Daniel Radcliffe responds to J.K Rowling's tweets on gender identity

[EddyF]

Daniel Radcliffe responds to JK Rowling’s tweets: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people”

Daniel Radcliffe Responds to J.K. Rowling’s Tweets on Gender Identity – The Trevor Project

FULL STATEMENT

I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now. While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.

Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I. According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.

I am still learning how to be a better ally, so if you want to join me in learning more about transgender and nonbinary identities check out The Trevor Project’s Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. It’s an introductory educational resource that covers a wide range of topics, including the differences between sex and gender, and shares best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary people.

To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.

Love always,
Dan

Good for him. Anyone remotely connect to Rowling needs to make it clear that they don't stand for her phobic nonsense. She's a foul woman.

@enderthedragon it is a lot more effective to fight for something if you are also being respectful to others.

@merrymouse women who have gone through the menopause are still women - jk accepted that her comments were thoughtless, I think, and she followed them up clarifying that she wasn't anti trans. not sure she'd appreciate the sort of "support" she is getting here either.

There are a lot of comments on here which come across as prejudiced, unkind, inhumane - NOT as fighting for women's rights or even relevant to women's rights.

Gosh yes. Girls, never get cross about prejudiced, unkind, inhumane treatment of you , make sure instead that nothing you say implies that you'd treat male people the way that is perfectly acceptable for them to treat you.

Ladies are always nice . If you have a cross voice about your erasure and oppression, or you say anything that could be construed as not nice then no one will want to listen to you.

Anyone remotely connect to Rowling needs to make it clear that they don't stand for her phobic nonsense.

Such as saying biological sex is real, and it is damaging to the female half of the human race to deny this.

She's a foul woman

For saying biological sex is real, and harm to female humans matters.

Are you on glue? Honestly. Explain to me, in small words, what you're trying to say here, because to me this sounds insane.

I worry for the future.

You can have uncomfortable emotions without burdening others with them or being prejudiced, unkind, inhumane, though. This applies equally to men and women. How can you hope to be seen and treated as fully human if you don't show others the same thing?

I hope then you've been going on Twitter and saying that to all the people throwing vile abuse at JKR? @thisisawful. Or is it only women that have to be kind and humane?

Kit19

Tell her 3 out of 5 of the Ob/GYNs identify as women.

I am so angry seeing the self-congratulatory woke-folk on Twitter crowing about this. I even saw one person state that everyone should consider DR the “true” creator of a Harry Potter.

@michelleoftheresistance it is a lot more effective to fight for something if you are also being respectful to others. treat male people the way that is perfectly acceptable for them to treat you well, yes, treat others the way you want them to treat you.

@thisisawful

why is there no reference to transmen[?] because they don't get such a bashing online as transwomen do

So you'd agree that people are treated differently according to their biological sex then?

Why do you think that transmen may have a different experience online than transwomen? Not that I accept that transwomen are "based" online - but I do accept that there are more high profile transwomen in this debate online and therefore more interaction.

Do you think it might be that men don't feel at all threatened by transmen? Whereas transwomen pose the same potential threats to women as all men potentially pose to men?

It's almost like sex matters isn't it?

You can have uncomfortable emotions without burdening others with them or being prejudiced, unkind, inhumane, though.

I think insisting that 'woman' can only define people who identify with a stereotype is prejudiced, unkind and inhumane.

I think that taking away women's ability to protect sex based rights is prejudiced, unkind and inhumane.

Please explain why you think it is acceptable for people to burden women with their uncomfortable emotions? Why women must pretend that they don't need language to protect sex based rights after all?

potentially pose to women

(by which I mean people born with a vagina to be perfect clear)

Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I

nice, a man telling a woman that she has no expertise on being a woman. What a surprise!
GTF Dan!!

I hope then you've been going on Twitter and saying that to all the people throwing vile abuse at JKR? @thisisawful. Or is it only women that have to be kind and humane? i said upthread that bullying anyone isn't ok. vile abuse at jkr isn't ok. vile comments or abuse here isn't ok either. can you not see that? neither is ok.

@michelleoftheresistance it is a lot more effective to fight for something if you are also being respectful to others.

This is exactly the argument that has been used to explain why it was wrong to remove the slave trader statue in Bristol.

Do you really think this is a good time to use it?

God that's awful. What a rotten, ignorant thing to say. He's certainly dropped that genial mask.

The arrogance of daring to apologise for the pain caused by Rowling's comments, and to hope it hasn't affected people's enjoyment of the books - as if he somehow has ownership of her writing! ffs

Go and educate yourself you pampered bastard - and not just from sources that confirm your prejudice.

Calling a man a woman is manifestly absurd.

Is it absurd to call Jan Morris a woman?

@thisisawful

Where is the "vile abuse" on this thread?

Thisisawful so you believe it's important for females to be respectful to those saying they should be beaten with baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire, excluded from provisions if they cannot share them with males, made to overcome their homosexuality to provide males with sex, locked up with serious sex offenders, and threatened with being raped and killed for saying they do not believe a male has changed sex because he says so?

Do you lecture those who treat women this way about treating others as they wish to be treated? Do share the tweets or posts, I would love to see evidence of this balance?

There is a front page article on bbc news now. I think it's quite clever and they are being careful not to be on the 'wrong' side of history?

From what I've seen, some people are mad at JKR because using the word 'women' doesn't include transmen and therefore it shouldn't be used when discussing menstruation. Some people are mad at JKR because using the word 'women' always has to include transwomen and therefore it shouldn't be used when discussing menstruation.

Either way, it's the word 'women' that is the problem (ain't that always the way, lads?) and we have to go back to discussing menstruation in shrouded and coded language so as not to offend men people who may be uncomfortable hearing discussions about periods. How very progressive. Nope, nothing sexist about this at all.

Is it absurd to call Edward Lord a woman ? Or Alex Drummond?

They satisfy the stonewall definition

Please explain why you think it is acceptable for people to burden women with their uncomfortable emotions? Why women must pretend that they don't need language to protect sex based rights after all? you can't complain about others doing it if you are doing it yourself. it is a part of growing up to manage your emotions, nothing to do with your sex. No i don't think that women need to be unkind or prejudicial or inhumane to protect sex based rights. Only weak people are unkind, prejudicial, inhumane. Women aren't weak.

Yes. I don't really believe Jan Morris is a woman, considering James Morris was a married father of four in his fifties when he decided to become Jan. I think before this demented cult took hold, I might have been polite and pretended I did but not now.

It's not just that he denies her opinion, but then apologises on her behalf for it! Brings her lifetime work into it, the work that gave him his fame and fortune. Perhaps this is less about his care for trans people and more his worry that she's destroyed his meal ticket. It's not like he's exactly set the world alight after the HP films.