JK Rowling has once again sparked widespread discussion with a cutting critique on gender identity policies and their perceived clash with safeguarding women and girls. Taking to social media, the celebrated author highlighted what she sees as glaring inconsistencies within progressive circles, particularly those who championed the #MeToo movement’s focus on male sexual predation but now support policies she believes endanger vulnerable spaces.
In her post, Rowling wrote: “Quite something to watch people who were keen to hitch their wagons to #MeToo a few years ago defend this kind of thing, isn’t it? Then: ‘male sexual predation is far more widespread than society admits!’ Now: ‘of course strange men should be able to shower with little girls.'”
Rowling wrote this while sharing a link from Reduxx Mag which quoted a Canadian woman who said that her daughters encountered a man in the female bathroom of a public pool. Angie Tyrrell, a mother from Saanich, British Columbia, who reported the incident at a public pool. On July 5, Tyrrell’s 10-year-old daughter and her daughter’s 11-year-old friend encountered a man in the women’s changing room at the Commonwealth Place recreation center. The man, described as muscular with a hairy chest and back, was wearing a pink, sparkly bikini adorned with tiaras and frills.
The girls, visibly upset, reported the situation to Tyrrell, who instructed them to change in toilet stalls to avoid exposure. Tyrrell later observed other women and girls in the changing area visibly uncomfortable, with one teenage girl retreating to a stall after spotting the man. Tyrrell reported the incident to staff, only to be met with a response emphasizing the facility’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
Subsequent correspondence with pool management revealed that the facility adhered to the British Columbia Human Rights Code, which allows individuals to use spaces aligned with their self-declared gender identity. Despite Tyrrell’s objections, management suggested that those uncomfortable with the policy could use universal or private changing facilities instead.
Tyrrell expressed outrage, questioning why women and girls should adjust their behavior to accommodate men in spaces traditionally reserved for females. Her concerns about safety and privacy went unanswered, and she has since avoided public facilities in Saanich.
The controversy mirrors similar incidents, such as one in Nanaimo, BC, where a mother reported a man allegedly peering under a stall occupied by her daughter. In that case, the facility reportedly threatened the mother with police action for challenging the man’s presence.
