# J K Rowling and the trans furore **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795 "2020-06-16T18:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/41 "2020-06-16T22:55:57Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > How about “women”? > Or if we are in a context where more precision is required: “cis-women”? > “Menstruators” is a studied insult in any context. You should read their most recent post, the one right above yours. And I’ll take this chance to facepalm myself - it _was_ a right-wing bigot who came up with the idea of “menstruator” as a pejorative! ETA: Heh, simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/42 "2020-06-16T22:57:57Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > How about “women”? > Or if we are in a context where more precision is required: “cis-women”? > “Menstruators” is a studied insult in any context. or more accurately “cis women between ~13 and ~50?, as well as trans men without bottom surgery in the same age range.” I’m not 100% sure menstruators is the best term, but I would imagine pads and tampon companies would like a term shorter than a paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/43 "2020-06-16T23:01:28Z")
Double post ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/44 "2020-06-16T23:04:00Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > You don’t think it’s a big deal if teenagers are given irreversible hormone treatment and surgery to remove parts of their bodies due to a faulty diagnosis? Wait, I was under the impression that gender reassignment surgery is not typically something being done on children. And I don’t know what you mean by “irreversible” hormone treatment. People go on and off hormones all the time. But to answer your question, I don’t think it is a big _societal_ problem, no. I don’t think we’re in for an epidemic of teenage boys wanting to chop off their penises. I do think that if we made it easier for gender dysphoric kids to settle on an identity that works for them without a lot of parental pushback and freaking out, then it becomes less of an issue when some of those kids realize they aren’t dysphoric anymore (or if they realize that their dysphoria is one acquired from life experiences rather than a congenital condition). That said, I’m not a parent. Perhaps if I had a child, I would probably care more. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/45 "2020-06-16T23:04:49Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > There have been several [cases](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/seven-sex-attacks-in-womens-jails-by-transgender-convicts-cx9m8zqpg) in the UK of transwomen moved into women’s prisons who went on the sexually assault other inmates. Most of the other sexual assaults were committed by (male) prison staff. > > We’re not talking about what normal men will do. Don’t you think the kind of men who take upskirt photos would love an effectively unisex bathroom where they can stick their phone under the cubical wall to video women? And the kind who flashes women in parks will ‘forget’ to close the door… Like I said, a full 30% of males. So, when was the last time something the conservative right feared _actually_ a widespread threat? WWII? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/46 "2020-06-16T23:11:04Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Like I said, a full 30% of males. > So, when was the last time something the conservative right feared _actually_ a widespread threat? WWII? So rape isn’t a problem unless a full 30% of males are committing it? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/47 "2020-06-16T23:16:50Z")
Sticking your phone under a stall wall sounds to me like a way to end up with a smashed phone. But yes, it’s possible to do that. It’s possible to do that even if there’s no one in the room but women. What stops it now? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/48 "2020-06-16T23:26:08Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > We’re not talking about what normal men will do. Don’t you think the kind of men who take upskirt photos would love an effectively unisex bathroom where they can stick their phone under the cubical wall to video women? And the kind who flashes women in parks will ‘forget’ to close the door… It’s my understanding that those kinds of activities are illegal _regardless_ of the perpetrator’s gender identity. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/49 "2020-06-16T23:31:48Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I do think that if we made it easier for gender dysphoric kids to settle on an identity that works for them without a lot of parental pushback and freaking out, then it becomes less of an issue when some of those kids realize they aren’t dysphoric anymore (or if they realize that their dysphoria is one acquired from life experiences rather than a congenital condition). Hear-fucking-hear. As I’ve always said, a crucial component of dealing with **both** real/permanent **and** imagined/temporary transgender identification among adolescents is just to _ **stop making such a big goddamned deal about gender identity and gender conformity in the first place** _. If we keep telling kids that there’s only one right way to be a boy or girl, and that if they like stuff stereotypically associated with the other gender then they must be doing gender “wrong”, then naturally that’s going to create a huge buildup of child/adolescent anxiety about the perceived need to “fix” their gender. Maybe in the future, if people manage to stop freaking out about the whole notion of transgender/genderqueer/nonbinary/etc. identity, we’ll have gender identity following some of the same social patterns that sexual orientation does these days. Perhaps a temporary exploration of transgender identity among some adolescents will become a recognized