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callout culture is a more gentle way to education and giving them a chance for improvement and to learn from their mistakes. however cancel culture is toxic and devalues progress, leaving a bad impression of them online for a long time, with no room for improvement.

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Callout culture provides a chance for people to learn from their mistakes by criticising them.
Cancel culture boycotting or the mass withdrawal of people or companies due to their problematic actions.

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In 2018, Singaporean influencer Daryl Aiden Yow was found to be editing other people’s photos and passing them off as his own. In the days following the reveal, netizens called for him to acknowledge the mistake, and also approached his sponsorship partners to ask them to drop him.

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Cancel culture is an aggressive way of putting down somebody which does not believe that someone is capable of growth and development.
Call-out culture is a calmer approach of pointing out someone's mistake, telling them how to change and hoping they will learn from it and change for the better in the future.

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Cancellation refers to an attack on someone’s employment and reputation by a determined collective of critics, based on an opinion or an action that is alleged to be disgraceful and disqualifying

Calling out is criticising someone but also allowing that person to redeem themselves

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1. benefit: holding them accountable for their mistakes so that they won't make it again
2. benefit: educating them an acting as a catalyst for growth
3. detriments: lower thier self esteem and leave a bad impression of them in the long term

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Cancel Culture

The practice or tendency of engaging in mass cancelling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure

Call-out Culture

The idea of a “call-out”, generally refers to interpersonal confrontations occurring between individuals on social media

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling slammed again for new tweets about trans issues

Her new posts on Sunday (Jul 5) included one where she said that some people believe they "are watching a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people”, referring to those who are being “shunted towards hormones and surgery when this may not be in their best interests.”

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Benefits:
- Callout culture allows marginalised people to seek accountability where the justice system fails.
- Cancelling allows less powerful people to have a voice.
- Cancelling is a tool to bring about social change.

Detriments:
- Callout culture amounts to online bullying, and can incite violence and threats even worse than the original offence being called out.
- Call out culture is not productive and does not bring about social change.
- Callout culture is a slippery slope and leads to intolerance in democratic societies as people systematically exclude anyone who disagrees with their views.

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cancel culture -> does not work. doesnt acknowledge or believe in growth. Judgement outweighs justice. target celebrities or social groups, mass withdrawal of support from public figures or withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that arent socially accepted

call-out culture->helps people to learn something, bring about social change, brings about healing, education and self awareness. helps build community, relationships

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Customer Experience Concept, Best rating for Satisfaction present by Hand of Client giving a Five ... [+]
Getty

Whether you've had a bad flight, less than desirable service at a restaurant or simply an underwhelming experience with a new product there is hope. We live in the era of "callout culture," where individuals can quickly voice their displeasure publicly in a way that simply didn't exist in the past. For years, the most that a person could do following bad service or a bad experience was write a letter, make a call or more recently leave feedback on a website.

Social media has allowed everyone to have a voice, and in this callout culture there is the chance that news of very bad service can spread quickly. Companies now face a serious backlash, and this includes corporate giants as well as small businesses.

In a recent study conducted by WhoIsHostingThis.com, it was noted that it can take dozens of glowing reviews to reverse the damage from a single scathing complaint, especially if that complaint goes viral. More importantly, more people are now publicly calling out companies on social media.

The study found that 51% of respondents said they'd called out a company, and it isn't just the young crowd that is being so vocal via social media. In fact, 44% of baby boomers said they'd complained about a company, while men were more likely to voice their concerns.

"Social media scare companies into performing customer service the way they should," said social media consultant Lon Safko, author of The Social Media Bible.

"We all know social media has a wide reach," Safko added. "Wider than even paid advertising today. So, companies around the world have been terrified of 'called out' in every platform."

The reach of social media is something that can't be understated.

"When I teach advanced marketing, I warn top executive that in the 1990's it was found that a happy customer might tell seven people, but an unhappy customer will tell 15," Safko noted. "Today, that is utter nonsense. They won't tell 15 people, they will tell 15,000 people or 150,000 people or more!"
Facing The Criticism
The study found that people most often turn to Facebook when calling out a company via social media, and that those who did felt such a public complaint was the right thing to do.

"Our data indicates that 73% of respondents believe it's acceptable to call out a company online, and 61% percent of consumers turn to Facebook in particular when unsatisfied," explained Toni Allen, general manager at WhoIsHostingThis.com.

