Beloved author J.K. Rowling has invoked the wrath of the Twitter community with her recent comments regarding Maya Forstater. Maya Forstater’s contract with the Centre for Global Development think tank was not renewed, partially due to her comments about potential revisions to the Gender Recognition Act regarding self-identification and gender identity.
J.K. Rowling angered her fans when she participated in the #IStandWithMaya campaign on social media. The Harry Potter author wrote, “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?” She followed this with #IStandWithMaya and #ThisIsNotaDrill hashtags to support Forstater.
Fans came out in droves to accuse Rowling of being transphobic. While Rowling’s tweet garnered almost 200,000 likes and nearly 40,000 retweets, there were many who were dismayed to learn of the author’s views.
Bestselling author and LGBTQ advocate Amanda Jette Knox wrote in response to Rowling’s tweet, “My daughter, who is trans, is a big fan of yours. It breaks my heart to see you post something indicating that discrimination against her is perfectly fine behaviour for an employee. The world’s most credible medical orgs affirm trans people. Please catch up.”
Other big celebrities like Patricia Arquette also came out in support of trans rights while disagreeing with the views of J.K. Rowling. “I do not stand with Maya for many reasons,” Arquette wrote. She added in a second tweet that trans women were sexually assaulted more than cis women.
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