The "Cancellation" of J.K. Rowling

[Thaluikhain]

it is a self-identification used by certain schools or traditions of second wave feminists but which can also be applied to people who use the same arguments and rhetoric as those second wave radical feminists.

Ah, ok, I was thinking strictly of the first definition, not of the second.

Way back when I was first really starting to read about feminism, I was mostly reading contemporary Radfem stuff written by self-professed Radical Feminists (in hindsight, rather less critically than I should have been), and while some of them were transphobic in a similar way to Rowling, they seemed to be very different in other areas.

Though, just googled, and it turns out that Rowling was quoting Andrea Dworkin as recently as 6 days ago.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Though, just googled, and it turns out that Rowling was quoting Andrea Dworkin as recently as 6 days ago.

I'm not sure why, Andrea Dworkin really wasn't on her side.

Hormone and chromosome research, attempts to develop new means of human reproduction (life created in, or considerably supported by, the scientist’s laboratory), work with transsexuals, and studies of formation of gender identity in children provide basic information which challenges the notion that there are two discrete biological sexes. That information threatens to transform the traditional biology of sex difference into the radical biology of sex similarity. That is not to say there is one sex, but that there are many. The evidence which is germane here is simple. The words “male” and “female,” “man” and “woman,” are used only because as yet there are no others.

The discovery is, of course, that “man” and “woman” are fictions, caricatures, cultural constructs. As models they are reductive, totalitarian, inappropriate to human becoming. As roles they are static, demeaning to the female, dead-ended for male and female both. The discovery is inescapable: We are, clearly, a multisexed species which has its sexuality spread along a vast continuum where the elements called male and female are not discrete.

She was also a well known critic/target of separatist feminism.

So I spoke, afraid. I said that I would not be associated with a movement that advocated the most pernicious ideology on the face of the earth. It was this very ideology of biological determinism that had licensed the slaughter and/or enslavement of virtually any group one could name, including women by men. ("Use their own poison against them," one woman screamed.) Anywhere one looked, it was this philosophy that justified atrocity. This was one faith that destroyed life with a momentum of its own.

Pulled toward an ideology based on the moral and social significance of a distinct female biology because of its emotional and philosophical familiarity, drawn to the spiritual dignity inherent in a "female principle" (essentially as defined by men), of course unable to abandon by will or impulse a lifelong and centuries-old commitment to childbearing as the female creative act, women have increasingly tried to transform the very ideology that has enslaved us into a dynamic, religious, psychologically compelling celebration of female biological potential. This attempted transformation may have survival value—that is, the worship of our procreative capacity as power may temporarily stay the male-supremacist hand that cradles the test tube. But the price we pay is that we become carriers of the disease we must cure ... Wherever power is accessible or bodily integrity honored on the basis of biological attribute, systematized cruelty permeates the society and murder and mutilation contaminate it. We will not be different.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'm not sure why, Andrea Dworkin really wasn't on her side.

I would say it's like white moderates quoting MLK, but on second thought, while MLK's pop-culture image is as a non-threatening Saint, Andrea Dworkin got massively smeared. Does seem an odd choice.

 

[Gergar12]

Bill Clinton

Kills 500K Iraqi children

The Left;...

JK Rowling

Says stupid stuff

The Left; cancel her!!!!

 

[Jarrito3002]

Bill Clinton

Kills 500K Iraqi children

The Left;...

JK Rowling

Says stupid stuff

The Left; cancel her!!!!

I see your going for hyberbole but even this is a bad take.

Like what Left are you talking about here cause I can gurantee that they were children or not born during that time period so Clintons major political bungles are a complete different beast than JK transphobic language and views.

This seems low effort bait and if it made sense and sounded good in your head I will recommended dial back the hyperbole cause there saying something outlandish to bring up point and saying something outlandish and people this guy is not playing with a full deck.

 

[Gordon_4]

Bill Clinton

Kills 500K Iraqi children

The Left;...

JK Rowling

Says stupid stuff

The Left; cancel her!!!!

I remember during Clinton’s administration there were US actions in Kosovo and Bosnia - we examined them in my school’s social sciences class - but took a few minutes to check and yeah, 1998 had Operation Desert Fox, a joint venture with the UK to enforce a no fly zone. That little escapade I have no memory of, although it did only go for four days.

As for ‘the left’, as far as my checking goes there was plenty of criticism both in the US and abroad - although not all of it was against the idea itself - but it was in 1998. And you can’t exactly cancel a president beyond voting them out.

 

[Gergar12]

I remember during Clinton’s administration there were US actions in Kosovo and Bosnia - we examined them in my school’s social sciences class - but took a few minutes to check and yeah, 1998 had Operation Desert Fox, a joint venture with the UK to enforce a no fly zone. That little escapade I have no memory of, although it did only go for four days.

As for ‘the left’, as far as my checking goes there was plenty of criticism both in the US and abroad - although not all of it was against the idea itself - but it was in 1998. And you can’t exactly cancel a president beyond voting them out.

Yes, you can cancel a US president, don't vote for their wife is one thing you could do. You could also heckle them whenever they speak, but I have never heard anyone do that before.

I see your going for hyberbole but even this is a bad take.

Like what Left are you talking about here cause I can gurantee that they were children or not born during that time period so Clintons major political bungles are a complete different beast than JK transphobic language and views.

