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JK Rowling responds to critics over her transgender comments

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By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr

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103 Comments

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I am sorry, but I don't see any transphobic or hateful elements in her comments. She merely voiced her opinion and that's it.

I miss those days where people could exchange opinions without being accused of being a nazi or chauvinist.

38 ( +45 / -7 )

Transgender women are biologically not women-the wizard needs to open an anatomy book...

23 ( +34 / -11 )

Good for her! Keep speaking the truth JK.

There is a world of difference between abusive hate speech and an honest opinion on facts. I know the trans issue is controversial but for some of us its a little like Galileo being told the sun revolves around the earth.

19 ( +27 / -8 )

how dare she call people who menstruate...women! i mean, that just totally demeans...no one. what about people who stop menstruating after a certain age. they can't be called women either? come on, lgbtq community. you have bigger concerns in life then censoring the label "women." oh wait, maybe you don't have anything better to do.

15 ( +23 / -8 )

Rowling protested the term "people who mentstruate", saying WOMEN is the appropriate term. Everyone else is quite free to refer to themselves as whatever they want:

Transgender woman, lgbtqprstuvwxyz, or half reptile - half monkey in a pink dress! They are just labels, and calling a woman by the term "someone who menstruates" separates them from wannabe women or those who've had the sex change operation. It's rude and unnecessary. This lobby of alternative genders is out of hand. Away with you, "men and former men in frocks who don't mentstruate"!

13 ( +19 / -6 )

“People who menstruate”?? This is an absurd phrase that deserves criticism!

11 ( +17 / -6 )

I read some of the comments and I realized that some people are using words such as "hateful", "bigoted", "cruel", "not kind" etc in reference to JKR and anyone else who has an opposing opinion. Again, please elaborate which parts of her comments are "hateful". If you can't, I assume you aren't interested in an exchange of opinions, but simply try to to disqualify anyone with a different point of view.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

Dont even think about it , the thought police will be around to sort you out real soon. ...

9 ( +17 / -8 )

They can't even refer to real women as women.

I wonder how they describe or refer to men

7 ( +12 / -5 )

how dare she call people who menstruate...women!

She can call them whatever she likes. She was mocking someone else's choice of words, and was in no way being limited. herself.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Lol telling people what they want to hear is not kindness.

You're actually the one being cruel by confusing the already confused people.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

kurisupisuToday  06:37 am JST

Transgender women are biologically not women-the wizard needs to open an anatomy book...

I don't understand 'trans' and I never will. They only make up

6 ( +12 / -6 )

These people are the worst kind of bigots. They automatically label defame accuse those who don't subscribe to their beliefs as bigots.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

If the militants don't get you the censors will. If not them the PC police will. In whichever way, our freedoms have been eroded not only by bad government but by our narrow minded society. Everyone has something they're thin skinned about. We've become a very weak race, for sure, and as such want to be a dominating power. Ha!

5 ( +11 / -6 )

If you care about this, I would recommend taking five minutes to read what Rowling says.

https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

It should be obvious, but you can only create women-only spaces, be they sports, changing rooms, train carriages, etc. without a line saying what a woman is. Since some women-only spaces are there to protect women from men, it should not be surprising if people's emphasis is for the line to protect women, not for the line to be inclusive.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

She should self identify as male now. That will show them.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Burning BushToday 11:39 am JST

Facts don't change due to your personal beliefs

Thank you!

Believing that you're a woman does not change the scientific fact that you were born with XY chromosomes and that you are a man.

A woman is a person who was born with XX chromosomes and experiences life with the associated physical and mental traits.

Believing otherwise doesn't change that fact.

Good one Burning Bush hit the nail right on the head, G_I_T walked right into that one didnt they!

4 ( +10 / -6 )

People aren't saying what they are saying out of cruelty.

You're utterly confused or being deliberately manipulative.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

'trans activists' who disagreed with her, and revealed some of the vile insults they had thrown at her for speaking her mind......................................................

So they decided whether to be kind or to be cruel.

I guess we can all clearly see which they chose !