phenomenon, like the “lesbian until graduation” effect. As long as we don’t all have panicky meltdowns about it, and don’t rush into approving any serious surgery for minors whose transgender identity is not what the docs call “insistent, consistent and persistent”, what the hell difference does it make who identifies as a girl or a boy or neither? Throwing an irrational conniption fit about gender issues is a surefire way to get many attention-seeking teens declaring themselves transgender just for the drama. And sorry, but JK Rowling explaining to the world at large how a particular piece of transgender-rights legislation scares her because she was sexually assaulted and abused several decades ago by her first husband (who AFAIK was an entirely “normal” cisgender heterosexual man with no connections to the transgender-rights movement whatsoever) counts as throwing an irrational conniption fit. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/50 "2020-06-16T23:36:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does it even matter? If someone tells me that they prefer to be referred to as “she”, is there any reason why I shouldn’t? You might not mind, but to many other people, they see this whole trans issue as a charade which they are tired of putting up with. Imagine if one of your coworkers says, “From now on, I identify as a giraffe, and you must refer to me as Mister Giraffe at all times.” You might humor him once or twice, but after a while, tire of it, or start to feel serious cognitive dissonance, and say, “OK, enough is enough. I’m done with this.” ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/51 "2020-06-16T23:46:24Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > There have been several [cases](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/seven-sex-attacks-in-womens-jails-by-transgender-convicts-cx9m8zqpg) in the UK of transwomen moved into women’s prisons who went on the sexually assault other inmates. …I’m skeptical of how this has been framed by the Times. [The transphobia at the Times is pretty obvious to me](https://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/editor-times-denied-newspaper-transphobic) and the transphobia in general in British media, even from the left-leaning media such as the [Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/02/guardian-editorial-response-transgender-rights-uk) is so wide-spread that [the New York Times posted an article on it.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/opinion/britain-transphobia-labour-party.html) The Times article you cited is paywalled. But the gist of it can be found here on the [Daily Fail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8303753/Transgender-inmates-carried-seven-sex-attacks-women-jail.html). That article states: > [@](#): > > The MoJ said: ‘Since 2010, out of the 124 sexual assaults that occurred in the female estate a total of seven of those were sexual assaults against females in custody perpetrated by transgender individuals.’ Lets look at the information that the Daily Fail chose to omit. From the BBC: > [@The BBC](#): > > Ms Frazer said the total included those who were born female but identified as men, non-binary or intersex, as well as people who were male by birth and now identified as female. > **[Eleven transgender inmates sexually assaulted in male prisons last year](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52748117)** > > The Ministry of Justice figures cover inmates who are legally male but self-identify as female. So this isn’t as clear-cut as you make it out to be. The scandal here is that since 2010 there have been 124 sexual assaults. Not that some of those assaults were done by a person who may have identified as non-binary. Your priorities are all out of whack. This is what should be alarming you. > [@BBC](#): > > Eleven transgender prisoners were sexually assaulted in jails in England and Wales last year, it has emerged. > > The figures, from the Ministry of Justice, cover inmates who were born and remained legally male but self-identified as female. > > **The total number of transgender victims far exceeds the number who were suspected of carrying out sex attacks, with only one such case in 2019.** > **[Eleven transgender inmates sexually assaulted in male prisons last year](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52748117)** > > The Ministry of Justice figures cover inmates who are legally male but self-identify as female. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/52 "2020-06-16T23:50:49Z")
I am not incensed by what she wrote. I find she makes some valid points. I am aware that she’s a professional writer, and being cautious accordingly. The people I know who’ve transitioned did so in a lengthy process, with plenty of occasions to change their minds. That seems reasonable to me. > [@Kimstu](#): > > - it’s somehow disparaging to cisgender women to refer to people who menstruate as “people who menstruate” or “menstruators” rather than “women”; 😕 Uh, yes, of course, it’s possible for an individual cis woman to be offended by this term; I can imagine a sizeable proportion of them are. Even if it’s technically correct. In some corners of the gay and lesbian community, the term for straights is “[breeder](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Breeder)”. It’s technically correct, but I’m sure many straight people would find it offensive. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/53 "2020-06-16T23:50:51Z")