This was followed by Twitter with about 30% of respondents saying they'd tweeted out a complaint. And while Facebook may have been the way people tried to get in the face of companies, Twitter callouts may be the more effective channel. Those who tweeted a complaint about service tended to receive a prompt response, while those who complained on Facebook tended to wait longer.

Restaurants were among the top types of businesses called out - with 30% of respondents saying they'd used social media to complain about a particular eatery. This was followed by retail stores at 10%, Internet service providers at 9%, automobile-related businesses at 7% and airlines at 5%.

The study found that brands are listening. Domino's Pizza is an example the research cited, as it famously changed its recipes in response to customer complaints. Domino's also listened to its users to address delivery issues, incorrect toppings and in most cases the company's social media team worked to respond quickly to resolve complaints.

This was just one example of callout culture getting a response, but more companies are trying to be as reactive as well.

"The use of social media is evolving, and consumers are now turning to these platforms to 'call out' brands for disappointing service," said Allen. "Consumers' opinions aren't going unnoticed by potential buyers, making negative reviews that much more influential."
Raise Awareness
The survey also found that 52% of those who said they'd called out companies did so to raise awareness and 50% said it was so that others could avoid similar problems. The motives were high-minded the survey noted, but it suggests that there was more than just refund or discount in mind.

"By calling out on social platforms, customers are seeing a much faster response time and much better resolution," explained Safko. "All Fortune 500 Companies have dedicated people monitoring all of the platforms for what is called 'negative, neutral, and positive' comments. This job would be monumental without the help of artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring software platforms like Astute or Agorapulse, which monitors every known social platforms for product comments and returns a report on each."

Those who do use social media to complain also said they believed it would have a positive impact, and 53% of respondents said they expected the brand would change its behavior. About one third said brands did apologize or even offered compensation publicly.

However, while the motives may have been high-minded, 23% of those surveyed did say they believed negative reviews were more influential. At times calling out the CEO was justified, and 56% of respondents said it was acceptable to target a business owner or CEO, but only 35% said it was alright to call out an employee.

In some cases, calling out an employee can result in their termination. And there is another downside to callout culture. Some businesses have sued those who leave a negative review.

This has gotten Congress involved, and in 2016 it passed the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA), which is meant to protect a consumers' ability to leave an honest review without fear of being punished. Yet, this doesn't protect consumers who make personal attacks or make statements that are dishonest about service.

"Many people are unnecessarily calling companies out to coerce them into providing free products," said Safko. "It's a difficult line to maintain for most companies."

However, when used to respond to an actual complaint, social media is really just a very loud word of mouth that the companies are likely to hear.

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Social Media's 'Callout Culture' Continues To Improve Customer Service

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Social media has allowed everyone to have a voice, and in this callout culture there is the chance that news of very bad service can spread quickly. Companies now face a serious backlash, and this includes corporate giants as well as small businesses.

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benefits

allows marginalized people to seek accountability where the justice system fails

gives a voice to less powerful people

to bring about social change

detriments

amounts to online bullying, and can incite violence and threats even worse than the original offense

not productive

leads to intolerance in democratic societies as people systematically exclude anyone who disagrees with their views

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- can help promote social justice, holding people accountable for their actions especially celebrities and public figures when fans are quick to excuse their actions
- can be easy to get carried away and overpunish people, ganging up and taking the moral high ground, public shaming
- doesnt encourage the idea of giving people a second chance to learn from their mistakes and grow as a person
- online bullying > can incite violence and threats even worse than the original offense being called out

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- Sylvia Chan, boss of NOC had allegations of workplace abuse as she used slurs and mistreated her employees

-JK Rowling tweeted a transphobic post and completely did not consider the thoughts and feelings of transgender
people

- Ellen DeGeneres producers allegedly engaged in sexual assault and misconduct

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In 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, has faced intense criticism from her own fans since she began to voice transphobic beliefs. She became on of the most prominently “canceled” individuals at the center of the cancel culture debate.

