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> but it saddens me our public debate channels give the loudest voice to intolerance and mob mentality driven attacks. ... As we discuss (on Hacker News) the c

> but it saddens me our public debate channels give the loudest voice to intolerance and mob mentality driven attacks. ... As we discuss (on Hacker News) the celebrity with 14.5M twitter followers who decided to arbitrarily join an anti trans campaign ...

fsloth 6y ago
She is debating the topic. Are you not allowed to debate a topic anymore without being labeled a campaigner? At what point is a debate turning into a part of a "campaign"? As Mrs. Rowling explains she is not operating out of objective curiosity, but she is debating a topic that raises emotions of fear and suffering in her. Obviously she is not the most objective person to discuss this topic then, and given her wide audience, does indeed raise questions on should she actually contribute to the discussion. But on the other hand for really good results in a discussion, all parties should have a skin in the game, so to speak. Personally the thing I find mostly hard to comprehend are underage persons being allowed a sex change operation. Should you actually allow that? Underage kids are anyway unique and weird in so many ways. So - is this an actual worry? Or is it used as a "think of the children" argument for general anti-trans messaging in general? I have no clue. I'm completely unfamiliar with this topic so I would really love to hear the opinons of anyone who has gone through a sex change operation, minor or adult. Does it make sense to allow minors a sex change operation? Or is this such a fringe topic it should not be brought up in a public debate?
- daleharvey 6y ago
  This "debate" has been part of a dedicated (and sadly currently successful) campaign to dictate the Scottish Government policy. This isnt a high school debate club where you pick some topic of dispute for fun, this is people in positions of enourmous influence spreading propoganda in order to influence policy that directly harms peoples lives. Pretending that the people with 14.5M followers, regular opinion columns in national papers etc are being "silenced" is part of the propoganda.
- junke 6y ago
  Sex change operations are not legally possible in most country under a certain age, around 18. For example in Europe: > In thirteen out of twenty-eight Member States, general surgery rules apply as regards the age at which children can request a sex reassignment surgery. In this context, the age requirement for access to medical treatment without the consent of the parents or of a public authority is 18 years in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, France, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and 15 years in Slovenia. In the United Kingdom the age requirement ranges from 16 in Scotland to 17 in England and 18 in Wales. In Belgium, Estonia, Germany and Luxembourg the child’s maturity is assessed. (https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-age-requirements/sex-reassignment-surgery https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-ag...) The main medical treatment available is blocking puberty: https://www.gendergp.com/debunking-the-myths-surrounding-puberty-blockers-trans-kids/ https://www.gendergp.com/debunking-the-myths-surrounding-pub... Apart from that, trans children (like all children) need support and ways to express their preferences, their gender identity safely, to avoid psychological trauma. https://www.wpath.org/publications/soc https://www.wpath.org/publications/soc

fsloth 6y ago

She is debating the topic. Are you not allowed to debate a topic anymore without being labeled a campaigner? At what point is a debate turning into a part of a "campaign"? As Mrs. Rowling explains she is not operating out of objective curiosity, but she is debating a topic that raises emotions of fear and suffering in her. Obviously she is not the most objective person to discuss this topic then, and given her wide audience, does indeed raise questions on should she actually contribute to the discussion. But on the other hand for really good results in a discussion, all parties should have a skin in the game, so to speak. Personally the thing I find mostly hard to comprehend are underage persons being allowed a sex change operation. Should you actually allow that? Underage kids are anyway unique and weird in so many ways. So - is this an actual worry? Or is it used as a "think of the children" argument for general anti-trans messaging in general? I have no clue. I'm completely unfamiliar with this topic so I would really love to hear the opinons of anyone who has gone through a sex change operation, minor or adult. Does it make sense to allow minors a sex change operation? Or is this such a fringe topic it should not be brought up in a public debate?

daleharvey 6y ago
This "debate" has been part of a dedicated (and sadly currently successful) campaign to dictate the Scottish Government policy. This isnt a high school debate club where you pick some topic of dispute for fun, this is people in positions of enourmous influence spreading propoganda in order to influence policy that directly harms peoples lives. Pretending that the people with 14.5M followers, regular opinion columns in national papers etc are being "silenced" is part of the propoganda.
junke 6y ago
Sex change operations are not legally possible in most country under a certain age, around 18. For example in Europe: > In thirteen out of twenty-eight Member States, general surgery rules apply as regards the age at which children can request a sex reassignment surgery. In this context, the age requirement for access to medical treatment without the consent of the parents or of a public authority is 18 years in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, France, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and 15 years in Slovenia. In the United Kingdom the age requirement ranges from 16 in Scotland to 17 in England and 18 in Wales. In Belgium, Estonia, Germany and Luxembourg the child’s maturity is assessed. (https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-age-requirements/sex-reassignment-surgery https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-ag...) The main medical treatment available is blocking puberty: https://www.gendergp.com/debunking-the-myths-surrounding-puberty-blockers-trans-kids/ https://www.gendergp.com/debunking-the-myths-surrounding-pub... Apart from that, trans children (like all children) need support and ways to express their preferences, their gender identity safely, to avoid psychological trauma. https://www.wpath.org/publications/soc https://www.wpath.org/publications/soc