Can't believe I'm writing this, but disappointed in JK today

[RobynMiller]

I know she is just one person but her tweets today are really undermining the whole GC argument.

Link: https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/2046948644373274709

'Nothing's changed. I was being honest about how I feel about an individual trans woman I know, who was a gay man pre-transition, and who I met for the first time post-transition. Objectively speaking, she has physical characteristics that make it fairly obvious she wasn't born female, but she's a gentle, funny person I've never referred to as anything other than 'she' and 'her'. I find it perfectly easy to reconcile my fond feelings towards her, and my experience of her as someone with very female-coded energy, with a belief that she hasn't literally changed sex (and incidentally, she doesn't believe she's literally changed sex, either).'

Basically, someone asked her about the trans identified male she mentioned in her 2020 essay and this was her response.

Does she not realise there can be NO EXCEPTIONS? Give an inch they'll take a mile and all that. It doesn't matter that he is gentle and funny or that he has very female-coded energy whatever the hell that means.

This does make it seem like when she calls TIMs out she is now doing it maliciously as she is perfectly happy to play pretend if she likes them enough.

Just so frustrating as it basically says that 'we could all play along with TRAs just fine and are choosing not to because we're such meanies 😡'

I agree. JKR can say and feel what she feels.

and we can criticise her for it.

Nope. Respecting individuals is not the problem. Codifying fiction into law and obscuring proper data collection is what does harm to women, including those who identify as transgender.

i will always fight for people to freely express themselves. JKR has made it clear from her earliest statements starting either phrases like “dress how you want” that she holds to the same ideals.

I may not believe someone can change sex, but I absolutely will always respect an individual and their right to be themselves.

Of course you can criticise her. There has been lots of criticism of her on this thread and on twitter. Go for it, If she's true to her word she'd be the last to object to your right to do so. But don't expect to take anyone not already convinced of your point of view with you.

Of course she can. And I can disagree with her if I want.

It is up to me to decide how to deal with each situation.
Not all gender confused men are abusive.
Some are just very confused.
And increasing the stress in the room to make a GC point helps nobody.

If you cannot see that
you need to get out more

If you only consider the man in the room then you are ignoring how abusive he is, how sexist and disrespectful he is to woman with his demand we lie about what a woman is to keep him happy.

I agree. I think conceding on language is what got us into this mess in the first place. It's important that the language we use reflects reality. You cannot have effective safeguarding without clear language. Conceding on this is the reason children are being taught in school that it's possible to change sex, it's possible to be trapped in the wrong body, the reason for unnecessary medical procedures that don't address the root cause of distress. I think it's a step backwards and I am disappointed in JKR who as a thoughtful, extremely talented writer, knows the importance of words. Truth matters and words matter.

I know that 2+2=4, but my friend is bad at maths and thinks 2+2=5, so I go along with it to not hurt my friend's feelings.

Oh, erm, now when I go to my friend's shop to buy two things that cost 2 quid each, my friend charges me a fiver.

Best be kind though, eh?

🙄

Do you really think JKR is bowing down to a man who demands she lies about what a woman is? Do you think women on here defending their right to choose when it comes to individual and personal contexts are just cowering in the face of abusive men? They are exercising their freedom to act on the understanding that human relations can never and will never be reduced to 1+1 = 2.

The arguments I see here are 'what's the harm' and 'be kind'. We've been here before and know where it leads.

It’s arguing for compelled speech. Anyone as absolutist as you is someone others should back away from.
if someone wants to be called something , anything, and their friend is happy to, doesn’t really matter what that something is. If someone wants to be called something, which is an inaccurate something, and others don’t want to but are forced to, that’s not ok. these two situations are different. Human beings should be able to distinguish.

Your insult to my integrity is noted.

I take into account the feelings of all in the room, even the cat.

This does not apply, if you were very happy to call 2+2=5 it still wouldn’t apply because we have a criminal code. But if your friend doesn’t run a shop and is suggesting they exchange you an Apple for 2 or 2 apples for 5 and you’re happy with that then there is no issue, I’m assuming you’re not a vulnerable person with learning delays or dementia? It’s only if you’re forced to accept 2+2=5 that there’s a problem.

I think the analogy should be that JKR is saying '2+2=5 and don't police my speech'. It's not compelled speech to point out that 2+2 is actually 4.

JKR has taken the GC movement way beyond where it could have got to without her involvement. I'm sure we've all disagreed with her at some point - it would be bizarre if that were not the case. However, you say you know where her attitude leads.... Well, where? Where would the GC movement be now without her attitude? Seriously? She is not a leader, a deity etc. She is someone who has said, hey, I get that there is some nuance here when it comes to personal relations but I draw the line when it threatens people's rights and as I'm in a position to put some voice and money behind that line I feel bound to do so. I will not lie (her trans friend knows she doesn't think they have or could ever change sex), I will protect and nurture personal relationships that are important to me, I will push back at anyone - no matter where they sit in the debate - who tells me what I should or should not be doing and saying on this matter.

I absolutely said the opposite. Read my posts on this thread, and others. I won’t tell other women how they should talk about their friends. I don’t feel that it’s out of bounds for discussion by others though.

No, I said that the arguments I see here for agreeing with her use of preferred pronouns are 'what's the harm' and 'be kind' and we've all seen where that's led us. It's led us to men in women's sports, men taking women's awards, men in women's prisons and hospitals, bathrooms, changing rooms, children being lied to and gaslighted, children being socially transitioned, children being told they're in the wrong body, children getting puberty blockers, people getting irreversible surgery that leave them with long-term permanent health conditions, men in sex-specific support groups, men elected to women's positions, men demanding they are treated as a lesbian and wanting access to lesbian spaces etc.

In response to @Joliefolie

I agree with you that JKR has done amazing things for women and children's rights. I just don't agree with her on using preferred pronouns.

There's nothing more dangerous than an ideologue, OP.

Men can't be women.

2 +2 does not equal 5.

It's no more arguing for compelled speech than pointing out an error in maths.

We are being expected to believe and accept 2 +2 =5. That's the entire point.

Humans can never and will never be reduced to aritthmetics. Such a self-defeating argument.