4 ( +8 / -4 )

I completely agree with Rowling

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Yes, because they keep being abused by people who say things like "you're just a man in a dress", or "you're just a lost lesbian", or "you're just confused".

In short, by bigots. Like JK.

Trans are not the only peope that have ever been bullied..... what about gays, or racism? These populations dont show -now or ever- the high suicide rates of trans

Its a mental illness, and its not "alleviated" by "transitioning", as you cannot "transist" to another gender

4 ( +9 / -5 )

G_I_T not making sense as usual.

If freedom of speech is protected, it means everyone gets the same freedom, which includes the freedom to criticize the free speech of others.

I'm going to say.

Therefore the confused people making very contradictory statements seem confused very much.

Whats confusing in that?

Perhaps its not this that you are confused about but some other underlying thing or things. Please identify exactly what is the issue.

You contradicted yourself as two people clearly pointed out to you, but then you try to duck or talk more about how you meant something other than what you clearly said, it all seems very much the writings of a confused person.

And in reality if a man puts on a dress then surely they would be a man in a dress wouldnt they?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

I wish this issue could be solved in a way of "If you identify as xyz, then so will I identify you as xyz, as long as it makes you happy and does not offend you", but it can't.

Lets say I as a male show up in the gym tomorrow and go to the womens lockerroom because I want to be identified as a woman. Are the girls intolerant and unkind when they call the police?

Or what if a male NBA player decides to change to the womens division due to gender identity? Is asking whether he has an unfair biological advantage discrimination?

3 ( +7 / -4 )

That's true. That's why JK should stop being a bigot.

How is she a bigot? By telling the truth?

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Yes, it is. And transitioning to your correct gender alleviates gender dysphoria. Because trans women are women, and trans men are men.

Does it? Last i saw, trans people have one of the highest suicide rate

3 ( +7 / -4 )

@girl_in_tokyo

So, when a man identifies as a woman and is put in females’ prison and rapes a woman then what are you going to say to the victim?

I would imagine that a rape victim feels more pain than an individual’s sexuality being questioned, no?

Educate me ...

3 ( +8 / -5 )

What is so tragic about it? It's only tragic when people like you call it that,

For what it is?? I’m sorry, I don’t like to lie to make people feel good.

which in itself is an insult. People can live perfectly normal, perfectly healthy, perfectly happy lives when they are intersex. The problem only comes when people like you try to tell them that their life is tragic, and then talk about how sorry you are for them, or other such nonsense. 

That’s not what I’m saying, leave the emotion out of this. You think that a Trans teen man that feels like woman has the right to be in the same changing room as women who were genetically born as women?

And yes, transpeople do "go on feelings" - as cisgender people when they say they "feel" a certain way - gender is all in your head, and has nothing whatsover to do with chromosomes

They can feel whatever they want, it doesn’t change what they were born as. Again, if you’re a man and you have a male body part it doesn’t mean you can use a woman’s restroom because you feel like a woman.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It is inaccurate to say that Ms. Rowling's tweets "drew outrage". Her tweets "drew outrage among some transgender activists" would be more accurate.

Calling women and girls "people who menstruate" is deeply dehumanizing and negates women's experience. Women and girls are the ones who are impacted by menstruation physically, mentally and socially. Transgender men and non-binary ex-women do menstruate -- since they were born biological women. Denying the fact that women menstruate when 99 per cent of "people who menstruate" are women who identify as women is deeply misogynistic.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Seems confused people making very contradictory statements, for example

The fact is that transgender people exist, and it is nothing short of cruelty to refer to them as anything other than the gender they say they are.

and then

Facts don't change due to your personal beliefs

Seems contradictory - they are what they say they are ! Hmm . Facts don't change due to your personal beliefs !! Hmmm.

So they then go onto say-

If freedom of speech is protected, it means everyone gets the same freedom, which includes the freedom to criticize the free speech of others.

I'm going to say.

Therefore the confused people making very contradictory statements seem confused very much.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

You cannot change chromosomes

2 ( +8 / -6 )

The author wrote on Wednesday night that she was 'deeply concerned' some young people faced enormous pressures to switch genders.

She even claimed she might have changed to become a man herself to turn herself into the son her father openly wanted, if she had faced the influences around today when she was a girl.

