JK Rowling house name dropped by Essex school over trans comments

[Niamh.]

https://i.imgur.com/lHtZNlI.jpeg

A secondary school that named a house after author JK Rowling has renamed it due to her "comments and viewpoints surrounding trans people".

The Boswells School in Chelmsford, Essex, said the Harry Potter author's views did not align with those of the school.

A school newsletter said the move was prompted by requests from students and staff.

Representatives of the author have been contacted for comment.

The Boswells School is an academy school for 11-18-year-olds, rated Good by Ofsted.

The name change was revealed in the newsletter from July 2021, but details emerged in a Mail Online story.

Rowling has previously voiced concerns about issues such as the impact of allowing trans women into women-only spaces, but denied accusations of transphobia.

The newsletter said the author's "views on this issue do not align with our school policy and school beliefs - a place where people are free to be."

It said in the newsletter that its six houses were "represented by British citizens who have excelled".

But it added: "However, following numerous requests by students and staff we are reviewing the name of our red house 'Rowling' and in light of JK Rowling's comments and viewpoints surrounding trans people."

Rowling initially sparked controversy in June 2020 for tweets that took issue with the phrase "people who menstruate" and objected to the avoidance of the word "women".

The author was also criticised by some for disputing the idea that male and female sexes did not exist.

"If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives," she tweeted.

In a lengthy follow-up blog, she wrote that her interest in trans issues stemmed from being a survivor of abuse and having concerns around single-sex spaces.

https://i.imgur.com/nJd8pTv.jpeg

Head teacher Stephen Mansell said: "At The Boswells School we foster a vibrant, inclusive and democratic school community, where we encourage students to develop into independent, confident citizens.

"In autumn 2021, we reviewed and renamed one of our school houses following numerous requests from students and staff, as well as a whole school vote.

"The house, which represents the 'Self Discipline' area of the Boswells Learning Bridge, is now named Holmes, after Dame Kelly Holmes."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-59880493

[Niamh.]

It'll be hilarious when they'll have to remove Kelly as well :hehe:

https://t.co/VO1kTF7mNX">pic.twitter.com/VO1kTF7mNX</a></p>&mdash; Dame Kelly Holmes (@damekellyholmes) <a href="https://twitter.com/damekellyholmes/status/1103583856001777664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[arista]

Yes Typical
all run away from her.

[Liam-]

As they are free to do

[Niamh.]

As they are free to do

:thumbs:

[user104658]

Head teacher Stephen Mansell said: "At The Boswells School we foster a vibrant, inclusive and democratic school community, where we encourage students to develop into independent, confident citizens.

So long as those independent, confident citizens have the correct opinions of course.

[Niamh.]

So long as those independent, confident citizens have the correct opinions of course.

mmhhmmm

[bots]

they are free to call their houses anything they like of course, but it's very much a bandwagon that these groups are on. They couldn't be further from being independent ... the irony of that statement :laugh:

[Beso]

So this "free" school allowed the pupils to vote on a new name, the pupils went for Rowling, but now the school has went against the democratic vote of its pupils and renamed it.....hopefully the are installing one toilet for all sexes to use as we speak.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I read the new house is Called Jim Davidson house

So every cloud...

[Crimson Dynamo]

Wait till the JK haters find out about the Gringotts Bank Jewish scandal

:omgno:

[Cherie]

It'll be hilarious when they'll have to remove Kelly as well :hehe:

https://t.co/VO1kTF7mNX">pic.twitter.com/VO1kTF7mNX</a></p>&mdash; Dame Kelly Holmes (@damekellyholmes) <a href="https://twitter.com/damekellyholmes/status/1103583856001777664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kelly :love:

[Niamh.]

Wait till the JK haters find out about the Gringotts Bank Jewish scandal

:omgno:

I was reading about that earlier, they're really going for her jugular at the moment. It's such nasty bullying band wagon jumping point scoring bull**** and tbh there are masses upon masses of people online speaking up for her now so the nastier they get the more support she's getting so not a great plan imo.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I was reading about that earlier, they're really going for her jugular at the moment. It's such nasty bullying band wagon jumping point scoring bull**** and tbh there are masses upon masses of people online speaking up for her now so the nastier they get the more support she's getting so not a great plan imo.

She has inadvertently highlighted bigots and bandwagon haters and the toxic community

A clever lady :spin:

[GoldHeart]

I'm really fed up of this whole JK Rowling drama dominating every Google article that pops up on phone , you'd think there was no other stories happening around the world.

People need to either realise she didn't mean to offend anyone or they need to just move on from this , how many more times are they going to repeat how she's "cancelled" .if they don't like her then they should just separate themselves from her.

If they want to hound and harass someone for their tweets and comments,then why don't they knock themselves out with Katie Hopkins. She has zero filter on everything she says ,and zero compassion . But I guess it's ok for that gargoyle to spout abuse.

[Oliver_W]

Oh for heaven's sake :rolleyes: so that school is siding with the MRAs too...

Like most people who pretend to think Rowling is "transphobic", I bet they can't even point o any she's actually said, let alone how it makes her guilty of wrong think.

Wait till the JK haters find out about the Gringotts Bank Jewish scandal

:omgno:

Yeah that was stupid as well. The person who said that, maybe they should consider that if they look at a supernatural creature with a hooked nose who acts as the guardians for gold, and their first thought is "Jews" ... Maybe you're the one with the problem?

[GoldHeart]

Oh for heaven's sake :rolleyes: so that school is siding with the MRAs too...

