Althouse: "It’s about generational politics; mothers against daughters; an older, tougher feminism versus 'woke' millennials."

September 30, 2025

"It’s about generational politics; mothers against daughters; an older, tougher feminism versus 'woke' millennials."

"It’s about whether 'being kind' is truly important or just another way to get women to be submissive.... Here we have what we so rarely see in movies, two powerful women in a showdown over something other than a man...."

From "Why did J K Rowling pick now to hit back at Emma Watson? The author has posted a withering statement about the actress’s views on trans issues, says Helen Rumbelow."

68 comments:

Big Mike said...: Why now? Because Watson wants to embrace Rowling ‘s enemies while still pretending to be Rowling’s friend. And Rowling isn’t having it.; 9/30/25, 10:03 AM
ChrisSchuon said...: And yet, it is all about a man (or men).; 9/30/25, 10:03 AM
ChrisSchuon said...: If it is generational, then it is going to be millennial's against everyone else. My two Gen Z girls and their friends (from a fairly liberal area and educational background) are with Rowling on this.; 9/30/25, 10:05 AM
Enigma said...: Generational politics? Why can't it be simple partisan politics?

This author never heard of women's "cat fights"? Never heard of the "cool kids" tables in high school? Never heard of backstabbing gossip among women?; 9/30/25, 10:08 AM
bagoh20 said...: Women avoiding submission are missing out, and that's a missed opportunity for everyone.; 9/30/25, 10:10 AM
D.D. Driver said...: Being "kind" is important. But, being "kind" is not the same thing as being "nice." Being "nice" just means telling people things that make them feel good. Being kind means telling people things they do not want to hear. Jesus was kind. He was not a "nice" guy though. They killed him for it.; 9/30/25, 10:10 AM
Wince said...: …whether 'being kind' is truly important or just another way to get women to be submissive…

Woke civility? I think “woke” crowd is being exhorted in the other direction.; 9/30/25, 10:10 AM
narciso said...: well she stayed her fury for three years, they want more forebearance,; 9/30/25, 10:16 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Why did Emma keep hitting at JK for years and years? Maybe start there and it will be no surprise that a suddenly contrite ex-star ex-child actor is rebuffed when trying to cozy back up to a woman she treated hideously, a woman who invented a world that Emma decided she could appoint herself spokesman for. So after shitting on Rowling's invented world and on Rowling herself for years, why in hell would a stupid adult who used to be a star think Rowling would accept her sudden change of heart now that the courts have ruled against trannies.

Emma did not mature and change. Emma did not apologize for being rude and manipulative. The culture changed. Her avante guard sense of sex and sensibility is no longer fashionable. Reality has proven JK the wise woman after all. Now Emma wants some of the adulation she felt as a child star.

Well it sucks to be a braindead lefty publicly revealed to be an asshole in real life, doesn't it Emma?; 9/30/25, 10:17 AM
n.n said...: Homosexuals? Bisexuals? Simulants? Trans Issues.

Rowling commented on Watson's childish indulgence of people who entertain abortive ideation and having their child, too, is a sign of the times.; 9/30/25, 10:19 AM
narciso said...: again though the other members of the RADA have not distinguished themselves,; 9/30/25, 10:22 AM
buwaya said...: If its a fight between JKR and Watson its a terrible mismatch.
Watson seems to be rather a lightweight. A bit of fluff, to risk being sexist.
But it isnt really Watson here, its an intellectual subculture.; 9/30/25, 10:23 AM
Paddy O said...: If you follow Rowling on Twitter, and have followed her arguments against trans policies it all makes more sense. While extremely wealthy, she didn't grow up wealthy and before the Harry Potter books she was quite poor and struggling, dependent on government and social services in many ways.

Her biggest fights, and most potent arguments, reflect that. She calls out the massive privilege of those who fight for trans access everywhere, pointing out how they don't have to deal with the reality of what they argue for. It's the poor who suffer for the posh privileged politics.

She has the very unique status of being shaped by poverty and struggle into adulthood (not just growing up in it, which is a different psychology) while also now being extremely wealthy and a continuing mover/shaker in the entertainment world, with enormous influence because of her IP.

