JK羅琳去年在推特轉貼了一篇文章批評說「女人」(women)被消除,被「月經人」(people who menstruate)取代。後來引發了一連串爭議。
那麼我們來看看羅琳所批評的文章到底寫了什麼。
排除掉引言,文章的第一段是:
Importantly, advocates are calling attention to the many gendered aspects of the pandemic, including increased vulnerabilities to gender-based violence during lockdowns, and the risks faced by primary caretakers — particularly women in the household and health care workers, approximately 75% of which are women.
第一段就直接強調了在疫情期間性別不平等造成的問題,而他直接寫明了需要更被善待的多半是女性(women)。
第二段是:
An estimated 1.8 billion girls, women, and gender non-binary persons menstruate, and this has not stopped because of the pandemic. They still require menstrual materials, safe access to toilets, soap, water, and private spaces in the face of lockdown living conditions that have eliminated privacy for many populations.
他寫疫情當中有月經的人需要基本的衛生資源的供給,而重點來了,文章描述是那些人?是女孩(girls), 女人(women)和一些性別非二元者(gender non-binary persons)。文章並未「消除」女人,甚至他連女孩都寫了。
文章第三段:
Of equal concern, progress already made or underway around important gender issues is now halted or reversing. Menstruation serves as a proxy for this observation. 2020 started out as a year of progress,
with a groundswell of interest and potential for improved investment to address the menstrual health and hygiene needs of girls, women, and all people who menstruate.
仍然在強調生理期的衛生需求應該被重視,而那些人有需求?文章寫得明明白白:是女孩(girls), 女人(women)和所有有月經的人(all people who menstruate)。再一次的,文章強調了女孩和女人,並沒有把他們「消除」。
當文章都這麼寫時,很難理解為什麼JK羅琳仍然認為這篇文章「消除」了「女人」(women),然後認為人們在用「月經人」(people who menstrurate)來取代「女人」。我真心不解,羅琳真的有點進文章看完全文嗎?文章前三段就已經開宗明義說要關注的對象是「女孩、女人,和所有有月經的人」,這是哪裡消除了女性?實在令人費解。
有人會宣稱,可能羅琳轉貼時那篇文章不是這樣寫,可能後來被羅琳提出來後才改的。然而真的是這樣嗎?我們可以用網路歷史快照回去看最原初那篇文章長怎樣。
補:gender non-binary 通常指認同不屬於二元性別其中一端的人,而不是性別不明。
當時文章就已經寫「女孩、女人和所有有月經的人」,到目前為止文字沒有修改過。