Gender? Sex? Help me out please.

Ilovecheese

No, The book written by JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith is not about a man dressing as a woman to murder women. That statement is not true.
If you don't want to read the book, o.k. just do not misrepresent that book because someone else has told lies about it.

Which book are you talking about?

...Sticks head over parapet...

Rowling has said that the character of Dennis Creed, the serial killer in her new novel who has provoked accusations of transphobia because he dresses up in a woman’s coat and wig, is loosely based on two real-life murderers.

Creed lures his victims into his van by wearing a woman’s coat and wig

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/17/jk-rowling-villain-womens-clothes-based-on-real-cases-robert-galbraith-troubled-blood

trisher

GrannyGravy13

trisher

JK Rowling does write as Robert Galbraith which when you think about is is a bit double standards. She's allowed to be a man when she feels like it but men aren't allowed to be women!

She is not pretending to be a man, she is writing under a nom de plume something totally different, and something which has been done for hundreds of years by both sexes.

She has had some of the most horrendous trolling and death threats for sticking up for natal women.

But the use of male names was linked with the fact that women couldn't get published. Either that or the woman led a male life, like Georges Sand. Neither of these reasons seem to apply to JKR.

Any one can call themselves whatever name they like, I assume your name is not trisher in the real world?

A female using a male name, is totally different to a female identifying as a man, and vice-a-versa.

It's not really about the subject but I just looked at the books she's written as RG and one had an audio sample. I fell about laughing when Strike stood "his eyes sweeping the pavement" Oh come on no one writes such tosh!!!

trisher

It's not really about the subject but I just looked at the books she's written as RG and one had an audio sample. I fell about laughing when Strike stood "his eyes sweeping the pavement" Oh come on no one writes such tosh!!!

Plenty of tosh written/posted on GN every day…

There is a lot of ‘tosh’ published. The only reason I can see for singling out JKR for vitriol is because she has stated her belief that sex is immutable - hardly a literary criticism, but it goes against the No Debate mantra of the TRAs.

Why will you be avoiding threads about trans issues in future, volver? You asked for opinions on the subject - is this thread not what you expected?

The style of her writing is also irrelevant, there really is no need to pull it to pieces, just because you disagree with her stance on the ability of human beings to change sex.

Granygravy it's a bit more than that, she even gave her pseudonym an entire back story that would lend weight to "his" knowledge of the subject matter.

She didn't just change a name, she dressed up

I really shouldn’t let myself be tempted, but if you don’t like an author, for any reason, you can always find things that don’t suit you. But this is a fun deviation from the subject.
trisher
It's not really about the subject but I just looked at the books she's written as RG and one had an audio sample. I fell about laughing when Strike stood "his eyes sweeping the pavement" Oh come on no one writes such tosh!!!

trisher
Oh come on no one writes such tosh!!!
That from you trisher????

In addition, when I lost my engagement ring when I took my gloves off, my eyes swept the pavement where I’d been walking, until luckily, I found it.

Why will you be avoiding threads about trans issues in future, volver? You asked for opinions on the subject - is this thread not what you expected?

I do appreciate all the comments and I think I do understand more than I did a few hours ago. I'm not sure what I expected but threads have a life of their own and this one is what it is, no problem with that.

I won't be joining in future threads because I still find myself with no strong feelings either way. Its not high on my list of things to worry about.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but it seems a bit confected.

Now where's that hard hat...

Well that didn't take long. Within minutes we have someone who hadn't even read the bloody book carping on with all sorts of silly conspiracies about why J K Rowling chose to use a nom de plume. Of no relevance and no help.

volver sounds good to me, I periodically abandon them

I see a new title and think, there are a marginalised group being discussed in a bad light and they don't have many voice here, so I should be one

Then it gets a bit repetitive and personal and I realise I have nothing more to say anyway

GillT57

Well that didn't take long. Within minutes we have someone who hadn't even read the bloody book carping on with all sorts of silly conspiracies about why J K Rowling chose to use a nom de plume. Of no relevance and no help.

Everything I have said is based on her own words in interviews. I'm very fair like that

GillT57

Well that didn't take long. Within minutes we have someone who hadn't even read the bloody book carping on with all sorts of silly conspiracies about why J K Rowling chose to use a nom de plume. Of no relevance and no help.

I do find it difficult to understand how someone can be derogatory about an authors writing style and their books when they haven’t read them.

Sex = Born XX or XY chromosomes
(I know a small % can have different chromosomes).
Sex can't be altered.

Gender = whatever you choose .

Imho Womens only spaces in particular should be based on Sex not Gender.

This thread is typical though, there seems to be no wish to accommodate the opposing belief and come to any sort of compromise.

granygravy

I did not say I haven't read her books

I have read a few

I said I had not read all of that particular book a d I will no longer by her books

She is a millionaire anyway and won't notice myissing money.

In the interest of clarity

Sorry for the errors, not particularly helpful to clarity

Ilovecheese

This thread is typical though, there seems to be no wish to accommodate the opposing belief and come to any sort of compromise.

On either side. What sort of compromise would you like to see?

Another excellent post Doodledog.

As you've said GG JKR isn't pretending to be a man simply because she's chosen to do what writers of both sexes have been doing for centuries. The suggestion that an extremely successful female writer is using a man's name in order to sell more books is quite frankly laughable.

People aren't saying that men aren't allowed to be women trisher they're saying that men can't be women.

GillT57 @ 17.29

Why did she call herself JK Rowling and not Jo?

volver

Why did she call herself JK Rowling and not Jo?

I wonder if anyone asked J.R.R. Tolkien why he was published under his initials as opposed to his given name?