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Women’s tennis legend Martina Navratilova intervened in a social media debate on Thursday to defend famous “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling over biological men in women’s spaces.
Rowling responded to an X-rated thread by English columnist Dan Hodges, who condemned what he saw as “hostile” treatment of biological transgender men who enter women’s spaces.
Rowling wrote sarcastically in response to Hodges: “A man telling women that they should pretend that some of his peers are women because it’s ‘respectful’ is exactly what this debate needed. Thank you for your courage.”
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“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling said this week on X that she was not willing to reconcile with actress Emma Watson because of their political differences. (SOPA Images/Getty)
Rowling later wrote: “What you and many other men fail to understand, perhaps because you are so accustomed to women coddling men’s feelings that you consider it the natural order of things, is that even though a trans-identified man is absolutely and rightly free to dress and present himself as he wishes in our society, that does not give him rights over the beliefs and speech of women.
“I do not believe that a man literally becomes a woman when he identifies as one, and since I have free speech, I have the right to call him a man. The verifiable truth about sex provides the legal basis for women’s rights and their protection. Nothing reveals more your inability to understand this issue, or your fundamental sexism, than the fact that you, a man, assume the right to dictate to women how they should speak about men.”
Another user then responded to Rowling, arguing that the topic of trans people invading women’s spaces is a “fringe issue.”
Navratilova then entered the debate to defend Rowling.
“A fringe for you maybe. Not so fringe for women who are affected by men in spaces focused on women’s gender. Forced speech is also not acceptable,” Navratilova wrote.
AOC TORN BY WOMEN’S SPORTS ACTIVISTS IN RESPONSE TO “TRANSGENDER AWARENESS WEEK” POST
Tennis legend and women’s rights activist Martina Navratilova has blasted the New York Times for a controversial depiction of biological women. (Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Laureus)
Navratilova is a polarizing figure on social media due to her contradictory support for liberals and opposition to Trump. She regularly criticizes Democrats for allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports.
Last December, she said she was “crazy” that Republicans addressed the national controversy over trans athletes in women’s sports instead of Democrats.
“And I’m so angry that the Republicans caught this question – shame on all the elected Democrats who remain silent on this!!! #whataboutthewomen,” she wrote on X.
The tennis legend appeared at the Independent Women’s Forum’s Take Back Title IX gathering in June to address the issue.
“Initially, being Democrats and mostly women, we in this group were trying to find every way possible to include trans-identified men, men who identify as women, in women’s sport” she said. “And the more we tried to find a way to mitigate the advantage, to handicap, to include in some way, the more we realized that it was not possible. It is not possible to do this fairly, and we find ourselves in a very different position here.
“As I delved deeper into this, I also saw the connection between women’s sexual spaces and women’s sports. They are totally interconnected, and I’m sure Penn swimmers could tell you all about it. You’ve heard about it. Lia ThomasRIGHT?
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Martina Navratilova in September 2022 in Flushing, Queens, New York. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Now it’s, ‘Oh, you’re a homophobe.’ Go figure. I’ve been out since 1981. Yes, I’m homophobic,” she said, rolling her eyes. “‘You’re a bigot, you’re a transphobe, you’re a Nazi, you’re a fascist, you’re a communist,’ everything and everything else. And it’s coming from the left. I’m from the left! My people are turning on me. They’re coming after us women who stand up for women’s rights based on gender.”
