It was no April Fool’s joke.

Harry Potter author-turned culture warrior J.K. Rowling kicked off the month with an 11-tweet social media thread in which she argued 10 transgender women were men — and dared Scottish police to arrest her.

Rowling’s intervention came as a controversial new Scottish government law, aimed at protecting minority groups from hate crimes, took effect. And it landed amid a fierce debate over both the legal status of transgender people in Scotland and over what actually constitutes a hate crime.

Already the law has generated far more international buzz than is normal for legislation passed by a small nation’s devolved parliament.

  • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    101
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    I still can’t believe Rowling ended up in the same sentence as these fucks. What the shit happened yo. Remember how happy people were when she made Dumbledore gay?

    BITCH THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT HATED YOU WERE RELIGIOUS NUTJOBS

    • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      79
      ·
      3 months ago

      Remember how happy people were when she made Dumbledore gay?

      No? Most people I know thought it was cheap to just say he was gay long after the books were released and not having any part of the story. Right there with implying that Hermione could be black in the books.

      • Moneo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        43
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        3 months ago

        Honestly I respect the Hermione comment. Obviously Hermione was written as white, like duh. She was expressing her support for a black-casted hermione because her race is unimportant. It was just a cheeky way of supporting the casting choice amid the backlash from racist fans.

        The Dumbledore being gay thing is… idk. I think it makes sense that he can be gay but JK should have been explicit and not canonized his queerness after the fact for clout.

        Obligatory fuck JK for being a TERF.

        • PotatoKat@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          I remember watching a video where she talked about how in the first movie Dumbledore was supposed to passingly mention a former love, but rowling told them to cut the line because Dumbledore was gay. He might not have been explicitly gay (which imo he should have been) but at the very least I believe he was gay in her mind while writing the books.

    • Plopp@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      31
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      3 months ago

      What happened was she was severely mistreated by men growing up and she’s now so scared of men that it completely clouds her judgment. To her, women are vulnerable and all men are predators that can never ever be trusted. It’s been there all along, it just wasn’t visible until she made some comments on trans women (that she’s terrified of, because “men”). And then people went nuts, and she tried to explain herself, and people didn’t care about her explanation and instead of going “hey that sucks, let us help you overcome that trauma and become a better person” they went to war which made her defensive and double down instead of changing her mind, as always happens, and it’s only been getting worse ever since.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        3 months ago

        What happened is she is from TERF Island and plenty of people there hold the same exact bullshit viewpoint. Many of which are males.

      • melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        13
        ·
        3 months ago

        Its that she hates women, or thinks women are inferior to men. You see this with all terfs.

        So she invented some magical bullshit about why she was a full person.

        But the magical bullshit is magic; doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Which trans people inherently bring/are.

        So trans people must be stopped (from existing), the territory must be flattened to match the map!

        • Plopp@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          3 months ago

          I sincerely doubt she hates women. She’s been supportive of women’s causes for a very long time afaik. Based on what I’ve read she seems to feel extremely weak and vulnerable among men due to her experiences, especially when she’s alone with a man or men, and it’s very likely she ascribes that “weakness” to all cis women. But that doesn’t mean she thinks men are better, it’s that she thinks men are dangerous to cis women. Seriously, she’s written things that made it seem like a legit phobia, like breaking down and crying and hyperventilating because she happened to end up in a room with some random man in the middle of the day, and he didn’t even interact with her iirc. I’m guessing her broken brain sees trans women as if someone put a hat on a tiger and called it Bob and let it near her. She’s a bit messed up and the small window of slight opportunity to maybe help her see straight was obliterated by counterproductive behavior based on understandable emotions. Something that happens all too often these days.

          But with all that said, it’s been a long time since I heard or read anything from her, so she could have gone off the deep end and I don’t know it.

          • melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            8
            ·
            edit-2
            3 months ago

            But that feeling of vulnerability is part of what informs the misogyny, which they compensate for with an essentialist fairy dust woowoo articulation of ‘the divine feminine’ or some shit, never clearly defined, which requires hating trans people, because trans people are walking talking de/re constructions.

            And since you’re (hypothetical terf you. Also has terrible hemorrhoids and a crippling tobacco addiction, wanna go beat the shit out of them later? Would feel weird without you on side.) already misogynist and essentialist and a bigot, and tge only things you care about are completely made up; nazis are your natural allies.

            • Plopp@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              8
              ·
              3 months ago

              Just out of curiosity, since I haven’t seen or read anything from her in a very long time, can you give examples of what misogynistic things she’s said? And I have to say it feels rather convoluted, the notion that she, a woman who’s been supporting women’s causes for a long time, hates women, so she boosts herself with undefined ‘divine femininity’, which in turn means she has to hate trans people because they present something different. It’s too high level and fluffy. I mean, hey, I don’t know what’s going on in her head (neither do you btw), but I find it a much simpler, more logical, foundational and believable explanation that she’s just scarred from her trauma related to men and therefore is also scared of trans women because with her phobia she doesn’t trust them to not behave like men at some point. And she probably has built a whole structure of beliefs, opinions and arguments on top of that, that gets bigger (and thereby expands further away from the core) and more reinforced with every argument she has online. And somewhere in that structure might sit ‘divine femininity’, as a coping argument.

              • melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                5
                ·
                3 months ago

                I haven’t read her shit in years, but I remember reading something like a decade ago, and there’s a straight line from the ‘goddess feminism’ of the 80s, which seemed like her thing, to terf shit. Please don’t make me look it up; only one of us has to see this to convince you.

                I’m sure she doesn’t think she hates (cis)women. None of them do; not even dudebro Nazis.

                • Plopp@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  ·
                  3 months ago

                  I’m not putting it on you to prove it or convince me, but just as a general statement, I need solid and concrete proof before I ascribe a feeling to someone else contrary to their own claims. Something that’s generally a bit of an asshattery thing to do imo since they’re the one feeling their feelings and I can’t actually know.

                  • melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    2
                    arrow-down
                    2
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    3 months ago

                    Generally valid, but fascists are kind if an exception, because they’re never honest, and taking them at their word is rude to everyone else.

        • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          11
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          3 months ago

          Its that she hates women, or thinks women are inferior to men. You see this with all terfs.

          No, she doesn’t. You just operate from a (shockingly common) perspective in which any case where anything gender-related that doesn’t conform to your particular flavor of progressive feminism must collapse into misogyny.

          She literally just believes that men are evil monsters who will do whatever they have to to prey on innocent-by-default women. Including pretend to be women if needed to get to their prey. It’s like the white supremacists who believe black folks are inherently criminal, violent monsters except with men instead of blacks.

          So she invented some magical bullshit about why she was a full person.

          She’s never believed she wasn’t, or needed to invent magical bullshit to believe she is, at least related to gender. She just needs to believe that men are evil monsters who will pretend to be women to attack “real” women, which is shockingly common.

          But the magical bullshit is magic; doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Which trans people inherently bring/are.

          Her problem isn’t that she sees trans people as fuzzing up her hierarchy in which men are superior to her.

          There’s a reason why transphobic dialog is rarely about trans men (despite them also violating the same “magical bullshit”), and very often framed in terms of “men in dresses”, and that’s because it is most often about how men are monsters and women need to be protected from them, and trans women are forever tainted by the original sin of having been born male sexed.

          • melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            3 months ago

            believes that men are evil monsters who

            Ive read her books. Some of them at least. That’s a bit much. She does not believe this. Or didn’t when she wrote them. Also, I think that some days, and I’m not a transphobe.

            invented some magical bullshit

            She didn’t actually have to invent it, it was already floating around since at least the middle ages.

            transphobic dialogue isn’t ever about trans men

            No the rhetoric is just different, more transparently objectifying; ‘protect the titties’ discourse. TERFs talk about them as ‘mutilated sisters’ or some shit, because its still about tge myystical divine feminine bullshit to them. You hear it more direct from patriarchy than from its proxies.

            You’re reading a little transphobic and under informed on the topic here

            male sexed

            Oh yeah fuck you stop talking to me.

            • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              3 months ago

              No the rhetoric is just different, more transparently objectifying; ‘protect the titties’ discourse. TERFs talk about them as ‘mutilated sisters’ or some shit, because its still about tge myystical divine feminine bullshit to them. You hear it more direct from patriarchy than from its proxies.

              1. Rarely about trans men, not never. The dialogue is mostly framed in terms of men being a predatory danger to women so taht women need spaces where men are kept away from them and men being such predatory monsters that they will pretend to be women in order to get access to their prey. This is more or less the standard TERF (and amusingly also the right-wing tradcon) perspective. They don’t even really hide it.

              2. It feels like you’re just jumbling things up here - if the core premise is that men are better than women and trans people disrupt the patriarchal hierarchy, why wouldn’t the focus be mostly on trans men, framed in terms of them trying to steal patriarchal power for themselves rather than mostly focusing on trans women being framed as predatory “men in dresses” using gender identity claims to have easier access to their prey?

              You’re reading a little transphobic and under informed on the topic here

              Transphobic how? By not accepting your interpretation of transphobic arguments that requires ignoring the actual arguments made in favor of all transphobia just being that trans people represent a disruption of a patriarchal gender hierarchy? Because that doesn’t really align to basically any transphobic arguments that transphobes actually make. It requires ignoring what transphobes actually say almost entirely.

              When people tell you what they believe, it’s usually better to believe them. They generally have the better view of both what they believe and why they justify those beliefs.

              Oh yeah fuck you stop talking to me.

              For what, drawing an explicit difference between sex and gender? Or am I supposed to pretend now that there is no difference - there is only gender?

    • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      3 months ago

      My kid loves Harry Potter. I’ve never once brought up Rowling because I don’t want the books ruined due to her horribleness.

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 months ago

      A guy I used to follow on social media would post about once a month a picture of a wasp larva emerging from inside of the bug it had consumed from inside with the caption “your brain on Terf”.

      It summarized it well for me. Doesn’t matter what you were once you get infected with the anti-trans virus it will either not take or eat you within, then discard you when it is done.

    • minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      23
      ·
      3 months ago

      My guess is $$$billionaire$$$ money is involved somewhere in this woven tale of bigotry. Nobody is doing this level of terf shit for free.

      • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        37
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 months ago

        You honestly think she tanked her public opinion for money? That she doesn’t actually believe this? One of the richest women on the planet?

          • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            30
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            She was making big money as is. You think there is better money in tweeting transphobic shit then being then being the author of Harry Potter?

            Do you have an idea of who you think is paying her to tweet?

            • FarmTaco@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              ·
              edit-2
              3 months ago

              Fuck you money just means she can be honest with her true opinion. Making dumbledore gay is easy, because it doesnt infringe on “her rights” as she sees it.

            • ripcord@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              3 months ago

              it’s amazing how few people care about evidence and facts, it’s all conspiracy theories and feels.

              I mean, this is how Trump is a politician, but it’s so damn pervasive in general.

            • minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              17
              ·
              edit-2
              3 months ago

              Billionaires don’t do anything for free. Her hate speech is an investment in the platform to make more money. Her public opinions make her more money. Nobody is paying her to say it. But consider her stance an investment into more money.

              I don’t know where people are getting the idea that I said anything about someone paying her to say this stuff.

      • root_beer@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        3 months ago

        Nah, she’s entirely capable of being cold wet garbage on her own, and for free! She was just smart enough to come out with her shit takes after making tons of bank on her average storytelling. The again, Harry Potter is still stupid popular even after she piped up, so maybe it wouldn’t have matter if she’d shown her whole ass right after the fifth book, people don’t care.

      • Cagi@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        12
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 months ago

        She is a billionaire in her own right, she doesn’t need to be paid off, she’s rich enough to do what she wants without consequences. Like blatantly break hate crime laws solely to flaunt her legal immunity.

        The only billions that corrupted her were her own, but all they did was expose who she is deep down.

        • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          16
          ·
          3 months ago

          She’s not a billionaire anymore. She gave away nearly 200 million to lose that status. It was kind of a big deal back when we all still liked her. She is, a million times over, not a person who would be out there tweeting for cash.

          Her hate is her own.

        • Cagi@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          12
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          She can also do what she wants without social consequences. Trans allies don’t mind gifting her another few million here and there in royalties for spin off products like Hogwarts Legacy. She has outright said she feels justified on being a bigot because people keep making her richer, “allies” included. Allies are only allies when they don’t have to contend with even the most minor temptation.

    • a9cx34udP4ZZ0@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      32
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Because the internet can’t handle shades of gray? Perhaps there’s more to her than “she’s a liberal” or “she’s a conservative”? Hive mind will be the end of society - if someone doesn’t agree with the party line on EVERY point, they’re suddenly an extremist.

      Perhaps, PERHAPS there are people who are otherwise liberal that have some pretty strong feelings about the trans movement? Outside of the trans thing, Rowling is pretty liberal by the classic definition of the term based on everything I’ve seen. But because she’s taken a stance here she’s put in the same sentence as Musk and Rogan. I have a tough time taking anyone seriously that tries to make that comparison. Musk is literally defending fascists and Rogan regularly has Alex Jones on his show. She’s not even on the same continent as those two.

      Because yes, she literally made Dumbledore gay, which both Joe Rogan and Elon Musk would tell you makes her a woke libtard… but they’re the same!!!1111

      • PotatoKat@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        36
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        3 months ago

        She literally pals around with nazis and denies portions of the holocaust, if you’re gonna try and argue you can hang out with nazis, deny the holocaust, and still be a liberal, I implore you to reevaluate your own values.

        • twig@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          26
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          3 months ago

          Also… even barring hanging out with literal nazis, if your whole fucking thing is trying to deny human rights to vulnerable segments of the population, you’re a piece of shit, even if you are actually “pretty liberal” otherwise.

          I’m so sick of hearing about this irrelevant piece of shit and everyone who makes excuses for her.

          • Lianodel@ttrpg.network
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            3 months ago

            Seriously. If someone’s support is transactional, it isn’t worth shit. It’s not like having an okay position on some issues means you “get” to call for a little extermination, as a treat.

            You don’t have to be perfect on every issue, but for fuck’s sake, there are hard lines when it comes to people’s right to exist, and live free. And even any decent takes she had are long past, since nearly ALL she does nowadays is rage tweet about trans people from her fucking castle.

        • aidan@lemmy.world
          cake
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          3 months ago

          I’d argue you also can’t support censorship and be a liberal.