The Harry Potter author described several transgender women as men in a series of social media posts.

JK Rowling has challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law in a series of social media posts - inviting police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence.

The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.

She said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.

Earlier, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said the new law would deal with a “rising tide of hatred”.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

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Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, posted on X on the day the new legislation came into force.

  • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
    6·
    8 months ago

    I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this. It is refreshing to get answers when I ask about this stuff instead of just slurs and attacks.

    Is it definitionally correct to say that male and female are two of the biological sexes, but there are more? Or is it not even the case that male and female are biological sexes at all? If not, then what is the proper term for xx and xy people?

    Do you know what the reason is for the down votes I am getting for the question i asked you? Obviously I don’t care about the score or whatever, I just want to know what it is about my question that is offensive.

    • UnpluggedFridge@lemmy.world
      121·
      8 months ago

      You are getting downvotes because Tucker Carlson has weaponized the “I’m just asking questions” excuse to justify terrible takes on established science. People are finding you guilty by association. It is very hard to distinguish between actual curiosity and trolling, especially when bigots are constantly honing their messaging to appeal to wider audiences. Some people will get caught in the crossfire of our culture wars.

      • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
        5·
        8 months ago

        Well, I suppose if stopping the spread of awareness was his goal, then he has done a hell of a good job. It is crazy how many people instantly turn to hate and name calling as soon as they discover you are not already on the exact same page as them. Thanks for sharing this.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      91·
      8 months ago

      “Male” and “female” were terms we came up with long before we understood things like genetics. They come fourteenth century and they have been with us ever since. Maybe we shouldn’t use those terms anymore, but it’s not something that’s easy to change.

      • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
        5·
        8 months ago

        Wow! I had no idea that the terms male/female were not around until the 14th century. That’s fascinating! Thanks so much!

    • ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      8 months ago

      If someone’s body has the typical properties for males or females, it’s generally considered as such. If someone was born with properties of both, they maybe considered intersex. Trans people often don’t fit very well into this system. A trans woman for example may have XY genes (a typically male trait) but estrogen and a vagina (typically female traits).

      Male and female work well for most people, but there are some people whose bodies aren’t strictly male or female. For those people, medicine generally has to individually consider the relevant traits.

      • Feddyteddy@lemmy.sdf.org
        2·
        8 months ago

        It’s really fascinating stuff, and way more complex than they teach us in school. Hopefully, this is changing though. With how important survival is to evolution and how prevalent this stuff seems to be, I can’t imagine that there isn’t some reason that a species would have so many variations. I wonder how common it is for other species to have variations that aren’t simply the xx and xy equivalent in nature. I wonder if it is possible for there to be a 3rd chromosome type in any other species. It’s so cool that this is all something that is getting more and more awareness.