Read on Twitter
I just want to get through one week without @jk_rowling using her massive platform to launch a pile-on at someone who disagrees with her.
This is bullying. And she's done it before.
Thread (yes, again, sorry) - 1/35 https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279755418621878272
This is bullying. And she's done it before.
Thread (yes, again, sorry) - 1/35 https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279755418621878272
2/35 - I'll state from the outset - before the inevitable false claims that anything short of wholesale agreement is somehow an endorsement of the "death and rape threats" Rowling has received - that such abuse is *disgusting* and anyone engaging in it is an utter disgrace.
3/35 - But that doesn't excuse Rowling's tactics of holding up someone else to receive abuse instead.
I received death threats as a result of this
thread a few weeks ago. I had messages telling me to kill myself. https://twitter.com/Carter_AndrewJ/status/1270787941275762689?s=20
I received death threats as a result of this
thread a few weeks ago. I had messages telling me to kill myself. https://twitter.com/Carter_AndrewJ/status/1270787941275762689?s=20
4/35 - I shared one of those messages when Twitter decided it didn't violate the rules.
I anonymised the person who sent it because - while this person is a pile of human trash, *I'm not* and I don't use a Twitter mob to fight my battles. https://twitter.com/Carter_AndrewJ/status/1274273716189433856?s=20
I anonymised the person who sent it because - while this person is a pile of human trash, *I'm not* and I don't use a Twitter mob to fight my battles. https://twitter.com/Carter_AndrewJ/status/1274273716189433856?s=20
5/35 - Rowling, meanwhile, actively tags in @TrinerScot (who's permission I asked before tagging him here) further down the thread.
She *knew* this act exposed someone to abuse. She did it anyway.
She *knew* this act exposed someone to abuse. She did it anyway.
6/35 - @TrinerScot wasn't even the one who noticed the offending like.
That dubious honour goes to @sineadactually who addresses the "lie" angle herself here: https://twitter.com/sineadactually/status/1279778043146502148?s=20
That dubious honour goes to @sineadactually who addresses the "lie" angle herself here: https://twitter.com/sineadactually/status/1279778043146502148?s=20
7/35 - Now onto the thread that followed.
To give Rowling *maximum* benefit of the doubt (which she does not deserve) the tweet she liked here *could* be interpreted as calling the *doctors* "lazy" for leaping to medication when other options are better suited.
To give Rowling *maximum* benefit of the doubt (which she does not deserve) the tweet she liked here *could* be interpreted as calling the *doctors* "lazy" for leaping to medication when other options are better suited.
8/35 - But reaching a different interpretation (especially in light of Rowling's recent ableism towards autistic people) is not a "lie".
Many people have reached this same interpretation. Why Rowling chose to single-out @TrinerScot, I don't know.
Many people have reached this same interpretation. Why Rowling chose to single-out @TrinerScot, I don't know.
9/35 - And let's not forget that the tweet JK liked wasn't just "antidepressants are overprescribed" it was "hormones are overprescribed to trans people".
Neither Rowling, nor the woman who wrote the OP, are medically qualified. They offer no evidence to support this assertion.
Neither Rowling, nor the woman who wrote the OP, are medically qualified. They offer no evidence to support this assertion.
10/35 - And (for the predictable bigot response) - yes, I know the tweet was sent by one of Twitter's 7 famous anti-trans trans people.
Trans people can be transphobic. There are black people who support Trump. One person's views or personal experience is not *evidence*.
Trans people can be transphobic. There are black people who support Trump. One person's views or personal experience is not *evidence*.
11/35 - Now, if it was *me* being called out for liking a quite-possibly-ableist, definitely-transphobic tweet - I'd like to hope my response would be an instant retraction, clarification of my position, and apology to those I had harmed.
Instead, Rowling goes on the attack.
Instead, Rowling goes on the attack.
12/35 - And this isn't the first time she's launched a pile on to punish exclusively low-follower detractors.
Many prominent accounts have also opposed her in recent weeks. Where are the aggressive QTs calling out those people? Why is it only ever low-follower accounts?
