ffs, amanda craig novellist dropped from mslexia

[Helmetbymidnight]

according to nick cohen on twitter, amanda craig novellist has been dropped as a judge from mslexia because she signed the jkr letter - a womens writing magazine! - absolutely shocking. and frightening.

Such an arse-covering tweet.
"Interpreted as defending JK's controversial views."

Basically, a load of people who'd deliberately ascribed views to JKR that she never professed then decided to ascribe a load more unprofessed views to people who felt that it wasn't quite cricket to threaten a woman with rape, mutilation and death. And they're meant to be a writing magazine. I'm just trying to imagine how my English Lit A level would have gone if I'd decided to misinterpret the texts to such an extent and not even bothered to explain my arguements.

'Interpreted as' doesn't mean you can just make stuff up. What bilge. These people have no critical thinking ability at all. They're living in a fantasy.

200 people have written a spite letter against another letter denouncing threats and violence. Oh yes, that’s a good look.

Just bought The Lie Of The Land, Amanda Craig had fallen off my radar a bit of late, but I really enjoyed A Private Place, so am happy to bump her book sales a bit today.

There’s some classic overreach that I’m really enjoying. “identifying as” isn’t good enough any more, and the cat’s out of the bag on dismantling women as a sex class, so there’s lots of food for thought being served up to a new audience on this topic.

I’ve just ordered The Lie Of The Land. Looking forward to it.

The golden rule arrived yesterday. It a big book! I’m looking forward to the weekend when I can sit and read it - but troubled blood is also sitting in my read pile.

Decisions, decisions...

I also question people's critical thinking skills. It makes me feel very old and I wonder if young people (or some of their subcultures) have always appeared so devoid of rational thought to older, more experienced people, or if this generation/zeitgeist is somehow different, because of the internet and the "post-truth" era.

I mean how can you possibly think JKR's agenda is to attack trans people on the basis of bigotry? How can anyone, when told that, not think "hmm that can't be right, famously philanthropic, left-leaning modern writer suddenly hates people for being trans and risks her reputation to bleat bigotry on the internet? I wonder what she really said and why - I'll have a look."

I mean of course some do, and that is why JKR used her position to raise the important issue of sex-based rights being at risk. But so many just seem happy to have a hate figure to use as extra fuel for their virtue-signalling/claims to victimhood, without any evidence. Including loads of clever, educated, apparently "nice" people in children's publishing - in fact especially them. It's so bonkers.

Some good news - Jane Clare Jones is launching a new feminist magazine. Online only, I think:

theradicalnotion.org/

ooh! The Bookseller reports on this, the industry's main media outlet.
I've seen it posted in an author group and writers who had no idea of the brouahaha are horrified. I'm going to post the petition there in a while...

www.thebookseller.com/news/mslexia-asks-amanda-craig-step-down-judge-over-concern-rowling-letter-threatens-climate?utm_source=Adestra&fbclid=IwAR3xn2elm04Q7FPSphusnwFUa7Yb1PqtQK3_iaUfo1QgpqkqxgBAE18vHVg

The article portrays both sides, but unfortunately does give the "we support trans and non-binary" set the last word.

It’s very must being set as shorthand as an either / or debate now.

I think we should all make lists of those who support JKR and all of us GC critical women, and we could support them by buying their books. I think the sales for JK's latest novel shows that the public are not boycotting her and book publishers are businesses, clue is in the name, so money talks.

One way in which we can lead this debate is by voting with our wallets.

this whole thing is so nauseating.

im seeing fellow writers saying 'no one deserves abuse- but' or 'rape threats are wrong- however' - its unbelievable to me that women, thinkers, writers, feminists! are coming out with such stuff.

as for the young uns in the publishing industry- it does feel as though all the women have now got she/her in their bios. so unimpressive.

im seeing loads of people posting opinion pieces 'why jkr is transphobic' too.

i just dont see how anyone can defend the actions of mslexia here. :( as for kira being 'uncomfortable' because another judge signed an anti-bullying letter - its shameful.

"I've seen a lot of talk about how it was a letter opposing bullying, but where was the support for the trans community Rowling put in harm's way with her views? ... And when you look at the people who signed –Graham Linehan, Lionel Shriver–it's clear there is alignment with transphobia."

