It Isn't Hate to Speak the Truth

 "If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the truth." -JK Rowling

Renowned "Harry Potter" novelist J.K. Rowling fired back Sunday after facing yet another death threat—this time from a transgender activist who wished the author would "receive a pipe bomb in her mailbox."

"To be fair," Rowling wrote back, "when you can't get a woman sacked, arrested, or dropped by her publisher, and cancelling her only made her book sales go up, there's really only one place to go."

One commenter responded, asking the 55-year-old writer if the latest death threat was in response to "her comments about safety of women in toilets/changing rooms if men can use them by simply saying they identify as a woman?"

"Yes, but now hundreds of trans activists have threatened to beat, rape, assassinate, and bomb me, I've realized that this movement poses no risk to women whatsoever," Rowling answered facetiously.

The initial threat against Rowling came after the storyteller snapped back at a critic who claimed she ignored pornography tweeted to children by leftist activists seeking revenge against her.

"I'll give you a moment to think hard about leaving that up," she fired back at the critic who published the first tweet. "I reported every bit of porn so-called trans allies tweeted into Twitter threads where children were sending me artwork for [the novel] 'The Ickabod.' I didn't respond or retweet it, because I didn't want more kids to see it".

I’m not sure how these tactics — using porn as a weapon against women you dislike, not caring that children get caught in the crossfire, and then misrepresenting what really happened — are supposed to help trans people.

Nor do I see how what you’ve done here helps correct the impression that the end game for you [and] your ilk is to intimidate women out of speaking up for our own rights, no matter how low you have to go to do it.

There were several social media users who reached out to pledge their support to Rowling.

One person who described herself as a “black radical feminist” condemned the attacks against her as “vile misogyny” and told Rowling, “I’m sorry you’re being targeted in this way.”

Scottish politician Joanna Cherry — who has the backing of Rowling — defended the well-known author Monday, writing she’s “proud to stand with” Rowling “in defending women’s rights.”

“She’s right that the escalation from harassment of women who speak up to trying to get them sacked or criminalized to threats of violence is common,” Cherry added. “It’s time more people with power called this out.”

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Rowling, for her part, thanked her supporters for “sending me beautiful, kind, funny, and supportive messages,” adding earlier, “And together, we will win.”

What is this about?

In June of last year, Rowling published a lengthy essay in which she revealed she is “a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor.” She also defended women’s rights by calling for the protection of women-only spaces, arguing they should be reserved for biological females.

“When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman — and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones — then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside,” she wrote in part. “That is a simple truth.”

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In a series of tweets published around the same time, Rowling shared the scientific fact that sex — one’s biological makeup — is immutable.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” she reasoned. “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

The novelist was hit almost immediately with disheartening accusations. She was lambasted as “a transphobic bigot” using her platform “to attack a vulnerable minority,” referring to transgender individuals.

It’s worth noting, however, that some in the transgender community agreed with Rowling’s assessment.

One transgender-identified female, Dr. Debbie Hayton, said many in her community “appreciate” the author’s “courage in speaking out against an authoritarian ideology that oppresses women, gay people, and trans people.”

“We need to return to reality,” Hayton added. “Sends is real and it is immutable.”

Furthermore, in December of last year, Rowling said the vast majority — “more than 90%” — of the correspondence she’s received since the initial backlash has “been supportive.” She said she’s even been mailed “heartbreaking letters” from “young women who regret the irreversible surgeries they’ve undertaken” after erroneously believing they were transgender.

Rowling said many people “are afraid to speak up because they fear for their jobs and even for their personal safety,” later adding, “These stories need to be told.”