If you have been on twitter today you have probably seen everyone talking about this tweet by JK Rowling:
JK Rowling has posted TERFy things before but this is the most explicit. She is referring to an employment tribunal that was brought forward by a woman, Maya Forstater, who had not had her contract renewed due to being repeatedly transphobic (including repeatedly and purposefully mispronouning a person who uses they/them pronouns).
Rowling’s tweet is spreading misinformation about the employment tribunal: The case wasn’t about whether you can or cannot say sex is real. Maya Forstater’s case was about whether discriminating against trans people is a legally protected right (not about her own employment) as she admits here:
The money for the case (around £80k) was raised through transphobic platforms such as Mums net.
Here is where the good news bit comes in: Forstater’s case was not successful. This means transphobes just paid £80k of their own money to give trans people more rights! LMFAO! This case law/new precedent has strengthened legal protections for trans people in England!
The judge in the case ruled that TERF/’Gender critical’ views are “incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others” and that TERFs do not have the right to ignore a trans persons gender
That refusing to respect someone’s gender and use their pronouns is an “approach not worthy of respect in a democratic society”
and concludes that being transphobic is not a political belief protected by equality laws
This is fantastic news and something really positive for trans people in England and Wales! I know calling our Rowling for being a Terf is important but losing this positive context is harmful. As trans people we are inundated with bad news and hateful views - today is a good day, something good has happened at last, lets share and celebrate that as the relentless bad news is killing us.