How to respond to anti JKR teen DDs

[MmeMeursault]

It's happened - the usually very sensible and feminist teen DDs have uttered the "JKR is transphobic and so must you be if you're supporting her" line, which of course is bollocks in both respects, but I'm so very bloody tired and peri-menopausal I just can think straight to come out with a suitable response to nip this nonsense in the bud.

Please suggest some suitable responses....

I would have a talk with her about the essay as you say you're going to (when she's actually read it 🤷‍♀️ ) but I would also tell her that JKR has received death and rape threats and threats to assault her in other ways. Speak to her about free speech and whether a woman who simply wrote an essay to support other women deserves this sort of treatment. I had a similar argument with my daughter who also hadn't read the essay (I think she can't afford to read it in case it affects her response to it) and when I mentioned the rape threats and the murder threats that did actually shut her up.

Like the first poster to respond, I told my daughter to read what JK actually said not what she was purported to believe.

Ask her to explain why she thinks the number of teenage girls identifying as trans or non-binary is skyrocketing while the number of boys is not. Explain to her what life for children and teenagers used to be like before everyone carried a pocket device stuffed with INFLUENCERS and violent porn, and before filters and Kardashians. Ask her how many photos she thinks the average 70s, 80s or 90s teenager took of herself or her friends per week compared to now, and then uploaded to be assessed for 'likes'. Ask her how much money she thinks Big Pharma and the surgery industry is making per young person they rope into transitioning.

They need to read the essay and point out very clearly which words/sentences JKR has written indicate that she’s transphobic.

@Sunflower987

Teach them critical thinking, to learn to not go along with the crowd.
To look up both sides of the argument and then come to a conclusion.
They will come to agree that she isn't transphobic.
^^^^^
This is how I brought up my son.
When this matter came up with JK it was ds helped me see what was happening.
Having now read the article it's very worrying how this is going.
I thought JK Rowling piece was brilliant.

I've rolled my eyes and said that it's such a trendy thing to say, pushed by mostly angry older bearded men and spread to tiktok via kids who've really not read what she has written. That really she is an amazing women who's been tarred by the same brush men tarred the suffragettes with.
Teenagers will of course rebel against their parents and every young generation wants to have a civil rights' movement to pin their colours to. This generation sees trans rights as that civil rights' movement - not sure it can be shifted that easily until their brains have matured fully and they're able to think critically.

This is what I ask. Never had an answer yet.

I also ask what did she say that was so bad that deserved months and months worth of rape and death threats. I don't get a straight answer to that either.

Where are they getting this dangerous ideology?

Wherever it is, stop letting them go there.

It’s everywhere. It seems to be the accepted narrative. Anyone who ever mentions JKR will say something about how they love the books but not her, or similar.

DS2 says "we can't say that, it might upset the transes" about my discussion.
Presumably this, no debate, comes from school.

If my Dd said this I’d say “that’s a very serious accusation, for both me and JKR. So you need to please back it up with some evidence”.

This is how I responded to my 23 y/o DD - she admitted she hadn't read it - I said well I have and when you have let's have a chat - it hasn't been mentioned again

The teenagers tell me there is absolutely no way that at school they could say anything that even hints at gender critical views. They think most of their classmates believe the trans orthodoxy, and that the rest daren't speak out.

I'm not sure this is the killer argument for a teenager but I'd like to see an ardent gender ideologist explain this.

Why are the two main groups of people transitioning teenage girls and middle-aged men? What changed from the previous position where most people with a trans identity, of all ages, were male? Where are the middle-aged women transitioning now there's so much less stigma? Why is it considered so important for teenage transmen to have hormone treatment and surgery but middle-aged transwomen are not having the most extreme forms of surgery?

Please let us know what they made of the essay OP

Yes definitely not allowed to have any other views from the gender ideology in my kids school.
My son was called transphobic at school by a pupil after she asked him if he really liked a girl and found out she had penis would he still sleep with her and he said no because hes straight.

The science teacher was asked if a man can get pregnant, the science teacher said yes.

Posters around the school saying how 'Its great to be trans' or 'People are trans get over it!'
Kids walking around draped in trans flags.
Decorating their uniforms with rainbow badges.

Alot of kids are being indoctrinated online and then going into school and it being re affirmed.

Most schools have stonewall in them who are pushing all of this.
Its an absolute mess.

I appear to be very lucky in that my DD18 has definitely not drank the Kool Aid. DS who is younger passed comment that one of his classmates is now a boy and DD responded with ‘aye and I’m a fucking toaster’.

I wonder if it’s a regional thing as we’re quite far north.

Meant to add, as far as I’m aware no one in her social circle has militant views which I’m grateful for.

School. Most youth groups. Girl guides?

I have de-lurked to add to this. Took my DD (12) and her friend (13) to see the new Fantastic Beasts film a couple of weeks ago. The first thing DD's friend uttered as they got into the car when I collected them was "that was amazing, but it's such a shame that JK Rowling is transphobic and anti-Semitic". 😣
I just said that I didn't think either of those things was true. It wasn't the right time to get into a discussion about critical thinking, or what was the actual content of Jo Rowling's essay, as I was taking her straight home. Kids' thinking has been totally captured by this dangerous narrative.

The first thing DD's friend uttered as they got into the car when I collected them was "that was amazing, but it's such a shame that JK Rowling is transphobic and anti-Semitic".

That's very interesting @YouLando - sounds like something she felt obliged to say.

Can I also ask if any of these, so wise, teenagers tell one of you what JKR said that was transphoic please, please let me know? I'm gagging to find out..

That's what my teens both accused JKR of too @YouLando . I asked where they got that idea from and it's doing the rounds online that she has stereotyped the greengotts bank goblins as Jewish moneylenders. Talk about scraping the barrel to stir up hate towards JK. As to the transphobia label my dd 17 is not even prepared to read the essay. She has it firmly fixed in her ASD mind that JK is transphobic. My 15 ds is more open minded and can see that she speaks the truth.

It seems to be an article of faith like transubstantiation.

That's the bonkers thing. They're quite happy to pay money to see her works on the screen but then come up with gems like "but can't believe she's so like transphobic though. It's so wrong" so it's clear they're just parroting whatever shite they've heard elsewhere.

I have no doubt we'll get through to them eventually. One DD wants to be a lawyer and thinks she's knows every fucking thing already (don't they all) so she'll be getting the Forstater judgment to read in due course and can then explain it all to me with diagrams and everything as clearly I know nuffink. The other wants to study history and so should in theory be awesome at evaluating primary sources of evidence.

As a PP has already said, they'll find out in due course in a suitable way about some of the male violence that I experienced when I was a teen and maybe that will help to put it all into context.

Thanks all - keep 'em coming