The Handmaid's Tale author Margaret Atwood supports transgender community: 'Rejoice in nature's infinite variety'
‘We’re all part of a flowing bell curve’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Writer Margaret Atwood has shown her support for the transgender community in a series of tweets.
On Monday (6 July), The Handmaid’s Tale author linked to an article from the Scientific American on Twitter titled: “The New Science of Sex and Gender” while using the hashtag: “#TransGenderWomen.”
She wrote: “Some science here… Biology doesn’t deal in sealed Either/Or compartments. We’re all part of a flowing Bell curve. Respect that! Rejoice in Nature’s infinite variety!”
Responding to a critic who argued that there were only two sexes, Atwood replied: “(Um, there are gay penguins. There are hermaphrodites.) What the piece is talking about however is that sex and gender don’t always go together and are not experienced by all people in the same way. That appears to be undeniable.
“What people feel in their heads is also biological. (i.e. drugs. Post-stroke changes. Dementia.) It’s true that kids’ gender identification may change. But also it may not.”
Atwood’s comments come as JK Rowling continues to double down on her stance on transgender people, with her comments dividing the literary world and causing a number of fan sites to distance themselves from the Harry Potter author.
Current Man Booker Prize co-winner Atwood linked to a YouTube channel “addressing what was said by JK Rowling in her essay”, adding: “Nobody has said there aren’t “men”+ “women”. But gender and sex are two different things.”
However, Atwood was keen to show that she wasn’t positioning herself against Rowling, writing: “I am not ‘better’ [than her]. Different people are good at different things. One must try to understand other people’s fears.”
She continued: “So much of this seems to be about bathrooms. There are many inventive ways of solving the bathroom fears. People are creative, yes?”