@Kimstu I really think most of the views you are expressing are shared by Rowling. She is also expressing fear of losing her “single sex spaces”. That might be a tad irrational. I think she is catching way too much flak for that. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/54 "2020-06-16T23:54:49Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You might not mind, but to many other people, they see this whole trans issue as a charade which they are tired of putting up with. > > Imagine if one of your coworkers says, “From now on, I identify as a giraffe, and you must refer to me as Mister Giraffe at all times.” You might humor him once or twice, but after a while, tire of it, or start to feel serious cognitive dissonance, and say, “OK, enough is enough. I’m done with this.” I would question the giraffe on what it (and I would indeed be sure to refer to it as an “it,” as non-human animals tend not to care) is doing in an office acting like a human. And then I’d go from there. If it does indeed prefer to identify as a giraffe, then okay, go find a zoo to hang out in, but don’t sit there at that computer typing and expect me to believe you really, deep down, identify as a giraffe and take it on good faith. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/55 "2020-06-16T23:58:32Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > One thing that makes me reluctant to weigh in on this most recent kerfuffle is I don’t really know if Rowling is reacting to a fringe radical minority or the trans movement in general. Her essay doesn’t make this clear to me. > > Like, I also do not want “woman” to substituted with “menstruators” or “people with vulvas”. But I don’t know if these terms are being pushed in any serious way. If it’s only fringy folks calling for the use of these terms, then Rowling needs to chillax and not give their position any more gravitas than it deserves. I’m just not deep enough in the discourse to know if she’s overreacting or not. > > I appreciate that she’s concerned that teenagers are being encouraged to transition before they are certain they are truly trans. That’s not a particular worry of mine, but I can appreciate that concern. Seems to me that such “oopsies” don’t HAVE to be a big deal. We choose to make them a big deal. Maybe that’s what we should address rather than the “oopsies”. > > I admit to feeling frustrated over how much the discourse seems to be all over the place. It seems like one day we were all learning about how gender is a social construct. I was totally down for this message because it makes sense to me. But today the message seems to be gender is whatever an individual says it is, damn the societal millieu and the biology. And if you don’t agree with this idea, it’s not that you’re just a person who disagrees with idea. No, you’ve got to be a TERF. You think the term “woman” should mean something besides “a person who claims to feel like a woman”? TERF!!! I admit I’m not the most enlightened person on every single social issue, but I don’t think it is bigoted to want one’s identity–the one they’ve had for over 50 years–to be turned into a subjective, undefinable feeling that anyone can claim to possess for whatever reason they want, whenever they want. Rowling may be overly worried about the abuses that will result if we move to an “open door” approach to gender identity, but I don’t think that makes her hateful. > > I have a feeling if Rowling and I sat down and had a talk, we would have some areas of disagreement. But I’m not “canceling” her, whatever that means. That sort of reasonable post might get you fired or cancelled yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/56 "2020-06-17T00:02:21Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You might not mind, but to many other people, they see this whole trans issue as a charade which they are tired of putting up with. Well, that applies to a lot of other forms of bigotry as well. Many people who believe that heterosexuality is the only natural and normal human condition see the whole gay-rights issue as a “charade which they are tired of putting up with”. Many people who are convinced that they worship the one true god and all other religions are evil idolatry see the whole religious-freedom issue as a “charade which they are tired of putting up with”. If somebody’s trying to tell somebody else that they shouldn’t have the right to express their own beliefs and identity in a way that isn’t harming anybody, they need to have a way better justification for that authoritarian claim than merely their own kneejerk inclination to regard the other person’s beliefs/identity as a “charade”. [QUOTE=Velocity] Imagine if one of your coworkers says, “From now on, I identify as a giraffe, and you must refer to me as Mister Giraffe at all times.” [/QUOTE] The profound stupidity of treating transgender identity in human beings as somehow equivalent to _ **considering oneself a member of an entirely different biological species** _ is a measure of just how thoroughly ignorant transphobia has become entrenched in our cultural discourse. (And misogyny as well, given that so many men would literally feel less threatened or alienated being identified as a member of a non-human species than as a human female.) This should not need pointing out among educated people in the 21st century, but here goes anyway: _ **Biologically, males and females of the species Homo sapiens are very much alike, and for about the first two months of fetal development they are anatomically indistinguishable** _. All it takes to turn the physiology of a developing fetus from female to male or vice versa is a relatively minor adjustment of the hormones they receive in utero. Even in fully developed adulthood, sex hormones or other hormone disruptors can massively change the secondary-sex characteristics of the human body. This is why there are, relatively speaking, so many varieties of intersex humans, and why medical science in general accepts transgender identity as a scientifically plausible phenomenon: there can be a lot of overlap and cross-contamination between male and female patterns of development among humans, so having some statistically “abnormal” combination of biologically male and female characteristics is really not all that unusual or surprising. Compare that reality to the _ **absolute physical impossibility of a human having biological characteristics of a vastly different non-human species such as a giraffe.