Harry Potter author JK Rowling faces backlash over transphobic tweets

British author JK Rowling caught the ire of netizens for her recent remarks on Twitter which many thought were "anti-trans".

On June 7, the 54-year-old author, best-known for the Harry Potter series, called out the use of the phrase "people who menstruate" by sharing an op-ed article with that wording on Twitter.

"I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" she said in her initial tweet.

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?

Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

Soon after her tweet, the author became a trending topic on Twitter as many followers and people on social media began calling her out for her comments.

After receiving criticism for the tweet, Rowling continued to express her viewpoint and pushed back against accusations of transphobia. In a series of tweet, she claimed she has been "empathetic to trans people for decades" and called accusations that she hates transgender people "nonsense".

The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women - ie, to male violence - ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences - is a nonsense.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

“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,” tweeted Rowling.

The Fantastic Beasts author then tweeted, “I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

The LGBTQ rights organization GLAAD responded to Rowling’s comments, saying the author has aligned herself with an ideology that “willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans. In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people.”

GLAAD listed several organisations that help Black trans people and appealed people to extend their support if they want to direct their rightful anger over JK Rowling's latest anti-trans comments into something positive.

If you want to direct your rightful anger over JK Rowling's latest anti-trans comments into something positive, support orgs that help Black trans people like @MPJInstitute, @blacktransusa, @TransJusticeFP, @Genderintell and @ukblackpride

— GLAAD (@glaad) June 7, 2020

Singer and music producer Brad Walsh also responded to the author's claims on Twitter, writing, "You're a smart person. How do you not yet understand the difference between sex and gender? The only way I can possibly explain your ignorance at this point is willfulness. It's incredibly disappointing."

You’re a smart person. How do you not yet understand the difference between sex and gender? The only way I can possibly explain your ignorance at this point is willfulness. It’s incredibly disappointing.

— Brad Walsh (@BradWalsh) June 6, 2020

Other personalities who criticised Rowling over her tweet:

it’s interesting how you’re able to be so wrong and offensive over and over and over again (but ultimately not that interesting)

— Eva Victor (@evaandheriud) June 6, 2020

Im ashamed as a transwonan who grew up on your books to have ever called myself a fan, this tweet spits on all the trans kids who escaped into your books

— The Morrighan (@3folkdone) June 6, 2020

You are embarrassing. The world is reckoning with white supremacy and police brutality and you’ve decided to use your massive platform to gender police? (Btw, gender and sex aren’t the same thing. Look it up.)Your books meant so much to me but you are disgraceful. Shame on you.

— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) June 6, 2020

You’re a disgrace, @jk_rowling.

— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) June 6, 2020

Where? Literally where have you been empathetic towards trans people? The only time you ever mention trans people is to attack them. And please don’t make up any nonsense about one of the Harry Potter characters being trans and you just forgot to mention it.

— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) June 6, 2020

You are not demonstrating empathy. Trans people take nothing from you. NOTHING. Your gender essentialism hurts EVERYONE - cis women, trans women, all types of women who can't have kids, men of all types, non-binary people.... It's anti-science, cruel, and embarrassing.

— Racheline Maltese (@racheline_m) June 6, 2020

This isn't the first time Rowling has faced accusations of transphobia. In December 2019, she responded to a ruling which said workforce employees could be sacked if they say that biological sex cannot be changed.

It came after British think tank researcher Maya Forstater lost her job when she said "men cannot change into women" on social media.