Amid the fallout yesterday, a British school dropped 'J K Rowling' as a name for one of its houses because she was 'no longer felt to be an appropriate role model'.

And even Rowling's favourite Harry Potter website, The Leaky Cauldron – the biggest fan site in the world – suggested followers should stop buying her books or watching her films.

In her deeply personal and compelling 3,600-word essay posted to her website, Rowling described the dangers of young people being convinced to change their gender and then regretting it.

She savaged 'trans activists' who disagreed with her, and revealed some of the vile insults they had thrown at her for speaking her mind......................................................

Warner Bros, the Hollywood studio behind the blockbuster Harry Potter films, issued a carefully-worded statement praising 'the work of our storytellers who give so much of themselves' while calling for 'understanding of all communities and all people'.

The Weald School in Billingshurst, West Sussex, wrote to parents announcing that it was scrapping plans to use J K Rowling's name because she was 'no longer felt to be an appropriate role model'.

Deputy headteacher Sarah Edwards said: 'J K Rowling has tweeted some messages which are considered to be offensive to the LGBT+ community (specifically, transphobic) and we feel that we do not wish to be associated with these views.'

Instead the house will be named Blackman, after children's author Malorie Blackman.

However, support for Rowling came from thousands of tweets and messages backing her views that young people may regret changing gender if they are rushed into it.

Gingerbread, a charity supporting single parents which Rowling has long championed, said: 'We remain grateful for her patronage.'

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Remember the days when you could discuss material reality without some militant masquerading as an enlightened being policing your speech, and relabelling them as thought crimes? Those were the days, eh?

1 ( +7 / -6 )

I find it very difficult to understand why someone would chose to be cruel over being kind, but here we are.

You will find it very difficult indeed, because you reduce this very complex issue to just that.

If people don't believe that men who thinks they are women are women, then they are being cruel.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Because trans women are women, and trans men are men.

No, they are not, if you exhume the bones in 200 years and you do a physical DNA analysis you’re going to get a man there’s nothing that will indicate that the man was a woman, maybe by the clothes that you might find on the corpse, but on the skeletal remains it will be what it was assigned at birth.

Actually, trans women are women. Trans men are men. Those are the simple, scientific facts

Michael Jackson believed he was white and that didn’t make him white, but if you believe that, I guess so, you can believe whatever you want.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

You can. Thousands have done it.

And from that, about 50% have commited or will commit suicide, not a great "treatment" option in my opnion

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Men with XX chromosomes is not uncommon: some estimate it to occur in as many as one in ten men. So this is wrong.

But it doesn’t anatomically change what you are born as, but having said that, there are cases where you do have a biological mixup, that’s tragic and there are exceptions to that rule, but on average or your everyday Tran can’t just go on a feeling.

You're right,

I know.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

When I was at a Cuban resort this past January, two hermaphrodites joined me at the bar and that night and the next one were both very interesting sexual encounters. Who's to judge?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is well agreed upon by the AMA, the APA and other professional organizations of researchers and scientists.

Sorry but those two organiations  have been hijacked for a few decades now &many in those fields have many issues with the stuff they produce & what they have to say about things, especially when it comes to men & boys, they are right off their rockers & are a huge problem

https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/political-correctness/comment-on-the-apa-guidelines-for-the-treatment-of-boys-and-men/

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Transpeople have long been denigrated, ridiculed, rejected, scorned, and discriminated against, and even murdered just for being who they are.

Wouldn't you say that it's about time that stopped?

Shouldn't have started in the first place.

But being a bigot will only make it worse, not solve it

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Seems to me be kind until people do not agree with your point of view is the mantra,

'trans activists' who disagreed with her, and revealed some of the vile insults they had thrown at her for speaking her mind......................................................

0 ( +4 / -4 )

And from that, about 50% have commited or will commit suicide,

This isn't true. Suicide ideation is common pre-transition; post-transition is roughly 3%.

not a great "treatment" option in my opnion

Your opinion is ill-formed.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

I find certain aspects of this topic difficult to grasp (especially on a Friday evening) so many thanks to girl_in_tokyo, Sneezy and Jonorth for taking the time to elucidate.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

dbgt Today 05:59 pm JST

Trans are not the only peope that have ever been bullied..... what about gays, or racism? These populations dont show -now or ever- the high suicide rates of trans

Actually, the suicide rates for young gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are higher than average.

