Janice Turner Interview with Rosie Kay

[Igneococcus]

Rosie resigned from her own dance company after accusations of transphobia:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/3935bc4a-5858-11ec-a3f7-65d2d47c7fea?shareToken=b7d8e07dfee7cb3f54df6487999e9a82

I think all these cases seem so completely insane and so obviously counterproductive to everyone's interests at once - women, those identifying as trans, the dance audience, the arts community, young dancers starting out, older dancers moving into different roles - that it's almost impressive. I'm casting around trying to find some logic to it.

I still can't understand why her father is credited with the protection of her IP to the ballets? Have I missed something in the articles? I read the Unherd version, not the TOL

When the company became a charity he made sure that despite losing control of the organisation she nonetheless retained the IP.

@PermanentTemporary

I think all these cases seem so completely insane and so obviously counterproductive to everyone's interests at once - women, those identifying as trans, the dance audience, the arts community, young dancers starting out, older dancers moving into different roles - that it's almost impressive. I'm casting around trying to find some logic to it.

Great comment. There are no winners here.

I’ve just read the story in the Times. What the actual fuck?

I salute you Rosie Kay. (And I watched some of the 5 Soldiers piece - very clever).

I might start actually buying the Times for this story alone. I liked the part where no one had read the book …

I might start actually buying the Times for this story alone. I liked the part where no one had read the book …

Plus apparently she talked about eunuchs, in the context of the female eunuch and they all took offence cos no one had read that either.

So glad they all lost their jobs. Your actions have consequences.

@Thankyouverymuch1

So glad they all lost their jobs. Your actions have consequences.

Agreed.

BBC has picked up the story www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59584638

The point isn't that the witchfinders were doing themselves out of a job. If Kay really was doing something awful using her soldier ballet to profiteer off weapons or something stopping her in spite of their jobs would be a Good Thing.

And it's not a generational divide. Just because more people who can be led around by the nose are young does not make it generational.

It's a matter of justice. Of seeing women as human beings, as people who have rights. Not as comfort animals whose only real job is making real people feel better. "Validating" them.

I can't find it now, but there's another article out there where the dancers who kicked this off complaining that the publicity around this is negatively impacting on them and could affect their future employment.
You couldn't make this up!

I hope the letter writers have learnt that you need to choose your battles.

@quixote9

The point isn't that the witchfinders were doing themselves out of a job. If Kay really was doing something awful using her soldier ballet to profiteer off weapons or something stopping her in spite of their jobs would be a Good Thing.

And it's not a generational divide. Just because more people who can be led around by the nose are young does not make it generational.

It's a matter of justice. Of seeing women as human beings, as people who have rights. Not as comfort animals whose only real job is making real people feel better. "Validating" them.

You're absolutely right here. There's always a chance she might well have done something to deserve the kind of thing that is happening to her. However, anyone on this board who's looked into it can make an educated guess as to what's really going on.

It's tragic that women like Rosie will be tarred by incidents like these, possibly for the rest of their lives. So many people will see the word transphobia in the headline and associate her with it, rather than her life's work.

To be able to see this kind of - now commonplace - news report and think deeper, see the bigger picture of what happened to the woman at the centre and what it really means, is vital.