It would seem impossible that the world could ever turn on J.K. Rowling, author of the belove d Harry Potter series, but thanks to a shocking tweet, that day may have come.
On Thursday morning, Rowling tweeted, “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”
Her message is in support of Maya Forstater, a researcher at the Centre for Global Development, who was fired after she tweeted, in opposition of a government plan allowing U.K. citizens to self-identify their gender, that a person cannot change their biological sex.
According to The Daily Mail, Forstater had over 100 transphobic tweets, including many in which she misgendered trans women.
Her initial one read, “What I am so surprised at is that smart people who I admire, who are absolutely pro-science in other areas, and champion human rights & womens rights are tying themselves in knots to avoid saying the truth that men cannot change into women (because that might hurt mens feelings).”
Rowling’s support of Forstater has led to widespread condemnation on Twitter, where even The Human Rights Campaign called her out, tweeting, “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. CC: JK Rowling.”
This isn’t the first time Rowling has been accused of being transphobic. Earlier this year, she ruffled feathers when she began following “self-professed transphobe” YouTuber Magdalen Berns on Twitter.
Last year, when it was discovered she had favourited a tweet referring to trans women as “men in dresses,” her publicist released a statement saying it had been an accident and a “middle-aged moment.”
No word yet on how her team plans to put this fire out.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
