J.K. Rowling’s trans-related posts from 2020

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

(though believe me, I’m EXTREMELY grateful on that level), but because the signatories are showing solidarity with all the women who’re currently speaking up for their own rights and facing threats of violence and even death in return. 2/3

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

My weekend was heavy (in the very best sense!) on family and light on reading the news, so I only realised this morning that this letter appeared in the Sunday Times yesterday. I'm profoundly grateful to all the signatories, not only on a personal level, 1/3

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

The writers of this letter are just two of a growing number of whistleblowers. The bleak truth is that if and when the scandal does erupt, nobody currently cheering this movement on will be able to credibly claim ‘we couldn’t have known’. https://t.co/8ughoMKCun 4/4

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Since speaking up about gender identity theory, I’ve received thousands of emails – more than I’ve ever had on a single subject. Many have come from professionals working in medicine, education and social work. All are concerned about the effects on vulnerable young people. 3/4

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

It feels as though we’re on the brink of a medical scandal. A second paper concludes: ‘Psychiatry sits on this knife-edge: running the risk of being accused of transphobia or, alternatively, remaining silent throughout this uncontrolled experiment.’ 2/4 https://t.co/G3dPP2aCGq

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

‘NHS identity clinics have been functioning as if acting outside the ordinary requirement of good medical and psychiatric practice.’ Some may dismiss this paper by experienced psychoanalyst @marcusevanspsych, but they do so at their own peril. https://t.co/Ghn6LtK3UB 1/4

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

"I fear that the detransitioned women I interviewed are canaries in the coalmine. Not only for detransitioners, but for womanhood. They all, in some combination, found being a woman too difficult, too dangerous or too disgusting" -- Laura Dodsworth https://t.co/wQ4GVarebk

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

I couldn't agree more. We're no more our scars than we're our worst fears. All a scar means is that you went through something and endured ⚡️#SupportDetransitioners https://t.co/WedB1nGHxR

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

You’re still following me, Jennifer. Be sure to publicly repent of your association with Goody Rowling before unfollowing and volunteer to operate the ducking stool next time, as penance.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Genuinely don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I report all the grim things that have been sent to the children’s art threads. I don’t retweet or highlight them, for what I’d have thought were obvious reasons. But way to shine a light on how certain trans activists operate, bro 👍 https://t.co/9xsDg1sRZ2

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, @Ayaan. If all the people with public platforms who’re messaging me to say they agree with us but are too scared to stand up found their bravery, we’d have an army.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Yes indeed. And to quote the inimitable Lillian Hellman: ‘I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions.’

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

PPS I've just realised the link to the excellent Charlie Evans piece on detransitioners isn't working. Here it is: https://t.co/4v3PEHP3HB

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

@mar0uxna You left out 'brave, kind and wonderful' when describing yourself 💞

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Thank you for all you do, @lascapigliata8 ❤️

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

PS I've just realised you can't see Sophie's/@Manaxium's tweet in the screenshot above, so you can't see how cynically @TrinerScot has misrepresented her. https://t.co/WnV5cyrQGy

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Carl Henegan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, has described the off-label use of puberty blockers on under-18s as an ‘unregulated live experiment on children’. https://t.co/dDAqENLXor 10/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have been now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists. https://t.co/fpIxW34AWr 9/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Sophie is a trans woman and a true feminist ally. She was making the point that anti-depressants were over-prescribed to teenagers in the past, with serious consequences. https://t.co/yxuK2Mh49X 8/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

As I’ve said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won’t – witness the accounts of detransitioners. “The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.” https://t.co/cr1Zi4JnWR 7/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

These concerns were explored by the recent BBC documentary about the Tavistock Clinic. Whistleblowers were talking about transitions driven by homophobia. https://t.co/S0q88PeL65 6/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function. 5/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests. 4/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

I’ve written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety. I did so recently in my essay ‘TERF Wars’. I’ve taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me. 3/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

When you lie about what I believe about mental health medication and when you misrepresent the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity, you cross a line. 2/11

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

So Tweeter A is allowed to demand my ovaries, but I’m not allowed to talk about my ovaries, because you haven’t got ovaries? Seems fair. https://t.co/yF8aUnbXz9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