But I would like you to think about what you just did: with that statement, you set the point at which bullying becomes unacceptable at the point where someone wants to commit suicide. I think you should reconsider what it means to be kind: it doesn't mean simply not driving someone all the way to suicide.

Its a mental illness, and its not "alleviated" by "transitioning", as you cannot "transist" to another gender

Actually, it IS alleviated by transitioning. Again, I think you need to do some reading on this, because it seems your opinions are based on personal prejudices and faulty assumptions, not facts.

bass4funk Today 05:54 pm JST

No, they are not, if you exhume the bones in 200 years and you do a physical DNA analysis you’re going to get a man there’s nothing that will indicate that the man was a woman, maybe by the clothes that you might find on the corpse, but on the skeletal remains it will be what it was assigned at birth.

Gender cannot be determined by looking at bones. Gender is socio-psychological.

Michael Jackson believed he was white and that didn’t make him white, but if you believe that, I guess so, you can believe whatever you want.

FYI, Michael Jackson didn't think he was white. He had vitiligo, which results in white patches on the skin and sensitivity to sunlight, which is why he always wore sunglasses.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Jyst because you dont agree with the fact it doesnt change

You cannot change chromosomes the reality

Change your make up or change your dress you still have the same XX or XY

0 ( +6 / -6 )

This seems to be an acknowledgement that women need protecting from men, because apparently men pose a particular danger to women that other women do not. Interesting. I shall remember you said this the next time a discussion about women-only carriages come up, as well as any discussion pertaining to sexual harassment, rape, and #metoo.

But since transwomen are women, I feel the point you are trying to make about them being a danger to women is moot.

I am a man and am against sexual violence, the vast majority of which is man on woman. Most men feel exactly the same.

The specific trans issue I addressed was the difficulty in ensuring that women-only spaces protect women. Under the 2010 Equality Act in the UK (Rowling is British), "the law currently allows for the separate treatment, or exclusion, of trans people from single-sex spaces where it is deemed that providing the service to the trans person would be detrimental to providing the service to other users." If Rowling is arguing in favour of something which is currently UK law (and far more than simply a "point I am trying to make"), that hardly makes her exceptional, never mind hateful, bigoted, or whatever it is people are trying to label her. Trans would be wise to remember that calling people you disagree with names usually fails as a political strategy. Calling people bigots didn't stop them voting for Trump or Brexit.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour-leadership-race/2020/02/rebecca-long-bailey-clarifies-stance-women-only-spaces-and

0 ( +3 / -3 )

G_I_T. I appreciate your response style, I would like to emulate that when I have discussions with folks that argue against my beliefs on a topic.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The Avenger Today 11:40 am JST

It is inaccurate to say that Ms. Rowling's tweets "drew outrage". Her tweets "drew outrage among some transgender activists" would be more accurate.

Actually, ordinary people who are supporters and allies of transgender people and who would not refer to themselves as "activists" are also outraged. The outrage is pretty widespread.

Calling women and girls "people who menstruate" is deeply dehumanizing and negates women's experience.

First, using the word "people" is not inaccurate since we are all people.

I also do not see the logic being saying this phrase is "dehumanizing and negates women's experience." We are, after all, talking about people who have the experience of having a period at one time or another in their lives, and pointing out that not al of those people identify as women doesn't take anything away from those of us who do identify as women.

Women and girls are the ones who are impacted by menstruation physically, mentally and socially. Transgender men and non-binary ex-women do menstruate -- since they were born biological women. Denying the fact that women menstruate when 99 per cent of "people who menstruate" are women who identify as women is deeply misogynistic.

No one is denying that women menstruate. All we are doing is pointing out that not everyone who does menstruate identifies as a woman.

-1 ( +10 / -11 )

i@n Today 03:33 pm JST

You will find it very difficult indeed, because you reduce this very complex issue to just that.