"The debate has become a binary of 'supporting' Amanda, or 'supporting' me andMslexia. Really, it's about trans people's right to exist and have their existence enshrined in law."

This is sheer fucking idiocy. Talk of Rowling putting trans ppl in harm's way (ffs) and the idea that if Graham Linehan or Lionel Shriver signed it, it must be transphobic. I fucking despair. And then the constant "but what about trans people??" and "this is about trans people having the right to exist!"
The letter was objecting to rape and death threats against a woman. Not everything has to be about trans people. And calling them a "persecuted minority." Jesus Christ. The cult of victimhood.

I know, the "right to exist" bollocks fucks me right off. Straw man extraordinaire. No one is threatening your right to exist and you know it. How about you exist, but stop demanding everyone else and the law shares your view of yourself to the detriment of their actual real rights? THAT's what people object to.

It's like if the Christian church told everyone they have to be a Christian, and then when some people said no, crying "waaaah you're denying us our right to exist!" Such shite.

im seeing fellow writers saying 'no one deserves abuse- but' or 'rape threats are wrong- however' - its unbelievable to me that women, thinkers, writers, feminists! are coming out with such stuff.

This. I can't believe these phrases are coming out of people's actual mouths. It really terrifies me, actually, because it shows an erosion of very basic standards of what is and isn't acceptable. If you allow that in some cases and situations, abuse, rape and death threats are understandable, it's a short and slippery slope to the things themselves being understandable, and our very simple morality is under threat.

Women shouldn't be abused or receive rape or death threats. That's it. Full statement.

But the people arguing against that are tagging on conditionals. Conditions undermine the first assertion. It becomes: Women shouldn't be abused or threatened unless

They have a view you find abhorrent.
You disagree with their politics
They say something you find bigotry.

These people should ask themselves in what circumstances is it understandable, forgivable, okay really, for women to receive threats and abuse?

These people ought to be not only ashamed, but worried. This is corrosive to our social fabric, and it's fucking dangerous. Consider the state of rape - 'virtually legalised' and the increase in domestic violence. How are women's rights looking these days? All shiny? Lots of fun? We have the right to sell our bodies in Leeds, but not the right to stand up and give a speech. But perhaps you think its understandable that women are arrested if you don't agree with what they say. It's just some t*, right? Understandable that people make baseball bats for these stupid Karens, amirite?

Oh, sorry, I could go on forever. I'm so tired of it. It's so unbelievable that we're at this point in time and so many women still seem somehow unaware of these very real, very tragic and very worrying truths. Or that they are desperately clinging to the 'right side of history'. History doesn't have a bloody right side, you idiots. HIstory is a big fucking messy splat, it's tricky, difficult, debatable, and it's changing all the time. There is no promised land, there are no gendered souls, and women need to wake up and fight for their rights, because there are plenty out there more than happy to take them off us.

Oh and one of the signatories is the grimly-named Cheryl Hole, which says everything about what he really thinks about women

No one is threatening trans people's right to exist and the fact that their advocacy groups keep telling children and teenagers this is vile.

There is no great murder conspiracy. The statistics support this.

(Although there does seem to be a great desire to sterilise trans children and teenagers. But that's OK, apparently. Desirable, even.)

Yes, there is transphobia in the world. There's name-calling and prejudice and discrimination. But that seems to be ignored by trans rights activists in favour of insisting that women talking about their own health and safety concerns is 'transphobic'. And then pretending 'women' are a privileged group that it's OK to abuse.

I'm so, so disheartened by seeing smart women who count themselves as feminists buying this shit, and being prepared to end friendships over it because they can't associate with anyone who might be a ['it's just a descriptive acronym and not a justification for dehumanising threats'].

"And when you look at the people who signed –Graham Linehan, Lionel Shriver–it's clear there is alignment with transphobia."

To be unable to imagine that people might disagree on one thing and agree on another, that when speaking up on an issue people might come from different ideological positions - that is very worrying for a writer of fiction.

We're not talking about people who've murdered anyone. FFS.

great post.

