Connect with us

BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP

J. K. Rowling Compares ‘Transgender Hormone Therapy to Gay Conversion Therapy’

Published

on

Through a series of 11 tweets, critics now say Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is comparing “transgender hormone therapy to gay conversion therapy.”

“I’ve ignored fake tweets attributed to me and RTed widely,” Rowling began. “I’ve ignored porn tweeted at children on a thread about their art. I’ve ignored death and rape threats. I’m not going to ignore this. When you lie about what I believe about mental health medication and when you misrepresent the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity, you cross a line.”

“I’ve written and spoken about my own mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety. I did so recently in my essay ‘TERF Wars’. I’ve taken anti-depressants in the past and they helped me,” she said. “Many health professionals are concerned that young people struggling with their mental health are being shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests. Many, myself included, believe we are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people, who are being set on a lifelong path of medicalisation that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function.”

Rowling continued, “These concerns were explored by the recent BBC documentary about the Tavistock Clinic. Whistleblowers were talking about transitions driven by homophobia. As I’ve said many times, transition may be the answer for some. For others, it won’t – witness the accounts of detransitioners. ‘The system sees surgery as the easy fix to girls who do not conform.'”

The tweets went on with links to various articles articulating the author’s points. However, we should note that a research study in 2019 by Stonewall showed that de-transitioning is very rare and that of the 3,398 trans patients who spoke to the NHS Gender Identity Service between 2016 and 2017, less than one percent had expressed regrets about transition or had de-transitioned.

“Sophie is a trans woman and a true feminist ally,” Rowling tweeted next. “She was making the point that anti-depressants were over-prescribed to teenagers in the past, with serious consequences. The long-term health risks of cross-sex hormones have been now been tracked over a lengthy period. These side-effects are often minimised or denied by trans activists.”

Rowling added, “Carl Henegan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University, has described the off-label use of puberty blockers on under-18s as an ‘unregulated live experiment on children’. None of that may trouble you or disturb your belief in your own righteousness. But if so, I can’t pretend I care much about your bad opinion of me.”

There certainly are an array of opinions about the wizarding legend. In an article published July 6 for The Atlantic, writer Helen Lewis likened Rowling’s extremely public missteps as of late to a deeply gratifying lesson in the Potterverse.

“Those who feel rejected and disoriented by that should look for comfort in the character who is the true moral center of the Potterverse,” Lewis wrote. “It was never Harry, the boy who happened to live, whose luck always holds, whose mistakes are minor. It is Severus Snape, who was made miserable by Harry’s father and took it out on Harry, who loved Harry’s mother and betrayed her friends, who redeemed himself with a morally repugnant act. A bully, a victim, a villain, and a hero: a human.”

But is it enough to cite foul human idiosyncrasies as a means to forgive inadequacies by individuals who should probably know better and do better in the process of human evolution? That will be decided over time in the court of public opinion. For now, we have this right here to digest and dismantle (click below to expand and see all 11 tweets).

Rowling was back at it on Twitter this morning with the interaction below. Get ready for another news cycle, folks.

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP

Samantha Bee Blasts Meghan McCain: ‘You Are Not a Journalist’

Published

on

The latest sexual assault allegation against the current president of the United States was the topic of discussion on Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal treatment Wednesday night.

While many of us were glued to our televisions and wireless devices to live stream the first of a two-night Democratic debate series, Bee was on her mark.

“Thank you for tuning in to my show instead of watching the Democratic debate and getting swept away by John Delaney fever,” the Full Frontal host joked. “Now, with a looming war with Iran to the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the border, it has been a week. Somewhere in the middle of all that was the teensy bit of news that our president, who has admitted to sexual assault on tape, was accused for the 22nd time of sexual misconduct.”

“I’m sorry, hold on,” she said, “I just have to say: This is the 22nd accusation of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump. 22. If I had a dollar for every person Trump allegedly sexually harassed or assaulted, I would be doing better than any of his businesses.”

“If you missed this story, that’s not surprising,” Bee added, noting that it “didn’t make the front page” of most major newspapers over the weekend. “Days later, the accusations are being discussed but it’s still being treated as a small story. It’s not getting the wall-to-wall coverage that, say, Fire and Fury did, which is ridiculous, because Trump’s response alone should be headline news for days.”

Bee’s reaction was in response to Trump’s assertion that he couldn’t have possibly raped E. Jean Carroll because she’s not his “type.”

“Don’t say you have a rape type,” Bee told her audience. “You aren’t her type either, which is the whole fucking problem. Every woman has heard a guy say some version of ‘you’re not hot enough for me to rape’ and that is how we know he’s probably a rapist.”

“And much of the TV coverage left something to be desired,” Bee added. “Noted TV dum-dum Meghan McCain took a much-needed break from being Judaism’s self-appointed spokesperson to say that maybe Carroll is lying.”

Here’s the thing, McCain literally defended Trump while saying she knew she would be “raked over the coals” for doing so. She did it anyway. On the air.

“Wow, Meghan McCain’s take is so bad, Joy Behar literally had to wear sunglasses to hold back her eye lasers,” said Bee. “It’s not people who defend accused rapists who put something on the line; it’s the women who decide to speak up who, as Carroll puts it, receive death threats, are driven from their home, dismissed and dragged through the mud, only to see Trump turn it around, deny, threaten and attack them, which is exactly what he did again.”

“I’m sorry that the media is tired of talking about how the president did sexual assault a bunch but imagine how tired women are of having a sexual assaulter as president,” she added. “Of course it’s impossible to hear accusation after accusation without getting accustomed to it. That’s no one’s fault and I’m not singling anyone out, but when you let him off with softball questions about where he’s going to build his library without once mentioning his many accusers, you are dropping the ball, Chuck Todd. No one should ever sit down with President Predator without asking about these 22 women.”

“It matters. It will never stop mattering,” Bee said. “You wouldn’t interview Jeffrey Dahmer and only ask him about spice blends. If you’re not going to hold Trump accountable, you are not a journalist. Go do Sunday morning segments about fucking lasagna. Otherwise, do your job, please.”

Watch the segment:

Continue Reading

BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP

Conservative Tells GOP to Buckle Up: Mueller Is About to Expose ‘The Unseemly Underbelly of Trumpland’

Published

on

Conservative Matt Lewis has written a new column for The Daily Beast warning his fellow right-wingers that they will no longer be able to ignore the sleaze surrounding President Donald Trump.

Although Lewis admits that Mueller has not yet nailed Trump for colluding with Russian government officials, he does think that Mueller’s probe is about to uncover a wide range of corrupt behavior among many of Trump’s closest associates.

“What is clear is that he was surrounded by people who were involved in some very unethical endeavors,” Lewis writes. “Those endeavors are about to become more public; and the public is about to get a big window into the unseemly underbelly of Trumpland.”

He then cautions conservatives that Mueller may be about to uncover actions that no one should defend, no matter their partisan allegiances.

“Frankly, if it becomes clear that the president made foreign policy or public policy decisions—while in office—based on the fact that he was in some way (a) compromised, or (b) seeking personal gain by virtue of his position, that would be a bridge too far,” he writes. “We’re not there yet, but we could get there.”

Read the whole column here.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.