Ahead of the UK general election, former Labor donor JK Rowling has accused the party of “abandoning” women and reignited online debate over transgender issues. The hashtag #IStandAgainstJKRowling has been trending.
The author of the harry potter booksJK Rowling criticized Labor this week for “abandoning” women in relation to his position on the rights of transgender people.
In an article published in The TimesRowling, a former Labor Party donor, claimed that It would be difficult to vote for Keir Starmer in the next general elections in the United Kingdom.
The writer’s comments refer to Labour’s promise to “modernise” the process by which people can change sex. In its election manifesto, Starmer’s party has pledged to facilitate legal sex change, replacing the “outdated” need to present evidence showing that a person has lived as their new sex for two years, with a “period of reflection” of the same duration. Labor would also get rid of the panel of doctors and lawyers that currently approves gender recognition certificates.
His comments came after the Labor leader appeared to change his stance on the transgender rights. In 2021, Starmer noted that it was “not correct” for Rosie Duffield, a Labor MP who has stressed the importance of biological sex, to claim that only women have a cervix. She has recently reinforced her stance on transgender issues to agree with former Labor Party leader Tony Blair that a woman has a vagina and a man has a penis.
Despite these recent comments, Rowling has indicated that she had a “low opinion” of Starmer’s character, stating that he was “dismissive and often offensive” regarding women’s concerns about their rights.
“For left-wing women like us it is not, and has never been, about trans people enjoying the rights of any other citizen and being free to present themselves and identify themselves.”entify themselves as they want. It’s about the right of women and girls to assert their boundaries. It’s about the freedom of expression and observable truth,” Rowling wrote in a post.
“As long as Labor continues to be derogatory, and often offensive, towards women fighting for preserve the rights that their predecessors believed they had conquered forever, it will be difficult for me to support them,” he added.
A meeting with Labor Party leaders
Now, JK Rowling has accepted a meeting with labor on gender transition policy, after UK shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the party would be “really happy” to “give her assurances” about its plans to change the process by which People can legally change their gender.
However, Rowling noted that the meeting was conditioned to what Labor They met first with a number of groups across the UK that she supported.
A meeting conditioned on other meetings
Rowling responded to Reeves’ invitation on Platform delighted to meet after the groups Keep Prisons Single Sex, Lesbian Labour, Women’s Rights Network, Woman’s Place UK and LGB Alliance have met in person with the Labor leadership,” he wrote.
“Asking on behalf of the women survivors of the violence domestic and homosexual they do not subscribe to the ideology of gender identity“I would also like to know if Angela Rayner still considers the last two organizations hate groups,” he added.
Rayner, deputy spokesperson for the Labor Party, previously supported a letter calling Woman’s Place UK, which campaigns for shelters for raped womenand the LGB Alliance, a British non-profit advocacy group that opposes the Stonewall charity’s policies on behalf of rights of LGTBI people on issues of transsexuality.
Keir Starmer shows respect for JK Rowling’s opinion
Speaking to the tabloid The Sun, Starmer echoed Reeves’ wish that the party meets Rowling.
“I respect her,” he said of the author. “She has raised some really important issues. I would like to have that conversationbecause I think we have made great progress in the women’s rights under the Labor Governments, and in equality, great progress. There is more work to do if we have the privilege of coming to power and serving this country,” he added.
These latest events have caused more Internet reactions against Rowlingwhich has attracted both criticism and support for its position on issues related to transsexuality.
The hashtag #IStandAgainstJKRowling has been trending on the Internet, with numerous social media users criticizing the author. Take a look at some of the reactions.
Some social media users they have come out in defense by JK Rowling:
Controversy over the words of the author of the Harry Potter books
J.K. Rowlinghas caused controversy repeatedly with her stance on trans rights, having shared numerous statements condemned as transphobic, dating back to 2020. In recent years she has come under heavy criticism for her claims that trans women ” they are not women” and his statement that he would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.
ADVERTISINGLast month, “The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht” appeared in the publication, a collection of more than 30 essays and photographs by women in Scotland who claim to be on the “front line of the fight for women’s rights“. Includes the opinions of women who oppose the Scottish Government’s gender reform plans, who maintain that the proposals undermine women’s safety.
In the essay, Rowling lashes out at the double standards of friends who have been quick to criticize her views on transgender rights, stating that she had been surprised by colleagues who had condemned his opinions in publicand then send him a private email with the intention of maintaining your friend status.
Las general elections of the United Kingdom will be held on July 4, 2024.
