It is an unfortunate reality that the Government, the courts, and the media, are all anti-trans. Tweets like that, however obviously sarcastic and flippant, will always be taken hyperbolically by them because they seek to discredit us. The more they're able to point to, the more silly flippant nonsense they're able to stoke into controversy, the more people will side with them.
This doesn't mean not being resolutely and firmly on trans peoples side, it just means that our public officials should avoid putting out imagery/statements that will very obviously be used to discredit us. We all know its not serious, but JK will take that picture to her cult, say "they want women to shut up or they'll shoot us" and her cult will froth at the opportunity to let it victimise them even more. (I think one way of combatting this hyperbole is to make light of it, mock them for taking it so seriously, never underestimate how much ground you can gain with people if you can make them laugh)
The game is rigged against us, we must find ways of beating them at it. That means serious top-to-bottom organisation on how to resist the Government's legislative prejudice and how to advance cultural sentiment towards trans people- pictures like the one posted will do neither and only cause more entrenched division which ultimately will do more harm to trans people in the long run.
The problem I feel is within your text. Us vs Them, is why we will all lose this one
You demonise JK Rowling and call people who agree with what she says “a cult”. Language like that is at the route of the problem in a way, as a lot of discussions are what feel based what semantics and definitions. Thee is a better way than calling each other cultists, transphobes or terfs surely 🤷♂️
I don't demonise her, i correctly state what she does and what she has done for years now: which is take things out of context, and quite frankly out of reality, and use hyperbole to discredit trans people and their allies while simultaneously creating a victim narrative for herself and other transphobes.
call people who agree with what she says “a cult”
Her followers believe her every word, they reject scientific reality and embrace pseudo-science, they are unusually and religiously committed to gender critical beliefs, and they launch attacks on trans people and they invoke her name while doing so, what else would you call that if not a cult?
Thee is a better way than calling each other cultists, transphobes or terfs surely
Interesting you pick 3 terms which are all used to describe anti-trans people and yet propose that we stop calling "each other" names...
TERF is an acronym: trans-exlusionary radical feminist, the words mean something and they are correctly applied in this case.
Transphobic: someone who holds an illogical prejudice against transgender people.
Cultists: See above^
If someone is sexist, we call them out for being sexist. If someone is racist, we call them out for being racist. Same for misogynist, homophobic, etc etc. Why must it be different for transphobes?
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u/aeryntano 4d ago
It is an unfortunate reality that the Government, the courts, and the media, are all anti-trans. Tweets like that, however obviously sarcastic and flippant, will always be taken hyperbolically by them because they seek to discredit us. The more they're able to point to, the more silly flippant nonsense they're able to stoke into controversy, the more people will side with them.
This doesn't mean not being resolutely and firmly on trans peoples side, it just means that our public officials should avoid putting out imagery/statements that will very obviously be used to discredit us. We all know its not serious, but JK will take that picture to her cult, say "they want women to shut up or they'll shoot us" and her cult will froth at the opportunity to let it victimise them even more. (I think one way of combatting this hyperbole is to make light of it, mock them for taking it so seriously, never underestimate how much ground you can gain with people if you can make them laugh)
The game is rigged against us, we must find ways of beating them at it. That means serious top-to-bottom organisation on how to resist the Government's legislative prejudice and how to advance cultural sentiment towards trans people- pictures like the one posted will do neither and only cause more entrenched division which ultimately will do more harm to trans people in the long run.