potter books and the films - in spite of the views about JKR recently expressed by some of the actors. But I'd recommend the Strike series for those who prefer something a bit more adult. Gripping stories, excellently written.

JKR is Queen.

You ANBU. JKR stood up for women and girls while eloquently showing her compassion for trans people. She should be lionized.

print I wonder if it’s the same family know. Pronouns of “they” since toddlers. Odd declarations on social media. Transitioning at young ages. Declarations they are hated.

Poor poor kids. Social services and school too terrified to touch. Intelligent middle class parents with their own agenda.

I have huge support for older teens going through this. But it must be from the teen themselves. There is no protection for these kids

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

JK Rowling makes absolute sense. Good on her!

I too noticed that none of the posters saying she is transphobic or parse it to she says transphobic things have even bothered to show the example or to define it.

That is the problem. When you read a couple of the lobby groups list of what constitutes transphobia, it includes such gems like even suggesting there is a conflict of prioritization between women’s rights and trans rights.

And by the way, for some of the regulars that believe the mantras of who are women but find themselves not supporting one or two aspects of fully accepting males as exactly the same as women such as refuges, prisons, sports etc. you are also transphobic according to these groups definitions. (Or is it when you calls others transphobic, you are aware of this and are projecting)

Mumoftwoinprimary - "And Jo Rowling is a Gryffindor". Love this.
I don't fully understand the trans debate and what she said seemed to be a useful contribution.

I have to say though, I think she's guilty of lazy stereotypes in the Harry Potter books about Irish and Asian people and a bit tokenistic about black people.
Seamus Finnegan is a bit of a traveller- type, Mad Eye Mooney is on the drink (turned out to be polyjuice, but always necking it), Luna Lovegood is away with the fairies as is her father....... on the other hand Michael Gambon played Dumbledore with a slight Irish accent but I don't think that's in the books!

for some of the regulars that believe the mantras of who are women but find themselves not supporting one or two aspects of fully accepting males as exactly the same as women such as refuges, prisons, sports etc. you are also transphobic according to these groups definitions.

They don't care about degrees of wrongthink, either, so if you expressed your reservations on Twitter, no matter how much you qualified it, you'd get the same abuse as Rowling and other GC women do.

JK Rowling is standing up for women- good for her.

Trying to consider trans women as women is not just harmful potentially to women, especially women-only spaces, but also for trans women, whose different health/disease risks could be ignored as well as the different kinds of hatred and ill-treatment they can and probably do face.

I wonder if much of the debate or attempt to make it a non-debate is driven by people who are not born male and wish to be female, but people who see it as the next 'woke' thing to support.

@KeepWashingThoseHands

Black people have been subjected to systemic racism - for centuries. It’s interesting that a relatively ‘new’ minority group has been able to aggressively assert its rights so quickly, by imposing on another group that has similarly faced oppression in various forms - for centuries.

Then you realise that group is mostly men and all your questions are answered.

@KeepWashingThoseHands

So true

@Simarilion

The Guardian is unfortunately run by misogynists and now unreadable. I was a reader for years & now avoid it, the final straw was a Blind Date column (virtual date as Covid) where they set up a female lesbian with a straight trans male. (and lied to the woman about the other person's sex). Horrific behaviour.

Omg how did that go?

It gives me the rage that black people, religious minorities and women have been oppressed for centuries and very slow progress has been made

But when men want to be women, we hardly dare question it for fear of being hounded

I would far prefer to widen the scope of what it means to be a man or woman eg society accepts boys dancing, girls being mechanics, parents sharing household chores. And individual cubicles for changing rooms, so everybody has privacy and dignity

YANBU I think she's brilliant.

@Impatiens

It still must have been really distressing to experience, but god her strength impresses me.

She is amazing, really amazing, but I can't stand the way the abuse of her is being normalised so that 'JK Rowling' = 'Transphobic'

Absolutely agree. I was in a work meeting last week about diversity and inclusion with about 60 other staff. A very senior male manager made a comment about the damage JKR has caused to trans community.

I didn't say anything but spent the rest of the meeting compiling an email with the links to what she actually said.

I sent the email to him and to our male D&I 'champion' - with some trepidation it has to be said.

I got an email back saying it had been a throwaway comment and no harm done.

We had a little back-and-forth but all very polite. I then looked at my diary and realised I had a meeting with both of them a few hours later, just the three of us.

I brought it up at the beginning of that meeting and they conceded, begrudgingly, that pro-women did not mean anti-trans.

Not sure how much good it did but at least they'll think twice about saying that again in front of a 'room' full of people.

Ms Rowling is a woman, ie adult human female, of outstanding courage and talent. More power to her elbow.

The treatment she has received following her essay is appalling.