In this role, she see herself quite consciously as a voice for those who don't have a voice or who have been themselves cut out of opportunities. And it all comes back to she still is shaped by her pre-HP life and instead of basking in the privilege itself (a la Oprah) she has a loyalty to those in vulnerable positions.

There's a lot of Dumbledore in how she wrote that message and a lot of the Hermione core in her loyalty to those in need.; 9/30/25, 10:25 AM
Peachy said...: Make (MJB Wolf) - That, indeed.; 9/30/25, 10:25 AM
ChrisSchuon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/30/25, 10:26 AM
Paddy O said...: " Rowling would accept her sudden change of heart now..."
My sense of the note is that she absolutely would have accepted a genuine change of heart. Had it been personal and sincere, rather than through yet another media messenger.; 9/30/25, 10:26 AM
Peachy said...: Paddy O-
Well done.; 9/30/25, 10:27 AM
n.n said...: It's about discerning male and female sexes, about masculine and feminine gender differences, about friends with shivs at twilight. It's about putting away childish notions and indulgence.; 9/30/25, 10:29 AM
narciso said...: she waited three years, I think that was more than enough patience,; 9/30/25, 10:30 AM
Sebastian said...: "two powerful women in a showdown" I see one powerful woman involved. Is there a second one?

Quite a tonedeaf article that accuses JKR of being "divisive." Considering the abuse JKR has had to endure, it's pretty outragous to ascribe a "being-kind" ethos to the younger generation.; 9/30/25, 10:39 AM
CJinPA said...: two powerful women in a showdown over something other than a man....

But it IS about men. That's the heart of the dispute. Men.
Did no one point this out to the writer?; 9/30/25, 10:47 AM
William said...: You rarely get to see an argument won so completely and so devastatingly. I wonder what Emma Watson's comeback will be. Is it even possible for her to make a reply?.......On the plus side, she's still younger and prettier than Rowling, and the males under forty that Emma knows will be supportive.....I read some of Rowling's postings on how the women in Afghanistan are faring. That's real suffering. It doesn't seem to have attracted much attention from feminists.; 9/30/25, 10:47 AM
ChrisSchuon said...: There was a good comment on X yesterday saying that Watson thought Rowling should understand that Watson didn't mean her public denunciation, it was just for show. Rowling was supposed to play along with the Hollywood game of Watson publicly denouncing Rowling while sending Rowling a private message of sympathy.; 9/30/25, 10:48 AM
Jamie said...: [shrug] Feminism's battles are won. Just like the gay civil rights fight - it's won. But being part of a fight is apparently important to some; and maybe in the case of the former HP kids (really, I'll put performers of any stripe who became famous as children, cf. Jodie Foster), there's some guilt that they were plucked from obscurity, ill-educated, wildly overcompensated for the amount of work they did, and have no idea of what normal life is - and they're smart enough to know at least that.

I don't hold their poor education against them. And they're not all idiots - I would imagine they're distributed just about the way verbally oriented adults are. But the milieu in which they live seduces them into believing that they're more important than they are - especially when the characters they play are smart, I think.

But as to "kindness" versus feminism - they're different arenas, or they should be. JKR isn't particularly unkind to trans people; she just doesn't afford them everything they want, and she doesn't believe (apparently) that humoring their mistaken sense of self is required of anyone else.; 9/30/25, 10:50 AM
hombre said...: “It’s about whether “being kind” is truly important or just another way to get women to be submissive.” Oh oh. It’s the bad men again creating new ways to make women submissive. Think, submissive to whom? Never mind that the bullshit bleated by Watson is common to men and women in her demented profession.; 9/30/25, 10:50 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I’m confused.

I thought that by electing Trump the world would be Handmaid’s Tale now, and I wouldn’t have to listen to mouthy females like Emma anymore, because they’d be all tied up and gagged and declared submissive sex-puppets.

Is that still on the agenda?

I mean, other than in, like, Dearborn, Michigan?

I am Laslo.; 9/30/25, 10:51 AM
n.n said...: Rowling's opponents want her to take a knee, some permanently, and that is the source of the dispute. Without the published cacophony to mangle the piece, Rowling is pro choice, while her opponents are Pro-Choice, and Watson wants to abort the baby, cannibalize her profitable parts, sequester her carbon, and have her, too.; 9/30/25, 10:52 AM
D.D. Driver said...: "You rarely get to see an argument won so completely and so devastatingly."