Many prominent accounts have also opposed her in recent weeks. Where are the aggressive QTs calling out those people? Why is it only ever low-follower accounts?
13/35 - Bullying is about power.
The weak cannot bully the powerful. 15M followers, an international profile, & enormous personal wealth *are* power.
And power *should be* wielded responsibly. Yet Rowling is using hers as a blunt instrument to silence dissent.
The weak cannot bully the powerful. 15M followers, an international profile, & enormous personal wealth *are* power.
And power *should be* wielded responsibly. Yet Rowling is using hers as a blunt instrument to silence dissent.
14/35 - And, of course, it wouldn't be a Rowling thread without overt transphobia presented in reasonable, insidious terms: https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279756114981240834?s=20
15/35 - Transition is NOT conversion therapy.
Again, Rowling returns to the bigoted myth that trans people are being rushed into transitioning. Despite it often taking *years* in the UK to even get an appointment.
Again, Rowling returns to the bigoted myth that trans people are being rushed into transitioning. Despite it often taking *years* in the UK to even get an appointment.
16/35 - But no wonder Rowling believes otherwise, if her information is coming from sources like the recent @BBCNewsnight piece "revealing" the same tired half-truths bigots keep regurgitating about @TaviAndPort. https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279756314470735873?s=20
17/35 - Breaking down this saga is a thread in itself, but - thankfully - @mimmymum has already put one together.
In brief - its scaremongering nonsense with foundations built on sand. https://twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1275212466205720582?s=20
In brief - its scaremongering nonsense with foundations built on sand. https://twitter.com/mimmymum/status/1275212466205720582?s=20
18/35 - Rowling goes on to cite detransitioning as evidence that people are being coerced to transition against their will.
She links (or tries to, the correct link is further down her thread) to a blog from someone who went through such an experience. https://medium.com/@charlie.evans/charlie-evans-on-inventing-transgender-children-and-young-people-book-launch-27-10-19-11cc5c1343ce
She links (or tries to, the correct link is further down her thread) to a blog from someone who went through such an experience. https://medium.com/@charlie.evans/charlie-evans-on-inventing-transgender-children-and-young-people-book-launch-27-10-19-11cc5c1343ce
19/35 - Trans people don't want cis people forced/tricked/coerced into transitioning. They uniquely know how awful that would be.
What happened to Charlie Evans sounds bad. But presenting anecdotal experience as evidence of some sort of crusade is baseless conspiracy theory.
What happened to Charlie Evans sounds bad. But presenting anecdotal experience as evidence of some sort of crusade is baseless conspiracy theory.
20/35 - Homophobia is given as the reason why anyone would pressure a child to transition against their will (because homophobes *famously* love trans people).
This is just another baseless assertion, revealing deep ignorance of the processes involved: https://www.florenceashley.com/uploads/1/2/4/4/124439164/ashley_homophobia_conversion_therapy_and_care_models_for_trans_youth_-_defending_the_gender_affirmative_approach.pdf
This is just another baseless assertion, revealing deep ignorance of the processes involved: https://www.florenceashley.com/uploads/1/2/4/4/124439164/ashley_homophobia_conversion_therapy_and_care_models_for_trans_youth_-_defending_the_gender_affirmative_approach.pdf
21/35 - Isolated incidents like this are evidence of flaws in the system - but all systems are flawed.
People can die undergoing the most basic surgery - but it would be absurd to imply that surgeons are serial killers who found a way to rack up a body count with impunity.
People can die undergoing the most basic surgery - but it would be absurd to imply that surgeons are serial killers who found a way to rack up a body count with impunity.
22/35 - Rowling is arguing that - for the sake of a tiny fraction of cis people who might wrongly transition - access to transition should be restricted to *all* trans people, especially to the young and neurodiverse. https://twitter.com/Carter_AndrewJ/status/1270811925568421890?s=20
23/35 - It's pretty easy to see the transphobia in this light.
To Rowling, the wellbeing of a small, hypothetical number of cis people outweighs the wellbeing of *all* trans people.
To Rowling, the wellbeing of a small, hypothetical number of cis people outweighs the wellbeing of *all* trans people.
24/35 - Moving on.