One of her tweets includes "Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who'll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?"
She added the hashtags "#IStandWithMaya" and "ThisIsNotADrill," making it clear that she was referring to Maya Forstater, a British researcher who lost her job at a nonprofit think tank following a series of tweets that were criticized as transphobic

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Benefits:
1. Allows marginalized people to seek accountability where the justice system fails
2. Gives voice to less powerful people
3. can help to bring about social change
4. allows them to realise what they did wrong and will learn from their mistakes

Detriments:
1. results in cyberbullying, and can even incite violence and threats
2. not productive and does not bring about social change
3. may not be tolerated in democratic places as everyone's views should be taken into account
4. the comments may hurt people's feelings

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examples of cancel culture:
- tony lopez in 2020 (child predator)
- james charles in 2021 (child predator)
- sienna mae gomez in 2021 (sexual assault)
all lost many supporters after the incidents and disappeared off of social media for a period of time, still get hate although it happened quite a while back
examples of callout culture:
- kevin hart received backlash about being homophobic, transphobic and racist in the past, yet still receive acclaim, support and views

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cancel culture:
- someone who has been ostracized for their opinions or actions and thrust out of social groups
- toxic and unnecessary for the growth of a society
callout culture:
- a statement drawing critical attention to someone's unacceptable actions or behaviour, but not meant to hurt anyone's feelings
- necessary for society to progress forwards

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Cancel culture is effective in getting one to stop, but it may come with major emotional side effects.
Call-out culture is more constructive and will help the person more in the future, but may not be effective in the short term to get someone to stop doing something.

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https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

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Warning: The below content is not appropriate for children. Please check with an adult before you read this page. To go back to the children's page, please click here.

This isn't an easy piece to write, for reasons that will shortly become clear, but I know it's time to explain myself on an issue surrounded by toxicity. I write this without any desire to add to that toxicity.

For people who don't know: last December I tweeted my support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who'd lost her job for what were deemed 'transphobic' tweets. She took her case to an employment tribunal, asking the judge to rule on whether a philosophical belief that sex is determined by biology is protected in law. Judge Tayler ruled that it wasn't.

My interest in trans issues pre-dated Maya's case by almost two years, during which I followed the debate around the concept of gender identity closely. I've met trans people, and read sundry books, blogs and articles by trans people, gender specialists, intersex people, psychologists, safeguarding experts, social workers and doctors, and followed the discourse online and in traditional media. On one level, my interest in this issue has been professional, because I'm writing a crime series, set in the present day, and my fictional female detective is of an age to be interested in, and affected by, these issues herself, but on another, it's intensely personal, as I'm about to explain.

All the time I've been researching and learning, accusations and threats from trans activists have been bubbling in my Twitter timeline. This was initially triggered by a 'like'. When I started taking an interest in gender identity and transgender matters, I began screenshotting comments that interested me, as a way of reminding myself what I might want to research later. On one occasion, I absent-mindedly 'liked' instead of screenshotting. That single 'like' was deemed evidence of wrongthink, and a persistent low level of harassment began.

Months later, I compounded my accidental 'like' crime by following Magdalen Berns on Twitter. Magdalen was an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian who was dying of an aggressive brain tumour. I followed her because I wanted to contact her directly, which I succeeded in doing. However, as Magdalen was a great believer in the importance of biological sex, and didn't believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises, dots were joined in the heads of twitter trans activists, and the level of social media abuse increased.

I mention all this only to explain that I knew perfectly well what was going to happen when I supported Maya. I must have been on my fourth or fifth cancellation by then. I expected the threats of violence, to be told I was literally killing trans people with my hate, to be called cunt and bitch and, of course, for my books to be burned, although one particularly abusive man told me he'd composted them.

What I didn't expect in the aftermath of my cancellation was the avalanche of emails and letters that came showering down upon me, the overwhelming majority of which were positive, grateful and supportive. They came from a cross-section of kind, empathetic and intelligent people, some of them working in fields dealing with gender dysphoria and trans people, who're all deeply concerned about the way a socio-political concept is influencing politics, medical practice and safeguarding. They're worried about the dangers to young people, gay people and about the erosion of women's and girl's rights. Above all, they're worried about a climate of fear that serves nobody - least of all trans youth - well.

I'd stepped back from Twitter for many months both before and after tweeting support for Maya, because I knew it was doing nothing good for my mental health. I only returned because I wanted to share a free children's book during the pandemic. Immediately, activists who clearly believe themselves to be good, kind and progressive people swarmed back into my timeline, assuming a right to police my speech, accuse me of hatred, call me misogynistic slurs and, above all - as every woman involved in this debate will know - TERF.