This seems low effort bait and if it made sense and sounded good in your head I will recommended dial back the hyperbole cause there saying something outlandish to bring up point and saying something outlandish and people this guy is not playing with a full deck.

My point is that there are bigger fish to fry. Great your canceling celebrities, now cancel the war criminals too, please.

 

[Jarrito3002]

Yes, you can cancel a US president, don't vote for their wife is one thing you could do. You could also heckle them whenever they speak, but I have never heard anyone do that before.


My point is that there are bigger fish to fry. Great your canceling celebrities, now cancel the war criminals too, please.

You brought up Bill Clinton who got "canceled" when he lied about the getting dome in the west wing. And since then the most major political pull is helping Hilary with campaigning. So how do we "cancel" Bill Clinton at this point. What jail time. Or actually being charged for war crimes in these United States. If you think the Twitter "mob" has that kind of pull well more power well good luck is all I can say.

That is why this letter the people who signed it is the most useless gesture ever because the idea of "canceling" is all abstract and lets be honest is a bad thing the other side does who ever side you lean more towards.

 

[Gergar12]

You brought up Bill Clinton who got "canceled" when he lied about the getting dome in the west wing. And since then the most major political pull is helping Hilary with campaigning. So how do we "cancel" Bill Clinton at this point. What jail time. Or actually being charged for war crimes in these United States. If you think the Twitter "mob" has that kind of pull well more power well good luck is all I can say.

That is why this letter the people who signed it is the most useless gesture ever because the idea of "canceling" is all abstract and lets be honest is a bad thing the other side does who ever side you lean more towards.

He got canceled??? He goes on various talk shows and isn't challenged like Stephen Colbert for example.

 

[Trunkage]

He got canceled??? He goes on various talk shows and isn't challenged like Stephen Colbert for example.

Yeah, I don’t think there is a generally consensus on what Cancelled means. It’s not like J K Rowling is banned from anywhere but somehow she’s Cancelled.

 

[Jarrito3002]

He got canceled??? He goes on various talk shows and isn't challenged like Stephen Colbert for example.

Which is why I put quotations. I mean he is in last I checked no position to influence anything policy or decision making. And when have talk shows been bastion of putting people task and not just late night banter.

I think asking for 5, 6 maybe 7 other different words but "canceling" is not one of them.

 

[Jarrito3002]

Yeah, I don’t think there is a generally consensus on what Cancelled means. It’s not like J K Rowling is banned from anywhere but somehow she’s Cancelled.

I am going quit. Cause whatever definition Gerger has for canceling borders hysterical.

 

[Gergar12]

I am going quit. Cause whatever definition Gerger has for canceling borders hysterical.

Fired and or ostracized.

 

[Kwak]

Just in the paper today, I read about the withdrawal of a journal article for being "racist" by highlighting the issue that Australians are travelling to the Philipines and sexually abusing women there. The author wanted to bring attention to the issue. Apparently it was deemed "racist" because it's...written by a white male, who's highlighting the disgusting behaviour of other white males? The publisher withdrew the article, pledged their support to fight against racism and ableism, and promised that they'd never re-publish it.

Citation?

 

[Trunkage]

Bill Clinton

Kills 500K Iraqi children

The Left;...

JK Rowling

Says stupid stuff

The Left; cancel her!!!!

Are we talking about the sanctions by Clinton and Blair? Yeah no, that’s ineffective And got a lot of people killed. So does every sanction including the ones on North Korea and iran. It’s also a step removed. So it’s not as bad as drone strikes by Obama and Trump. It’s like Obama and Libya / Syria. Yep sure, he was partial cause of a lot of deaths there. It’s not as bad as invading like Bush

Like, I KNOW Biden is going to kill a lot of people. If I would vote for him, it would be based not on the fact that he will be a war criminal. He will be. But hopefully a lesser war criminal than a Trump.

Should they all be cancelled. Yep.

 

[Trunkage]

Fired and or ostracized.

So... ostracising a rapist is bad?

 

[Hawki]

Citation?

I can't remember which one. It'll have been thrown away by now I'm afraid.

So... ostracising a rapist is bad?

No, but I'm not worried about rapists, I'm worried about people and material who are cancelled for more inocuous things.

There's no equivalance between someone like Kevin Spacey and James Gunn for instance.

 

[Silvanus]

Bill Clinton

Kills 500K Iraqi children

The Left;...

JK Rowling

Says stupid stuff

The Left; cancel her!!!!

Uhrm, the left has been highly critical of the Iraq War, "third way" leaders like Clinton and Blair, and military interventionism in general. There's been far, far more criticism of Clinton on "the left" than there has been of Rowling.

 

[Agema]

I am going quit. Cause whatever definition Gerger has for canceling borders hysterical.

I wonder if cancelling is a bit like the paradox of thrift. It's okay when a few people do it, but when everyone does it, it's censorship.

 

[Gergar12]

Uhrm, the left has been highly critical of the Iraq War, "third way" leaders like Clinton and Blair, and military interventionism in general. There's been far, far more criticism of Clinton on "the left" than there has been of Rowling.

Okay yet people like Stephen Colbert still have him on, and Ellen is friends with George W Bush. Wheres the ostracizing?