Author J.K. Rowling has fallen silent on her usually busy X (formerly Twitter) feed, after Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif filed a legal complaint in France for alleged cyber harassment over statements regarding her gender.

On August 9, lawyers for Khelif filed a lawsuit with a special unit of the public prosecutor’s office in Paris, stemming from false statements that spread online about her gender after the Algerian boxer defeated Italy’s Angela Carini in her first fight of the 2024 Olympic Games. Carini pulled out 46 seconds into the bout and told reporters afterwards that she had “never felt a punch like this.”

  • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Use of the internet to in any way facilitate the outsourcing of on-site labour overseas is capitalism’s ultimate spatial fix, pass it on.

  • OneMeaningManyNames@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Rowling has been silent on X since August 7, when she shared a post from researcher Maya Forstater, who was fired from her job after making anti-trans statements.

    (my emphases)

    I don’t know where Newsweek takes its facts from but this is another lie pushed by the TERF propaganda machine. Forstater was a tax expert whose contract was not renewed after she was horrible to her trans and non-binary colleagues. (Yes the ‘researcher’ wording is put there on purpose, to amplify the perception that her freedom of speech was violated, or as Rowling likes to put it ‘her livelihood was threatened for disagreeing with the trans lobby’.)

    She then went to a labor tribunal court or sth, to claim that her belief in the “immutability and reality of sex” is a protected belief, and made a fuss about being fired for her beliefs, when in reality she was merely discontinued for being a dick to the people she worked with. Her Twitter feed was full of conflating trans people with rapists and pedophiles.

    The first judge took into account her definition that requires working plumbing to name someone a woman, and consulted a biological expert, impartial to gender identity, that precluded any scientific basis to Forstater’s childish views on biological sex. The judge deemed her belief is “unworthy of respect in a democratic society”, but later, an appeal court said she has a right to believe that but she still cannot misgender people.

    Critical legal theorists suggested that the appeal court held a very low bar as for what opinions “worthy of respect” should be, and that its ruling should be better interpreted as “marginally better than an outright nazi”.

    It is a red flag for both the author and the outlet that they lead with a snippet of propaganda which is as false as unsubstantiated claims that Khelif’s trans or DSD. So should we conclude both toxic narratives are pushed by the same epicenters?

  • Media Bias Fact Checker@lemmy.worldB
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    3 months ago
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    • inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Only because she attacked a cis woman. No consequences from the years doing everything in her power to targetedly harass individual trans peolle, the community as a whole or publishing books about trans serial killers.

      Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see her go quite, I hope she stays that way. But I’m bitter it wasn’t a realization that her crusade was mysgonstic hatred, only that she was a zealot who accidently friendly fired.

      • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        This isn’t friendly fire. TERFism is inherently white supremacist and Khelif was targeted for her race.

          • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            TERFism restricts feminism to a tightly defined and controlled ingroup. The criteria for determining who is a real woman, when employed by bigots, will inevitably come to describe the socially dominant form of femininity, which is white femininity. Black and Arab women like Khelif will always fail to pass the standards of white femininity, because they’re not white. The standards are racist. And TERFs invariably pick racist standards, because the kind of people who feel the need to police womanhood to appeal to an imagined ideal are people who will end up doing that in more ways than one. And also, TERFs are always hanging out and allying with overly white supremacist groups, because Nazis are the only people who will put up with assholes like Rowling. That’s why she’s always taking photos with fascists.

        • _NoName_@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          Don’t forget it’s also inherently misogynistic and attacks cis women all the time anyways.

          • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            I just had a great idea. You know how Rowling is always going on in the narration of the HP books about how X bad female character has “mannish hands”? Let’s turn Rowling and her mannish hands into a meme just to fuck with her

        • inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I abundetly agree that is correct. But I am doing my best to try to think of her personal viewpoint, in JK’s mind she is defending women from men. Hell, her stupid books are a racist allegory for how evil racism is, but when she gets praised from literaly white supramcists and dictarors, she makes excuses for being the greater good.

          It’s only when from her mind, she attacked another woman, that she is finally giving pause. Even if all she has done in actuality for the last several years is outright misogyny. Which is why I am so frustrated, she didn’t wake up to what a monster she has been, just that she needs to be more careful in who she “righteously” attacks.

          • Zagorath@aussie.zone
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            3 months ago

            in JK’s mind she is defending women from men

            You could have made this claim once, and it been believable.

            Had Rowling made even one…just one comment about the literal child rapist (whose victim was a 12-year-old girl) that competed at this Olympics…you might have been able to keep believing this.

            But her absolute silence about an issue where an actual girl was traumatised by the actions of an actual man, and insistence on going to war against a woman who she’s pretending is a man instead, completely removes any semblance of doubt there. Her goal is to delegitimise trans women. That’s not just an instrumental goal, it is the terminal goal: the cruelty is the entire point.

          • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            I don’t think Rowling is as capable of change as you do. I think Rowling still sees Khelif 100% as a male man, because she’s black. And I think Rowling is viewing this as the woke lobby taking away all her money and making her live on the street for challenging them. I think this is making Rowling incredibly outraged, and she’s only shut up out of fear. And that’s good. I want Rowling to be angry and scared and powerless. Because I don’t think anything in the world could ever convince her that trans women are women.

      • Vilian@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        It’s the start, the lawsuit has more chance to win that way, and can pave a path for trans people to win cyberbullying lawsuits too

      • Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 months ago

        only that she was a zealot who accidently friendly fired.

        Bigotry is illogical, and will always ‘friendly fire’. No one is ever safe. People have transvestigated Joanne Koanne Roanne and Andrew Tate. No one is ever safe.

        • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          tbf tho Tate is a little manlet. I am in disbelief that anyone takes their cues on traditional masculinity from him. Guy with a face like that, he should be preaching the virtues of open mindedness and tolerance. If he was, I’d respect his masculinity. But since he demands that men be judged for failing to embody masculinity, I’m happy to treat him as he wishes to be treated and conclude he is a tiny soyboy with a pathetic chin.

    • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      Rich people often have their fingers in a lot of pies, so I wouldn’t be shocked. You know how the saying goes,“Mo’ money (that you’re semi-illicilty hiding internationally to evade domestic taxes), mo’ problems.”

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      3 months ago

      The harassment lawsuit alleges “aggravated cyber-harassment” against Khelif, according to a statement from the boxer’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, who was quoted by The Associated Press. Variety reported that the complaint was filed against X, which means under French law that it was filed against unknown persons. Investigators at the Paris prosecutor’s office will determine who could be at fault in Khelif’s complaint.

      If she ends up being found liable in an EU country, I bet she won’t be able to travel to any EU country without facing that liability. X is an international platform, and she’s broadcasting her words internationally, so yes, she can be held accountable in countries where this carries civil or criminal liability.

      • dm_me_your_feet@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Also any EU royalty payments could be garnished until her debt from her liability is paid in full.

        With the sales numbers of Harry Potter stuff, i doubt there will be a problem of securing the money.

        • M500@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          I imagine that her Harry Potter stuff is owned by a corporation. That is probably all separate legally from her.

          So her Harry Potter stuff is probably fine as she is getting sued not the Harry Potter corporation.

          It will mainly affect her ability to travel around Europe.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            She’s also one of the richest women in the world, so she won’t really suffer any major loss unfortunately.

    • Dasus@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Well at the very least it could block her from going to France? Which as a rich British middle-aged woman I’m sure she would hate not being able to do.

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      She has billions. No matter how much she loses she’ll still be obscenely rich.

      • Blade9732@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Maybe they can sue for billions. Gawker got sued out of existence, I hope she gets some good US attorneys and files in a jurisdiction that has unlimited damages. Maybe we can all use the new “K” platform after she owns “X”.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Yep. Because they outed him. And he couldn’t sue them for that, so he waited around until he found something he could use to sink his teeth into them.

            People were cheering when Gawker lost and got shut down because Gawker sucked. Not me. I saw a billionaire using the justice system successfully for a personal vendetta and was horrified.

    • FarFarAway@startrek.website
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      3 months ago

      I’m honestly confused how she could write a story where Harry Potter triumphs over he who must not be named, when he who must not be named was her hero.

      It must have been really tough for her.

      • JustARaccoon@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        It’s less that and more the system of prejudice itself is her hero, because she never truly challenges it, and the final state of peace at the end of the books does not require fixing its problems. Voldemort was a bad apple, nothing more (according to her I’d imagine)

        • LustyArgonian@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Yeah the way she kind of bullies Hermione with the whole ‘SPEW’ thing was so off. First, Hermione had style and was a genius. I think she would know that ‘SPEW’ is a bad acronym.

          Also, making everyone turn away from her and no one supporting her - she didn’t need to really make it like that at all. Why couldnt the org have a cute name and Hermione and like Lavender Brown etc all get together to try to coordinate better working conditions for the elves. This then would later help with the plot involving the DA. It’s literally a fantasy and Harry gets magical hero results all the time. It’s just such a weird part of the books and negative when it really didn’t serve any purpose to be negative. Except to be shitty to lady activists.

          • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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            3 months ago

            Yeah the HP books are misogynist as fuck. When I was a little one and I found out they were written by a woman, I was in disbelief. Why would a woman write something so mean to women in general?

            Well, the author of HP goes by Robert these days so I guess I had the right idea.

            • Akuchimoya@startrek.website
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              3 months ago

              goes by Robert

              I’m sorry, I think you just short circuited my brain. JK Rowling, who has so publicly and venomously been anti-trans… has spent the last few years pretending to be a man??? What in the hypocrisy is wrong with her!!!

              And now that you mention it, I’d read a long time ago, before she became public with her TERF-ness, that she went by “J K” on the HP books instead of Joanne because she or the publishers didn’t want to discourage boys from picking up a book written by a woman. And now that I’m typing this, I realize the fact that she wrote her books from a boy’s perspective, too. So in all these examples, she’s inhabiting a male persona.

