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three letters

  • May 4
  • 6 min read



I’ve never signed any of those silly “aren’t we all great and important” letters, and I’ve been asked many times. Although, thankfully, they’ve stopped asking. I’m not sure whether that’s because I’m very much out of the club or it’s accepted that I won’t sign. They make me cringe so hard I feel it in my teeth. The whole thing is a theatre of self-congratulation—a way to declare, without saying it outright, that you’re one of the good people. I’d rather stand alone with integrity than sign a group think love-in designed to impress the media class. If you need to put your name to a public round of applause for yourself, maybe your courage isn’t all that solid.


That’s why those two letters popping up made me think about how they were condemned by many of the same people who practically gurned themselves silly signing the thinly disguised letter about me.


Let’s not mess about: men are not women. That’s it. That’s the truth. And let’s add this too: allowing girls to be raped to protect yourself from accusations of racism is not on. That is the disgusting reality that all three letters try to dodge. What they really say is: “Do it to Julia.” “Kill her first.” Throw working-class girls under the bus so your career can keep going.


Everything that comes after these letters—the caveats, the smears, the condemnations—is just one big performance for power. A way to show you’re in the club. A way to keep your funding, your followers, your friends.


Let’s look at three perfect examples. Three letters, dressed up as compassion, that all do the same thing: they punch down on women, and they lick the boots of the establishment. Here's what they say—and what they really mean.


1. GC and the Far Right Statement

What It Says:

This letter claims to be about rejecting ties to the far right. It warns against letting the gender-critical movement be used by extremists and scaremongers. It says protests—especially around the rape of working-class girls—are a dangerous overlap with fascism.


What It Means:

It means they’re terrified of being associated with the working class. The protests they’re talking about weren’t about race or nationalism. They were about girls being raped, for years, while the state did nothing. And when people finally stood up and demanded justice, they were called bigots.


This letter is a masterclass in moral cowardice. It conflates grief and fury with hate, hoping you won’t notice the switch. It refuses to engage with the reality that the only people who protested were those who had been ignored for years. Instead of standing with victims, it throws them under the bus to please Twitter followers and Guardian editors.


And let’s be honest, it’s not about principle—it’s about perception. This is a letter for their friends, not the public. It’s a way of saying, "Don’t worry, I’m still one of the good ones. I’m not like those women." It’s a coward’s handshake, a nervous smile at the dinner party. It’s not ethics. It’s careerism soaked in the blood of the working class.


Who Signed It:

Academics. NGO operatives. Career activists. People who’ve never had to live with the consequences of the policies they defend. Not a single person who’s buried a daughter. Not a single working-class mother. Just the professional class circling the wagons.


2. "Not in Our Name" Google Document

What It Says:

This one tries to take the moral high ground. It warns about “anti-trans rhetoric” and insists that standing up for sex-based rights is fuelling hatred. It’s vague, wordy, and deeply smug.


What It Means:

It means if you’re not using the right language, if you’re not in the right circle, you’re expendable. It doesn’t matter if you’re a survivor, a nurse, a mother—it matters if you’re respectable, employable, and on-message.

Worse still, this letter sends a loud, clear message to every woman: shut your mouth, or you’re next. It tells victims and whistleblowers that they will be vilified—not supported—if they speak out. It tells predators that polite society will cover for them, so long as they use the right words. This isn’t just spineless—it’s dangerous. It has consequences. For women in prison, for girls in schools, for traumatised women in shelters trying to escape male violence, this kind of posturing costs lives.

"Not in Our Name" isn’t just moral grandstanding—it’s a blueprint for silencing women while pretending to defend them.


Who Signed It:

The usual suspects. Professors. NGO trustees. Think-tank consultants. The people who always get heard, and never get hurt. These aren’t women on the frontlines. These are people defending their relevance.


3. BuzzFeed Celebrity Letter

What It Says:

Trans rights are under attack. Public figures must speak out. There’s no room for debate. Anyone who disagrees is hateful and dangerous.


What It Means:

It means we’re rich, we’re famous, and we want everyone to know we’re good people. Never mind that girls are being locked up with male rapists. Never mind that children are being medicalised. Just sign the letter, smile for the camera, and move on.

It means safeguarding doesn’t matter when you have a stylist. It means pain doesn’t matter when there’s a brand deal at stake. It means girls can suffer, as long as the Instagram comments say “you’re so brave.” These people think a signature is the same as a conscience. They think silence on rape is compassion—as long as it keeps the invitations coming.


This letter isn’t about rights. It’s about reputation. It’s a love letter to power from people terrified of fading into irrelevance. It spits on the very women—like J.K. Rowling—whose work made many of these celebrities famous. And it tells every young girl watching: you are worth less than a headline.


Who Signed It:

Celebrities. PR teams. Instagram brands in human form. People who’ve never shared a changing room with a man and don’t have to. Their activism begins and ends at the red carpet.


Let’s be honest: celebrity doesn’t mean what it used to. These are fading stars trying to stay relevant by clinging to whatever script the industry hands them. And while they play virtue on cue, women and girls are paying the price in the real world. These people aren’t brave—they’re bought. They don’t speak truth to power—they are power.


And among them, incredibly, are actors whose careers were built off the work of J.K. Rowling—a woman who’s shown more courage than the lot of them combined. Instead of standing by her, they spit in her face. That’s not progressive. That’s cowardice dressed up as moral high ground.


Their silence on safeguarding says it all. They have nothing to lose and still choose to say nothing for women and girls. They’d rather be loved by Hollywood than defend a girl locked in a cell with a man. That tells you everything you need to know.


So What Do They All Have in Common?

They protect power: They punch down on women while shielding institutions.

They lie: They pretend dissent is danger and truth is hate.

They sell out: They swap solidarity for applause.

They sacrifice girls: They look away from abuse to preserve their reputations.

They fear unpopularity more than injustice: All three letters show that the social approval of peers matters more than the safety of girls. It's about staying in favour, not standing up.

They are allergic to reality: Each letter avoids dealing with what women and girls are facing on the ground. Prison rapes, medicalised children, destroyed safeguarding systems—none of it makes the cut.

They gatekeep morality: These letters don't speak to convince—they speak to exclude. They’re declarations of who’s allowed in the club and who needs to be silenced.

They perform concern while enabling harm: Draped in the language of justice, they provide cover for institutions failing the most vulnerable women and girls.

In short, they are love letters to power, signed by people more frightened of being unfollowed than of being complicit.

They could have said something brave. They could have defended women. But they didn’t. They stood with the government. With the NGOs. With the media. With the men.


And let’s be absolutely clear: the more you smear women as bigots for wanting boundaries, the more you enable the very system that lets girls be raped. You’re not ending harm. You’re helping it thrive.


We See You. And We’re Not Going Anywhere. We’re not afraid of your letters. We’re not afraid of your name-calling.


So no, these letters aren’t brave.


They’re not virtuous.


They’re membership requirements.




 
 
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