Like most people who pretend to think Rowling is "transphobic", I bet they can't even point o any she's actually said, let alone how it makes her guilty of wrong think.



Yeah that was stupid as well. The person who said that, maybe they should consider that if they look at a supernatural creature with a hooked nose who acts as the guardians for gold, and their first thought is "Jews" ... Maybe you're the one with the problem?
It's stupid isn't it :bored: .

So now she's 'antisemitic' , I should have known that would be the new one . If anything people who are stereotyping Jewish people in such a ridiculous way need to re evaluate themselves.

[Beso]

Yeah that was stupid as well. The person who said that, maybe they should consider that if they look at a supernatural creature with a hooked nose who acts as the guardians for gold, and their first thought is "Jews" ... Maybe you're the one with the problem?

That's exactly the way Hitler saw the jews..supernatural creatures.

The ones in the film have clothes on to make them look more human, and can easily be compared to the caraciture drawings by the nazis.

[Crimson Dynamo]

That's exactly the way Hitler saw the jews..supernatural creatures.

.

no he did not

[user104658]

Goblins hoarding gold is a "fantasy trope" that goes back well beyond the 90's when JK Rowling was writing Harry Potter. Is she guilty of using some narrative elements that are derivative of other works of fiction in the fantasy genre? Sure... absolutely tonnes of them actually... and might some of those elements have cultural roots that most people aren't aware of? Absolutely. But to suggest that it's something that she came up with herself for Harry Potter is totally ludicrous. It's borrowed. Most of her lore is borrowed. I mean... ... most lore in the fantasy genre (and every other genre) full stop is borrowed.

[Oliver_W]

Goblins hoarding gold is a "fantasy trope" that goes back well beyond the 90's when JK Rowling was writing Harry Potter. Is she guilty of using some narrative elements that are derivative of other works of fiction in the fantasy genre? Sure... absolutely tonnes of them actually... and might some of those elements have cultural roots that most people aren't aware of? Absolutely. But to suggest that it's something that she came up with herself for Harry Potter is totally ludicrous. It's borrowed. Most of her lore is borrowed. I mean... ... most lore in the fantasy genre (and every other genre) full stop is borrowed.
Well, exactly. People are just grasping for reasons to burn her as a witch because she dares to stand up for (actual) women's rights.

[Elliot]

Their choice it’s a free country

[Niamh.]

Goblins hoarding gold is a "fantasy trope" that goes back well beyond the 90's when JK Rowling was writing Harry Potter. Is she guilty of using some narrative elements that are derivative of other works of fiction in the fantasy genre? Sure... absolutely tonnes of them actually... and might some of those elements have cultural roots that most people aren't aware of? Absolutely. But to suggest that it's something that she came up with herself for Harry Potter is totally ludicrous. It's borrowed. Most of her lore is borrowed. I mean... ... most lore in the fantasy genre (and every other genre) full stop is borrowed.Oh oh hang on...

https://twitter.com/jonstewart/status/1478791577573199875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;January 5, 2022&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

[user104658]

Oh oh hang on...

https://twitter.com/jonstewart/status/1478791577573199875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;January 5, 2022&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

I mean, he says "any reasonable person" multiple times so there's the problem.

[user104658]

Their choice it’s a free country

Yes and in a free country people can also discuss whether or not they think something was a good choice - even without necessarily trying to have that choice changed :omgno:. No one has suggested it's not their choice to make. Just reasonable people having a reasonable discussion about a daft and reactionary choice that's been made to appease children who haven't learned how to reason yet.

I understand that as no one has said "REEEeeeee I disagree with what they did SHUT THEM DOWN!!" yet, the conversation might be harder to follow for some people.

[Niamh.]

I mean, he says "any reasonable person" multiple times so there's the problem.Yeah true [emoji28]

[Niamh.]

Dame Kelly has commented on it :

The former middle-distance runner appeared to show solidarity towards her under-fire predecessor yesterday by describing her as a 'brilliant, world-renowned author'.

Her April 2019 tweet, posted during the South African Athletics Championships, said 'have a trans category if need be but even better a trans games' to avoid a 'backlash and abuse... from spectators'.

The Boswells School was lambasted online over the switch in role models, with one person commenting: 'Seems like a weird decision given that Holmes has publicly stated the same views previously anyway.'

Another said: 'Cancel culture at its finest. Utterly moronic and once again we see women's rights being eroded.'

Dame Kelly, 51, who was not asked in advance about having a house named after her, said last night: 'I am always honoured when a school names a house after me... I hope my name represents determination, strength in adversity and a never-give-up attitude.'

But she added: 'JK Rowling is a brilliant, world-renowned author and should be credited for all the good she has done in the literature world to help young people in particular have vision, creativity, dreams and much more.

However, it's also nice for a school to have a more diverse range of people that inspires children to be who they want to.'

Miss Rowling, 56, was hailed as a 'much-loved' author when the secondary school adopted her as the figurehead of one of its six houses.

But it announced plans to jettison her in July after she waded into the trans debate.

Dame Kelly was chosen after staff picked a shortlist of names and the whole school voted on the replacement. But parents have criticised the move, with one describing it as an attack on freedom of speech.

Miss Rowling has defended her comments, explaining she believed there were 'innumerable gender identities' but that using sex and gender interchangeably 'obscures the central issue of this debate'.

Last night a staff member at The Boswells, which has 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 18, said: 'The school won't be commenting.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10373185/Ridicule-school-axed-JK-Rowling-Kelly-Holmes.html

[Oliver_W]

Miss Rowling just doesn't sound right, we need Dame Jo.