J.K. Rowling, known around the world as the author of both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series, has attracted scorn from the internet after making a number of transphobic comments on Twitter.
The controversy started on June 6th, when Rowling reacted to an opinion piece published by Devex.com. The piece, which argues governments should put in greater effort to provide COVID-19 care for “people who menstruate,” did not sit well with Rowling, who retorted by implying there’s a word for such people – women.
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Fans have since pointed out to the writer that the term ‘women’ is inadequate – at least, for the intents and purposes of the article in question – because it’s not inclusive enough. As they duly note, there are many who do not to identify as women, including people who are transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming, yet also menstruate.
In a move that her PR-representative probably would not have approved of, Rowling responded to these comments by debating whether one’s biological sex is fact or fiction. Suggesting that the experiences of women and trans people are not that different, she tried to reconcile the conflict. However, as was to be expected, she only ended up fanning its flames.
The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Not long after Rowling’s controversial comments had made their way around the Internet, tons of Harry Potter fans took to Twitter to call her out, with the backlash being quite strong this time around. Even GLAAD – an institution dedicated to protecting the rights of the LGBT community – posted a Tweet about it, in which they implored their followers to direct their “rightful anger” at the writer’s remarks to their sister organizations.
“JK Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology,” GLAAD posted on Twitter, “which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans. In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people.”
As far as politics goes, J.K. Rowling appears to find herself in a bad place no matter what she says or does. When she defended the decision to cast a colored actress to portray Hermoine for the theatrical performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, conservatives criticized her for using her stories as an ideological vehicle. Now, faced with transphobic comments such as these, liberals are accusing her various social justice campaigns of being disingenuous.
Published: Jun 7, 2020 11:15 am