English teacher tells class that JKR is transphobic

[QpopTYUIop9]

Just that really.
I'm absolutely fuming.
30 kids now "hate" JKR apparently.
This is an abuse of influence surely, not to mention a worrying lack of critical thinking.
I've printed out the "transphobic" tweets so my Y7 child can make up their own mind. With a lot of ranting from me in the background .

[jellybe]

As a resent English teacher who is GC please raise your concerns with the school- I'd email the head of department with the head teacher CC'd in and make sure the GDPR issues where clearly flagged so your child isn't brought into it - this teacher said this to a class of thirty they won't be able to pin it to your child unless someone tells them.

See what reply you get and escalate further if you need to.

I'd be fuming if one of my old colleagues had done this and would have told them how out of line they were. Their political views have no place in a classroom of year 7. Maybe the discussion would come up with A level students m ( possibly GCSE depending on the class) but only in a 'this is my opinion go read it for yourselves and come to your own conclusion' sort of way.

[SunbeamRapier]

But it be WOULD be fair and accurate for the teacher to say that most trans people around the world consider JK to be transphobic. That’s not in dispute. It’s a fact. And surely, trans people are the judge. It would be odd if straight people decided what was homophobic. Or white people what was racist. Seems on here that trans people’s take on JK is completely dismissed out of hand. YOU decide what’s transphobic - not them. The fact they almost unanimously feel offended should be enough. But you want them to ‘prove’ it. As if their overwhelming shared view isn’t enough. Are they all wrong? How much say do they actually have over determining what is ‘transphobic’? 100%, 75%, 25% ? Seems most of you think it should be zero, and just blather on about asking them to ‘prove it’ in never ending semantic arguments. Weird. Sure do get worked up by 1% (at best) of the world population. Page after page after page after...ad infinitum. #Obsessed

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

Do women now get to say what's misogynistic then? Like gender identity ideology?

[toffeebutterpopcorn]

Have you asked them all? What do you define as trans?

[WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo]

Surely we have the right to ask exactly what JKR said that was transphobic in order to stop us making the same mistake?

[SunbeamRapier]

Just had a recount, and seems most trans individuals LOVE JK and can’t understand what all the fuss is about #ToffeeButterWorld

Back to the Q: How much say do they have over what constitutes transphobia?

[TalkingtoLangClegintheDark]

@Ereshkigalangcleg

Do women now get to say what's misogynistic then? Like gender identity ideology?

Exactly. As a woman, I perceive you to hold misogynistic views, SunbeamRapier.

You are promoting an ideology that harms women and girls, and that is based on prioritising and placing a higher value on biologically male people than biologically female people - in other words, male supremacism.

You clearly agree that it is my right as a woman to make that call. So I’m making it. The beliefs you express here stem from misogyny and are not worthy of respect on a Feminist internet board.

I trust you will take my views on board and educate yourself. I look forward to your earnest apology and a commitment to “do better”. Have a nice day.

[MissLucyEyelesbarrow]

@SunbeamRapier

But it be WOULD be fair and accurate for the teacher to say that most trans people around the world consider JK to be transphobic. That’s not in dispute. It’s a fact. And surely, trans people are the judge. It would be odd if straight people decided what was homophobic. Or white people what was racist. Seems on here that trans people’s take on JK is completely dismissed out of hand. YOU decide what’s transphobic - not them. The fact they almost unanimously feel offended should be enough. But you want them to ‘prove’ it. As if their overwhelming shared view isn’t enough. Are they all wrong? How much say do they actually have over determining what is ‘transphobic’? 100%, 75%, 25% ? Seems most of you think it should be zero, and just blather on about asking them to ‘prove it’ in never ending semantic arguments. Weird. Sure do get worked up by 1% (at best) of the world population. Page after page after page after...ad infinitum. #Obsessed

There are many things that are factually correct but are inappropriate to share with primary school-aged children.

[Zinco]

And surely, trans people are the judge. It would be odd if straight people decided what was homophobic. Or white people what was racist.


It isn't that a particular group "gets to decide", but rather there must be a solid basis for claims that is reasonable to people of different groups.

If you let Muslims decide what is "Islamophobia", then they could just say that any criticism of their religion is bigotry and isn't allowed. Non-Muslims can quite rightly point out that ideology including religious ideology is up for criticism.

Oh, and white people can be victims of racism by the way.

[DodoPatrol]

Do female women get to decide what ‘woman’ and ‘female’ mean, then?

