Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

JKR Didn’t Have an Opinion. She Poisoned the Well

1000 replies

CSIRCP · 28/08/2025 14:32

This post will likely be a little too long for most, but if you can spare the time and have a cuppa handy let's sit down and have a chat, shall we?

Firstly, let’s stop calling this a debate. It’s not. This isn’t two sets of ideas clashing. This is one woman’s fear and confusion being weaponized against an entire community.

What J.K. Rowling has done is not just share an opinion. She’s poisoned the well. And that poison is spreading through politics, education, the media, and even the courts.

At the beginning, it might have looked like a tweet. Then a blog. But what she wrote in that essay was revealing: “If I’d been born thirty years later, I too might have tried to transition. The allure of escaping womanhood would have been huge.”
That’s not neutral. That’s projection. It was a confession, repackaged as concern. She projected her own dysphoria and personal battles onto the entire trans community and used it as the foundation for a movement built on suspicion and fear.

She said she cared about women’s rights. Then aligned herself with those who believe all trans women are predators.
She liked racist and Islamophobic tweets. She repeated antisemitic tropes. She cast activists as violent men in dresses. She accused anyone who challenged her of misogyny while branding herself the face of feminism.
All the while she built up a devoted audience that now includes some of the most extreme anti-trans voices in Britain and beyond.

This “gender critical” movement is not about safety, and it’s certainly not about truth. It’s about control.
Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (Posie Parker), one of Rowling’s ideological allies, has welcomed neo-Nazis to her rallies. Actual Nazis. The kind of people Rowling once wrote villains about.
In one case, people connected to this movement were linked to the satanic terror group 764 — a group that has influenced teen suicides and violent attacks in UK schools. Let that sink in. This is who she’s empowering.

She didn’t just turn away when that started. She doubled down. She gave this movement a gloss of legitimacy. She used her fame to funnel people toward disinformation, fear, and cruelty—and dressed it all up as feminism. But it isn’t feminism when it excludes, vilifies, and harms other women. Especially trans women. Especially intersex people. Especially anyone who doesn’t fit into the narrow fantasy of who is acceptable.

Rowling’s language now echoes in government documents. Her phrases like “gender ideology” have been lifted from far right sources, including the Vatican and authoritarian regimes, and mainstreamed into British law. Her influence helped set the stage for the UK Supreme Court to redefine the word “woman” based on sex assigned at birth, stripping rights from trans and intersex people under the Equality Act. That’s what happens when the well is poisoned. People stop thinking. They start reacting.

Meanwhile, her cult chant her slogans as though they are scientific fact. But science says otherwise. Peer-reviewed studies show that trans people’s brain structures do not align with their sex assigned at birth. They show that gender identity forms in the womb, shaped by hormones and biology not ideology. Large-scale DNA studies have found gene variants linked to gender incongruence. And intersex people exist. That is biological fact. Not one of these truths can be erased by Rowling’s fiction.

What makes this so dangerous is how calm it all sounds. Rowling doesn’t scream. She whispers. She calls it “concern.” She says she’s “just asking questions.”
But it’s never neutral to question someone’s right to exist. It’s not a debate when one side is simply trying to live and the other is trying to strip away their legal recognition and healthcare.

This isn’t just a disagreement. This is a slow campaign of erasure, led by someone with a global platform and millions in the bank.

She’s not some deluded soul from MN; she’s a multi-millionaire author whose words shape global policy. She’s not being silenced. She’s being echoed by judges, by pundits, by politicians trying to climb the ladder by stepping on the backs of trans, non-binary, and intersex people.

And let’s not pretend it stops there. Her influence has allowed people to feel safe expressing open homophobia, biphobia, and hatred toward anyone who challenges gender norms. Some of the same people aligned with her have mocked survivors, denied racism, and claimed slavery was “fine” if it was “kind.”
This is not a group grounded in empathy. It’s a movement that thrives on exclusion and resentment. Some of them now openly identify as neo Nazis. That’s where we are.

