Six years on from her “infamous” essay on sex and gender, JK Rowling has written an update. Just like the first, it is rational, compassionate and beautifully written, and just like the first, it will not be read by those who have most to learn from it. This will not stop them from discussing all the “hate” it contains.
Like many a feminist, I can still remember that brief period in June 2020 after Rowling published her first essay and those on the right side of history were struggling to find fault with anything she’d written. They all knew they had to, but there wasn’t anything with which a sane person could disagree. Thankfully, within a few days some mad people had stepped in and penned their own explanations of why this perfectly kind, measured piece was in fact genocidal transphobia in disguise. The right side of history people breathed a sigh of relief and considered themselves free to ignore all the rape and death threats being sent Rowling’s way.