I love JKR billboard in Vancouver

[howonearthdidwegethere]

Went up on Friday evening, was taken down yesterday evening.

AFAIK it didn't get much coverage when it went up (although there wasn't much time) but now there is lots of coverage.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/i-love-j-k-rowling-sign-makes-brief-controversial-appearance-in-vancouver-1.5722244

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the trans activists to jump to it and complain about these posters. You are helping us achieve greater reach than we could ever have anticipated. And the people who pay for the posters get their money refunded. It's PERFECT.

Please carry on. PLEASE!

Yes, it's very effective because ordinary people are asking themselves, 'what next'? And it's worrying them.

I'd have gone for that too but fear even more confusion.

Lets face it, some of the bat shit craziness confuses even the most intelligent of us.

It's only some people who see it as political, the rest just see a definition of woman, or in this case that they heart jk.

But it is political and its disingenuous to claim that it isn't. The posters are being put up as a publicity stunt by people who want to make a particular point. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's ridiculous to claim that these are just JKR fan posters.

The correct argument is "Why can't we put up these posters that make a clear statement about women's rights?", not "these are just fan posters" or "this is just a dictionary definition".

I would also think it wrong if people were putting up 'I heart JKR' posters to make a point about the EU or Scottish independence or Jeremy Corbyn.

if she wants anonymity it's a bit late.

Yes, its a bit late for anonymity, but I think she should be able to choose when she enters a political debate.

She is a human being like any other with 3 children and her family will have ups and downs like any other family. I think she should be able to choose when to disengage.

I agree that I am uneasy with using JKR's name to make a point, merrymouse. Hm. I think I agree that it's just not fair to turn a person (and their life) into a campaign unless it's with their full consent and agreement. It's a pity, because I think JK has done such wonderful work awareness raising that it seems a good way of continuing that. But yes, you're right.

@merrymouse

I might be alone, but I really don’t like the posters.

They aren’t just fan posters. They are put up by people who support a particular issue and they are designed to provoke a reaction.

I don’t have any problem with that, but I think JKR should be able to choose when she wants to comment on an issue. I think this takes that out of her hands.

Believe me, if JKR has a problem with it her lawyers would be right on it. She is notoriously litigious.

I'm not keen on the whole heart logo thing in all circumstances.

But under the particular situation of JKR being accused on hate crimes, causing suicide, etc., etc., all in response to a very well written explanation of how she arrived at her views, I think it is okay.

And as others have suggested I suspect if she thought it tacky or unhelpful she would say.

How is it different from say your "heart" Corbyn or whoever?

She is notoriously litigious.
I wasn’t aware of that Fairfax - could you elaborate?

Notoriously makes that sound like a negative thing, it’s not , she has a right to protect her work. The one case I know of was a fake Harry Potter shop in Edinburgh who had to change their name, quite rightly imo.

And it was Warner Bros who sued the shop, not JK herself I think.

Yes, its a bit late for anonymity, but I think she should be able to choose when she enters a political debate
By writing her blog back earlier this year, she entered the fray. Shes been hounded on sm for her benign opinion on men in women only areas.
Shes said nothing awful that I could see but still got threatened for it.
Then she wrote again about wombyn etc. That's entering the arena a second time, third if you count her original tweet way back.
If she hates the idea she can ask to not be part of it. After all there are many different posters that could have gone up in its place.
I think she was asked about the first poster in Edinburgh, although admit not certain.

Do you think this also about the Kardashians or all the bands that do political songs, or anyone famous who isnt a politician?

Yes if she did ask people personally not to do it I'm sure they would respect her wishes. I think she realises the need for direct activism.

I don't think the many thousands of people saying fuck JKR are asking her permission to.

@gardenbird48

She is notoriously litigious. I wasn’t aware of that Fairfax - could you elaborate?