So next time someone says “she’s just worried” or “she’s not anti-trans” or “can’t we just disagree,” consider these words. Show them what poison looks like. Not just hateful speech but the deliberate seeding of doubt, division, and cruelty, all wrapped in a soft voice and a smug smile. J.K. Rowling didn’t protect anyone. She infected people. And when she’s gone, her legacy won’t be literature it will be the damage she left behind.

You don’t need to cancel her. You just need to see her clearly.
And if you blindly follow Rowling and her ideas then you need to reflect on what you’re really endorsing.

Because ignorance is not an excuse. Not anymore.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
34
ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:05

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:51

I fully Intend to apply for a GRC as soon as I’m able. However due to an unsupportive loving situation I wasn’t able to change my name until last year. Next year I will begin the process of obtaining a GRC considering I will have my two diagnoses of Gender Dysphoria. Getting a GRC is not easy you know. Not that having one seems to mean anything more to most people here I assume?

No, it doesn’t.

You’re still a male in the eyes of the law and the eyes of (most) women.

If it means something to you, more power to you. But don’t expect anyone else to think it’s a ticket into women’s spaces. It isn’t.

Waitwhat23 · 29/08/2025 01:06

It's the staggeringly selfish male entitlement that always takes me aback. 'Me, me, me, I want, I want, I want and who gives a fuck about the women forced to be involved in my misogynistic, male gaze dress up role play of what I think is being a woman'.

Being mansplained to about breasts and being a woman for fucks sake.

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:06

MarieDeGournay · 29/08/2025 00:51

Look, I don't want to be rude, I've engaged with you in a very personal way, talking about my experience of hating being a girl and how I managed to get through.. which you haven't responded to at all I notice.

You're a man who is very unhappy about being a man. We get the message. You believe you have the right to appropriate the identity 'woman' to make yourself feel better. You are going to continued appropriating the identity 'woman', despite all the objections that have been raised here, and explained in great detail to you, because it makes you happier.

So while not wanting to be rude, I have to suggest to you that your main concern is yourself and your happiness and to hell with what women think. Nothing anybody has said here has put the slightest dent in your attitude to your needs being more important than women's.

Maybe other posters will want to continue engaging with this, but I've had enough of your relentless defence of appropriating our identity just because you are not happy being a man.

It just smacks of male entitlement. “I’m not happy so I’ll just take what I want and women’s views don’t matter, only me, The Man”

Like is say - no amount of transitioning (whatever that means) can un-man a male.

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:06

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:55

I’m still applying no matter what.

A GRC doesn’t work by magic.

But you know that,

it just helps you bully women into having to pretend to go along with your fantasy in some circumstances. Getting paperwork that helps you bully some women into pretending to believe you’ve magically turned into a woman may be enough to make you happy.

Bullying women doesn’t change your sex, you’ll be just as male as you were the day you were born.

Rivertrudge · 29/08/2025 01:08

What a load of utter rubbish. (And looks like AI rubbish.)

To take just one of the many lies/illogicalities: you seem to belong to the childish group of people who think that anyone who shares an opinion with others on one issue is somehow automatically supportive of, or even endorsing, all the other opinions those others hold.

This is logically ludicrous.
Support the Palestinian cause? So do Hamas, so that must mean you also support the rapes and murders of the October 2023 attacks, right?
Support the right to exist of Israel? So do Netanyahu and the West Bank settlers, so that must mean you also support the attacks on civilians in Gaza and the West Bank annexations, right?
Like dogs? So did Hitler, so that must mean you also support all his other views, right?
Which of those applies to you?

I would congratulate you on your success at trolling just to wind people up, but your long-winded, repetitive, illogical rant isn’t good enough for that. I assume you are joking when you call it "subtle".

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:10

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:52

You don’t know me personally you’d argue given this debate that everything I do is male.

Well activities aren’t male or female, only people are male or female. Everything you do is done by a male

Are you under the impressions that there are some things you would do that would make us see you as a woman?

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:10

Waitwhat23 · 29/08/2025 01:06

It's the staggeringly selfish male entitlement that always takes me aback. 'Me, me, me, I want, I want, I want and who gives a fuck about the women forced to be involved in my misogynistic, male gaze dress up role play of what I think is being a woman'.

