It should have been no surprise that John Boyne was longlisted earlier this month for one of this year’s Polari prizes, awards celebrating LGBTQ+ literature, for his beautiful novella Earth. One of the most accomplished living novelists from the British Isles, he is best known for 2006’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

However, he is also known for speaking up in defense of J.K. Rowling, and for refusing to capitulate when activists objected to his 2019 novel about youth gender transition, My Brother’s Name is Jessica. Boyne’s objections to gender ideology, while shared by a significant portion of the population, make the backlash he has received in recent days just as unsurprising as the initial nomination.

Already, over 800 writers and publishing workers have signed an open letter condemning Boyne’s presence on the longlist. Of the authors nominated for this year’s prizes, 10 have now withdrawn from consideration; even two of the judges have dropped out.

This debacle has taken me back to the good old days, before the cult of gender ideology sunk its claws into every progressive institution going. In 2014, I published a book about lesbian and gay culture called Straight Expectations. I was thrilled to be invited to speak at the Polari Literary Salon, and that my book was shortlisted for one of the prizes. On the night, the audience was stuffed with literary types of all persuasions, including supportive heterosexuals as well as the odd trans-identified person. But there was no animosity whatsoever, and a great time was had by all.

In 2017, I published a book on the global sex trade and was again invited to speak at the Salon because one chapter focused on gay men, the AIDS crisis, and the “pro-sex work” ideology that arose from it. My talk was controversial to some, but still well-received overall.

By the time I published my next book, in 2021, the trans train had chugged into town. I was informed, politely and regretfully, by the organizers that my appearance at the event would cause a major pushback. I took it in reasonably good spirits, although I felt sad and disappointed that Polari now appeared to have been properly captured by a stifling new force.

As it happens, Boyne has always appeared modest and deeply respectful of other writers. He would no doubt have been delighted to be included on a longlist among other gay men and lesbians, but now he’s come in for horrible bullying and baseless, defamatory accusations of bigotry.

One of the worst things about this sadistic movement is the insistence that individuals who have earned their wealth are so privileged that they have no right to feel upset about being targeted. In the unlikely event that I had ever held that ridiculous view myself, seeing what happened to my friend Jo Rowling would have disabused me of it.

When you target decent people — who hold sound liberal values and are genuinely kind and compassionate — by calling them Nazis and suggesting that they are causing the deaths of trans people, it hurts. I’m sure that the instigators of the witch hunt against Boyne will not rest until they have “persuaded” every writer and judge involved to resign. I’m afraid this will be the end of Polari, and we need to build something else. How many more fun, important things will these people be allowed to ruin, before more of us say, “enough is enough”?

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Julie Bindel is an investigative journalist, author, and feminist campaigner. Her latest book is Lesbians: Where are we now? She also writes on Substack.

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