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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

JK new post on her reasons for writing about gender

868 replies

BlackKite · 10/06/2020 17:13

www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

Enjoy

OP posts:
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18
Ihaventgottimeforthis · 11/06/2020 08:54

Well listening to R5 Live this morning and a man who runs a wizarding gift shop in Brighton was on the radio telling me to be kind and it's not hurting anyone for women to have to accept males into their spaces when they don't want to, so my mind is totally changed...

Sandybval · 11/06/2020 08:55

Thank goodness there are men like him to tell us how we feel.

WokeUpSmeltTheCoffee · 11/06/2020 09:02

Love, love loved this

Amazing writing. It so good that she is using her articulate voice and her profile for good despite the personal cost.

Does anyone have a link to donate to her foundation. It sounds like they are working for exactly the causes I'd want to support.

Dances · 11/06/2020 09:10

Muriel Grey

Always loved her.
mobile.twitter.com/ArtyBagger

Nordstrom · 11/06/2020 09:13

Thank you JKR. Your brilliance and power has brightened my morning.

YinMnBlue · 11/06/2020 09:13

JKR has paid people the compliment of assuming we can all listen to and discuss issues even when we don’t agree. She has laid out her thinking in detail, with openness and honesty.

The biggest catastrophe of this whole thing is that it now has to be considered brave to explain an opinion.

Look. If there are literally thousands and thousands of people who ‘Stand with JKR’ could you not risk... you know, actually standing with her?

All in one day, maybe?

Actually, you do not even have to agree with everything she says to stand with her right to calmly say what she thinks.

Do we actually believe that Courage Calls to Courage? Can we hear the call? Do we ignore it? Hide it?

Designate a day. All come out of hiding at once.

nauticant · 11/06/2020 09:16

One positive is just about everyone seems to have forgotten her mentioning Tara Wolf in her Ickabog tweet.

YRGAM · 11/06/2020 09:23

@Supergranscape

Glad I recently bought JKRs Robert Galbraith books. Wanted something to read in lockdown. Got called a 'Karen' yesterday by a bearded young man. Who also called me cis. I'm 70 years old for heavens sake. He quickly shut up. Not one one word of hate in JKs posts. The post last night so powerful. I am a feminist and a lesbian. #IstandwithJKRowling
These people are old-school misogynists. Nothing more sophisticated than that. They have just found a 'progressive' cover in which to disguise it.
YinMnBlue · 11/06/2020 09:26

Haha at the Body Shop. Some twerp in their comms department hoping to be the next Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll hero (Hello Piers...)

YinMnBlue · 11/06/2020 09:32

Why are TRA’s not challenging Body Shop’s ‘only men shave’ message?
www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/face/mens-shaving/c/c00147

CaveMum · 11/06/2020 09:51

Apatently Tom Felton (Draco) liked her tweet, though the like has since disappeared. Someone got a screenshot so hopefully this is the start of him being peaked.

How funny that Draco may turn out to be the better person than Harry 😜

ChattyLion · 11/06/2020 09:52

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53002557

I keep writing and losing posts on this, but though this is more factual coverage than usual for the BBC (which is great) and is currently massively prominent in the news agenda- also great for raising awareness of the misogyny and homophobia that this cultural manifestation of the tran dogma revolves around.... AND obviously it is fabulous that JKR as our probably most globally prominent UK literary cultural figure is speaking up...despite considerable personal cost to her..

it all just shows how far we’ve sunk into misogyny, homophobia and an authoritarian, mendacious, anti-scientific dogma that is dangerously erosive of children’s rights and boundaries, of women’s rights and opportunities and is all about privileging men’s sexual rights.

So a prominent female UK cultural figure says:
"We're living through the most misogynistic period I've experienced," she continued.
"Back in the 80s, I imagined that my future daughters, should I have any, would have it far better than I ever did, but between the backlash against feminism and a porn-saturated online culture, I believe things have got significantly worse for girls.
"Never have I seen women denigrated and dehumanised to the extent they are now."

Let what she’s said sink in.

What is boggling is that the reaction to that isn’t immediately ’Fucking hell, that sounds absolutely awful for women, what on earth have we become, how can we fix this?’

The reaction to that is instead: ‘fucking hell, you could really hurt some men’s feelings by saying that, you better shut the fuck up now or be cancelled (or worse).’

I do want to celebrate because this ‘row’ on the mainstream news agenda is exactly what is needed to wake people up who aren’t aware of this political cultural capture.
That’s fantastic because the whole agenda all falls apart once people ask any kind of sensible normal questions.

But on the other hand it’s fucking depressing because the whole reason it’s top of the news agenda is not because it’s a wake up call about women’s rights that JKR has rightly made and we’re all worrying about how best to fix it.

