‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling has courted controversy for a series of tweets she shared on Saturday afternoon. The issue started when the author commented on an article from Devex “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”
J.K. Rowling commented on the article through Twitter. She wrote, “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
This comment brought the author a severe backlash with many calling her comments “anti-trans” and “transphobic”. However, J.K. Rowling rectified that her comments were not meant as a slur on the trans people.
She tweeted, “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.”
She further added, “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.”
The Fantastic Beasts author also said that she respects trans people’s right to live comfortably.
“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,” she tweeted.
GLAAD has responded to J.K. Rowling’s comments.
“JK Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans. In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people.”
J.K. Rowling previously came under fire for supporting a researcher who lost her job after saying a person cannot change their biological sex.