If you didn't already know - and why should you? - 'TERF' is an acronym coined by trans activists, which stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist. In practice, a huge and diverse cross-section of women are currently being called TERFs and the vast majority have never been radical feminists. Examples of so-called TERFs range from the mother of a gay child who was afraid their child wanted to transition to escape homophobic bullying, to a hitherto totally unfeminist older lady who's vowed never to visit Marks & Spencer again because they're allowing any man who says they identify as a woman into the women's changing rooms. Ironically, radical feminists aren't even trans-exclusionary - they include trans men in their feminism, because they were born women.

But accusations of TERFery have been sufficient to intimidate many people, institutions and organisations I once admired, who're cowering before the tactics of the playground. 'They'll call us transphobic!' 'They'll say I hate trans people!' What next, they'll say you've got fleas? Speaking as a biological woman, a lot of people in positions of power really need to grow a pair (which is doubtless literally possible, according to the kind of people who argue that clownfish prove humans aren't a dimorphic species).

So why am I doing this? Why speak up? Why not quietly do my research and keep my head down?

Well, I've got five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism, and deciding I need to speak up.

Firstly, I have a charitable trust that focuses on alleviating social deprivation in Scotland, with a particular emphasis on women and children. Among other things, my trust supports projects for female prisoners and for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. I also fund medical research into MS, a disease that behaves very differently in men and women. It's been clear to me for a while that the new trans activism is having (or is likely to have, if all its demands are met) a significant impact on many of the causes I support, because it's pushing to erode the legal definition of sex and replace it with gender.

The second reason is that I'm an ex-teacher and the founder of a children's charity, which gives me an interest in both education and safeguarding. Like many others, I have deep concerns about the effect the trans rights movement is having on both.

The third is that, as a much-banned author, I'm interested in freedom of speech and have publicly defended it, even unto Donald Trump.

The fourth is where things start to get truly personal. I'm concerned about the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning (returning to their original sex), because they regret taking steps that have, in some cases, altered their bodies irrevocably, and taken away their fertility. Some say they decided to transition after realising they were same-sex attracted, and that transitioning was partly driven by homophobia, either in society or in their families.

Most people probably aren't aware - I certainly wasn't, until I started researching this issue properly - that ten years ago, the majority of people wanting to transition to the opposite sex were male. That ratio has now reversed. The UK has experienced a 4400% increase in girls being referred for transitioning treatment. Autistic girls are hugely overrepresented in their numbers.

The same phenomenon has been seen in the US. In 2018, American physician and researcher Lisa Littman set out to explore it. In an interview, she said:

'Parents online were describing a very unusual pattern of transgender-identification where multiple friends and even entire friend groups became transgender-identified at the same time. I would have been remiss had I not considered social contagion and peer influences as potential factors.'

Littman mentioned Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram and YouTube as contributing factors to Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria, where she believes that in the realm of transgender identification 'youth have created particularly insular echo chambers.'

Her paper caused a furore. She was accused of bias and of spreading misinformation about transgender people, subjected to a tsunami of abuse and a concerted campaign to discredit both her and her work. The journal took the paper offline and re-reviewed it before republishing it. However, her career took a similar hit to that suffered by Maya Forstater. Lisa Littman had dared challenge one of the central tenets of trans activism, which is that a person's gender identity is innate, like sexual orientation. Nobody, the activists insisted, could ever be persuaded into being trans.

The argument of many current trans activists is that if you don't let a gender dysphoric teenager transition, they will kill themselves. In an article explaining why he resigned from the Tavistock (an NHS gender clinic in England) psychiatrist Marcus Evans stated that claims that children will kill themselves if not permitted to transition do not 'align substantially with any robust data or studies in this area. Nor do they align with the cases I have encountered over decades as a psychotherapist.'

The writings of young trans men reveal a group of notably sensitive and clever people. The more of their accounts of gender dysphoria I've read, with their insightful descriptions of anxiety, dissociation, eating disorders, self-harm and self-hatred, the more I've wondered whether, if I'd been born 30 years later, I too might have tried to transition. The allure of escaping womanhood would have been huge. I struggled with severe OCD as a teenager. If I'd found community and sympathy online that I couldn't find in my immediate environment, I believe I could have been persuaded to turn myself into the son my father had openly said he'd have preferred.

