Yes, exactly. Some police forces are already recording crimes by self-reported gender of the suspect. If no one collects the data we can’t prove anything either way.
Or take another example. Between 1 and 1.5% of women identify as lesbian and .6% as bisexual. But for transwomen, it’s 29% lesbian and 31% bisexual. With .6% or more of the population identifying as trans, that’s close enough to make a difference to stats like income and chance of being divorced which are likely to differ between those populations.
Hi, yes I have read the essay. No I don’t agree with her. But don’t think I’m against free speech, I am a freelance journalist who defends that right. What I oppose is people who claim that free speech allows them to attack others and spread misinformation. Especially when they should (as JK claims she has) have researched the subject.
If I’m honest I would love there to be transgender only spaces, because let’s face facts here it isn’t just cis men who are threatening transgender people but also cis women. But who would fund that? If they did wouldn’t that just be seen as pandering to trans people who they say are just men in dresses?
Can I also point out the fact that she clearly states that her worries stem from the rise in female to male transitioning whilst attacking male to female. She clearly demonstrates a belief that ftm is girls escaping from oppression by men and mtf are all perverts and sex offenders. Firstly yes 90% of de-transitioning is ftm. (highly distressing to trans communities too) secondly 2 examples of trans on cis sexual assaults both within the prison system, what about cis on trans assaults within male prisons or cis on cis assaults in women’s prison? How many trans on cis assaults in the world (not within prison) compared to cis on trans?
Look basically all I’m saying is if JK Rowling wants to comment then do it by presenting the facts, detail your findings and identify the source. And if someone gets aggressive report them just like all the transgender people told to just shoot themselves in the head, or go kill themselves before burning in hell, etc. If she did we could debate the issues and inaccurate facts she presents, like her claim that all female victims of sexual assault fear transgender women, I suggest you might want to Google that fact (I suggest that you try Kelly Lawrence). I can supply plenty of people who comment against her post from all sections of gender/sexual persuasion, she only quotes thousands of people who have texted and emailed her voicing concerns but afraid of reprisals (how convenient for her) unlike those who are called names and threatened by anti-trans radicals and aren’t afraid to speak out. The worst thing she said in her essay was the so called testimonial from a psychiatric expert who claimed that preventing teenagers from transitioning did not lead to suicidal tendencies, when it’s been proven beyond doubt that transgender people of all ages a
are one of the most at risk groups for suicide. Almost all transgender people have anxiety and depression due to Dysphoria, abuse, lack of treatment and long tedious waits for what treatment is out there (without support). Let’s remember that we have to live in our self identified gender for 3 years before accessing a diagnosis allowing treatment (unless like most who de-transition and go private) or risk self prescribing hormones. So if the law does change on trans use of toilets, removing the rights we have today. Any man can walk into a women’s safe space claiming to be a transgender man, hell so much easier than having to dress as a woman! No anti-transgender post or comment supporting the removal of trans women from female only spaces ever talks about this fact (remember JK quoted a 4400% increase in female to male transitioning)
Make that switch, and in five to ten years, you will be pressured to change the meaning of “female” to include transwomen (or to not use that word.) The distinction between male and female is already being pressured to being done away with, as in the case of Vancouver Rape Relief. “Sex isn’t really a thing” is already creeping in to the discussion (in general, not in this thread yet.)
I say we should hope that sex will not be “really a thing”. In the sense that people will (e.g.) not be paid less or not hired because of their sex or perceived nonconformance thereto.
ETA There are women who absolutely hate being lumped into categories or lists of “highly successful women”, much less participate in such programs, because of the ineluctable implication that their gender is somehow remarkable and the long background of sexism implicit in making such a distinction.
I’m very late to this discussion, but read the JK Rowling essay a few weeks ago and have enjoyed reading the posts in this thread. It’s refreshing to find intelligent people having an actual conversation without resorting to horrible attacks and at least trying to remain civil and understand one another.
I have to agree with YWTF on this point. And I know it’s been made and debated many times in this thread, but I want to introduce a different angle: The biological criteria consistent with how we define other sexually reproducing animals is one way in which we define adult females as women. An adult male (biologically speaking) who is transitioning to an adult female is a trans-women. Why do I say such an incendiary thing? In other words, why am I insisting that objective biological reality prevail over subjective gender identity?
Just ask the trans-woman. If the objective physical attributes of an adult female are not what really defines a woman, (and not only one’s subjectively experienced gender identity) - then why do adult males want or need so badly to transition into adult females? Clearly, trans-women regard the objective, biological female body as a true mark of womanhood - otherwise they would not be so insistent on having one of their own. They would just be content with their gender identity, assured and complete in it. One can only conclude that trans-women themselves regard the objective physical biology of a woman as more real than their experienced gender identity. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t be important to physically change. But it is. Very important. Trans-women wish to transition from a mere gender-identity into a real woman. So they’re right. Women are women.
…conflating random people on twitter with trans activists is a pretty despicable, disingenuous tactic, and I would put it to you that the “story in screenshots” isn’t telling you the full story at all.
Did she sign up to something she didn’t really believe in, or is she worried about exactly the sort of shaming the letter condemns? Her apology rather suggests the latter.
I would say she should have read the letter before signing it, then. If you change your principles when someone you dislike espouses them, they aren’t really principles.
PS. It’s the twitter mob that has been getting people fired, not charities and professional campaigners.
She hasn’t changed her principals, and you aren’t really in the position to judge her based on the contents of a single tweet.
Nonsense. There is a reason why the Harpers letter was intentionally vague. If somebody got fired then there was probably a good reason for it. There are more important free speech concerns at the moment than “cancel culture.” Police are rioting, beating the shit out of protestors but cancel culture is the real threat to free speech? Give me a break.
Employers fire people to avoid bad publicity, whether or not it is warranted. I’m sure you could come up with plenty of examples yourself if you wanted to.
And those women are perfectly free to not apply and/or not participate in such programs.
I benefited from a scholarship for women students back in my college days. I accepted that award every quarter it was offered to me because I would have been a damn fool not to. Maybe one day that scholarship will disappear. However, if it does, I won’t take it as a sign that sexism or gender disparities in STEM no longer exist. In the absence of parity, I will just take it as a sign that my alma mater has stopped caring about those things. This might a victory for the “gender is not a big deal!” set, but it won’t actually mean that gender isn’t a big deal.
I’m curious if you think one day being a transwomen will stop celebrating themselves and their identity. Will transwomen give up their special programs and awards ceremonies and organizations? Will you take it as a sign of progress if transwomen ever stop affirming and supporting themselves, or will it be concerning to you, the same way it might concern you when a family no longer celebrates holidays together? Perhaps you think only ciswomen should be indifferent about their political identity and not take pride in how far they’ve come as a political identity. If that’s your position, you probably have a lot of company. But I don’t think most people with that view are feminists or progressives.