One of these people is an accomplished novelist and the other is an actress. Not really a fair fight.; 9/30/25, 10:53 AM
n.n said...: Women have a Choice... uh, choice in our enlightened times: gagged, stabbed, or beaten. Immoral kombat. Fight!; 9/30/25, 10:55 AM
Jupiter said...: Don't let's forget that Rowling is a full-bore baby-killing, commie nut herself, she just got crosswise with her fellow lefties over the babes-with-bollocks BS. But she's fully on board with the whole feminism schtick.; 9/30/25, 10:58 AM
wild chicken said...: Oh, "it's about" is back again? What a tired location.; 9/30/25, 11:00 AM
Peachy said...: The leftwing gate-keepers scolded us into pro-noun speech submission for not blindly accepting a mostly manufactured reality. Speech crimes galore.
Much of that realty based on men demanding to be women - & men demanding to enter and be ALLOWED to enter private women's spaces. etc.
and child-gender confusion/ sex-grooming.
Kamala spoke of free tax payer funded sex changes for men in prison. Crazy.

to me - Gender dysphoria in grown men is a separate issue. It's real - but most of these men are not militant - or making militant demands. some are.; 9/30/25, 11:01 AM
Big Mike said...: Things Helen Rumbelow neglected to mention about Rowling’s position versus Watson’s include Rowling’s obviously correct assertion that Watson’s wealth and celebrity mean that she will never have to worry about showering in a women’s locker room and have a biological male enter the shower room, nor will Watson ever have to share a public rest room with a biological male. I personally regard it as utterly contemptible when celebrity liberals and progs push policies and for which people much below them on the economic ladder must pay.; 9/30/25, 11:01 AM
rhhardin said...: Where does whoever wrote Tootle stand? I never liked Babar.; 9/30/25, 11:03 AM
Clyde said...: "...two powerful women in a showdown over something other than a man..."

Actually, a showdown over men LARPing as women.; 9/30/25, 11:06 AM
James K said...: “Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through’ (she has my phone number),” Rowling wrote.

Wow, talk about a non-apology apology. Did she seriously think Rowling would accept that?; 9/30/25, 11:07 AM
Leland said...: What Big Mike said at the start I think is it.

I noticed yesterday the suggestion that Watson didn't really do anything against Rowling. If Watson wants to show her support for trans ideology, she could easily do so without mentioning Rowling or the world Rowling created. Watson may not owe Rowling eternal agreement, but Watson does not have eternal use of Rowling's creation.; 9/30/25, 11:07 AM
Clyde said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/30/25, 11:08 AM
Clyde said...: @ D.D. Driver

Never bring an actress to a novelist fight.; 9/30/25, 11:09 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: RE: “because they’d be all tied up and gagged and declared submissive sex-puppets.”

I admit: I have never read The Handmaid’s Tale.

Nor have I seen the television show.

I haven’t even seen any Handmaid’s Tale-based ‘adult’ videos.

When I see pictures of the costume I usually end up thinking of Sally Field in “The Flying Nun”.

Except for the times it makes me think of Charlotte Rampling in “The Night Porter.”

I am Laslo.; 9/30/25, 11:09 AM
rhhardin said...: Are we back to woman offended by seeing a penis? Classic comic film with Laurel and Hardy, Stan wearing a kilt walks over an air vent and his kilt blows up and a woman walking behind him faints.