Being mansplained to about breasts and being a woman for fucks sake.

Agreed, I’d say it’s unbelievable except here he is saying post after post that he thinks only his wants matter

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:11

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:55

I’m still applying no matter what.

That’s fine.

Just stay out of women’s toilets. And changing rooms. And single sex spaces. They aren’t for you

SionnachRuadh · 29/08/2025 01:11

The other thing you need to consider is that there are some things in life that you can control - how you behave, how you treat others, how you present your best face to the world.

There's one thing you can't control, and it's a painful moment in our lives when we realise this, but it's a necessary moment. You can't control how others see you.

That does, I'm afraid, come into play if you're trying to present as the opposite sex. Do we believe that anyone looks at Elliot Page and spontaneously says, "hey, that's a man"?

Trans people typically believe that transitioning will make them at peace with themselves. But very often, post transition, lots of them live in a permanent state of emotional fragility because they know others don't see them as their perfect imagined self. That's not a healthy place to be.

But as I say, there are some things you can control, and if you're saying I'm going to use women's single sex spaces that I have no legal right to, and to hell with any women using those spaces, that sounds exactly like the kind of toxic masculinity that I think you hate in yourself.

Get a new therapist who will take you through your underlying traumas, and stop fixating on this one weird trick that you think will fix everything.

Ereshkigalangcleg · 29/08/2025 01:13

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 00:42

And what is that “more”? What is it about women that makes a woman of it isn’t biology?

I know you think this sounds progressive but it’s the opposite

Women are defined as women by their biology. After that, women come in all forms - some wear make up, some don’t, some wear jeans, some wear dresses. Some entirely reject gender norms, some embrace them. They are ALL women - ONLY because of their biology.

Saying there’s more to women than biology means that some women who don’t meet whatever the “more” is, aren’t women. So what are they?

Edited

Great post.

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:15

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 01:01

Again as I stated I’m still going to apply for one. I don’t care what’s it’s legally worth in your eyes. That’s for the government to decide.

Edited

I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but legally a GRC is worth nothing. It’s not a ticket to womanhood.

That’s not me talking, that’s what the government has decided

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:18

Waitwhat23 · 29/08/2025 01:06

It's the staggeringly selfish male entitlement that always takes me aback. 'Me, me, me, I want, I want, I want and who gives a fuck about the women forced to be involved in my misogynistic, male gaze dress up role play of what I think is being a woman'.

Being mansplained to about breasts and being a woman for fucks sake.

And being shocked that, despite the fact we’ve kept on that being a woman is only about biology, there’s nothing where we would consider a man to suddenly be a woman.

As this person ever met or listened to a woman before? It’s SUCH a male view of women. Did he think we’d say “Oh he’s take up knitting and get your eyebrows threaded, that’s what gets you into the Woman Club”

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:19

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:15

I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but legally a GRC is worth nothing. It’s not a ticket to womanhood.

That’s not me talking, that’s what the government has decided

It’s valued by men going to Malaga airport but that’s about it

BeLemonNow · 29/08/2025 01:19

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:36

What’s the alternative to not wanting to be a man but not being allowed to be a woman? Non-binary did not feel right to me either I tried to just say I’m not a man or a woman but it still felt wrong as wrong as being a man. Just as much as non-binary people don’t feel right as a man or a woman.

I mean we aren't therapists but...legally you can identify as a woman, change your name, change your birth certificate and so on and so forth. You can have this 'gender identity' legally recognised.

You cannot change your biological sex. You cannot lawfully enter women's spaces in the UK, play women's sports and so on. We have the right to free speech, we can call you a man as long as it's not gratuitous shouting down the street.

It's going to sound sarcastic but the alternative is "living". "Doing". Even if you woke up tomorrow and magically were a woman, you wouldn't be happy, temporarily delighted perhaps but it would wear off.

Move forward with your life without focusing on trying to think out what you are. Decide what you want, set yourself achievable goals and move forward. You've got a long wait before surgery anyway.