.@EmersonSpartz Thank you, Emerson, for being who I always thought you were. ⚡️

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @RadfemJana

@RadfemJana @tribunemagazine I saw that happen to you, Jana, and I was appalled. I'm so very sorry for what you experienced. You're an inspiration to me and to many in the way you're standing up for girls. ❤️

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

I accept @lloyd_rm's apology in the hope that he’ll dig a little deeper than hashtags and slogans. He might then understand why increasing numbers of people are deeply concerned about @UKLabour’s position on women’s rights. 9/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Andrea Dworkin wrote: ‘Men often react to women’s words—speaking and writing—as if they were acts of violence; sometimes men react to women’s words with violence.’ It isn't hateful for women speak about their own experiences, nor do they deserve shaming for doing so. 8/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

When so-called leftists like @lloyd_rm demand that we give up our hard won sex-based rights, they align themselves squarely with men’s rights activists. To both groups, female trauma is white noise, an irrelevance, or else exaggerated or invented. https://t.co/4Axo36pGWt 7/9 https://t.co/vhvQRVRGHu

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

As I stated in my essay, my primary worry is the risks to vulnerable women. As everyone knows, I’m no longer reliant on communal facilities, nor am I likely to be imprisoned or need a women's refuge any time soon. I’m not arguing for the privileged, but the powerless. 6/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Some emails came from professionals working in women’s refuges, the prison service, the social work system, the criminal justice system and the police. All expressed concerns about the aims and methods of current trans activism. 5/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

Since writing my essay, I’ve received over 3000 emails thanking me for speaking up. I’ve been brought to tears many times while reading, sometimes out of gratitude for their kindness, but also because many women have shared their own experiences of violence & sexual assault. 4/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

For those who’d like to know what triggered the shadow minister’s original accusation, these are the relevant paragraphs of the essay I wrote a couple of weeks ago. The full piece can be read here https://t.co/Vs4V1yfGkA https://t.co/6H90WZfqPG

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

This morning, Mr Russell-Moyle issued an apology on Twitter, although he didn’t trouble to tag me in. Coincidentally, his change of heart occurred after his remarks were repeated in national newspapers with higher circulations than @tribunemagazine. 2/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Today I discovered that I was accused of hate by shadow environment minister Lloyd Russell-Moyle in the pages of @tribunemagazine. He claimed I was ‘using’ my experiences of sexual assault and domestic violence to ‘discriminate’ against trans people. 1/9

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

TERF wars https://t.co/mc58tGXOjs

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

"I've never felt as shouted down, ignored, and targeted as a lesbian *within* our supposed GLBT community as I have over the past couple of years." https://t.co/9tmEEydPIr

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women - ie, to male violence - ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences - is a nonsense.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

One of my best mates just called me. Self-described butch lesbian. It was hard to tell, because she was shouting quite loudly, but I could just make out ‘FUCKING YES!’

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

I’ve spent much of the last three years reading books, blogs and scientific papers by trans people, medics and gender specialists. I know exactly what the distinction is. Never assume that because someone thinks differently, they have no knowledge.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud? Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

I'm going to say this once and I'm going to say it calmly and politely. I certainly didn't mean to paste a quotation from a message about the assault of Maria Maclaughlin into a tweet to a child, especially given the language used by the person convicted of the crime 1/2

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @jk_rowling

@NicESpurling of your published claims that 1) I cannot be trusted around children and 2) that I have 'attacked trans people.'

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @NicESpurling

@NicESpurling I'm afraid your lawyers might need a little more than my tweet in support for Maya Forstater, who believes that humans are a dimorphic species, but who has stated her unequivocal commitment to treating trans people with respect. Again, I must ask you to provide evidence 1/2

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @NicESpurling

@NicESpurling Truth has always been far more important to me than clickbait, Nicola. Please provide your evidence that a) I can't be trusted around children and b) that I 'attack trans folks'.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

Replying to @NicESpurling

@NicESpurling Unless you want to hear from lawyers, you might want to rethink that tweet. I'm not wasting time arguing with wilful misrepresentations of my views on transgenderism - your timeline shows you're not big on truth - but making serious insinuations like this comes with consequences.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

@LirbesOlerybes That's truly revolting.

J.K. Rowling@jk_rowling

And as a Leo with Aquarius rising and moon in Virgo, I’m saying that doesn’t make even numbers female. Please, let’s be rational about this. https://t.co/CJuYXGnU2j