There's a lot of fake horribles being imagined. An effort at recovering feminine modesty in the face of one feminism or another?; 9/30/25, 11:10 AM
narciso said...: yes Margaret Atwood saw the precursors of the Taliban and though evil pilgrims, I blame her graduate adviser Perry Miller,; 9/30/25, 11:13 AM
narciso said...: and she owes royalties to Heinlein for 'If this goes on'; 9/30/25, 11:14 AM
Jamie said...: and she owes royalties to Heinlein for 'If this goes on'

One of his best - and I thought the same thing when I read The Handmaid's Tale in college. Of course Heinlein used the subjugation of women (and men, though differently) in the name of religion as a plot device to get to the subject of How To Run A Revolution rather than as an end in itself.; 9/30/25, 11:21 AM
Megthered said...: It seems women in third world countries don't matter as much as hollywood celebrities, who get offended by words and think women who don't agree with them need to be silenced. They need to go to Afghanistan or Iraq, or Egypt or anywhere in Africa or Indonesia to see how women are really treated. It might help their perspective.; 9/30/25, 11:21 AM
Quayle said...: Is it kind to allow your friend to continue in delusion?; 9/30/25, 11:24 AM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: JK Rowling has always been a Boy Mom, never a Girl Mom. Emma Watson has every right to want revenge for that hallucination scene where Hermione Granger has to kiss Harry Potter in the eyes of her future husband Ron Weasley.; 9/30/25, 11:24 AM
narciso said...: they don't understand that the policies they support not only through mass migration, but also the maintenance of said cohort on the dole, among other practices

I haven't forgotten that the Askaban prison is supposed to be a standin for Gitmo or perhaps Belmarsh, of course those released from there, like that fellow who was rewarded with a flat and a generous settlement, and then blew himself up in Syria,; 9/30/25, 11:26 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: From the article: “It reeks of Aslan in the Narnia movies, old and battle-weary, roaring at the Ice Queen for questioning his powers. “Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch!” admonishes the lion, “I was there when it was written.” Rowling wrote the magic, and now roars at her witch.”; 9/30/25, 11:26 AM
William said...: I bet Roseanne is struck dumb with envy and admiration for Rowling. Maybe Roseanne can write a hilarious sitcom about a transgender working class couple trying to raise their gay son in Dearborn. Eliot Page needs a good role, and I'm thinking Emma Watson for the harried mother.; 9/30/25, 11:26 AM
n.n said...: The dispute is not about trans (e.g. homosexual, simulant) issues. It is about Watson offering aid and comfort to people who entertain abortive ideation, who would do to Rowling what was done to Kirk. Emma needs to put away her childish notions and Choices. Rowling is also Pro-Choice, but not that choice.; 9/30/25, 11:29 AM
Achilles said...: From "Why did J K Rowling pick now to hit back at Emma Watson? The author has posted a withering statement about the actress’s views on trans issues, says Helen Rumbelow."

Because Rowling has realized that Emma Watson would be happy if Rowling was killed.

The left has lost a critical mass of people willing to put up with their evil.; 9/30/25, 11:31 AM
narciso said...: Rowling did not realize that the death eaters were in her very circle,; 9/30/25, 11:34 AM
Paddy O said...: "I haven't forgotten that the Askaban prison is supposed to be a standin for Gitmo"

Gitmo opened in 2002. First mention of Azkaban was in Chamber of Secrets published in 1998. Though maybe Rowling has a time turner.

Azkaban is more like Spandau Prison after WW2. Though then misused for political prisoners in the storyline of the books.; 9/30/25, 11:36 AM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: It was a very thoughtful, measured comment; nothing "withering" about it.; 9/30/25, 11:42 AM
Just an old country lawyer said...: "Never get into an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel." Mark Twain; 9/30/25, 11:48 AM
Leland said...: Jupiter said...
Don't let's forget that Rowling is a full-bore baby-killing, commie nut herself

I don't buy this at all. She clarified not long ago on X that she is "left-leaning liberal who's fiercely anti-authoritarian "

I don't know how that squares with communism. The Potter series is heavy in its distrust of government. If all the times Harry shows his displeasure with "the Ministry" is not enough; then read book 5, when the students create their own militia because they distrust the government and then rebel to overthrow the government appointed leader of the school.

Rowling does believe in social welfare programs, as she has benefitted from them and her latest arguments are in defense of them. But she is also quite clear on the narrow usage of such programs. Calling her a "baby killing communist" for such support is no better than calling Trump a Nazi because he believes in putting the welfare of his own nation first.; 9/30/25, 11:53 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Paddy O said...
My sense of the note is that she absolutely would have accepted a genuine change of heart. Had it been personal and sincere, rather than through yet another media messenger.