When I read about the theory of gender identity, I remember how mentally sexless I felt in youth. I remember Colette's description of herself as a 'mental hermaphrodite' and Simone de Beauvoir's words: 'It is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations posed upon her by her sex. The real question is not why she should reject them: the problem is rather to understand why she accepts them.'

As I didn't have a realistic possibility of becoming a man back in the 1980s, it had to be books and music that got me through both my mental health issues and the sexualised scrutiny and judgement that sets so many girls to war against their bodies in their teens. Fortunately for me, I found my own sense of otherness, and my ambivalence about being a woman, reflected in the work of female writers and musicians who reassured me that, in spite of everything a sexist world tries to throw at the female-bodied, it's fine not to feel pink, frilly and compliant inside your own head; it's OK to feel confused, dark, both sexual and non-sexual, unsure of what or who you are.

I want to be very clear here: I know transition will be a solution for some gender dysphoric people, although I'm also aware through extensive research that studies have consistently shown that between 60-90% of gender dysphoric teens will grow out of their dysphoria. Again and again I've been told to 'just meet some trans people.' I have: in addition to a few younger people, who were all adorable, I happen to know a self-described transsexual woman who's older than I am and wonderful. Although she's open about her past as a gay man, I've always found it hard to think of her as anything other than a woman, and I believe (and certainly hope) she's completely happy to have transitioned. Being older, though, she went through a long and rigorous process of evaluation, psychotherapy and staged transformation. The current explosion of trans activism is urging a removal of almost all the robust systems through which candidates for sex reassignment were once required to pass. A man who intends to have no surgery and take no hormones may now secure himself a Gender Recognition Certificate and be a woman in the sight of the law. Many people aren't aware of this.

We're living through the most misogynistic period I've experienced. Back in the 80s, I imagined that my future daughters, should I have any, would have it far better than I ever did, but between the backlash against feminism and a porn-saturated online culture, I believe things have got significantly worse for girls. Never have I seen women denigrated and dehumanised to the extent they are now. From the leader of the free world's long history of sexual assault accusations and his proud boast of 'grabbing them by the pussy', to the incel ('involuntarily celibate') movement that rages against women who won't give them sex, to the trans activists who declare that TERFs need punching and re-educating, men across the political spectrum seem to agree: women are asking for trouble. Everywhere, women are being told to shut up and sit down, or else.

I've read all the arguments about femaleness not residing in the sexed body, and the assertions that biological women don't have common experiences, and I find them, too, deeply misogynistic and regressive. It's also clear that one of the objectives of denying the importance of sex is to erode what some seem to see as the cruelly segregationist idea of women having their own biological realities or - just as threatening - unifying realities that make them a cohesive political class. The hundreds of emails I've received in the last few days prove this erosion concerns many others just as much. It isn't enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves.

But, as many women have said before me, 'woman' is not a costume. 'Woman' is not an idea in a man's head. 'Woman' is not a pink brain, a liking for Jimmy Choos or any of the other sexist ideas now somehow touted as progressive. Moreover, the 'inclusive' language that calls female people 'menstruators' and 'people with vulvas' strikes many women as dehumanising and demeaning. I understand why trans activists consider this language to be appropriate and kind, but for those of us who've had degrading slurs spat at us by violent men, it's not neutral, it's hostile and alienating.

Which brings me to the fifth reason I'm deeply concerned about the consequences of the current trans activism.

I've been in the public eye now for over twenty years and have never talked publicly about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor. This isn't because I'm ashamed those things happened to me, but because they're traumatic to revisit and remember. I also feel protective of my daughter from my first marriage. I didn't want to claim sole ownership of a story that belongs to her, too. However, a short while ago, I asked her how she'd feel if I were publicly honest about that part of my life, and she encouraged me to go ahead.

I'm mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who've been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces.

I managed to escape my first violent marriage with some difficulty, but I'm now married to a truly good and principled man, safe and secure in ways I never in a million years expected to be. However, the scars left by violence and sexual assault don't disappear, no matter how loved you are, and no matter how much money you've made. My perennial jumpiness is a family joke - and even I know it's funny - but I pray my daughters never have the same reasons I do for hating sudden loud noises, or finding people behind me when I haven't heard them approaching.

