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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Yet another woman - a writer - sacked after TRA campaign.

230 replies

WildishBambino · 01/07/2020 16:12

Having seen Hachette and the Blair Partnership stand up for JKR, I had some hope for the publishing industry.

There's a series of children's books called The Warrior Cats. Proper children's books, aimed at the 8-12 age range, and not part of YA fiction. Published by Harper Collins, but put together by Working Partners.

The books are written by 'Erin Hunter' which is collective pseudonym for a bunch of female writers. One of which was a Scottish writer Gillian Philip.

When JKR was attacked, Philip changed her twitter handle to include a message of support. This attracted the ire of the TRAs and also it appears the Furries (because of the anthropomorphic cats I assume). She received a huge amount of sexualised abuse via Twitter, which she just retweeted and said 'Bring it on homophobes and lesbian-haters'.

Her twitter feed is now gone, but you can view a cache <a class="break-all" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Qisq_6YhRvwJ:twitter.com/Gillian_Philip+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-b-d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here

As she wouldn't recant, the TRAs facilitated a mass spamming of complaints to her employer Working Partners.

Within 24 hours James Noble is the managing editor at Working Partners personally emailed complainants to say she was sacked.

This really doesn't seem to have been picked up by the media, presumably because it involves a children's author far less well-known than JKR. But it shows what happens to women who step out of line when they aren't too big to cancel.

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BoreOfWhabylon · 02/07/2020 13:24

From a review of One Faith
Cass lives in a world not unlike ours. It may even be ours some time in the future. Religious diversity has been eradicated and replaced by the One Church. People of other faiths have been persecuted or fled into exile... Atheists and secularists are depised by the general community but below even them in the social hierarcy are the apostates. Those that have lost their faith and face complete and open discrimination by the popular mass.

How ironic

Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/07/2020 13:33

It would be fantastic if we could push it up the kindle charts as a gesture of support for gillian. It's already at the 6000-ish mark which is really good and it won't take many sales to propel it into the top 1000.

I'll get it tomorrow.

BoreOfWhabylon · 02/07/2020 13:37

It's climbing up the ranks! Was 7 thousand and something when I ordered mine an hour ago It's now 6,542 Smile

StandUpStraight · 02/07/2020 13:37

This is all awful for Gillian but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased to discover new books for my kids that are definitely not pushing sexist gender ideology.

Roseburn · 02/07/2020 13:42

It's climbing up the ranks! Was 7 thousand and something when I ordered mine an hour ago It's now 6,542

Think I might have to buy the kindle version too...

BoreOfWhabylon · 02/07/2020 13:44
Grin
Roseburn · 02/07/2020 13:48

( and I don't even have a kindle!)

In the meantime while I'm waitng for Gillian's hard copy book to arrive, I'm really getting into JK as Robert Galbraith. I'm now starting my second Cormoran Strike book. :)

risefromyourgrave · 02/07/2020 13:51

Totally mis-representing what happened.

Yet another woman - a writer - sacked after TRA campaign.
AbsintheFriends · 02/07/2020 14:00

Actually, the specific chart positions below the overall ranking are more significant. Currently it's no 23 in Children's Mysteries and Detectives, no 40 in Law and Crime Thrillers for Young Adults and no 79 in Children's Science Fiction and Mystery. It won't take many sales to push it up in those categories and if she can get to no 1 in Children's Mysteries she'll get the all important orange Bestseller banner.

In the paid kindle chart overall, most of the books in the top 100 will be 99p, limited period reductions of current titles and will be being promoted by the publishers and by amazon, so to get up to the top of the charts at 6.99 (the price is set by the publisher) with no publisher clout is a huge thing. Luckily Gillian will be getting a good cut of that money.

ScreamingBeans · 02/07/2020 14:24

I've joined the Free Speech Union.

It's cheaper than my Unison sub and I suspect will be of infinitely more use to me for any problems I might have at work. Fingers crossed I don't have any, but if I do, it will be because I tweet and post openly about my opposition to trans ideology and in favour of reality and women's rights.

TheWayOfTheWorld · 02/07/2020 14:57

@risefromyourgrave

Totally mis-representing what happened.
That tweet is totally laughable "can't remember what happened but we gave our version of what we think she did". Shocking.
TheWayOfTheWorld · 02/07/2020 15:01

What is going on - I am on Amazon and can't find anything under Gillian Phillip 🤔

TinyTear · 02/07/2020 15:11

Sorry but Think 1984 without the livestock

Do they mean Animal Farm? can't remember livestock in 1984

StandUpStraight · 02/07/2020 15:15

@TheWayOfTheWorld I had exactly the same problem on amazon and on hive. I had to search by book title. It’s odd.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 02/07/2020 15:19

Yes I imagine the reviewer got their Orwellian dystopias confused.

NoSquirrels · 02/07/2020 15:23

What is going on - I am on Amazon and can't find anything under Gillian Phillip 🤔

Appears to be listed under the author name ‘Philip’ - this may or may not just be good-old fashioned data issue in the listing, or it may be deliberate. Dunno. Each equally plausible honestly.

TheWayOfTheWorld · 02/07/2020 15:41

[quote StandUpStraight]@TheWayOfTheWorld I had exactly the same problem on amazon and on hive. I had to search by book title. It’s odd.[/quote]
Yes, I had to google her name and then click through.

Chrestomanci3 · 02/07/2020 16:14

It's moving up the rankings on Amazon. 33, 16, 56.

PumbaasCucumbas · 02/07/2020 16:19

Thanks for the tip, I couldn’t find it either... purchased Smile

Roseburn · 02/07/2020 16:52

I've just bought the Kindle edition. I thought it would just download into the ether, but it seems to be going to my ipad?! I didnt know they were compatible.
Excellent! :-)

BoreOfWhabylon · 02/07/2020 16:54

Yes, I don't have a kindle either, I just read them on my ipad too.

monkeyonthetable · 02/07/2020 17:17

Children's publishers are always banging on abut the 'gatekeepers', the people who buy books on behalf of children. They seem to have forgotten that the vast majority of gatekeepers are women, not the woke kids who they employ now that they have sacked senior staff!

@krustykittens excellent point.

I am SO tired of this utter shit. I actually have some friends with trans teens and have for a long time felt compassionate towards them. But this is NOT a trans issue, this is blatant misogyny and vicious, aggressive male silencing of women. JKR speaks calmly, politely, sensitively and rationally. She is attacked with slurs, oaths, death threats, threats of violence (all SO male in tone) and yet we are supposed to be woke and support the poor abused put upon aggressors?
Fuck that. This is abuse of women and as a PP said women are now getting sacked for being abused.

FWRLurker · 02/07/2020 17:35

Huh! Weird coincidence as I just started reading Warriors (first in the warrior cats series) with my daughter!

Went ahead and bought Bad Faith (for US folks you’ll need to google to find it).

classicspring · 02/07/2020 18:24

I just ordered the paperback version from the book depository.