If people don't believe that men who thinks they are women are women, then they are being cruel.

One of the biggest societal problems is the refusal to acknowledge that the pain of others is real.

Transpeople have long been denigrated, ridiculed, rejected, scorned, and discriminated against, and even murdered just for being who they are.

Wouldn't you say that it's about time that stopped?

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

She is.

Absolutely and utterly preposterous, calling out a man that dresses like a woman what it feels like a man does not make that person a man. That man will always anatomically be a man will you cut it off or not and whatever plastic surgery that person undergoes they are still going to be a man, liberals can sugarcoat it if they like, but it is what it is.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Absolutely and utterly preposterous, calling out a man that dresses like a woman what it feels like a man does not make that person a man. That man will always anatomically be a man will you cut it off or not and whatever plastic surgery that person undergoes they are still going to be a man, liberals can sugarcoat it if they like, but it is what it is.

Actually, trans women are women. Trans men are men. Those are the simple, scientific facts.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Why should i call an apple, an orange? Sorry, but gender dysphoria is a mental illness according to APA. Broken, unstable people.

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

I did a bit of research at the online Hogwort’s library and the spell is

‘ad femini homo transformas’

Problem solved!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

GW Today 12:26 pm JST

Sorry but those two organiations have been hijacked for a few decades now &many in those fields have many issues with the stuff they produce & what they have to say about things, especially when it comes to men & boys, they are right off their rockers & are a huge problem

It's not only those two particular organizations - it is all of them, around the world, and there has long been consensus on the issue. Again, I suggest you read up on this.

And I'm sorry, but you can't cherry pick quotes from those who disagree and present their disagreement as evidence that somehow overrules the consensus.

There are outliers in every field who have personal agendas and/or try to make a name for themselves so they can make money off the controversy. I'd put Jordan Peterson in that group. Most of his collegeues have abandond support for him, and he no longer has the respect of the scientific community.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Yiasy Today 03:31 pm JST

Remember the days when you could discuss material reality without some militant masquerading as an enlightened being policing your speech, and relabelling them as thought crimes? Those were the days, eh?

I think what you actually mean is, "Don't you remember when it was acceptable to be mock and be cruel to people who were different?" You seem to be reminiscing about and longing for the days when bigotry and discrminatioant against LBBTQIA people was tactility accepted.

Sorry, but those days are gone - if you express such sentiments now you can expect push back.

-2 ( +7 / -9 )

Shouldn't have started in the first place.

But being a bigot will only make it worse, not solve it

That's true. That's why JK should stop being a bigot.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Sorry, but gender dysphoria is a mental illness according to APA.

Yes, it is. And transitioning to your correct gender alleviates gender dysphoria. Because trans women are women, and trans men are men.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

No, they are not, if you exhume the bones in 200 years and you do a physical DNA analysis you’re going to get a man

Men with XX chromosomes is not uncommon: some estimate it to occur in as many as one in ten men. So this is wrong.

there’s nothing that will indicate that the man was a woman, maybe by the clothes that you might find on the corpse

You're right, things other than bones are used to determine gender. You're starting to get it!

but on the skeletal remains it will be what it was assigned at birth.

As above, this isn't always the case.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Trans are not the only peope that have ever been bullied..... what about gays, or racism? These populations dont show -now or ever- the high suicide rates of trans

I'm not sure that's true. Their rates of being murdered are likely similar at various points in history, however.

Its a mental illness, and its not "alleviated" by "transitioning", as you cannot "transist" to another gender

You can. Thousands have done it.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

So many having an issue with Rowling being criticized for a statement, when she is the one trying to tell people what to say or think.

Talking about "people who menstruate" is being inclusive, because the focus is on issues related to menstruating, not to gender. There is a difference between gender (social) and sex (biological). You can absolutely be of the female gender and not menstruate and vice versa. With this in mind, it actually wouldn't make sense to only speak of 'women'.