** _ And you’ll realize why transgender identity is currently regarded as a scientifically plausible reality of human experience while “identifying as a giraffe” is considered a delusion. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/57 "2020-06-17T00:04:45Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > Uh, yes, of course, it’s possible for an individual cis woman to be offended by this term; I can imagine a sizeable proportion of them are. Even if it’s technically correct. > > In some corners of the gay and lesbian community, the term for straights is “[breeder](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Breeder)”. It’s technically correct, but I’m sure many straight people would find it offensive. Read post #37, and loosen your grip on those pearls. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/58 "2020-06-17T00:05:24Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > _ **Biologically, males and females of the species Homo sapiens are very much alike, and for about the first two months of fetal development they are anatomically indistinguishable** _. Yes but we’re not at two months anymore. You know who else is biologically similar? People of all races - indeed, a black man and white man are more physically similar than a white man and white woman. And yet we wouldn’t accept people going around claiming they are a different race than they really are, as Rachel Dolezal found out. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/59 "2020-06-17T00:06:39Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > One thing that makes me reluctant to weigh in on this most recent kerfuffle is I don’t really know if Rowling is reacting to a fringe radical minority or the trans movement in general. Her essay doesn’t make this clear to me. > > Like, I also do not want “woman” to substituted with “menstruators” or “people with vulvas”. But I don’t know if these terms are being pushed in any serious way. If it’s only fringy folks calling for the use of these terms, then Rowling needs to chillax and not give their position any more gravitas than it deserves. I’m just not deep enough in the discourse to know if she’s overreacting or not. > > I appreciate that she’s concerned that teenagers are being encouraged to transition before they are certain they are truly trans. That’s not a particular worry of mine, but I can appreciate that concern. Seems to me that such “oopsies” don’t HAVE to be a big deal. We choose to make them a big deal. Maybe that’s what we should address rather than the “oopsies”. > > I admit to feeling frustrated over how much the discourse seems to be all over the place. It seems like one day we were all learning about how gender is a social construct. I was totally down for this message because it makes sense to me. But today the message seems to be gender is whatever an individual says it is, damn the societal millieu and the biology. And if you don’t agree with this idea, it’s not that you’re just a person who disagrees with idea. No, you’ve got to be a TERF. You think the term “woman” should mean something besides “a person who claims to feel like a woman”? TERF!!! I admit I’m not the most enlightened person on every single social issue, but I don’t think it is bigoted to want one’s identity–the one they’ve had for over 50 years–to be turned into a subjective, undefinable feeling that anyone can claim to possess for whatever reason they want, whenever they want. Rowling may be overly worried about the abuses that will result if we move to an “open door” approach to gender identity, but I don’t think that makes her hateful. > > I have a feeling if Rowling and I sat down and had a talk, we would have some areas of disagreement. But I’m not “canceling” her, whatever that means. That sort of reasonable post might get you fired or cancelled yourself. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795/60 "2020-06-17T00:18:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You might not mind, but to many other people, they see this whole trans issue as a charade which they are tired of putting up with. > > Imagine if one of your coworkers says, “From now on, I identify as a giraffe, and you must refer to me as Mister Giraffe at all times.” You might humor him once or twice, but after a while, tire of it, or start to feel serious cognitive dissonance, and say, “OK, enough is enough. I’m done with this.” I don’t have a problem with pronouns, and I suspect that Rowling doesn’t either (at least not THAT much). If someone wanted me to refer to them as a giraffe, it would strike me silly at first, but I’d probably get used to it. Because giving them the “giraffe treatment” would only require me to call them “Mister Giraffe”. I wouldn’t have to change how I see them. I think many gender critical folks have a problem with the increasingly prevailing view that it isn’t enough to have enlightened pronoun usage or allow people to dress however they like. We are being told to revamp our entire concept of gender so that self-proclaimed idiosyncratic feelings take primacy over biology and socialization. Of course when you revamp anything that is as deeply entrenched as gender is, we can expect a full range of foreseeable and unforeseeable consequences. And given the history of women and men in terms of power relations, it isn’t that crazy to see how many of the negative consequences could disproportionately impact women. I think a lot of the pushback comes from irrational fear and hatred. I just don’t think ALL of it is irrational hatred. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-k-rowling-and-the-trans-furore/855795.md?page=4)