If you could come inside my head and understand what I feel when I read about a trans woman dying at the hands of a violent man, you'd find solidarity and kinship. I have a visceral sense of the terror in which those trans women will have spent their last seconds on earth, because I too have known moments of blind fear when I realised that the only thing keeping me alive was the shaky self-restraint of my attacker.

I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable for all the reasons I've outlined. Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, they're most likely to be killed by sexual partners. Trans women who work in the sex industry, particularly trans women of colour, are at particular risk. Like every other domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I know, I feel nothing but empathy and solidarity with trans women who've been abused by men.

So I want trans women to be safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he's a woman - and, as I've said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones - then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.

On Saturday morning, I read that the Scottish government is proceeding with its controversial gender recognition plans, which will in effect mean that all a man needs to 'become a woman' is to say he's one. To use a very contemporary word, I was 'triggered'. Ground down by the relentless attacks from trans activists on social media, when I was only there to give children feedback about pictures they'd drawn for my book under lockdown, I spent much of Saturday in a very dark place inside my head, as memories of a serious sexual assault I suffered in my twenties recurred on a loop. That assault happened at a time and in a space where I was vulnerable, and a man capitalised on an opportunity. I couldn't shut out those memories and I was finding it hard to contain my anger and disappointment about the way I believe my government is playing fast and loose with womens and girls' safety.

Late on Saturday evening, scrolling through children's pictures before I went to bed, I forgot the first rule of Twitter - never, ever expect a nuanced conversation - and reacted to what I felt was degrading language about women. I spoke up about the importance of sex and have been paying the price ever since. I was transphobic, I was a cunt, a bitch, a TERF, I deserved cancelling, punching and death. You are Voldemort said one person, clearly feeling this was the only language I'd understand.

It would be so much easier to tweet the approved hashtags - because of course trans rights are human rights and of course trans lives matter - scoop up the woke cookies and bask in a virtue-signalling afterglow. There's joy, relief and safety in conformity. As Simone de Beauvoir also wrote, "... without a doubt it is more comfortable to endure blind bondage than to work for one's liberation; the dead, too, are better suited to the earth than the living."

Huge numbers of women are justifiably terrified by the trans activists; I know this because so many have got in touch with me to tell their stories. They're afraid of doxxing, of losing their jobs or their livelihoods, and of violence.

But endlessly unpleasant as its constant targeting of me has been, I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode 'woman' as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it. I stand alongside the brave women and men, gay, straight and trans, who're standing up for freedom of speech and thought, and for the rights and safety of some of the most vulnerable in our society: young gay kids, fragile teenagers, and women who're reliant on and wish to retain their single sex spaces. Polls show those women are in the vast majority, and exclude only those privileged or lucky enough never to have come up against male violence or sexual assault, and who've never troubled to educate themselves on how prevalent it is.

The one thing that gives me hope is that the women who can protest and organise, are doing so, and they have some truly decent men and trans people alongside them. Political parties seeking to appease the loudest voices in this debate are ignoring women's concerns at their peril. In the UK, women are reaching out to each other across party lines, concerned about the erosion of their hard-won rights and widespread intimidation. None of the gender critical women I've talked to hates trans people; on the contrary. Many of them became interested in this issue in the first place out of concern for trans youth, and they're hugely sympathetic towards trans adults who simply want to live their lives, but who're facing a backlash for a brand of activism they don't endorse. The supreme irony is that the attempt to silence women with the word 'TERF' may have pushed more young women towards radical feminism than the movement's seen in decades.

The last thing I want to say is this. I haven't written this essay in the hope that anybody will get out a violin for me, not even a teeny-weeny one. I'm extraordinarily fortunate; I'm a survivor, certainly not a victim. I've only mentioned my past because, like every other human being on this planet, I have a complex backstory, which shapes my fears, my interests and my opinions. I never forget that inner complexity when I'm creating a fictional character and I certainly never forget it when it comes to trans people.

All I'm asking - all I want - is for similar empathy, similar understanding, to be extended to the many millions of women whose sole crime is wanting their concerns to be heard without receiving threats and abuse.

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J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues - J.K. Rowling

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Warning: The below content is not appropriate for children. Please check with an adult before you read this page. To go back to the children's page, please click here. This isn't an easy piece to write, for reasons that will shortly become clear, but I know it's time to explain myself on an issue surrounded [...]