I am a women in sex and gender, no transperson has ever told me "how to be a woman." Transwomen are women, transmen are men.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Tokyo-m Today 11:19 am JST

Exactly. If you are born a woman, you're a woman. If you are born a man, you're a man. Of course being a woman and being a man takes many forms. If a man wears a dress, fair enough, he's a man in a dress. He's not a woman. Facts don't change according to your personal beliefs. I'd say more but most of my posts are getting deleted right now.

See my reply to Burning Bush.

And just so you know, calling a transgender person "a man in a dress" is very, very insulting. I would hope that you would chose in the future to be more kind.

-3 ( +9 / -12 )

And now that you know that, is up to you to decide whether to be kind or to be cruel.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

GIT

Ok.....if you insist, this is straight from the APA, read it & weep......if you are a male!

https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2019/boys-men-look

The APA etc have LONG been hijacked by radical feminists, below a couple quotes from the link above(folks take a read, its only a couple paragraphs & is scary stuff!!

Risks for Males

From a young age, males are often taught that showing emotion is a sign of weakness. “Boys don’t cry” is a common refrain. But according to research, the rigid suppression of emotions is linked to increased negative risk-taking and inappropriate aggression among men and boys, factors that can put some males at greater risk for psychological and physical health problems. The guidelines acknowledge that men are not biologically hardwired for displaying violence or aggression, but note that compared to women, men have higher rates of violence and substance use, and are more likely to die by homicide or suicide.

Embracing Masculinity

Psychologists who treat men and boys already know that their male clients aren’t stereotypes. They have feelings, needs and desires. They’re adaptable. They possess many positive masculine characteristics. The guidelines are designed to give psychologists a framework to help men and boys embrace their masculinity in ways that are helpful, rather than harmful, to their health and quality of life.

There you have, masculinity is harmful...…..sorry its NOT! Not by a long shot. Groups like APA & their ilk are hell bent on ruining the modern family & its structure etc & are well on their way to doing so, BUT this has nothing to do with masculinity, its something else that is wrecking the family & society, but as usual they do everything possible to pin it all on men if they can......

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

kohakuebisu Today 03:27 pm JST

If you care about this, I would recommend taking five minutes to read what Rowling says.

https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

FYI, I read every single word of her blog post. I read it slowly and carefully, and considered every word she said.

It should be obvious, but you can only create women-only spaces, be they sports, changing rooms, train carriages, etc. without a line saying what a woman is. Since some women-only spaces are there to protect women from men, it should not be surprising if people's emphasis is for the line to protect women, not for the line to be inclusive.

This seems to be an acknowledgement that women need protecting from men, because apparently men pose a particular danger to women that other women do not. Interesting. I shall remember you said this the next time a discussion about women-only carriages come up, as well as any discussion pertaining to sexual harassment, rape, and #metoo.

But since transwomen are women, I feel the point you are trying to make about them being a danger to women is moot.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

You cannot change chromosomes

Chromosomes have nothing to do with gender.

-3 ( +7 / -10 )

@girl_in_tokyo, Sneezy, Jonorth,

All great posts! Keep up the good work.

I can’t believe someone actually tried to pass off Jordan Peterson as an “expert” on these matters.

Jordan Peterson’s YouTube videos with misogynist/racist/cult leader Stephan Molyneux speak volumes.....

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Bjorn TomentionToday 08:00 pm JST

Jyst because you dont agree with the fact it doesnt change

I agree.

You cannot change chromosomes the reality

I agree with this as well.

Change your make up or change your dress you still have the same XX or XY

Well, technically that's a simplification, and there are more combinations than XX or XY, but essentially, yes, that's right.

You seem to have a good grasp on what determines sex. Next you just need to understand the difference between sex and gender. I suggest you do some more reading on that. I can suggest several authors - if you would like me to, just let me know.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

talaraedokko Today 09:18 am JST

If the militants don't get you the censors will. If not them the PC police will. In whichever way, our freedoms have been eroded not only by bad government but by our narrow minded society. Everyone has something they're thin skinned about. We've become a very weak race, for sure, and as such want to be a dominating power. Ha!

Rowling was free to say those bigoted things, so obviously there was no censorship involved.

Being critisized for saying something bigoted is not akin to censorship. If freedom of speech is protected, it means everyone gets the same freedom, which includes the freedom to criticize the free speech of others.

