“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like,” she tweeted. “Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But to force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill”
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
In what comes as the latest in a series of questionable socio-political views, Rowling’s tweet sent her fanbase into a meltdown, with people instantly labelling her a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist), and getting the hashtag #JKRowlingIsATerf trending on Twitter the whole day.
The inflammatory saga started when Maya Forstater, a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development, was held accountable for her views on sexual identities and dropped by her employer.
According to The Guardian, she said, “My belief as i set out in my witness statement is that sex is a biological fact & is immutable. There are two sexes. Men are male. Women are female. It is impossible to change sex. These were until very recently understood as basic facts of life."
Judgement received. Bad news (for now) Stonewall law won this round.
— Maya Forstater (@MForstater) December 18, 2019
Here is my statement in thread form.
I struggle to express the shock and disbelief I feel at reading this judgmenthttps://t.co/g149gB7rJz
Following that, a London judge defended the removal, saying that he found her views pertaining to the evolving concept of gender and sex “absolutist” and "incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others.” Forstater then took to twitter to share the court’s rulings writing, “I struggle to express the shock and disbelief I feel at reading this judgment.”
This of course did not sit well with the twitter audience, and a renowned author like Rowling supporting her statements led to a twitter wide ‘cancelling’ spree. Some voices of reason, however, took it upon themselves to try and educate instead of ostracizing the author.
https://twitter.com/jameelajamil/status/1207734772660948993
Outspoken actor and write, Jameela Jamil, responded with an effort to better inform Rowling saying, “Please follow more trans people, please read about their experiences in this world and know you are contributing to their erasure, abuse and suffering by supporting those who deny their identity/existence. Please wield your immense power to protect those most at risk." She then proceeded to unfollow her to “protect her head space.”
.@jk_rowling has aligned herself with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender. Trans and non-binary people are not a threat to women, and to imply otherwise puts trans people at risk.
— GLAAD (@glaad) December 19, 2019
In a more firm standing, the LGBT backed NGO GLAAD also released a formal statement after Rowling’s tweet. Talking to E! News, the head of talent at GLAAD said, “J.K. Rowling, whose books gave kids hope that they could work together to create a better world, has now aligned herself with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender.”
The Human Rights Campaign also chimed in, tweeting, “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. CC: J.K. Rowling.”
Rowling has not addressed the criticism yet, and doesn’t plan to; a spokesperson for Rowling told USA TODAY that she would not have any further comment.
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