Looks like today is going to be a rough day on Twitter for J.K. Rowling…
The Harry Potter author is under major fire Thursday morning for her apparent defense of a transphobic researcher named Maya Forstater. And in just a few hours’ time, more than 10,000 people had quickly responded to the author’s views with varying degrees of rage, disappointment, and more.
Related: LGBT Fans Are Pissed At JK Rowling Over This Problem!
First, the backstory: Forstater was a tax expert and economic forecaster at the Centre for Global Development who has become something of a cause célèbre in right-wing circles. The 45-year-old researcher was fired from her job in the UK back in May, reportedly due to “offensive and exclusionary” language, after she publicly remarked trans women are not women. The whole thing blew up across Britain at the time, leading to plenty of debate and worse; here’s a good rundown of what happened.
Now, more than six months later, Rowling has taken her stand with Forstater — and, it would seem, against trans women.
This tweet from the legendary author, which was published to her official account Thursday morning, is causing a lot of controversy (below):
In full, she wrote:
“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 #ThisIsNotA Drill”
At issue here is that final line, of course, and Twitter wasn’t too keen on looking past it.
Related: Say It Ain’t So, JK Rowling!
“I’m not here to cancel JK Rowling as a person and stoke mob outrage,” one prominent Twitter user replied hours after the writer’s tweet, before adding:
“I’m just here to educate and inform. Trans rights are human rights and trans women are women. Also, white feminism can sometimes intersect with trans exclusion or white supremacy, which is unjust. Also, It is both a scientific and medical fact that intersex individuals do exist and gender is not as binary as mainstream society is set to believe. There have been documented cases of patients born with genetically male 46 XY karyotype who have gotten pregnant and gave birth.”
Another went after Rowling’s literary career, saying:
“The saddest thing is that the woman who inspired millions of kids to be good to each other, include each other despite our differences and stand up against those who would oppress us — is now a bigot herself. Good job.”
Yikes!
Several other users pointed out their own, personal connections to Rowling’s work, with one tweeting:
“As a gay man that found safety in Hogwarts throughout my childhood. Knowing that Trans people wouldn’t be able to have that safety breaks my heart.”
And another:
“I grew up as a trans child reading your books as an escape. I would often pick out names from characters to give to myself, before I ever felt comfortable in who I was. This decision, to support people that hate me, and want to do me harm. It brings me to tears… Why. Why? When I was little, my dream was to one day ask you how people like me would have been accommodated for in Hogwarts. I’m afraid that my dreams might have been crushed if I ever got that chance. I say this because of the trans youth out there, kids that might have the same questions I used to have. What would you say to them?”
Wow…
Related: Trisha Paytas Defends Her Transgender Claim…
Still, Rowling did have a fair amount of supporters in her mentions, too, with one user writing (below):
“JK Rowling knows that magic belongs in works of fiction. Sadly, too many people have bought into the idea that magic is real & we really can change our sex. It’s caused all sorts of problems for society, and trans people in particular. We need better.”
And another woman added:
“Thank you. These are scary times for women who assert their right to recognise objective reality.”
Interesting…
The author has yet to respond to her initial tweet, and the ensuing commentary, but we’ll update if she does.
What do U think about this, Perezcious readers? Did JK Rowling just get cancelled?? Where do U stand on her comments here? Sound OFF with your opinions (below)…
[Image via WENN]
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