J.K. Rowling is Bigoted Trash
This past month, Rowling, who once was championed as enlightened gay ally, has doubled down on her bigoted opinions that transpeople aren't people. If you haven't been paying attention, last year she was accused of being a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) because she equated sex as gender in a tweet that supports a fired researcher who was found to be hostile towards transpeople. She followed up with statements that gender is sex, and people can never truly be transgender. That is, to paraphrase her comments more clearly: if John was born a girl, but identifies as a boy, has been diagnosed as transgender and properly assumes his gender identity as John... well, Rowling believes that John is always a girl.
Earlier this month, she chose to take set off a new firestorm by bringing up a menstruation product that changed their wording to “people who menstruate”. She took took offense at the idea that there may be some people who are 'not women', sarcastically suggesting that only "cis women menstruate," and rejected the idea that there's a spectrum of people who can menstruate- and women who can't. Her bigoted comments have inspired many, many people trying to share with her the reality that transgender men experience menstruation, transgender women don’t, and other gender identities across the spectrum could also experience periods as well. She didn't take that well, doubled down with she has trans-friends who support her opinions, and has deflected to this idea that she had been very gay-friendly and trans-empathetic.
Far from the truth. Her continued disregard for people's gender identity, even after many of her fans compassionately tried to help her understanding she's confusing gender identity-as-sex with sex as sexual intercourse or sex as biological appearance. Each of these are very clearly different, but Rowling won't have it. She issued a long essay this past weekend trying to defend her opinions (I won't link to it, if you want to, google it) basically ignoring her menstruations views as well as and the criticism she's received for her trans opinions. She brought out that old line about 'women feeling unsafe with [transwo]men in women-only spaces', and then apparently tried to segue into some previously unrevealed feelings about identity, male power, and a sexual assault she has survived. Not to dismiss the trauma of an sexual assault she may have suffered, but what of the thousands of transpeople she is assaulting and erasing with her very denigrating opinions?
Her attacks on transpeople and the resulting backlash, have made her feel like she's the victim. Golly, Rowling, with friends like you... You should see how the other side feels, encountering transphobia on a near-daily basis.
Several actors who star in her films have loudly criticized Rowling's views or spoke out in support of trans rights, including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), and Katie Leung (Cho Chang). On the other hand, Warner Brothers picture studios released a non-statement without even mentioning Rowling, and the Sphere Books (her current publisher) hasn't said a peep, despite public discussion about the disgusting transphobia and race issues within her new series. [Her mystery books are transphobic, Vice.com reports. I started reading the first one, hated it, and returned it without finishing it.]
I have a bad taste in my mouth these days about Rowling. Her opinions are positively antiquated, her actions have been very mean-spirited. Dare I say she's channelling Dolores Umbridge in particular, and her very attitude seem to be untenable.
So, I have made a firm decision not to support Rowling anymore. I will neither buy nor read her trashy military books. I will not buy, download, or participate in viewing her shitty Fantastic Beasts movies anymore. Her Potter movies are gone from my collection. And as much as I love the Harry Potter book series... I am struggling very much with the idea of selling the book series and donating the money to a trans-worthy organization.
Daniel Radcliffe, wrote a short but lovely letter, well worth reading, over on the Trevor Project. Problem I see is, how to separate the author from the stories? Why should we venerate her, or even her stories, when she's clearly out of touch and unwilling to educate herself? Doing so gives her a pedestal to hoist herself on. And it seems very clear she is really comfortable making her pronouncements from her throne. Her Potter-verse series is filled with many uncomfortable stereotypes (both the books and the Beast series.) The "Dumbledore is gay" revelation felt like a cop out because it was never directly addressed in the books.
Her tweets are transphobic. She is bigoted trash.
No more, I say.