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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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

999 replies

EddyF · 09/06/2020 04:40

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

OP posts:
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11
Crystaltree · 09/06/2020 10:50

Cis is the worst kind of insult. It's like an anthropologist giving a tribe a name they didn't choose.

Beamur · 09/06/2020 10:50

Harry has become Umbridge.
How about that for a transition.

rabbitwoman · 09/06/2020 10:51

Let's keep talking is brilliant, though.

Because they want to STOP us from talking because talking sheds light on it....

NotBadConsidering · 09/06/2020 10:52

The Guardian and BBC didn’t report it until Radcliffe waded in. I think that says it all.

rabbitwoman · 09/06/2020 10:54

I have kept talking to some of my friends, despite being shouted down and ridiculed when I first bought it up.

I keep going, though. And some of them are now going...... Oooooooohhhhhh.....

NotBadConsidering · 09/06/2020 10:55

Harry has become Umbridge

“I’m sorry Professor, I must not tell lies”

I’m sure there are plenty of people who would like one of those magic quills to make people write “trans women are women” until the message sinks in Hmm.

BaronessFloralBunting · 09/06/2020 10:55

I think Daniel found his level when Ricky Gervais had him flick an unrolled condom at Dame Diana Rigg, tbh. This isn't that dissimilar, in terms of both impact and looking like a sexist prat.

RoyalCorgi · 09/06/2020 10:56

You can email the Guardian Readers' editor about the paper's coverage at [email protected]

The readers' editor name is Elisabeth Ribbans.

Nousernamehistory · 09/06/2020 10:56

More men telling women what a woman is. Fuck right off.

sucha · 09/06/2020 10:56

Very disappointed Daniel

sunshinesupermum · 09/06/2020 10:57

merrymouse

DD1 is 39 and has two sons aged 4 and 7. Harry Potter helped 7 year old to read - he has read the whole of the first book on his own. He loves HP. She is taking all the HP books away from him now!

I am appalled but I can't interfere. Grandmothers tend to keep their mouths shut if they want to keep the family together. HP/JKR is not a hill I am prepared to die on, sadly.

Collidascope · 09/06/2020 10:57

With regards to it being a generational thing, I know anecdote doesn't mean a huge amount, but I'm 31. My friends are the same age and not one of them believes in this shite. I don't think any of us are hugely active on social media though, so our voices won't be "out there" for everyone to see.

Coreblimy · 09/06/2020 10:59

Much obliged RoyalCorgi

ifonlyus · 09/06/2020 11:01

He's made it sound like he wrote the books. He's nothing to do with the books - just happened to be in the films. He has no right to reclaim HP as his to defend in this way. It's weird and entitled behaviour.

merrymouse · 09/06/2020 11:03

sunshinesupermum

DD1 is 39 and has two sons aged 4 and 7

To be honest the penny didn't really drop for me until my daughter was about to hit puberty and I realised I couldn't protect her from all the shit you have to face when you are a woman - until that point I had honestly been living in a bit of a dream world because life wasn't really different for my son and my daughter.

HP/JKR is not a hill I am prepared to die on, sadly.

Agree, and I image JKR would also agree!

user479879790 · 09/06/2020 11:03

I understand the outrage at Dan's comments but just because he starred in the Harry Potter films does not mean all his opinions/views should have to align with JKR. We should not conflate the two. I think it sullies the argument to say that he owes his career to her and should thus be supportive of all her views.

Enderthedragon · 09/06/2020 11:03

Yes, I can't believe that some people can't see the utter rank misogyny of calling transwomen 'women' and redefining women as 'cis women'. Its right there in plain sight.

Datun · 09/06/2020 11:04

She said that the only people who have periods are women. Because of the push to remove women from everything to do with their biology. Not that you're not a woman if you don't menstruate.

It was a handful of tweets for God's sake. People can read thousands of abusive messages, but not the four or five she wrote?

She didn't write that, all all, but even if she had written something ambiguous, what the fuck is it with people pretending to misunderstand?

