Globally beloved author of the Harry Potter series JK Rowling has come under well deserved criticism online following a series of tweets where she openly engaged in hostile attacks on the transgender community.
Rowling has been suspected of holding transphobic views for a while now. She's been seen liking tweets from open transphobes that have been bigoted towards the trans community, and has even said some things that have set alarm bells ringing within the trans community. These previous times, however, have been 'explained' away as being innocent mistakes, or trans people trying to find fault in what she's said and drawing the wrong conclusion.
Last month, whilst responding to children about her new story The Ikabog Rowling sent a tweet to a child that included a copy and paste from a transphobic article. She apologised for doing so, and she and her defenders claimed that there was nothing transphobic in her actions as she was simply reading about an incident involving a trans person. Whilst reading about things is of course not transphobic, the fact that she was reading an article that refused to acknowledge that trans person's identity, and seemed to be copying it to her clipboard for later use, did make some uncomfortable.
That same day Rowling used her position of power and wealth to threaten a trans journalist with legal action to make them remove their article that criticised her.
All of what she has previously done has been defended and justified by her supporters, and the idea that she's a transphobe has continued to be pushed as some kind of conspiracy theory. All this changed last night, however, as the author engaged in several tweets that cannot be seen as anything as transphobic, and a hostile attack on the transgender community.
Rowling seems to have been spurred into this attack on the trans community after she saw an article that used the term 'people who menstruate'. The author felt that this was wrong as she believes the only people who can have periods are women. This invalidates a huge number of people, such as transgender men, non-binary people, and intersex people. It seems to push the idea that in order to be a woman one needs to have a period, something that trans women don't have, as well as some cis women for a number of reasons.
People justifiably called her out on these views and tried to inform her that her understanding of sex and gender was not only incorrect, but that sharing it the way she was was also confrontational and rude. Rowling defended her position by claiming that she had spoken to her 'butch lesbian friend', and that they had said it was okay. Yes, she used the 'I've got a black friend so aren't racist' excuse. Please, no one point out to her that queer people aren't one collective intelligence represented by her one friend, and that some lesbians are transphobes too.
Rowling has also tried to make herself the victim in this situation by claiming that people calling her a TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) is somehow attacking her and her womanhood, equating the word to mean the same as 'bitch' and 'witch'. It's a shame that as one of the most famous authors on the planet she fails to understand what words are, and uses them completely wrong. But then you don't need to dig too deep into her books to see that her writing isn't the best. Perhaps understanding of language, like science, escapes her.
Rowling has tried to backpedal some of her comments, by claiming to be an ally to the trans people, saying that she would stand beside us if we were discriminated against. If we were discriminated against. If. In this one tweet Rowling has told the world that she doesn't think that trans people face discrimination. Despite engaging in it herself.
The level of disconnect that Rowling is displaying, to claim to have read masses of scientific texts on the subject, yet still denying the science, of saying she stands by the trans community, but then says we don't experience discrimination whilst engaging in it herself are absolutely staggering.
We all know (I hope) that Rowling has had a history of troubling things in her work. From goblins in Harry Potter that play on anti-simetic caricatures, to minimal representation for people of colour, to racist tropes and names, to making a transphobic character in one of her mystery books. She has repeatedly said and done things that are harmful to marginalised groups and has never apologised for them.
It's also worth noting that Rowling is friends with, and began a charity with, Baroness Nicholson, a member of the House of Lords who has not only openly attacked trans rights and legislation, but called a trans child a sexual predator.
Rowling has tweeted nothing about the Black Lives Matter movement. She hasn't given her solidarity or support to people fighting for their rights and their lives across the world right now. With all of her influence and power she's done nothing to help that cause. But she found time to make several tweets that target the trans community. During Pride Month no less.
JK Rowling is not a good person. The mask she wears to present herself as such has had cracks in it for a long while now, but it seems to have finally fallen away to show the bigot beneath. She engages in actions that are harmful and nasty. JK Rowling is a bigot, who is sharing bigoted views to attack a minority. It's time people stopped supporting her and giving her money. There are plenty of better people in the world, and charities that would make better use of the cash.
This completely changes my understanding of all things Harry Potter.
ReplyDelete