I thought Emma's note could be linked to a Patty Hearst like "proof of life" concept. AI begs to differ:

There is no widely available "proof of life" photo of Patty Hearst from her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA); however, famous and controversial photos exist from her time as an SLA member, most notably from bank robberies, that served as de facto proof of her being alive and participating in their activities.

Key Points
No traditional "proof of life" photo: Unlike some hostage situations, a specific photo proving Patty Hearst was alive and well, separate from her SLA activities, does not appear in standard historical accounts of her kidnapping.

Photos during captivity: The closest the public came to a "proof of life" were photos and surveillance footage of her participating in SLA activities, such as a bank robbery in San Francisco in April 1974, which demonstrated she was alive and actively engaged with the group.

Controversy and evolving image: These images are famous and widely discussed, but their nature is complex. They show a Hearst who appears to have embraced the SLA's radical ideology, leading to debates about her state of mind and the degree of coercion or voluntary involvement.

Oh well.; 9/30/25, 12:01 PM
bagoh20 said...: What makes a "powerful woman"? I mean assuming we know what a woman is. I would guess that the most powerful women would be transwomen. They dominate.; 9/30/25, 12:05 PM
Jim Gust said...: Emma Watson is not a "powerful woman," she's not even a very good actress. She won a lottery, she never earned anything.; 9/30/25, 12:10 PM
Lazarus said...: "Helen Rumbelow"? When was she at Hogwarts?

Rowling defined the generational split well. The rhetoric about the entitled princess Emma insulated from real life realities was harsh, but had some validity. On the other hand, even life's less successful young "drama kids" probably agree with Emma, rather than Joanne. They may have to share a bathroom or hospital room with men someday, but it's not something they think about. Solidarity with their peers matters more than that.; 9/30/25, 12:11 PM
Howard said...: Jesus, Achilles. You really need to stop living in your sympathetic nervous system, it's slowly killing you, brother.

Gemini AI Says:
Chronic stress can lead to dysregulation of the SNS, resulting in an overactive fight-or-flight response. This can cause physical and mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure.

Yes, stimulating the vagus nerve can help reduce anxiety by activating the body's "rest and digest" system. Research and clinical experience show promising results for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), ranging from simple, at-home exercises to medical devices used for treatment-resistant conditions.; 9/30/25, 12:12 PM
n.n said...: Left-wing ideology is authoritarian. A liberal is divergent. The principled conflict is resolved through the Pro-Choice religion.

The Nazis were secular leftists with DEIst (e.g. racist) practices, entertained abortive ideation to clear "burdens", experimented with gender affirming care, social and climate progressives, and dreamers of redistributive change.

Liberalism is a philosophy in trans/ition from classical principles to something queer that bitter clingers discover is uncomfortable with each step forward to the past.; 9/30/25, 12:26 PM
Lazarus said...: Not literally a commie. Maybe the secret word is "virago" or "termagant" or "harridan." Perhaps what's objected to isn't her politics, but her ferocious feminism.; 9/30/25, 12:32 PM
Achilles said...: Howard said...
Jesus, Achilles. You really need to stop living in your sympathetic nervous system, it's slowly killing you, brother.

You live in a fantasy world provided you by people like me.

We saw first hand how the violent hid amidst the cowardly.

You could tell when the locals supported the taliban and when they supported us.

There were places in Afghanistan where they would honestly mourn our deaths and there were places where they would go to taliban funerals.

The law abiding people who are murdered by people with more than 10 arrests are a testament to the true nature of the left. They danced openly when Kirk was murdered because the left openly hates and talks about violence on a daily basis. These people are more honest about their hatred for Republicans then Taliban supporters were about their hatred for US soldiers.; 9/30/25, 12:43 PM
n.n said...: The reality is that there's currently an assault on women's rights unparalleled in my lifetime, and it's coming from both left and right.

Human rites? State adjudication of charity? Women at the back of the bus, girls under the bus, babies sequestered.; 9/30/25, 12:46 PM
Aggie said...: 'Helen Rumbelow'? Rumbelow ??" Wait, which Harry Potter book is she in?; 9/30/25, 12:47 PM
Big Mike said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/30/25, 12:54 PM