JK Rowling asks Scottish MPs if a 'be-penised rapist' is a man or a woman

JK Rowling is once again calling out the hypocrisy and incoherency of Scottish National Party (SNP) members on the issue of gender identity and housing males in women’s prisons.

Earlier this week, SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf, the member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) who voted in support of rapists being housed in women’s prisons, tweeted to say that as SNP leader and First Minister, he would advance women’s rights. This prompted Rowling to ask why Humza had voted down an amendment to stop rapists being housed in women’s jails, along with an Isla Bryson hashtag.

SNP MSP James Dorman then leapt to Humza’s defence, questioning the validity of Rowling’s point given the fact that Bryson was kept in isolation and that the decision on where to house the serial rapist was in the hands of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and had nothing to do with the controversial Gender Recognition Reform Act that is currently blocked by the British government.

Rowling fired back with a series of questions for both Dorman and Yousaf.

"Is the be-penised rapist you coyly call "the individual" a man or a woman?" she asked.

"Do you agree with @HumzaYousaf that convicted rapists should NOT be excluded from applying for a gender recognition certificate?"

"Do you agree with @HumzaYousaf that Bryson is 'not a genuine trans woman'?"

"How would the pair of you define a 'genuine trans woman'?"

"How would you both test for the "genuineness" of a trans woman, given that your legislation removed all medical safeguarding?"

"Lastly, do you and @HumzaYousaf believe legislation that enables fully intact males with a history of sexual violence to apply for a gender recognition certificate comes with no risk to vulnerable women and girls?"

"I await your answers with the liveliest interest," Rowling signed off.

At the time of publishing, Rowling was still eagerly awaiting a response.

In December, the Scottish Parliament rejected an amendment to the Gender Recognition Reform bill that would have prevented males convicted of sex offenses from obtaining a gender recognition certificate and being given access to the intimate spaces of women and girls.

Earlier this month, an anonymous “concerned citizen” claimed to have reported Yousaf to Scottish Police alleging a potential hate crime after the leadership hopeful said in a televised debate that serial rapist Isla Bryson was “not a genuine trans woman.” The concerned citizen claimed that this could potentially be considered a hate crime under Yousaf’s own Hate Crime Act.

The Scottish National Party’s own definition of transphobia includes "using phrases or language to suggest [a transgender person’s] gender identity is not valid," which is exactly what Yousaf did during the leadership debate.

The controversy surrounding Isla Bryson being placed in a women’s prison plagued First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in the days leading up to her resignation as SNP leader.