-4 ( +13 / -17 )

I don't believe you can change your gender any more than you can change your race. Why do you think you can change one but not the other?

Well race is a series of physical descriptors. Masculinity and femininity are feelings. That’s why they differentiate between sex (a physical descriptor) and gender (how one feels in regards to their own masculinity and/or femininity).

-4 ( +8 / -12 )

Tokyo-mToday 10:38 am JST

How about race? Is it "nothing short of cruelty to refer to them as anything other than the" race "they are"? If not, why not?

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Perhaps you could explain?

I don't believe you can change your gender any more than you can change your race. Why do you think you can change one but not the other?

It's not important whether you personally believe it or not. Facts don't change due to your personal beliefs. And what I said earlier about the choice between being kind and being cruel applies - even if you personally don't want to acknowledge all the research that has gone into transgenderism, you can still chose to be kind to transgender people.

-4 ( +8 / -12 )

girl_in_tokyo once again the only poster on this website worth reading (aside from Toasted Heretic)

-4 ( +9 / -13 )

Tokyo-m Today 03:09 pm JST

Because when I "acknowledge" that a fella is a woman (despite science and common-sense), it denies women their actual experience of being a woman. Don't you see the unkindness to women in that? And visa-versa.

I have heard this talking point thrown around by a number of people, but I have yet to hear an explanation of how this is the case. There is never any reasoning behind it; it's just thrown out as if that is all that needs to be said.

But as a cisgender woman, acknowledging the gender identity of my transgender friends hasn't taken anything away from me.

In fact, speaking with my transgender friends about their transition experiences is rather cathartic. See, when someone transitions they actually get to experience the difference between how the world sees and treats women, and how the world sees and treats men. Transwomen report that after transitioning, they begin to experience sexism.

To have the existence of sexism not just acknowledged, but actually demonstrated in a way that is undeniable is very, very satisfying.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

bass4funk Today 06:27 pm JST

But it doesn’t anatomically change what you are born as, but having said that, there are cases where you do have a biological mixup, that’s tragic and there are exceptions to that rule, but on average or your everyday Tran can’t just go on a feeling.

What is so tragic about it? It's only tragic when people like you call it that, which in itself is an insult. People can live perfectly normal, perfectly healthy, perfectly happy lives when they are intersex. The problem only comes when people like you try to tell them that their life is tragic, and then talk about how sorry you are for them, or other such nonsense.

And yes, transpeople do "go on feelings" - as cisgender people when they say they "feel" a certain way - gender is all in your head, and has nothing whatsover to do with chromosomes.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Bjorn Tomention Today 11:42 am JST

Seems contradictory - they are what they say they are ! Hmm . Facts don't change due to your personal beliefs.

When I said "facts don't change due to your personal beliefs" I was referring to the fact that the existence of transgenderism is accepted by all major medical, biological, and psychological associations in the world.

Just because someone someone personally finds the idea of transgenderism distasteful isn't important, because transgenderism does in fact exist.

If freedom of speech is protected, it means everyone gets the same freedom, which includes the freedom to criticize the free speech of others.

I'm going to say.

Therefore the confused people making very contradictory statements seem confused very much.

This statement in itself is rather confusing. Maybe you could clarify?

-5 ( +9 / -14 )

CORRECTION

I don't understand 'trans' and I never will, they only make up

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Does it? Last i saw, trans people have one of the highest suicide rate

Yes, because they keep being abused by people who say things like "you're just a man in a dress", or "you're just a lost lesbian", or "you're just confused".

In short, by bigots. Like JK.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

A gait analysis camera can confirm your biological sex with 100% accuracy because the pelvis shape of men and women is fundamentally different.

A trans man in a wheelchair: the arch nemesis of the small-minded.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

I also repeat what I said in the previous topic: JK "Just Kidding" Rowling is bad.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Eddie Redmayne are good.

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

Burning Bush Today 09:41 am JST

Men who claim to be women are telling women what it means to be a woman.

Feminists must be spinning in their graves trying to get their head around this.

