Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling Under Fire for Anti-Transgender Tweets

J.Okay. Rowling has landed in sizzling water as soon as once more. Over the weekend, the Harry Potter creator drew extreme backlash for a sequence of tweets that have been seen as anti-transgender. Rowling criticised those that consider that an individual’s assigned intercourse at beginning is not “real”, seemingly conflating intercourse with gender. She additionally questioned using the phrase “people who menstruate”.

Late on Saturday within the UK — early Sunday in India — Rowling shared an article on Twitter from group improvement media platform Devex, which had the phrases “people who menstruate” in its headline. She wrote: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Rowling’s feedback have been flooded by individuals mentioning that girls aren’t the one ones who menstruate. Transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals can even menstruate. But as an alternative of course-correcting, Rowling doubled down on her views.

Less than half an hour later, Rowling tweeted: “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.”

Naturally, it was not acquired effectively. Many distinguished personalities replied to Rowling to level out her mistake, together with actress Nicole Maines and singer Brad Walsh. Maines wrote: “We’re not saying sex isn’t real. We’re saying it’s different from gender. My assigned sex at birth was male. But I identify as a woman. Sex is in the fun bits. Gender is in the brain.”

Others, together with actress Jameela Jamil and LGTBQ+ media monitoring NGO GLAAD, requested Rowling and other people indignant over her tweets to assist black trans individuals. It may be argued that black trans individuals face extra discrimination since they belong to 2 teams which might be mentioned to be systematically discriminated towards.

But none of that appeared to have any impact on Rowling, who added to her tweet and mentioned: “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 — [i.e.], to male violence — ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences — is a nonsense.

“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

Mind you, this is not the primary time that Rowling has expressed such views. Last yr, she confirmed assist for Maya Forstater, a researcher who claimed that individuals can not change their organic intercourse.

For many, Rowling’s feedback have been an extra affront on prime of her physique of labor. While the Harry Potter sequence is probably the most offered of all time, the books have additionally been repeatedly criticised for his or her overwhelming whiteness, the dearth of illustration for minorities, and the stereotypical depiction of minorities on the few cases they’re included.

Some are much more sad over the truth that Rowling selected June — the month of LGBTQ+ Pride — to air her anti-transgender feedback.