Rowling's use of sources is an improvement (versus a complete absence), but she has a tendency to use them to support half of her assertion and hope no one notices the other half is baseless conjecture.
Rowling's use of sources is an improvement (versus a complete absence), but she has a tendency to use them to support half of her assertion and hope no one notices the other half is baseless conjecture.
25/35 - All medical treatment has risks - and I've never seen trans people or allies dismiss them.
I'm sure it's happened - because everything has - but I can't see how Rowling supports the assertion that this happens "often" (which is why she makes no attempt to do so).
I'm sure it's happened - because everything has - but I can't see how Rowling supports the assertion that this happens "often" (which is why she makes no attempt to do so).
26/35 - What I *have* seen are trans people supporting each other through such concerns; & valid points being made that such risks have to be offset against the benefits of such treatment (and, conversely, the risks of forgoing it, which Rowling ignores). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6354936/
27/35 - Finally, Rowling entirely contradicts herself without realising.
Hormone blockers are used to delay puberty - giving young people *more time* to decide if/how they want to transition before their body experiences irreversible changes. https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279759345539039233?s=20
Hormone blockers are used to delay puberty - giving young people *more time* to decide if/how they want to transition before their body experiences irreversible changes. https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279759345539039233?s=20
28/35 - She repeats the scaremongering claim that there is "no evidence" that this treatments isn't harmful. Another point that's both wrong and one-sided.
Firstly, blockers have been safely given to children for over 30 years to treat precocious puberty. https://www.verywellhealth.com/stopping-precocious-puberty-with-puberty-blockers-4135230#:~:text=Puberty%20blockers%20have%20been%20used,after%20they%20stop%20taking%20them
Firstly, blockers have been safely given to children for over 30 years to treat precocious puberty. https://www.verywellhealth.com/stopping-precocious-puberty-with-puberty-blockers-4135230#:~:text=Puberty%20blockers%20have%20been%20used,after%20they%20stop%20taking%20them
29/35 - Secondly, Rowling *again* ignores the harm that happens if young trans people are *denied* this treatment.
Going through the wrong puberty can be *traumatic* and Rowling is actively campaigning for young people to be forced through it. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073269/
Going through the wrong puberty can be *traumatic* and Rowling is actively campaigning for young people to be forced through it. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7073269/
30/35 - If @jk_rowling was serious about protecting young people from wrongly transitioning, she should be *supporting* a treatment designed to give them more time to make that decision.
Her position is incoherent & completely at odds with the principle of bodily autonomy.
Her position is incoherent & completely at odds with the principle of bodily autonomy.
31/35 - But of course it is. It was always going to be.
Because that's what happens when you start with a basic premise of bigotry & attempt to retroactively justify your prejudice.
Because that's what happens when you start with a basic premise of bigotry & attempt to retroactively justify your prejudice.
32/35 - Bigots are against trans people receiving treatment because they don't think trans people exist. They wrongly think it's a mental health disorder (as they do for any sexuality that isn't hetero).
Like classic homophobes, they (wrongly) think being trans is a choice.
Like classic homophobes, they (wrongly) think being trans is a choice.
33/35 - However, that position has been widely refuted and is commonly known to be hateful.
So, the position gets decorated with invented "legitimate concerns" - such as "kids are being transitioned too fast" and "puberty blockers are unsafe".
So, the position gets decorated with invented "legitimate concerns" - such as "kids are being transitioned too fast" and "puberty blockers are unsafe".
34/35 - It doesn't matter that both positions are wrong. It doesn't matter that they contradict each others' concerns.
They can be dressed up as "legitimate" and like-minded journalists can write articles to manufacture credibility. That's the only purpose they serve.
They can be dressed up as "legitimate" and like-minded journalists can write articles to manufacture credibility. That's the only purpose they serve.
35/35 - How do I know this? Because the same tactic has been used against gay and ethnic minority people for generations.
Now - I can't say whether these last few tweets describe Rowling herself. But they definitely describe the Gender Critical movement in general.
Now - I can't say whether these last few tweets describe Rowling herself. But they definitely describe the Gender Critical movement in general.
