In solidarity with JK Rowling

[Glinner]

The letter in support of JK Rowling from this weekend's Sunday Times is now available for everyone to sign. Please share using hashtag #LetWomenSpeak

www.ipetitions.com/petition/in-solidarity-with-jk-rowling

@FindTheTruth

❤️ JENNI MURRAY has signed ❤️

I bet she’s a mumsnetter. 👋 Hi Jenni. I think we have lots of GC women on here that are very well known. Thank you to all the wonderful women, famous and none famous. 💐

Reading the comments, though, blimey there are a lot of gender critical women, aren't there? I thought it was just the six of us on here, and our sock puppets.

@ArabellaScott

Reading the comments, though, blimey there are a lot of gender critical women, aren't there? I thought it was just the six of us on here, and our sock puppets.

Absolutely. I actually have 53 accounts and 342 socks, but my feet got cold, so I had to put my socks back on. 😁

I wish more people would hurry up and sign, because I can’t go to bed until I see the number hit 15000

@DeliciouslyFemale

I wish more people would hurry up and sign, because I can’t go to bed until I see the number hit 15000

Just under five hundred to go!

Oh, I shouldn't be laughing...

@ArabellaScott

Reading the comments, though, blimey there are a lot of gender critical women, aren't there? I thought it was just the six of us on here, and our sock puppets.

Yup. Silencing us and getting women banned from SM platforms so they can pretend ''no one's speaking up, so obviously there's no problem'' doesn't make us magically disappear, much to their disappointment.

We're still here. In our thousands 💪

SirSamuelVimes

Absolutely brilliant. 🤣

Signed.

Those authors on the pro “trans and non binary rights” petition that Jeanette Winterson has signed, what on earth are they thinking, that rape threats are fine ? Everyone is non binary, so what on earth are non binary rights ? These are supposedly intelligent people, I don’t understand it. Also the deliberate framing by KMH of this as a pro trans vs anti trans issue, rather than a pro or anti women issue.

What petition is that?

It seems to have been set up as a counter petition , at least the timing suggests that. If you go to the website mentioned here then you can read the petition. A lot of children’s authors on there.

Thanks

that rape threats are fine ?

They are if the person recieving them has opinions that are Very Bad. Apparently.

The totalitarianism seems to have passed so many people by. Does it not occur to them that next time it could be them getting told to “choke on my girl dick“ on twitter, because they have an opinion that isn’t popular ?

Anne Fine is not only Cordelia's mother, she was the Children's Laureate in her own right. Not bad!

@BatShite

that rape threats are fine ?

They are if the person recieving them has opinions that are Very Bad. Apparently.

They don't learn. Seeing TRAs crow on Twitter that Maria MacLachlan had deserved to be beaten up for her opinions made me sit up and take notice.

Just unease at first, because freedom of expression and belief is important to me after growing up in a country without them.

So I looked up what was going on and saw she was attacked by people who tried to stop women meeting to discuss the reform of a law I'd never even heard of.

So add freedom of assembly to the rights being curbed. And only for women. Maria hadn't had a chance to express an opinion, her crime was being there.

So a woman deserved to get beaten up for wanting to attend a women's rights meeting?

So I delurked here, and started asking What the everloving fuck is going on?

So many wonderful, knowledgeable, strong women answered. With logic, facts, compassion and heaps of patience.

Decided to see for myself how hateful these women's rights meetings were. Got screamed at by mostly young men and some young women, all wearing balaclavas, hurling the worst insults at us.

And there was love inside. A lot of disbelief at what was going on. Much concern for vulnerable children being failed. Outrage at the attack on our rights.

Hundreds of women did the same all around the country. Peaked because of Maria. And collectively we went on to peak many thousands more.

Maya Forstater.
Martina Navratilova.
Katie Alcott.
Ann Sinott.

And many more punished for speaking up in defence of women's rights.

Now JK Rowling.

How many more women are here, right now, because of the abuse levelled at her? How many more are coming?

They never learn, the TRAs. Neither did the witch hunters. They did untold damage, but in the end it was the wise women who endured.

Simon Singh's signed.

Try saying that fast.

15055 at this time. And still moving as fast as light.

We're still here. In our thousands 💪

You still don't get. Still only six women with their sock puppets.

All those women who never complained when transwomen were using their loos like forever without them even noticing, so of course it's fine, why the hysterics?

I’ve found it hard to see the counter petition that authors / publishers etc are signing. One of my favourite authors is on there and they’re all talking about standing in love and support of trans people - and then I somehow worry that I’m on the wrong side, even though I know that nobody is denying trans people their human rights. I don’t want anyone to live in fear but that doesn’t mean men can become women or that women shouldn’t have their biologically distinct language and spaces. Or that JKR shouldn’t be able to speak about biological reality without the onslaught of extreme abuse. How can they all gave their lovey style petition when JKR is under siege?

It’s the first time I’ve ever felt I’m not on the ‘liberal side’. I think in my personal life I’m the only one who thinks as I do 🤷‍♀️

Essentially the other petition is endorsing hate and abuse of women online? The first letter said nothing about criticising trans people. We’ve just said women need Women and only. spaces and women should not get abuse for saying so,

Pawtriarchy, as has been pointed out loving and supporting trans and non binary people and supporting women's rights shouldn't be mutually exclusive. Many on this board are trans or have trans family members.

Step back a bit and see how the debate has been framed: it's being presented as this false dichotomy of pro v anti trans when it's nothing of the sort.

If it helps, I've been raised third generation left/liberal and never really had cause to question that until recently. Yes, I was perhaps a bit naive and even maybe intellectually lazy. If we live inside a bubble of people with a broad consensus and media that reinforces that it can be enormously difficult to suddenly feel one is out of step. I've felt like a heretic at times since this whole GRA debate came into view, and since the issue of female erasure came into focus.

But my deeper seated desire for truth and fairness just kept bumping up against uncomfortable truths- trans women are not women. We sometimes have different needs. Women shouldn't be ashamed of using the word woman. Lesbians should not feel obliged to include penises in their dating pool. Children should not be told that the toys and clothes they like are an indicator of their sex, and they sure as fuck need better support when they struggle within the ever tighter strictured gender stereotypes of our world. Women need single sex spaces, in some very specific instances: toilets, prisons, changing rooms, etc, sport needs to be segregated by sex, usually. I still am happy to stand up for anyone who is bullied it marginalised and I'd support trans people to live happy and fulfilled lives. But there are some are as where rights conflict, and these need to be discussed openly and clearly without threats or censure.

And although it's been sometimes a difficult and lonely waking up I'm actually grateful, because it's caused me to shift the way I look at and engage with politics. Hopefully in a more realistic and pragmatic way.

I've learned what real change takes - patience and hard work, many tiny actions. Not the loud swaggering ad him attacks that passes for debate. It's often the grassroots and the dedicated small steps of women that make change.

Apologies for the essay, and before 8 o clock, too. It's been a long couple of years, ultimately I feel stronger and more grounded for having travelled this road. And grateful for finding the wonderful women involved, too, who've shown me what real courage and grit looks like.

Signed! So glad to see Tony Robinson, John Cleese, Andrew Davies and Ben Miller on there ♥️ Really hope more big names stand up to be counted!

ArabellaScott thank you for that wise post.