Martina Navratilova and Judy Murray confirmed assist for a brand new JK Rowling social media publish. (Canva/Getty)
Former tennis star Martina Navratilova and Judy Murray, mom of British participant Andy Murray, hve endorsed a brand new publish from JK Rowling that misgenders trans ladies whereas outlining her views on trans inclusion.
In current posts on social media, Rowling intentionally misgendered a number of trans ladies earlier than difficult police to arrest her if she fell foul of Scotland’s new hate crime legal guidelines. Nonetheless, Police Scotland mentioned the remarks have been not felony.
On Saturday (6 April), Rowling lambasted the brand new Scottish laws but once more in a prolonged publish on X/Twitter, delving additional into her views on the alleged conflict between trans rights and the rights of ladies.
She claimed that girls are ladies as a result of “reality of being born in a physique, assuming nothing has gone incorrect together with her bodily improvement”, is “geared in direction of producing eggs” and “begetting youngsters”.
JK Rowling later acknowledged gender dysphoria is a “actual and really painful situation”. She felt “nothing however sympathy for anybody who suffers from it”.
However she didn’t imagine gender-affirming healthcare, which may embody surgical procedures in addition to hormone alternative remedy, may “flip an individual into the other intercourse” or that folks can have a gender identification that differs from what they have been assigned at beginning.
She added that she’s “strongly towards ladies’s and ladies’ rights and protections being dismantled to accommodate” trans ladies, whom she misgendered whereas utilizing an anti-trans canine whistle time period.
Judy Murray, who’s the mom of Scottish tennis participant Andy Murray and is a tennis coach, shared her assist for JK Rowling. Murray shared Rowling’s social media publish alongside the phrase “preach”.
Navratilova, who has confronted backlash for posting anti-trans remarks earlier than, additionally commented on Rowling’s publish. She wrote: “Proper on JK !!!”
Scotland’s new regulation expanded current hate crime laws. It additionally created a brand new offence criminalising actions that fire up hatred primarily based on a listing of protected traits which incorporates trans identities.
Only a week after the laws kicked off, there have been media stories that Police Scotland has been “overwhelmed” by a deluge of complaints.
The power reportedly obtained over 3,000 hate crime stories inside two days of the laws going into power. The Observer reported that neo-Nazi and far-right figures are utilizing the regulation to make vexatious complaints in an try and spam police programs.
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has defended the laws, saying it’s wanted to “shield individuals towards the rising tide of hatred we see proper internationally”.
Yousaf additionally commented on JK Rowling’s remarks concerning the new regulation. He mentioned her posts didn’t “meet a threshold of criminality” below the laws, however he thought they have been “offensive, upsetting and insulting to trans individuals”.