I have to agree Tina and I’m alarmed at the viciousness which is often involved if one dares to be even slightly non-condemnatory of people like J K Rowling.
Something very odd is going on when a figure like J.K. Rowling attracts so much venom and hatred on the basis of her support for women's rights. Or maybe it's not odd at all. Throughout history, when women's rights have begun to gain some purchase on society, gynophobia takes on many guises in order to put us back where we belong - subdued and subservient to men's desires. The shrew must always be tamed by whatever means necessary!
Thank you Tina for sharing your reflections and having the courage to take the stand you have. I share your concerns about the details and graphics in the publication Grandad's Pride and I too am suspicious of what is driving this. I am also concerned about the Oxfam TikTok posting. And yet I am conflicted to some degree as parents will say the would indeed want to teach their children that "everybody should be treated with equality and respect—no matter who they love or what gender they are" as stated in the What is Pride answer in the book. Similarly as Christians we hold as central the teachings of Jesus on the two great commandments to love God and love others as yourself, and his final discourse that repeats his new commandment of love that is to be applied to everyone. On the face of it, Jeanette Winterson's statement is enormously empowering, especially perhaps for those of us in same sex relationships who time and again, in Church and secular settings, have had to keep quiet. Knowing that love will not stay silent affirms and ratifies and enables us to dare speak the name of our love. And yet you are right in all you say about the dangers of sexualisation, grooming and exploitation that run as undercurrents in the examples you denounce. Somehow we need to discern how to proclaim values that are key to our faith and our identity, while distinguishing and separating these from the disturbing trend you describe so clearly.
Thank you Ann, and my apologies for the slow response. I read your comment when you posted it, but I've been off Substack for a little while. I agree with all that you say, and these are very difficult balancing acts to maintain, especially in the face of such adversarial ideologies. Some forms of trans activism militate against respect for same-sex relationships, either by reinforcing heterosexual binaries (e.g. diagnosing young people as trans instead of recognising and respecting that they might be gay), or by some trans women insisting that they are accepted and embraced as lesbians, even if they have not physically transitioned. The commandment to love is I think much more challenging and rugged than it seems. I much appreciate your comment. I hope we can continue the dialogue.
Thanks, Tina, for saying this so clearly and honestly. Throughout my lifetime I've seen men who want to have sex with childen use every device and strategy to legitimise their desires ... from the PIE in the 60s to the early years of the WWW to the current campaign to delegimise the integrity of women and silence the voices of women in favour of the 'right' of men to control the narrative on sex and gender ...
Thank you Patricia. There are no institutions, communities or domestic groupings that can claim immunity from this. Women are often complicit and on rare occasions they are the instigators, but more often female perpetrators are in thrall to controlling men - religious leaders, lovers, etc. I really do think the undermining of parental love and responsibility allied to the sexualisation of childhood through many channels, including the media, the advertising and marketing industry, and social media, constitute a toxic and dangerous brew. The cynical appropriation of these issues by the zealous and violent fanatics of the US Far Right risks silencing all other voices. We need to show that these concerns are common ground for people with integrity, of all political persuasions and gendered/sexual identities.
I have to agree Tina and I’m alarmed at the viciousness which is often involved if one dares to be even slightly non-condemnatory of people like J K Rowling.
Something very odd is going on when a figure like J.K. Rowling attracts so much venom and hatred on the basis of her support for women's rights. Or maybe it's not odd at all. Throughout history, when women's rights have begun to gain some purchase on society, gynophobia takes on many guises in order to put us back where we belong - subdued and subservient to men's desires. The shrew must always be tamed by whatever means necessary!
Thank you Tina for sharing your reflections and having the courage to take the stand you have. I share your concerns about the details and graphics in the publication Grandad's Pride and I too am suspicious of what is driving this. I am also concerned about the Oxfam TikTok posting. And yet I am conflicted to some degree as parents will say the would indeed want to teach their children that "everybody should be treated with equality and respect—no matter who they love or what gender they are" as stated in the What is Pride answer in the book. Similarly as Christians we hold as central the teachings of Jesus on the two great commandments to love God and love others as yourself, and his final discourse that repeats his new commandment of love that is to be applied to everyone. On the face of it, Jeanette Winterson's statement is enormously empowering, especially perhaps for those of us in same sex relationships who time and again, in Church and secular settings, have had to keep quiet. Knowing that love will not stay silent affirms and ratifies and enables us to dare speak the name of our love. And yet you are right in all you say about the dangers of sexualisation, grooming and exploitation that run as undercurrents in the examples you denounce. Somehow we need to discern how to proclaim values that are key to our faith and our identity, while distinguishing and separating these from the disturbing trend you describe so clearly.
Thank you Ann, and my apologies for the slow response. I read your comment when you posted it, but I've been off Substack for a little while. I agree with all that you say, and these are very difficult balancing acts to maintain, especially in the face of such adversarial ideologies. Some forms of trans activism militate against respect for same-sex relationships, either by reinforcing heterosexual binaries (e.g. diagnosing young people as trans instead of recognising and respecting that they might be gay), or by some trans women insisting that they are accepted and embraced as lesbians, even if they have not physically transitioned. The commandment to love is I think much more challenging and rugged than it seems. I much appreciate your comment. I hope we can continue the dialogue.
Thanks, Tina, for saying this so clearly and honestly. Throughout my lifetime I've seen men who want to have sex with childen use every device and strategy to legitimise their desires ... from the PIE in the 60s to the early years of the WWW to the current campaign to delegimise the integrity of women and silence the voices of women in favour of the 'right' of men to control the narrative on sex and gender ...
Thank you Patricia. There are no institutions, communities or domestic groupings that can claim immunity from this. Women are often complicit and on rare occasions they are the instigators, but more often female perpetrators are in thrall to controlling men - religious leaders, lovers, etc. I really do think the undermining of parental love and responsibility allied to the sexualisation of childhood through many channels, including the media, the advertising and marketing industry, and social media, constitute a toxic and dangerous brew. The cynical appropriation of these issues by the zealous and violent fanatics of the US Far Right risks silencing all other voices. We need to show that these concerns are common ground for people with integrity, of all political persuasions and gendered/sexual identities.