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Dee Kosh
Xia Xue
Soh Rui Yong
Eden Ang

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Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans

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Soh Rui Yong Not Selected To Represent Singapore In Upcoming SEA Games

While many eyes are on the world-class athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 now, our own athletes are gearing up for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

However, one notable marathon runner, Soh Rui Yong, will not participate in the games in May.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (16 Feb), he shares that the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) decided to omit him despite his stellar marathon timing.

The national runner also denied the allegations made by SNOC regarding his non-efforts in making amends after previous disputes, and apologised for inconveniences that arose from his past actions.

Soh excluded from SEA Games due to 'Unbecoming Behaviour'

On Wednesday (16 Feb), the SNOC announced the 330 athletes competing across 29 sports in the biennial SEA Games.

But Singapore's top national marathon runner Soh Rui Yong was not on the list for the second time running.

Previously in 2019, Soh was also omitted from the SEA Games contingent despite meeting the qualification mark.

Speaking to The Straits Times (ST), an SNOC spokesperson said the council rejected the Singapore Athletics' (SA) nomination of Soh.

This was attributed to his conduct, which "fell short of the standards of attitude and behaviour" SNOC expects of athletes-the same reason given for his 2019 omission.

Since then, the spokesperson said Soh's conduct and behaviour continued to fall short of those standards.

They added that Soh has made "no attempt" to make amends, correct, or apologise for his conduct and behaviour.

The spokesperson said he has instead made "continued and persistent actions" to challenge, mock, threaten, and/or disrespect organisations and individuals, including SNOC.

SNOC views this as an unbecoming behaviour of an athlete hoping to represent Singapore at the SEA Games.

Soh denies SNOC's allegations

In response to SNOC, Soh made a statement on Facebook on Wednesday (16 Feb).

He shared that he was once again not selected, although he finished with a timing of 2:22:59 in the qualifying window, setting a new national record.

His timing is more than 10 minutes faster than the qualifying mark set by SNOC.

Soh asserts that his "objective track record speaks for itself", having won 2 gold medals at the 2 SEA Games Marathons he participated in.

He noted that SNOC's claims that he made no effort at making amends are "categorically false and border on defamation".

In his post, Soh also revealed that the President of SNOC, Tan Chuan-Jin, had blocked him on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

While this is within his rights, the national runner said it's challenging to resolve disputes when the SNOC leader himself is not open to communication.

Soh happy to make amends

Soh shared that he had met with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore Edwin Tong in January.

During their meeting, Minister Tong kindly offered help to mediate between him and SNOC. While Soh was unsure of the developments following their meeting, he thanked the minister for his efforts.

Concluding his post, Soh said he wants to make it clear to SNOC and the public that for him, past disputes are bygones and no longer important.

He was happy to make amends and resolve matters but stressed that SNOC had to reciprocate too.

On his part, Soh apologised for any inconveniences that arose from his past actions and that this would cause Singapore to miss out on a marathon gold medal.

He then wishes luck to the rest of Team Singapore competing in Vietnam in May.

Clashes between Soh Rui Yong & SNOC since 2017

Since 2017, Soh has clashed several times with SNOC. The issues between the council and him were:

Soh received a formal warning from SNOC due to infringement of regulations in the 2017 SEA Games promotion of personal sponsors

Soh protested to donating 20% of his SNOC reward payout to SA for training and development

A longstanding dispute between Soh and national marathoner Ashley Liew

Soh filed a defamation suit against SA and former official after omission from the 2019 SEA Games

Currently, Soh's case against Liew is under appeal, and his proceedings against the formal official are still before the courts, reported ST.

Hope SNOC remains objective in vetting athletes

Soh's determination to speak up for what he believes in has put his career under the spotlight many times.

While his courage is admirable, the SNOC also holds all athletes to a certain standard.

Hopefully, both parties will be able to resolve any differences amicably, so Singapore will have a reputable athlete representing us, and Soh can have his chance at triumphing at his sport.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com. Featured image adapted from Soh Rui Yong on Facebook.

Sabrina is always facing some form of existential crisis but other than that, she's pretty chill.

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Soh Rui Yong Excluded From SEA Games Team Due To 'Unbecoming Behaviour', He Clarifies Situation

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While many eyes are on the world-class athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 now, our own athletes are gearing up for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. However, one notable marathon runner, Soh Rui Yong, will not participate in the games in May.

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