Heggettypeg · 29/08/2025 01:19

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 00:36

What’s the alternative to not wanting to be a man but not being allowed to be a woman? Non-binary did not feel right to me either I tried to just say I’m not a man or a woman but it still felt wrong as wrong as being a man. Just as much as non-binary people don’t feel right as a man or a woman.

Your problem has been addressed in some other societies by having a separate word and identity for men in your position, which recognises you as something different from men, and in many ways definitely "feminine", though not actually a woman. I wouldn't say that "non-binary" is an exact equivalent.. It's an honest approach to the issue that doesn't require anybody to lie and pretend or try to force others to do so. It might have been better if our culture had done that. Perhaps somebody will start it.

What worries me about your posts is how dependent you seem to be on being seen in a particular way by others. Even if all of us on this thread had just rolled over and said "yes, you're a woman', there's still a wider world out there. You can't control other people. You just have to work on being sure of who you are inside. One thing I will say: you're still quite young and in my experience as time goes on you give fewer fucks about what other people are thinking. I don't mean you should behave towards them as though they don't matter, just that knowing they don't agree with you hurts less.

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:21

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:19

It’s valued by men going to Malaga airport but that’s about it

I’m not getting the Malaga reference - is it a body mutilation hot spot?

BeLemonNow · 29/08/2025 01:22

Get a new therapist who will take you through your underlying traumas, and stop fixating on this one weird trick that you think will fix everything.

I agree I thought their current therapist was a bit shit in the other post, as they are convinced using a gender neutral toilets would immediately "out" them as trans.

Trauma can take a long time to unpick unfortunately. It can take a few therapists or approaches to find something that is helpful.

Boiledbeetle · 29/08/2025 01:23

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:21

I’m not getting the Malaga reference - is it a body mutilation hot spot?

The airport code is AGP

murasaki · 29/08/2025 01:24

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:21

I’m not getting the Malaga reference - is it a body mutilation hot spot?

The airport code is something that used to be banned.

I still find the username revolting given the sexual posts from the poster in question re breasts and potential surgery. It's very Malaga.

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:27

Boiledbeetle · 29/08/2025 01:23

The airport code is AGP

You Got It Wink GIF by CBS

Aaaah

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:31

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:27

Aaaah

we can’t always use the words we’d like to because some males get offended and complain. I used the word ‘fantasy’ in an earlier post, there’s another word beginning with ‘f’ that fits better however I’ve had posts deleted before for using that word

ImGoingUpstairsToTakeOffMyHat · 29/08/2025 01:32

murasaki · 29/08/2025 01:24

The airport code is something that used to be banned.

I still find the username revolting given the sexual posts from the poster in question re breasts and potential surgery. It's very Malaga.

Yes I agree.

Again it’s such a male view of women. He probably thinks we braid each others hair and have pillow fights.

I have noticed those who go to Malaga only ever want the “sexy” bits of womanhood. The balloon tits and make up and breathy voices and tiny clothes. They’re not too hot on the lower pay, more domestic duties, staying under the glass ceiling, not being listened to by doctors being the butt of sexist jokes though. They only want the good stuff, when actually what women often ONLY have in common is the shit oppressive stuff.

I remember watching Jonathan Willoughby on the “all female” (HA) Celeb Big Brother who claimed once he “transitioned” people at work started to ask him to make the tea so he could relate to being a woman 🤣🤣🤣🤣

PestoHoliday · 29/08/2025 01:32

It got lost a while back, but I want to speak up in solidarity with the orca women, as both they and we go through menopause.

Given my perimenopausal mood today, I'm definitely happy to be grouped with toothed whales who are apex predators. Bring it on.

SnugPeach · 29/08/2025 01:35

If anything my take away from my interactions is here is simply I do know who I am and what I want. Despite the fact I want to be loved and accepted for who I am by everyone I know now more so that it’s down to me to find and forge that.

But that will be as me and I’m not a man whatever you all think.

TrainedByCats · 29/08/2025 01:39

and I’m not a man whatever you all think.

even you don’t actually believe you’re not a man,

you know you are

and you know that everyone who interacts with you knows you’re a man.

It’s just some of them are better at/more prepared to play ‘let’s pretend’ than the women here.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is not accepting new messages.