Hello. As you may have gathered, I'm a feminist. I also happen to be a member of the LGBTQIA community, and have many transgender friends. None of the transgender people I know, and none of the transgender people whose articles and books I've read, have ever tried to tell me, a woman, what it means to be a woman. This is not a thing that actually happens. And just so you know, transpeople can be feminists, too.

-7 ( +13 / -20 )

@n Today 12:27 pm JST

People aren't saying what they are saying out of cruelty.

You're utterly confused or being deliberately manipulative.

I'm sorry. I didn't realize you didn't know this, as I thought it was common knoweldge that transgender people are hurt by misgendering. This is especially true when the misgendering is done on purpose, since it is pretty insulting to say to a person that you don't believe they are the gender they say they are, or don't respect how they identify.

I should clairify my original statement - you can chose to be kind to transgender people by acknowledging their gender identity; or you can chose to be cruel by misgendering them.

And now that you know that, is up to you to decide whether to be kind or to be cruel.

-7 ( +7 / -14 )

i@nToday 01:01 pm JST

Lol telling people what they want to hear is not kindness.

You're actually the one being cruel by confusing the already confused people.

Transpeople are not confused.

Acknowledging someone's gender identity and treating them in the same way you would treat anyone else of that gender is the kind thing to do.

I find it very difficult to understand why someone would chose to be cruel over being kind, but here we are.

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

@girl_in_tokyo,

An honest opinion can be both wrong and hateful. 

Referring to gender as "biological sex" is factually wrong. 

Purposefully misgendering someone is hate speech. 

The fact is that transgender people exist, and it is nothing short of cruelty to refer to them as anything other than the gender they say they are.

Great posts. Agree 100%.

-9 ( +10 / -19 )

Burning Bush Today 11:39 am JST

Thank you!

Believing that you're a woman does not change the scientific fact that you were born with XY chromosomes and that you are a man.

Biology and psychology are actually much more complicated and nuanced than that. I suggest you do some reading on the subject.

As an example, there is much more to determining sex than XY and XX, and gender and sex are two different things - one is a biological concept, and the other a social-psychological concept. This is well agreed upon by the AMA, the APA and other professional organizations of researchers and scientists.

And if I may reiterate the most important point: You have the choice every single day of your life to be kind or to be cruel. I would hope that you would chose to be kind.

-9 ( +10 / -19 )

Burning Bush Today 12:17 pm JST

Thanks.

So tell us, what word can we use to when referring to humans of the female sex.

My teacher told me to use "woman", should I be using a different word?

If the person identifies as a female/woman, you may call them that and use the pronouns "she" or "her".

If the persion identifiies as a male/man, you may call them that and use the pronouns "he" or "him".

If the person identifies as aegender, non-binary, or something else, you should ask them what pronouns to use and what you should refer to them as. They will be more than happy to let you know.

You're quite welcome. :)

-9 ( +7 / -16 )

Yet another case of cannibalism of their own people among the so called regresive leftitst, which JK Rowling is one of.

-11 ( +12 / -23 )

What needs to be pointed out the most is this: people have the choice every single day to add either kindness to the world, or cruelty to the world.

And I ask you this: does the world really need more cruelty?

-11 ( +10 / -21 )

Mr Kipling Today 07:25 am JST

Good for her! Keep speaking the truth JK.

There is a world of difference between abusive hate speech and an honest opinion on facts. I know the trans issue is controversial but for some of us its a little like Galileo being told the sun revolves around the earth.

An honest opinion can be both wrong and hateful.

Referring to gender as "biological sex" is factually wrong.

Purposefully misgendering someone is hate speech.

The fact is that transgender people exist, and it is nothing short of cruelty to refer to them as anything other than the gender they say they are.

-13 ( +10 / -23 )

As someone who has occasionally doubled down on saying something stupid, I have to take my hat off to JK; she makes me look intelligent by comparison.

2 things can be equally true. You can be anatomically binary AND identify differently from your gender. It took me a while to wrap my head around this, so maybe there’s hope for JK.

Nobody is denying her experiences as a woman. She should stop denying the experiences of trans women. She’s just being hurtful. Clueless to boot.

-15 ( +9 / -24 )

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