J.K. Rowling on Nostr: Being a woman isn't an essence, it's a material, provable fact. I'm not a female ...

Being a woman isn't an essence, it's a material, provable fact. I'm not a female human being because society or history made me one, or because I picked the 'woman' category on some metaphysical spreadsheet. I'm a woman because I was born with the equipment to produce large gametes.

My biology isn't my destiny unless I'm unfortunate enough to live in a society like Afghanistan where my femaleness is punished from birth. My biology does, however, mean I am likely to have experiences no man ever will.

If I'd been raised by robots in outer space who had no understanding of social categories or gendered norms I'd still provably be a woman, not a man. I'd certainly suffer some deprivation from not associating with other humans, but on the upside, I'd never have to listen to pseudo-intellectual drivel like this.