JK Rowling

[MsMcWibble]

twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1207646162813100033
Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?
#IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill

It does seem like the vast majority of the online backlash is based on a false narrative that Maya "misgendered" someone. Unfortunately that is what the internet (especially social media and ESPECIALLY Twitter) is all about nowadays. Sudden trends and pile-ons and memes with very little room for facts, where nobody actually bothers to read up on anything and just regurgitates whatever they read, propagating bullshit and fake news and lies and nonsense.

He’s probably a multi-millionaire pushing 70 who is beloved by Star Wars fans and yet he still won’t hold firm? I think it’s pathetic and just makes JK look even stronger.

Ricky looks like he's enjoying himself

I might buy a David Baddiel book too

I think that this song suits Ricky Gervais perfectly.

That song is brilliant

I'm watching the fallout from this with interest, tinged with horror, because I have an incredibly woke, blue-haired friend who is heavily invested in the HP world, and is also a bit of a TRA (although not trans herself) and I'm really wondering how she is going to react to this now that JKR has come out as properly gender critical. So far, she's shared a Tumblr post about "JK Rowling hates trans people, and here is why" but hasn't changed her HP related profile pics and information. I think she is going to be genuinely conflicted about whether to ditch the trans ideology or something that has become a central part of her identity.

I think this friend is typical in some ways of the sort of absolutist person who can't tolerate anyone questioning her beliefs and opinions. She is in her mid-40s, is an Aspie, and she goes in hard on a number of different fandoms, mainly sci-fi related. But Harry Potter is really the biggy - she posts memes about it around 4 or 5 times per day, she has decorated her entire house to look like Hogwarts, and she regularly talks about "identifying as a Hufflepuff" without any hint of irony. It is as if she believes she actually went to Hogwarts and had a sorting ceremony . She's a highly intelligent person with a lot of empathy, but in some ways she acts a lot younger than her age, and I don't think she has ever changed her mind on an issue once she's got hold of it. But now she's going to have to change her mind either about trans issues or about treating JKR as some kind of demi-goddess. I can certainly see where all the wailing about being "heartbroken" and "devastated" is coming from, put it that way.

I almost felt sorry for her, but earlier today she shared a meme that included the word "truscum" so now I'm going to have to have a rethink myself about whether this is the sort of person I really want to be friends with. I was able to ignore all the posts with "cis" in them, even though I hated it, because at least she was using it in what she thought was a non-offensive context. I don't think there's any wiggle room on truscum though.

Many thanks for the supportive posts (I PP'd way back on the thread about the abuse being levelled at already traumatized rape victims on the JKR Twitter feed. And this is the 'allies' definition of 'being kind').

It's depressing to see such legitimized misogynistic abuse, but I agree with those who pointed out that it does shine a spotlight on what women are up against. If this causes loss of sympathy with those who seek to erase us, or to compromise our safety for the sake of validating their own identities, then this has to be good. I've no doubt Rowling knew exactly what she was letting herself in for when she posted that tweet, and am constantly thankful to women like her and Sarah Phillimore who are willing to put their heads above the parapet in order to speak up for us. Maya's situation, though, also shows why it's so tough for many of us to do this.

I had to laugh at the [banned slur omitted] sorting hat, but like other posters have been sorry to see people I consider as respected friends and colleagues joining in with the pile-on. Some have contented themselves with disagreeing with Rowling's stance, which of course they're entitled to do. One or two have resorted to insulting her. I now view those people in an entirely different light. A full-scale, personal assault on someone simply for expressing a contary opinion - effectively turning her into public enemy number one - could have a catastrophic effect on them psychologically. It is straightforward, mass-scale bullying or a kind I'd never be party to, even if I fell on teh critical side of someone's behavious and it's very unpleasant to witness and possibly potentially dangerous.

And their mantra. 'Be Kind'.

I'm not sure I really get what 'truscum' is. Trans people who have had genuine gender dysphoria their whole lives? I can't see how anyone woke would class anyone trans as truscum?
Feel free to correct me!

I'm not sure I really get what 'truscum' is. Trans people who have had genuine gender dysphoria their whole lives? I can't see how anyone woke would class anyone trans as truscum?