[SunbeamRapier]

She’s (rightly imo) viewed as transphobic because she insinuates that trans people cannot be trusted and are dangerous. She’s likened doctors helping trans kids to grooming, and written a book on the back or her previous warnings where the serial killer dresses as a woman. Now ladies, you don’t have to be Columbo to see what point she’s trying to make. Oh yes: “Sleep with whoever will have you” and her own story of suffering domestic violence. Not by a trans person, but by a man. But spun so that the lesson is that if trans rights are granted, women will be put at risk.
Understand this is probably not going down well here in the bubble.
However, the simple fact remains: Just as homosexuals decide what’s homophobic, so do trans people decide what’s transphobic. But you want those actually painting them as a risk etc to be the arbiters of what’s offensive. The view here is that what trans people think doesn’t matter.

[Zinco]

The fact they almost unanimously feel offended should be enough. But you want them to ‘prove’ it. As if their overwhelming shared view isn’t enough. Are they all wrong?


So let's say that 100% of trans-race people are offended by someone's statements on the issue...

They all feel offended, so no one can question their trans-race activism and ideology?

We just have to accept that they are any race they identify as, and it's them that decides what counts as trans-race-phobia?

Are they all wrong? Well actually...

[SunbeamRapier]

I’ll leave you to it. But as an online space for all sections of society, I hope Mumsnetters enjoy a different perspective. Thank you for being so welcoming and making me feel at home ❤️

[Precipice]

Women are put at risk by the erasure of sex-segregation of spaces where women are made more vulnerable. Women are at risk of male violence from male assailants, no matter how they identify. What makes a "trans woman" less dangerous than a "cis man" and at what point does this change take place?

Have you read the JKR book where the serial killer dresses as a woman? My understanding is that it is only a small part. Criminals take all sorts of disguises, in fiction and in real life.

[Eekay]

I wouldn't let this slide.

[WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo]

What about The Silence of The Lambs. A book where the serial killer literally kills women to make himself a woman suit. I don't see anyone calling Thomas Harris a transphobe and threatening to choke him with their lady dicks.

[Zinco]

Just as homosexuals decide what’s homophobic

No they don't. They can't just declare anything they like to be homophobic, even if they all agreed.

so do trans people decide what’s transphobic.

Well you're wrong about homophobia, so this obviously doesn't follow.

But you want those actually painting them as a risk etc to be the arbiters of what’s offensive.

Speaking for myself, I don't think so. It isn't any group that decides this stuff.

[DodoPatrol]

Sunbeam, it’s actually very normal for women, especially those who have been assaulted, to feel wary of men/male people, and to feel safer in single-sex facilities.

Its not the fault of decent men that they get tarred with the same brush.

It’s not the fault of decent transwomen that they are often identifiably male and thus rouse the same unease as any other male person.

Rowling is asking for an understanding of the continued need for single-sex spaces.

[SunbeamRapier]

Te Silence of the Lambs: But I don’t think Thomas Harris had spent the two previous years warning that trans people were dangerous.
It’s a bit like Nigel Farage writing a fictional book where an illegal immigrant crosses the channel on a dinghy before going on a killing spree.

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

Understand this is probably not going down well here in the bubble.

I imagine it probably makes more sense in your bubble.

[Zinco]

I’ll leave you to it.

You mean you aren't going to defend your obviously absurd claim? You're just going to disappear!?

Well that's strange...

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

and her own story of suffering domestic violence

And rape. It's about respecting female spaces and the fact that predatory men can use loopholes. It's not really about how anyone identifies internally.

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

Sunbeam, it’s actually very normal for women, especially those who have been assaulted, to feel wary of men/male people, and to feel safer in single-sex facilities.

Its not the fault of decent men that they get tarred with the same brush.

It’s not the fault of decent transwomen that they are often identifiably male and thus rouse the same unease as any other male person.

Rowling is asking for an understanding of the continued need for single-sex spaces.

This. Why such a complete lack of empathy for the women and girls who need those spaces?

[WhatWouldPhyllisCraneDo]

@SunbeamRapier

Te Silence of the Lambs: But I don’t think Thomas Harris had spent the two previous years warning that trans people were dangerous.
It’s a bit like Nigel Farage writing a fictional book where an illegal immigrant crosses the channel on a dinghy before going on a killing spree.

I wasn't aware JKR had spent 2 years doing that either. Is there a source for her warnings? I've never seen them. And did she specifically say that transwomen are dangerous? Or did she say that men could use the self ID loophole to access vulnerable women. Which, let's face it, they have done.

[MorrisZapp]

I've read Troubled Blood. There are no trans characters in it. One male serial killer uses disguises to escape from his crime scenes. On one occasion his disguise is a wig and a womans coat. One paragraph is devoted to this, in a book thicker than a house brick.

That's it. Absolutely no transphobia at all.