J K Rowling

 I read recently that public artworks referencing J K Rowling have been defaced, presumably by supporters of trans rights. If you’ve read my earlier posts you’ll know that I think this sort of thing is counter productive. But if anyone is going to be  targeted it’s Rowling. 

The funny thing is, not long ago her views were not unreasonable. She, like that other hate figure Kathleen Stock, argued that trans women’s experience growing up, both physiologically and societally, is different from natal women and therefore they are not the same. It is unclear to what extent they thought this might mean trans people should be treated differently, but both used to say that trans people should be treated with kindness and respect. You might not agree but it’s a respectable view. 

That’s still Stock’s position as far as I know. But Rowling has become a full blown trans denier of the most inflexible and virulent sort. 

Why?

I know nothing of Stock’s earlier life, but she comes across as a strong confident woman. Rowling on the other hand is known to have had a tough life up until her success as a writer and her subsequent happy second marriage. 

With my amateur psychologist’s hat on, I suspect Rowling’s life experience has made her more emotionally vulnerable and less able to deal with abuse than Prof. Stock. So I guess her emotional response when she’s attacked is to kick back with venom. Unfortunately this means trans people and their supporters now have an enemy with a very large megaphone instead of someone who, in civilised debate, might have become a supporter of sorts. 

So that, and a preference for basic human decency, is why I think trans people and their supporters should use logic and reason, not abuse, to get their point across.