She's a silent partner in a local business near me. Local paper got hold of the info and after asking for comment got a lawyers letter demanding they halt publication as there was a confidentiality agreement in place. Despite that agreement only being binding to the signatories, the paper (for whatever reason) backed down. Apparently it's not the first time lawyers letters have been sent for relatively trivial matters.

I don’t think information about her business interests are anything to do with anyone else, but JKR and her business partners, and her reasons for keep that information private are her reasons, obviously not trivial to her.

Oh hey

I got it off twitter.

She's a silent partner in a local business near me. Local paper got hold of the info and after asking for comment got a lawyers letter demanding they halt publication as there was a confidentiality agreement in place. Despite that agreement only being binding to the signatories, the paper (for whatever reason) backed down.
Apparently it's not the first time lawyers letters have been sent for relatively trivial matters.

Doesn't sound trivial to me. Why can't people keep their nebs out of stuff like that anyway?

JK Rowling obviously values her privacy.

Your "notoriously litigious" comment seems way overblown tbh.

To me,"notoriously litigious" would be someone like Stephanie Hayden...

Maybe Posie has asked permission, maybe she hasn't. She appears very direct and maybe wouldn't get hung up on issues that weren't directly contributing to the point she's trying to make.

She's not saying something in JK Rowling's name. She is supporting what J. K. Rowling has said.

J. K. Rowling may not agree with everything that Posie has said, but there doesn't appear to be any kind of inference, or indeed general opinion, that as a result of these posters, she does.

The poster continues to highlight what J. K. Rowling has said. Any stories about it link immediately to her own comments.

Posie's genius is in knowing full well what happens when you support women in this issue.

Those very public posters are simply a representation of what is going on, online, in person, at work.

She is helping to take the issue from niche to national.

She's not saying something in JK Rowling's name. She is supporting what J. K. Rowling has said.

But every time this happens, JK Rowling becomes the news, and the papers rehash all the old stories, and that affects not just her, but her entire family.

Maybe she has given this her blessing, but if not there are other ways to make a point that don't exploit the paper's love of an easy 'JK Rowling controversy story'.

I can't help but feel yesterday's horrible Twitter trend on JKR is linked to this.

It is a frightening climate for women. We can't say out loud what we think. We may well lose our jobs and standing. We are likely to receive threats of we speak up, all of this is screamingly clear.

What gets me is that so many people seem to think that the situation is fine - women can be cancelled, threatened, pilloried and attacked if they say the wrong thing. I can't understand it, I really can't. How is this kindness and inclusivity? How is this their bollicksing right side of history?

But every time this happens, JK Rowling becomes the news, and the papers rehash all the old stories, and that affects not just her, but her entire family.

I agree. But J. K. Rowling has shown absolutely no sign of wanting to withdraw from this issue. Quite the opposite. Every single time she speaks, she reiterates her stance.

She has said that she spent three years learning about the issue. This woman is not somebody who is going to do this half-heartedly.

I don't know what the point of her reiterating her stance would be, if she wasn't prepared for it to be repeated elsewhere.

It doesn't make me any less empathetic to the negative attention that she receives, of course. But there would appear to be no other way.

The latest news is you actively must put your pronouns in your bio, otherwise you're transphobic. There is no way you can talk about this issue without full capitulation.

@merrymouse

You're assume permission wasn't sought. I think you're wrong on that one

Yes - I don't know. But without knowing that permission was given I feel uneasy every time I see one of these posters, because I feel that they take away JKR's ability to speak for herself.

I don't know about that. To me the posters just represent support of Rowling personally and of her right to exercise free speech.

I think it would be a bit odd to consult her on them. A bit like messaging to say "is it okay if I support you?" before tweeting "I support JK Rowling" on Twitter.

The posters don't speak for her, they speak in support of her, which is okay by me. The hatred against her has been so loud and public that an equally visible show of support only feels fair. Twitter is an environment where he who shouts the loudest wins, but these posters show that women won't be drowned out. I'm always glad to see them.