She wrote about women, their periods, the fact that being of the female sex has shaped her life, and that same-sex attraction involves recognising biology. She mentioned a lesbian friend of hers, and published a letter from a lesbian who had been turned on by the LGBT community for being a lesbian.

And yet the first thing Daniel Radcliffe mentions are transwomen? So utterly revealing.

What do women's periods have to do with transwomen? Absolutely nothing.

Except, Daniel knows full well, that it is transwomen who are driving this, because no one listens to women, however they identify. And transwomen want to eliminate every trace of the biological differences between them and women. We see it all the time.

Monroe Bergdorf said that women could take part in the women's march as long as they didn't mention anything to do with their reproductive biology. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of transwomen tell women their biology is disgusting, or irrelevant, or offensive, and no transmen. (Maybe one, being used as a pawn by others.)

Daniel Radcliffe does not understand the issues here. I'd bet £1000 that Daniel Radcliffe has never even heard of AGP. Has never looked at the Stonewall definition of transwomen. Doesn't have a clue what is being taught in schools and that the CPS have decided to force girls to accept boys as friends on pain of hate crime accusations.

If Daniel Radcliffe is happy that young girls and women are being forced to undress with boys and men, then that's on him.

What is unforgivable isn't that he's disagreed with J. K. Rowling, he hasn't, he hasn't addressed anything she said, what he's done is stand behind those who are yelling violent, disgusting, misogynistic abuse at her and urged them on.

However, this was predicted. Narcissistic meltdown. It's grim and it's ugly.

But this is just the beginning. The discussion is going to keep going.

At the moment, it's outrageous to the women who understand, precisely because we do. understand.

We are wearing the right spectacles, and we can instantly see things, like Daniel Radcliffe's bias and why he has it.

And we absolutely know is that he is ignorant. As soon as you start asking the right questions, like do you believe rapists should be in female prisons, that women should have no say in whether or not they are forced to undress in front of men, etc, the issues become clear.

Daniel Radcliffe talks about gay and lesbian people - sexual orientations that he has absolutely no hope of ever describing. How is he campaigning for it?

RoosterPie · 09/06/2020 11:05

@ifonlyus

He's made it sound like he wrote the books. He's nothing to do with the books - just happened to be in the films. He has no right to reclaim HP as his to defend in this way. It's weird and entitled behaviour.
He wasn’t even especially good in them. Hundreds of actors could have played that role. Whereas the talent to create and write the whole series is unique.

Doesn’t stop a man from effectively stepping into the shoes of the exceptional woman and apologising on her behalf. The amount of tweets saying “Daniel Radcliffe wrote Harry Potter” are depressing. Not only can a woman not have an opinion without receiving abuse, she also has her achievements stripped from her.

Must have missed the part of his statement where he got as angry at the abuse she has received as he seems to be about her having an opinion, which says it all really.

BaronessFloralBunting · 09/06/2020 11:05

Can we all notice that he said Transwomen are women in response to JKR's criticism of a headline that talked about menstruation and didn't use the word women?

Her critics who have at least understood the language were telling her off for calling Transmen and Non-binary female people women.

Daniel 'big man' Radcliffe has chosen to respond to that by focusing entirely on actual men, not the 'people who menstruate' which was actually the topic of her tweets.

Dan, stick to reading out more talented people's thinking. Your own just shows what a sexist male-chauvinist you are.

sunshinesupermum · 09/06/2020 11:07

rabbitwoman how are you persuading your friends to see the light? Would like some arguments to give my daughters!

MorganKitten · 09/06/2020 11:08

JK used the LGBTQ community when it suited her and she made money off of it, and goes against things she wrote about. She’s an awful women and lies each time she is is vile and says it’s down to being ‘middle age’.

Enderthedragon · 09/06/2020 11:09

I see Owen Jones and stepped in. One man giving another man a good old pat on the back for speaking over and defining women.

Well done.

ShootsFruitAndLeaves · 09/06/2020 11:10

If transwomen are women, spatulas are also women. Why not? There's no logical testable definition of woman if we accept that TWaW

Dances · 09/06/2020 11:10

Sunshine
Your daughter is removing the BOOKS that her child loves because the author said something she didn't like.

That is pretty bad.