After a lengthy Twitter absence, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling returned today to tweet her support for transphobic researcher Maya Forstater, and affirm her own belief that assigned sex is real and immutable.
Dress however you please.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
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
“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?” Rowling tweeted. She equates gender with assigned sex and reduces trans people’s gender identities to a kind of performance.
Rowling’s tweet was quickly mocked on the platform.
https://twitter.com/GetDisneyPrime/status/1207684887098118144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1207684887098118144&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailydot.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php
https://twitter.com/jes8965priv/status/1207673771924086787
Someone please take away the keys to JK Rowling’s Twitter account pic.twitter.com/aD0ddVqDMk
— Yes, You’re Racist (@YesYoureRacist) December 19, 2019
JK Rowling at JK Rowling at
— lewisjwr 🤠🪩 (@lewisjwr) December 19, 2019
The start of vs. The end of the
The decade Decade pic.twitter.com/Th4ob7x63Z
Forstater, whose contract with an international think tank wasn’t renewed after she expressed transphobic sentiments on Twitter, lost her case with the employment tribunal. The judge ruled that her beliefs about gender did “not have the protected characteristic of philosophical belief.” This result has spawned several hashtags on Twitter, including #IStandWithMaya and #ThisIsNotADrill by people who share her transphobic beliefs and defend her actions. These Twitter users also declare the judge’s ruling a threat to freedom of speech and women’s rights in general.
https://twitter.com/tyleranny/status/1207688079823134721
Several Twitter users claim that Rowling’s tweet misrepresents what the case was about to the point of gaslighting, as it casts Forstater’s case as one of freedom of speech when it was really an attempt to grant transphobia protected status under the law in the same way that religions currently have in the UK.
This was essentially an attempt at creating a UK version of US “religious freedom” laws. That’s what this case ostensibly was; codifying in law that discrimination against or hatred of transgender people is legally protected. pic.twitter.com/yhiFWiBLtd
— Casey Explosion (@CaseyExplosion) December 19, 2019
This will be a test case to establish that “gender-critical” views are protected beliefs. pic.twitter.com/QO8xR1ACKt
— Casey Explosion (@CaseyExplosion) December 19, 2019
Don’t let the narrative about this be
— Natalie Washington (@Transsomething) December 19, 2019
“JK Rowling in internet spat about whether trans women are women”
It’s not
This is “JK Rowling stands with woman who lost court case about her choice to be abusive towards trans people in her workplace, so her contract was not renewed”
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.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) December 19, 2019
Rowling has a long history of liking transphobic tweets and then answering evasively when questioned on it, seemingly trying to express support for the TERF movement without losing the support of her fans who oppose them. However, this tweet and its contents are unequivocal in their support of the TERF position, and Rowling won’t be able to back down from it by saying she “had a middle-aged moment” and liked the wrong tweet as she has in the past.
jk rowling has been a terf this whole time which people would know if they actually listened to trans women
— rose (@spacialesbian) December 19, 2019
1. JK Rowling has always been a terf, but just admitted it out loud
— St. Vincent Price 🇵🇸 (@muddaub) December 19, 2019
2. do NOT show your support for trans people by quoting JK Rowling of all people, jesus fucking christ pic.twitter.com/W9j0tCIZV7
https://twitter.com/KolleenCarney/status/1207692440259289089
https://twitter.com/HSouthwellFE/status/1207681793912168448
While many are saying that Rowling’s views have been obvious for a long time, others are reeling from this revelation and saying it’s the final nail in the coffin of their fandom.
https://twitter.com/IAmDylanLewis/status/1207701982313668610
As a Huffleclaw, I can not condone the batshit crazy views of @jk_rowling. So I’m going to think 2x about how I spend my $ towards Harry Potter in the future. Winky, please remove her portrait from the Headmaster’s office and go put her IN Mrs. Black’s portrait permanently! pic.twitter.com/wkrESqIDmt
— Fmr Hogwarts Pop Culture Professor (@TrackSuitsOn) December 19, 2019
If I were @jk_rowling, and I saw the people who are cheering that statement, and the nasty, cruel victory laps they are taking, I would seriously reconsider my position. When you make that many vile people happy, lauding you for “saying something sane at last,” it’s a bad sign. pic.twitter.com/wb8aul0fXp
— Emma Jameson ⭐️A Death at Bay View Hotel ⭐ (@MsEmmaJameson) December 19, 2019
Did Dolores Umbridge write this?
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) December 19, 2019
Meanwhile, other Twitter users are out here reminding disappointed fans that there are other beloved young adult authors who not only haven’t come out with transphobic statements but actually feature LGBTQ+ and other marginalized characters in their work. Suggestions include K.A. Applegate—author of the Animorphs—Rick Riordan, and Tamora Pierce.
https://twitter.com/NotLikeFreddy/status/1207686632377323520
https://twitter.com/TheTasteOfALiar/status/1207684773960933376
Thanks. Yes, I had the crazy idea that I should write as if POC and gay and trans people actually existed, though I was behind the curve on trans characters til some kid on Twitter asked me about it. Also have not done a good job with disabilities. Working on it.
— Michael Grant – GONE TV trailer in bio (@MichaelGrantBks) December 19, 2019
Tamora Pierce has been making strong efforts in recent years to improve and learn more about how feminism is evolving. Instead of hunkering down and insisting how great she is and doesn’t need to change, she’s listening and learning. I really respect that.
— OrangeGoth 🍊🦇🎃 @thatauntzelda.bsky.social (@ThatAuntZelda) December 19, 2019
READ MORE:
- TERF wars: Why trans-exclusionary radical feminists have no place in feminism
- Parents can do one thing to lower trans kids’ depression: Support them