It’s top of the news agenda because people are so fucking worried that by saying what she’s said about the parlous state of women’s and children’s rights.. that she’s potentially offended some men’s feelings. Men (and the women who collude in this) literally cannot stand to have male supremacy questioned. So they are lashing out at her.

When are we as a society, or the media going to pay equal attention as this to the actual content of what she has said, about how fucked things are for women at the moment?

KenDodd · 11/06/2020 09:55

I wonder if lots of young actors are worried about their careers so don't feel able to speak out.

ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings · 11/06/2020 09:56

Interesting things I have learnt about the body shop this week:

They have an MLM as part of their business model. As we know these are predatory and exploitative and disproportionately target women in general an flow income mothers in particular.

They have an all male board of directors.

They consistently fail to report on their "gender" pay gap.

Seems that like so many other businesses TBS is crystal clear on what sex every body is when they're deciding who to promote, who to underpay, and who to exploit. So to hear them being openly misogynistic towards a sexual abuse survivor... Can't say I'm surprised. I'd say the mask has slipped but it wasn't really on to begin with.

RedTravellingSocks · 11/06/2020 09:58

It’s top of the news agenda because people are so fucking worried that by saying what she’s said about the parlous state of women’s and children’s rights.. that she’s potentially offended some men’s feelings. Men (and the women who collude in this) literally cannot stand to have male supremacy questioned. So they are lashing out at her.

Yep. This. White male supremacy must be allowed to continue unchallenged. Nothing has changed. Nothing.

I am so sick and tired.

ChattyLion · 11/06/2020 10:03

Flowers Red
I’d love to think that this farrago is hopefully the last gasp before the tide turns (I’m not sure how genuinely hopeful I feel of that but can’t ever lose all hope) but Jesus it’s depressing to see it all confirmed how anti woman our society is, isnt it.

CaveMum · 11/06/2020 10:05

Apparently they discussed this on Radio4 this morning (two men discussing it, natch). Does anyone know what time so I can listen back? Apparently it was surprisingly balanced.

OldCrone · 11/06/2020 10:11

CaveMum It was on at about 8.40. It wasn't so much balanced as just a brief synopsis of what she said without any comment. What was missing was any mention of the sort of abuse she'd received as a result of her tweets at the weekend.

BiologyNotBigotry · 11/06/2020 10:16

I've been away from MN since lockdown started - been a bit busy! I've had to come back this morning though. I need to be with people who get it. I read JKR's essay last night & was elated but then made the mistake of going on Twitter... The thing that got to me the most was an autistic 16yo boy tweeting about how upset he is. I'd hoped this boy was going to be a role model for my son because they have a lot of interests in common. He & his friends are accusing JKR of slurs against autistic people. Several of them were insisting that it's just that neurotypical people haven't figured out that they're trans. Hmm

It breaks my heart to see these children who have such black & white thinking being sucked into all this. I see myself at that age in them, & I see myself in my DS. It's scary how children can be so certain they're right & disregard the concerns of those with life experience as being bigoted or too old to understand. My DS is too young to be aware of all this, although we do discuss gender occasionally when he complains that he can't get his favourite toys in pink. He gets very cross & insists that colours shouldn't just be for girls or boys. I love that he knows his own mind, but it scares me too - nothing I can say or do will change his mind when it's made up... But that's not always a good thing!

It's my other DS that worries me. He's very easily led, changes his favourite things regularly based on what his brother or friends like, & will argue until he's blue in the face that he never liked the last thing in the first place. He could definitely get sucked into defending an ideology without thinking it through.

I want to be celebrating JKR's bravery & general wonderfulness but I just feel like crying for all these children who think they can be something they're not & who're growing up in a world where "be kind" is more important than "think for yourself" or "listen to all sides" & there's some weird top trumps you have to play to be considered worthy of "kindness."

yomellamoHelly · 11/06/2020 10:17

Just wow! Hope she keeps it up. None of my family will accept it / see the harm / see that we're going backwards

CaveMum · 11/06/2020 10:17

Ah thanks OldCrone. Still I suppose it’s all sunlight and exposure isn’t it.

OldCrone · 11/06/2020 10:18

Link to Radio 4 discussion from this morning.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000jxts

Starts at about 2:39.

PetraDelphiki · 11/06/2020 10:18

I noticed something really terrifying today - looking for JKRs website I typed J K Rowling into google...first option of autofil was "J K Rowling die"

The world is INSANE...

Sillydoggy · 11/06/2020 10:19

I just wanted to add my support for J.K. Rowling and her very moving article.

newhousestress · 11/06/2020 10:28

I got a thank you email from her office this morning. Email [email protected] if you missed it earlier up the thread.