              My brain… can list these facts, but cannot compute them together.

              • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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                3 months ago

                Robert Galbraith pretends to be a different gender in order to gain a political advantage and make money. Having absolutely no sense of empathy whatsoever, he assumes everyone else is like him. He assumes trans people are all pretending to be a different gender in order to gain a political advantage and make money. And the only political advantage you can get out of trans femininity (as opposed to trans masculinity) is the appropriation of feminist resources.

                (I mean, you can also get great skin, beautiful flowing locks, and resistance to covid from trans femininity, but I don’t think Robert knows about those)

  • P00ptart@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    No need for lawsuits. Put her in the ring. Let her defend her convictions with her face and fists.

    • Gsus4@mander.xyz
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      3 months ago

      According to anti-trans people like her, there are only men and women. At birth she was medically determined to be a woman and always lived as a woman. End of story, particularly for people like JKR who think this is a simple issue.

    • darki@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Dude don’t stress about thiss… Lemmy is pretty much center-to-far-left , i.e. don’t bother bringing up facts to the argument 😆

    • AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      That doesn’t make her not female, or trans. From the Snopes article about this:

      There are genetic conditions, termed differences of sexual development, in which biological females are born with XY chromosomes but possess female anatomy, or that affect how a biological female regulates and reacts to testosterone, causing levels typically associated with males. Though there is no independent confirmation that Khelif has these conditions, people born this way would legally be considered female or intersex.

      Debates over these issues in the context of women’s sports have nothing to do with a purported “woke” or “trans agenda,” because such instances involve women who were born as women, identify as women and have not undergone any sex reassignment surgery or procedure to change this fact. That is what IOC spokesperson Mark Adams meant when he clarified to the press “this is not a transgender issue.”

      Gender-reassignment procedures require significant financial and medical resources. The notion that a woman from a rural western Algerian village who sold scrap metal to support her boxing career would have had the ability to undergo such a procedure in a deeply conservative Muslim country that prohibits the practice is extremely unlikely, at best.

      • minyakcurry@monyet.cc
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        3 months ago

        The bullshit about XY chromosomes is pretty stupid, which is why the other replier provided an article and a few key points in refutation.

        The OP’s comment didn’t read to me as particularly incendiary, but thanks for labelling them as transphobic and mouth breathing with no precedent! Really appreciate good contributions to discourse like yours.

        • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          Sure there is. That mouth breather is refusing to use a woman’s feminine pronouns over an unsubstantiated rumour about a minor medical abnormality. They’re being ten times as rude as I am.

              • SLfgb@feddit.nl
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                3 months ago

                I’m sorry but no. Using gender-neutral language does not describe gender; using ‘they’ isn’t to misgender, it just leaves the gender unspecified.

                You can correctly use ‘they’ for anyone. I they’d said ‘he’, now that would’ve been different…

                • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  Yeah, it’s so minor. I think that commenter is only looking for a reason to be upset on behalf of someone else and use that as an excuse to blow up.

                • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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                  3 months ago

                  I didn’t say they were misgendering her, I said they refused to use her preferred pronouns. Surely you can agree with the factual accuracy of that statement.

    • microphone900@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      I haven’t seen any reporting confirming that she’s got XY chromosomes. But if you have an article, please correct me if I’m wrong. What I’ve been able to find is this:

      Banned governing body that’s fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history

      Summary-

      • The disqualification was done in a tournament run by an organization banned by the Olympics.

      • She participated in tournaments run by this organization with no issues for the last several years.

      • The organization hasn’t said why she was disqualified.

      • The man spouting the ‘trans woman’ claims is the leader of the organization. He’s a friend of Putin and described as a drug trafficker.

      • Her disqualification happened after she beat the previously undefeated Russian boxer Amineva 3 days post fight.

      There’s more in the article, but these are the quick bullet points I came up with.

            • AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com
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              3 months ago

              Why does she have to? Why would she have a copy of a test allegedly done by a 3rd party that, based on news reports, was just using it as an excuse to eliminate her for beating a Russian opponent?

              • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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                3 months ago

                Do you know she doesn’t have the test results? When I get medical tests done I usually do receive the test results.

                There are news reports saying she’s a man if you care so much about news reports.

                It’s funny how it works both ways. She doesn’t have to release the results. And they don’t have to release them so you can verify it either. Playing your own stupid game. Why do they have to release the results?

                • AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com
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                  3 months ago

                  You seem to be misunderstanding, intentionally I would guess. They claimed they did a test to “confirm” she was not a woman, I’m saying that’s a steaming hot load of bullshit and they were just looking for an excuse and they have no results to release.

                  Please cite your sources saying there are news reports that she’s a man.

    • TwinTusks@bitforged.space
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      3 months ago

      Apparently that is not true. There was a report of test taken and result was xy, but the report was never shown to the public and the lab that took the test has been banned.