JK Rowling spoke out in defense of Maya Forstater and the truth, here’s how Twitter responded

Yesterday, a UK judge determined that Maya Forstater’s employer was justified in firing her for speaking out against gender identity legislation. Forstater lost her job as a tax expert at the Center for Global Development after being accused of using “offensive and exclusionary” language on Twitter for saying men cannot change into women. She took the case to employment tribunal “to show that no one should be discriminated against for having gender critical views, and talking about them,” and was able to raise more than £85,000 through crowdfunding to pay her legal bills. “All I ever wanted on this was for people to be able to talk about the policy questions around sex and gender identity in a normal, open, democratic way,” she tweeted.

Employment Judge Tayler decided Forstater’s view that sex is immutable “is incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others.” In the judgement, he said:

“If a person has transitioned from male to female and has a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), that person is legally a woman. That is not something Ms Forstater is entitled to ignore. Ms Forstater’s position is that even if a trans woman has a GRC, she cannot honestly describe herself as a woman. That belief is not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”

Today, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been accused of being a “TERF” in the past for following the late Magdalen Berns on Twitter, spoke out in defense of Forstater, tweeting:

“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”

Rowling has received much support online from feminists and other rational thinkers:

But she has also been subject to endless vitriol from trans activists and been accused of bigotry and of harming trans-identified people with her words:

A doctor named Eugene Gu took it upon himself to “educate and inform” Rowling that “trans rights are human rights and trans women are women.” He also accused her of “white feminism,” as, apparently, speaking about biology and reality amounts to “white supremacy.”

America’s Top Gaslighter, Charles Clymer, told Rowling she didn’t “understand the first thing about the trans community or the science at play.” He failed to elaborate on the “science” behind changing one’s biological sex.

Actress Patricia Arquette announced, in response, that she did not stand with Forstater, and added:

“I am not afraid of being raped by a trans woman in fact I’m afraid FOR trans women as they have the highest likelihood of being raped in any group. I’m afraid of rapist who are everywhere sadly.”

The irony of so many claiming Rowling’s gentle statement, arguing that one should not be fired for saying that sex is real, is dangerous or hateful is clear to any who reads the responses to her online, and is summarized perfectly by blogger Jane Aldridge, who tweeted that she “hated” Rowling and hoped “something bad happens to her.”

Rowling’s words will surely encourage more women to speak up in defense of Forstater, free speech, and women, so let’s give her some love.

Meghan Murphy

Founder & Editor

Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, BC. She has been podcasting and writing about feminism since 2010 and has published work in numerous national and international publications, including The Spectator, UnHerd, Quillette, the CBC, New Statesman, Vice, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, and more. Meghan completed a Masters degree in the department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and is now exiled in Mexico with her very photogenic dog.