Page 5 | JK Rowling, transwomen and the Labour Party

HeyRoly · 2018-03-20T22:43:07+00:00

JK Rowling liked this tweet. I think she might be one of us. Will be interesting to see if this kicks off...

FeministBadger · 22/03/2018 13:52

clumsy and middle-aged moment

Oops sorry that I've been accused of being transphobic - here's a little bit of sexism combined with ageism towards myself in the hopes you'll forgive me. Can't trust us women, eh?

Mner · 22/03/2018 13:59

So disappointed that there a back track is occurring. Just when you think sense is coming to the fore... What an awful thing for her people to put. Ageism and misogyny all in one awful little phrase

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 22/03/2018 14:16

“Clumsy and middle aged moment”?

That’s bad. If someone who represented me said this they would no longer be working with me or for me.

And if JK Rowling said that about herself, then WTF.

Would a man ever use this as an excuse?

FairfaxAikman · 22/03/2018 14:35

I have experience of StonehillSalt (JK's representative company). Basically they bullshit and expect you to swallow it.

Nosetothesun · 22/03/2018 14:36

I think its more likely that if JK Rowling is intending to express her views, she would wait for an opportunity to do so clearly and in her own words which will likely have nuance.

There will I am sure be many people in positions of influence who may well be deciding when and how best to join the discussion.

Its better for all that they are encouraged to do this.

aRespectableBureaudeChange · 22/03/2018 15:04

Public opinion can change without well known or liked voices - at the start - eg Brexit

Silence should not be taken as agreement, just that bullies are loud.

Main thing is not to get too distracted by the daft victim kids they are putting in the stocks for ridicule - it is the policy makers that should be getting the attack -LM etc are stool pigeons and vulnerable ones at that.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 22/03/2018 15:13

I must say though that if JK Rowling decides to take it back, or if she has had a fat finger moment that’s absolutely fine. She got so much abuse for this, it was horrible.

It’s just the “middle age clumsy moment” that’s a bit badly worded.

BarrackerBarmer · 22/03/2018 15:33

It's not fine.

To publicly endorse a woman's view that you KNOW to be a brave stance, and then to cowardly retract and leave her facing a shitstorm that you inflamed with your GIGANTIC platform of followers, whilst you u turn and tacitly denounce her as transphobic

is not fine.

HakunaDentata · 22/03/2018 15:59

Being called transphobic is almost like being called Nazi these days, I'm not surprised she backed off. Poor excuse though. You don't "like" something by mistake on twitter I'm afraid.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 16:16

I do worry when celebrities endorse / retweet / reply to posts from the public - especially if they are possibly controversial posts.

If the celebrity has a lot of followers, there can be a backlash against the person who originally posted it which can lead to loads of notifications, direct messages, replies, your name in the public and far far worse.

I have been at the receiving end of a celebrity criticising my views - and that led to me making my account private for a while. I even went viral on one particular post. I still get notifications for that nearly a year later.

I think the person who wrote the original post has made her account private. Twitter can be an awful place - I've experienced a lot of online abuse from a range of people - and when a celebrity highlights your post (for reasons the celebrity thinks are great because they support it - or if the celebrity has an issue with it), the comeback can be overwhelming.

Collidascope · 22/03/2018 16:21

I understand her doing an about turn. It's such a gaslighty movement that I quite often catch myself thinking, 'wait... I am right on this, aren't I?' and that's without hundreds of messages telling me they did like me but now I'm cruel trash -after years of widespread adoration which must be quite addictive. Add to that the "men in dresses" isn't the most nuanced way to describe TIMs, and I understand where the doubt came in. Plus I get the impression JK really wants to be kind.
I think she is gender critical though, and the lack of accompanying statement by her spokesperson saying "of course jk fully support tws on aws, as tw are women!" testifies to that. She's still getting shit on Twitter now.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 16:24

Add to that the "men in dresses" isn't the most nuanced way to describe TIMs, and I understand where the doubt came in

That's what appeared on my twitter feed yesterday. It was a bit of a shock. I follow her because she and Piers Morgan were having one of their regular battles and it was fascinating to watch. She has a lot to say about politics and Trump. Then that 'like' came up - which was surprising given how she reacted to Trump and his transgender ban last year.