One thing I find extra, extra horrifying is that what JK has done is just to have an opinion and defend rights that exist right now in law, and biology that is agreed upon right now in science. She's not a murderer or terrorist. It still wouldn't be OK to abuse and threaten her if she was IMO, but it would be more conceivable to me that people might do it.

But seemingly normal, sensible people are now on board with abuse and threats because someone had an opinion and agreed with the law. And I think the reason for that is the terror so many young and woke people have, of not being pure and virtuous and right-on, and being cancelled and bullied. That comes before actual thought.

The Mslexia situation has highlighted the whole situation well though I think. When a supposedly feminist magazine for women writers can't bring themselves to defend a feminist woman writer against horrific abuse, the whole thing is well and truly revealed as a shitshow.

i feel the same, and it makes me think less of them intellectually. its such woolly thinking.

and yes it is dangerous- they are actually sending the message to the guys who made the threats- 'yup free for all on women, mate, if they think wrong- go for it.'

to me they sound like the racists who every time police brutality against black people is mentioned, have to say, 'oh but george floyd was a criminal'.

it feels like atheists versus evangelicals- you accept the faith of twaw or you are evil, say it, say it...

they keep saying 'reducing' women to their biology- yet wont say what a woman is. how is it a 'reduction' anyway?

and arghhhhhhhhhhh

@notyourhandmaid

Watching Amanda Craig continue to champion KMH's new book and denounce bullying while the latter has accused her of sharing her name with others and been quite bitchy to her... well, it's quite something.

The Rival Letter has been updated with plenty of other names now. Very heavy on the children's publishing side, so we can expect many (more) super-woke books out over the next while.

Going slightly off-topic, but my DDs are tweens now and very keen readers (although I love books, I much prefer non-fiction) - I'd like my DDs to not get sucked into uncritical wokedom, what are some good fiction books/authors for young teens?

@LadySeaThing

I also question people's critical thinking skills. It makes me feel very old and I wonder if young people (or some of their subcultures) have always appeared so devoid of rational thought to older, more experienced people, or if this generation/zeitgeist is somehow different, because of the internet and the "post-truth" era.

I mean how can you possibly think JKR's agenda is to attack trans people on the basis of bigotry? How can anyone, when told that, not think "hmm that can't be right, famously philanthropic, left-leaning modern writer suddenly hates people for being trans and risks her reputation to bleat bigotry on the internet? I wonder what she really said and why - I'll have a look."

I mean of course some do, and that is why JKR used her position to raise the important issue of sex-based rights being at risk. But so many just seem happy to have a hate figure to use as extra fuel for their virtue-signalling/claims to victimhood, without any evidence. Including loads of clever, educated, apparently "nice" people in children's publishing - in fact especially them. It's so bonkers.

Completely agree . I tie myself in mental knots trying to understand this .

And I think the reason for that is the terror so many young and woke people have, of not being pure and virtuous and right-on, and being cancelled and bullied. That comes before actual thought.

i dont know. i think the painting of jkr as 'hating on transpeople' has been pretty thorough and so a lot of 'well-intentioned' people who are unaware of the scale of the threats dont feel much sympathy. i also think the gc arguements are complicated and nuanced and take time to digest and i dont think people are doing that.

i saw one nice! woman say jkr is a domestic violence victim so it might be her 'irrational' fear of men has never left her and thats why she says crazy things about transpeople

@WokeEwok

Oh and one of the signatories is the grimly-named Cheryl Hole, which says everything about what he really thinks about women

I got called a terf for criticising his name. By a woman.

@TheElementsOfMedical really struggling to find recent books that are by authors not on that list. (I wouldn't dub them all as uncritically-woke, though, and many of them do have books that are feminist and decent. But it really is an area where very few people are deviating from the scripture.) Here's what I've come up with though:

Sarah Crossan - Apple and Rain, Toffee, The Weight of Water
Jacqueline Wilson - Clover Moon, Rose Rivers, Opal Plumstead
Meg Rosoff - How I Live Now
Frances Hardinge - anything
Sophie Kinsella - Finding Audrey
Susin Nielsen - anything
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald - anything
Jess Vallance - Gracie Dart books
Elizabeth Wein - Code Name Verity and other historical books