JK Rowling slammed for her transphobic tweet: Details here
What's the story
In case you didn't already know, Harry Potter author JK Rowling is problematic. Rowling is notorious for capitalizing on the "woke" aesthetic by retroactively tweaking the Potterverse to make it seem progressive (for instance outing characters as gay when they obviously weren't written as such in the books/movies). However, her own persona could use some rework, because Rowling just outed herself as a transphobe.
Details
Rowling voiced support for transphobe who was recently fired
On Thursday, Rowling posted the following tweet: "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." Rowling here is referring to Maya Forstater, who was fired from an international thinktank over transphobic tweets.
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Here's JK Rowling's tweet
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
Forstater case
Here's what happened in the Forstater case
Forstater lost her job as a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development after she was accused of sharing transphobic material on Twitter. The ruling judge at the employment tribunal, James Tayler, held that Forstater didn't have the right to ignore or deny the legal rights of transpersons, adding that ruling in her favor would prevent employers from firing employees sharing queer/trans-phobic sentiments.
Transphobia
Men cannot change into women: Forstater
Some of the transphobic material Forstater shared includes tweets such as "men cannot change into women." She opposed the inclusion of transwomen in sports and said it's "unsafe" for cisgender women if transwomen have access to women's spaces. She also allegedly misgendered a non-binary person, Gregor Murray, as a man since she shouldn't be "forced to lie or obfuscate about someone's sex."
Argument
Studies affirm transgender persons' gender identity
By extending support to Forstater, Rowling has basically endorsed transphobic statements that conflate gender and sex, and suggest sex is immutable. However, studies among children show that transgender children experience their gender identity as strongly as a cisgender child would, i.e., a child assigned 'male' at birth isn't lying if they say they're a girl. Yet, Forstater believes being trans is somehow anti-science.
Information
Rowling once 'accidentally' liked a transphobic tweet
For those of you who have been paying attention, Rowling's TERF-reveal is no surprise (TERF: trans-exclusionary radical feminist). She once liked a tweet that said transwomen are "men in dresses," however, she later claimed it was an error after backlash.
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How's Rowling going to excuse herself out of this backlash?
. @jk_rowling pic.twitter.com/wx9u8VoXId
— Adam Eli (@aewerner) December 19, 2019
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Public transphobia warrants a public callout
Trans women are women.
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) December 19, 2019
Trans men are men.
Non-binary people are non-binary.
CC: JK Rowling.
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Quite frankly, no one would buy that
JK Rowling is 10 minutes away from holding a press conference where she reveals that Hermione was actually a TERF all along.
— Mia Moore 🏳️🌈 (@StopTweetingMia) December 19, 2019
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Amen!
Gonna tell my kids this was JK Rowling pic.twitter.com/EptI3VevoC
— would you clock me? i'd clock me (@er_ique) December 19, 2019