JK Rowling has criticised the new women and equalities minister over previous remarks she has made on gender.
The Harry Potter author called past comments made by Anneliese Dodds on gender “nonsensical” as the Labour MP’s new appointment was announced, after Ms Rowling previously accused Labour of having “abandoned” her and others campaigning for women’s rights.
Shortly after Monday’s announcement, Ms Rowling tweeted part of a transcript from an interview Ms Dodds had taken part in for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in 2022.
According to the posted transcript, when asked for Labour’s definition of a woman, Ms Dodds said there are “different definitions legally around what a woman actually is” and, when pressed again, said: “I think it does depend what the context is.”
Ms Rowling tweeted: “And if you happen to be wondering how I have the transcript of that Woman’s Hour to hand, it was sent to me by Dodds’ office after I publicly criticised her prevarication on the programme. They seemed to think I’d find her comments less nonsensical if I saw them in print.”
…
Ms Dodds, in her time as shadow women and equalities secretary, affirmed Labour’s commitment to “trans people and women” and criticised the demonisation of vulnerable people.
Last year she said Labour is “committed to modernising the Gender Recognition Act”.
In an article for The Guardian, she added: “Changing gender is not a decision anyone makes lightly. The process is intrusive, outdated and humiliating. So we will modernise, simplify and reform the gender recognition law to a new process. We will remove invasive bureaucracy and simplify the process.”
Meanwhile, Ms Phillipson has previously warned against “picking fights, seeking headlines” on issues around gender.
During the election campaign, Ms Phillipson said she wanted to take the heat out of the row over transgender guidance for schools.
“Let’s stop this being a political football,” she told the BBC. “This is our children’s lives, their wellbeing, it’s too important to make this a culture wars issue on the front pages of newspapers.”
Draft guidance, published before the election was called, stated that England’s schools should not teach about the concept of gender identity.
Asked if she would ditch the proposed ban, Ms Phillipson said trans people’s “existence should be recognised” before saying discussion on the issue “drifts sometimes into a slightly bizarre conversation”.
She has also previously said “statutory guidance” on single-sex spaces would be set out by a Labour government.
Last month, she said: “I do believe in the importance of single-sex provision, but I also believe that trans people have the right to appropriate care as well. I don’t think it is about one or the other.”
…
Separately, Agenda Alliance, a coalition of organisations representing women and girls with unmet needs, said it was “an early missed opportunity” not to put in place a dedicated Secretary of State for Women and Girls.
Indy Cross, chief executive of the alliance, said: “We’ve been really clear that only a dedicated Cabinet post will have the political clout to bring about change.
“The letter we at Agenda Alliance sent to our now Prime Minister, with over 60 signatures from key specialist support organisations, showed the urgent need for a champion at the top table to fight the corner of women and girls, especially those at the sharpest edge of adversity. Not some diluted alternative.
“Bolt-on ministerial briefs will not cut it. We know women and girls deserve better. A fully-fledged, dedicated secretary of state is what we’ll continue to argue for. We look forward to working with the new government to achieve this.”
Ever notice how JKR calls herself a feminist but Trans exclusion is literally the only issue she ever talks about?
JKR isn’t a feminist, she just hates Trans people. She deserves to be cancelled.
It’s why FART works better than TERF in such cases.
she also considers anti abortion/anti choice people like caroline farrow friends.
If progress were a train, JKR would be demanding to speak to the manager because after stopping at her station, it had the gall to continue onwards.
If Rowling is criticising Dodds on this issue, Dodds is going the right way.
I always consider it a good indicator: are terrible people unhappy about this? If yes, then you are doing something right.
It’s not a perfect heuristic, but it works a good amount of the time!
why does anyone gives this cuntwaffle any time of day? She got rich writing basic childrens books and now seems to think this gives her the right to tell others how they should live.
Fuck off rowling.
The thing with Joanne, which pisses me off, is that given the breadth of her wealth, she will never come into contact with trans people unless she wants. That’s come into contact let alone use the same toilet. She’s literally someone that got a bee in her bonnet and won’t let it go.
You don’t understand, someone was rude to her on Twitter.com
But yeah. She has no trans friends because trans people don’t become millionaires. She has no trans coworkers because she has no coworkers. She hasn’t been in a women’s toilet at a train station and experienced a bloke in a high vis knock on the door and shout “Maintainence!” in a long time and has forgotten how these things work
Can’t we just ignore her? Why give her any airtime.
Absolutely. This should go into the old woman yell at cloud category.
Joanne lost the plot a long time ago. That feels appropriate to say since she’s an author.
It’s no surprise that an author would engage in some real-life foreshadowing.
Interesting gender obfuscation by someone with such strong views on birth gender being so crucial to ones identity. Almost like shes full of shit.
joanne karen rowling.
Of course it’s Karen.
It’s not. She was not given a middle name at birth. The article explains that:
She chose K as the second initial, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Rowling, and because of the ease of pronunciation of two consecutive letters.
Sadly, this sort of thinking has been prevalent in authorship and publishing circles for quite a long time; Bloomsbury Publishing didn’t invent it.
And it’s not for no reason. As this article notes, even in a 2011 study books written by men tended to get more reviews and more favorable ones, and publishers tend to prefer publishing books by male authors.
Another modern example is Carolyn Janice Cherry, who, when she started writing Sci-Fi, was asked to use C. J. Cherryh, so as to be perceived as 1. male and 2. ‘exotic’ (the publisher felt ‘Cherry’ was far too common a name to grace a Sci-Fi series).
Respectfully, go fuck yourself, Joanne.
Funny all these “feminists” are cozying up to actual, unabashed misogynists
They’re just bigots trying to court sympathy
Must be doing something right then
Stop talking about JK Rowling!
she and kemi just need to go the fuck away and rot.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Ms Rowling tweeted: “And if you happen to be wondering how I have the transcript of that Woman’s Hour to hand, it was sent to me by Dodds’ office after I publicly criticised her prevarication on the programme.
The Government is facing criticism from a coalition of campaigning organisations for not following through on that dedicated position, accused of offering a “diluted alternative” and “bolt-on ministerial briefs”.
Draft guidance, published before the election was called, stated that England’s schools should not teach about the concept of gender identity.
Asked if she would ditch the proposed ban, Ms Phillipson said trans people’s “existence should be recognised” before saying discussion on the issue “drifts sometimes into a slightly bizarre conversation”.
Indy Cross, chief executive of the alliance, said: “We’ve been really clear that only a dedicated Cabinet post will have the political clout to bring about change.
“The letter we at Agenda Alliance sent to our now Prime Minister, with over 60 signatures from key specialist support organisations, showed the urgent need for a champion at the top table to fight the corner of women and girls, especially those at the sharpest edge of adversity.
The original article contains 880 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