It's levelled at people like Debbie Hayton who says she is a transwoman, but not a woman.

KizzyWayfarer

You'll have to check the two threads. And it's right at the beginning of them, I believe.

There was a transwomen who worked in Maya's industry who, I believe took exception to Maya's tweets. But, from memory, this person was not involved with Maya, in any way. And I don't think they even worked for the same company. But you'll have to check.

You really ought to read the threads. Maya's tweets, more than most, are very mild, respectful, rational.

She is an intelligent woman, articulate and a good communicator. She works for an industry which challenges beliefs and cultures as part of their remit.

She used to tweet and chat with colleagues, over bits and bobs to do with the industry and interesting issues. And she was very shocked when there was a wall of silence over this issue. Because of the fear.

She's a very solid and credible woman.

She's a grown up.

oh ok, thanks. So I suppose they say it's a kind of internalised transphobia or something?
Why 'tru' / true?

@popehilarious My understanding is that it refers to trans people with genuine dysphoria who think that transwomen without dysphoria and/or without full surgery are not women.

Eg India Willoughby has said that you can change sex but only with full surgery and if you have a penis you shouldn't be in women's spaces.

They do though Pope. Miranda, Kristina, Debbie, Fionne and many others have all be called Truscum because of their GC stances. Anyone who dares to disagree with the ideology is a target for abuse. Once you declare yourself it's then open season.

Btw I loved the sorting hat link, and I really love the fact that it still put me in Ravenclaw /nerd

I can't see how anyone woke would class anyone trans as truscum?

It's not the woke. It's other transwomen. Usually those who describe themselves as having gender euphoria, rather than dysphoria.

I was sort of referring to EoinMcLovesCakeJumper (great name) who said a woke friend posted a meme including the word 'truscum'. But yeah, still, tossing that around and thinking you're in the right?

The meme that I saw that included the word truscum was by a Native American person who was saying that believing there were only two sexes was disrespectful of their culture. I didn't read the whole thing, tbh, because it was fucking insane, but the gist of it seemed to be that GC beliefs are racist because they don't account for the belief in some cultures of a third gender. I don't know which trans person this rant was aimed at but would guess someone like Debbie Hayton.

And their mantra. 'Be Kind'.

You don't have to scratch the glittery surface much before you find the nicey-nicey act is just a front for misogynistic and very male, nasty behaviour if you dare to not fall in line, especially if you're a woman. They really can't see their own hypocrisy.

Truscum exists as a term of abuse because of the fact that the Trans movement has morphed into a totalitarian bully neo-religion. I might actually get deleted for saying this, which should tell you everything you need to know about the truth of it.

The Trans 'umbrella' now encompasses a myriad of people who have experienced no gender dysphoria as medically understood in the way which led to the GRA. Many of them do not have the slightest desire to make any physical transition, and do not want their beliefs about themselves to be seen as a medical issue. Old fashioned transsexuals, unsurprisingly, are a bit peeved about the new Trans movement removing the planks of assistance that have helped them come to terms with their distress over their physical bodies and the Truscum pejorative arose to marginalize those people because they undermine the usefulness of Transactivism as a wider control mechanism.

Wow floral, do you write for a living?

What a wonderfully communicated post.

I feel a bit stupid posting this after the fabulous eloquence of Floral's post but this just made me die. In response to Murray being 'misgendered'. So simple but pretty much sums it up!

But in answer to the question, I'm starting to think that teenage girls are trying to identify out of being seen as sex objects, and middle aged chaps are trying to identify into it.

Think you nailed it there @DodoPatrol

@KizzyWayfarer
Gregor Murray worked with Maya did he not? I thought he was the unhappy trans person.

No, Gregor was not a colleague of Maya's.

Maya worked for an international development think tank in London/ Washington DC.

Gregor Murray was a councillor in Dundee, initially SNP, but thrown out of the party for calling women who disagreed with "them" cunts on social media. Murray, incidentally, is bearded, wears a suit and tie, and I think it's fair to say, presents in what our culture would count as a stereotypically masculine way.

Everything Murray has said and done on social media/in the press has given me the impression that Murray is a thoroughly nasty piece of work.