Earlier this week, J.K. Rowling made headlines for posting Tweets which many fans have deemed transphobic. Responding to an article which argued that governments should put in greater effort to make COVID-19 care available to “people who menstruate,” the renowned author responded by implying there’s such a word for those people, and that word is ‘women.’
She later followed that up with some additional Tweets, a few of which you can find below:
If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
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
Of course, this was quick to attract attention from Twitter users, many of whom objected to Rowling’s comments on grounds that there are many groups of people who do not identify as women, such as those who call themselves transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming, and also menstruate.
This is not the first time the author of the beloved Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series has become the subject of online debate, either. Only a month ago, Rowling was criticized for liking a Tweet from Fred Sargeant, a controversial gay activist who believes transgenders should be excluded from the LGBT community.
At the same time, Rowling has also frequently voiced support for that same community through both her social media activity and acts of charity. Back in December, for instance, the author posted a Tweet in which she encouraged people to express and identify themselves in whatever way they wished to do so. Unfortunately, even in such a post, she could not resist voicing her opinion on sex.
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? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
Because J.K. Rowling continues to reiterate this unpopular standpoint, various associations – including the LGBT activist group GLAAD, the Harry Potter fandom organization Wizarding News, and even actors and actresses who worked on her own productions – have come out against the acclaimed writer.
Despite the fact that what’s at stake her is human dignity, and not financial success, one wonders what effect all this negative publicity might have on the Fantastic Beasts series, which has already been under tangential fire from actor Johnny Depp’s messy legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.