BarrackerBarmer · 22/03/2018 16:26

If only people had the ovaries to stand alongside other brave women and speak the truth instead of using them as a human shield.

I wrote upthread that it would be better to support covertly than to pull this kind of bullshit where you publicly support, then retract and make things worse for the women in your wake.

I actually think this is her PR agency going rogue. I bet JKR didn't authorise their response.

Now she has to decide what next.

She has made things worse, not just for the woman who was brave enough to tweet in the first place, but for every woman doing the same. We cannot continue taking all the flak indefinitely whilst others sit back and watch from behind your sofa cushions.

OvaHere · 22/03/2018 16:30

Isn't JK a big donor to the Labour Party or at least has been in the past?

If so, the best thing she could do for women right now would be to withdraw financial support and tell them why.

Of course she might have done this many moons ago as she doesn't seem generally happy with the direction they have taken.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/25/jk-rowling-labour-party-has-turned-solipsistic-personality-cult/

Ritzsaltedcrackers · 22/03/2018 16:36

I agree with Barack. She is a disgrace. Liked a tweet, got flack for it, scuttled away like a coward and debased herself by making a pathetic excuse,and left the woman who wrote the tweet to take all the flack.

I really liked and respected JK. Not an ounce of respect for her now.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 16:43

I really liked and respected JK. Not an ounce of respect for her now

She should have been able to predict what would happen if she liked a tweet that included the phrase "men in dresses". The first part of that tweet is not controversial - there is an issue at the moment in the Labour party. I wonder if she knew what the reaction would be to the second part of that tweet?

thebewilderness · 22/03/2018 16:54

Women cannot use the phrase "men in dresses" without being hounded and harassed by transgender identified males and it is their own fault because they should have know the rules, from yetanothertranswoman.

3rd rule of misogyny: Women speaking for themselves are exclusionary and selfish.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 17:01

Women cannot use the phrase "men in dresses" without being hounded and harassed by transgender identified males and it is their own fault because they should have know the rules, from yetanothertranswoman

There are people on here who also recognise that 'men in dresses' is a phrase that is very likely to cause upset. I am sure that JK Rowling is more than aware of that and the reaction it would get.

There are many phrases that people don't use to describe groups of people. I am sure there would be a reaction from women if a man endorsed a tweet using certain 'slurs' in such a public way.

LangCleg · 22/03/2018 17:03

Rachel, of the tweet fame, is a working class woman who doesn't tailor her language to cater to middle class sensibilities. And I say good on her for that.

But it seems to me that everyone's missing the point of men in dresses. Rachel was pointing out the sexism of the brocialists in the Labour Party. She was saying that the only reason they go in to bat for the TIMs is because they see them as men in dresses. If the brocialists were being truthful when they say they see TIMs as women, they would never stand up for them.

She was saying that the brocialists are not only sexist, but in terms of how the TRAs see things, also transphobic.

Kyanite · 22/03/2018 17:04

On facebook she is being described as hateful but the comments I'm seeing so far are saying, "well he is a man in a dress."

aRespectableBureaudeChange · 22/03/2018 17:05

No one actually believes she liked it by mistake, right? Not us and not them. They know she is lying too. We all know the bullies are winning.

I assume JKR's books don't read like this - with the hero capitulating, doubt she'd have sold many.

So we are here and JK will have to draw a more distinct line and live with herself after.

Twitter is full of bullies. In the real world everyone agrees it is men in dresses.

LangCleg · 22/03/2018 17:05

(And you'll notice that none of the TRAs are asking that question of any of the brocialists. Why? Because they don't want to draw attention to the actual point of Rachel's tweet.)

EaringsSparkle · 22/03/2018 17:07

Woman being controlled then demeaned in public for being out of line.

Anyone can be in an abusive relationship. Anyone can leave an abusive relationship.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 17:10

Woman being controlled then demeaned in public for being out of line

Didn't Munroe Bergdorf get similar when they said something and were out of line?

What about the guy who wore a sexist shirt?

Lots of people get controlled and demeaned in public for being out of line.

yetanothertranswoman · 22/03/2018 17:11

And Lily Madigan has lots of threads on here for expressing their views.

As does Jack Monroe. Paris Lees, etc