Author JK Rowling's Tweets on Transgender People Spark Outrage
Jun 12, 2020
International best-selling authorJ.K. Rowling drew outrage on Twitter after posting a series of tweets reiterating that biological sex is real. Her comments are now being deemed "transphobic."
In a thread of tweets Saturday, the author, who has previously voiced similar sentiments online, emphasized that speaking about biological sex is not hateful and that being female has profound meaning. This was in response to the opinion article published by the website Devex, a media platform for the global development community, that used the phrase “people who menstruate.” Rowling tweeted to her almost 15 million Twitter followers: “’People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
The tweets caused a firestorm of responses from the LGBTQ community and others who were upset with her words. A Harry Potter fan group tweeted its disapproval of Rowling’s post and encouraged followers to donate to a group that supports black transgender women. Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise, went through the Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, to apologize to “all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished” by Rowling’s words.
In response to the outrage, Rowling took on the criticism directly in a series of Tweets. “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” Rowling wrote.
Author JK Rowling’s Tweets on Transgender People Spark Outrage
Daniel Radcliffe responds to J.K. Rowling’s tweets on gender: 'Transgender women are women'
Harry Potter author JK Rowling faces intense backlash for saying 'sex is real'
In a thread of tweets Saturday, the author, who has previously voiced similar sentiments online, emphasized that speaking about biological sex is not hateful and that being female has profound meaning. This was in response to the opinion article published by the website Devex, a media platform for the global development community, that used the phrase “people who menstruate.” Rowling tweeted to her almost 15 million Twitter followers: “’People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
The tweets caused a firestorm of responses from the LGBTQ community and others who were upset with her words. A Harry Potter fan group tweeted its disapproval of Rowling’s post and encouraged followers to donate to a group that supports black transgender women. Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film franchise, went through the Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, to apologize to “all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished” by Rowling’s words.
In response to the outrage, Rowling took on the criticism directly in a series of Tweets. “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” Rowling wrote.
Author JK Rowling’s Tweets on Transgender People Spark Outrage
Daniel Radcliffe responds to J.K. Rowling’s tweets on gender: 'Transgender women are women'
Harry Potter author JK Rowling faces intense backlash for saying 'sex is real'
