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On the Topic of J.K. Rowling and TERF Wars [1]

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Date: 2023-05-23  

A picture of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling

You might have heard of the notorious author J.K. Rowling’s tweets concerning her worry about the intersections of so-called ‘feminism’ (trans-exclusionary feminism) and trans rights. You’ve probably heard people online, especially trans people and trans activists, comment on this series of tweets, calling them (rightfully) transphobic. But some people have brought that further, harassing her online and even sending death and rape threats to her.

This issue navigates many different difficult questions. Is it okay to knowingly publicly express your opinion even if it is hateful and an example of bigotry? Is it okay to exclude marginalized people on the basis that people that share the same sex as them often sexually harass people as well as the fear that people will use those human rights to impersonate a trans person in order to sexually attack cis women? Or even that the trans women themselves would sexually attack people? Is it actually a GOOD idea to keep feminism and trans rights separate so both groups gain the attention in the media and justice they deserve? Or would this not actually work in reality because of the differences between misogyny and transphobia? If this were to happen, would we have to ignore the overlaps between these two different forms of bigotry? How can you respect another person’s opinion when that person is making bigoted remarks about your identity, generalizing your identity, and implying that your identity is not as important as someone else who, fundamentally, shares the same identity with a different history just because of the way that you were born?

In writing this, I do not wish to claim to know the answers to these questions, nor imply that your opinion on this topic is wrong. This is simply a piece meant to open your mind to different perspectives and address these difficult questions and issues concerning ‘TERFs’, trans-inclusionary feminism, women’s rights movements, and trans rights movements, using J.K. Rowling as an example.

First things first, I would like to share where I am coming from when I am forming my opinions on this issue. I am AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) and was raised as a girl, so I know firsthand the effects of misogyny and have experienced sexism. At the same time, I am trans-nonbinary, so I also firsthand know the effects of transphobia. I am also coming from a standpoint of a White, abled, and (sexual minority) queer person, to give you an idea of what experiences I have carried with me.

I would also like to address the term ‘TERF’, or ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminist’. Some people self-identify as a TERF, while others reject it and find it offensive. Some TERFs compare it to the term ‘queer’ that many LGBTQ+ people have reclaimed while many haven’t. I have some mixed feelings about this. Could you call this ‘offensive’ when you yourself hold beliefs that are commonly seen as transphobic and when the term ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminist’ is not a minority status? You can decide for yourself. I just wanted to throw that out there.

Okay. We should talk about J.K. Rowling. She is the famous author of the famous books and franchise of Harry Potter. Harry Potter is often seen as a series that promotes inclusivity and the theme that it is okay to be different. So when J.K. Rowling tweeted those controversial posts concerning trans rights, many Harry Potter fans, especially trans ones, were completely shocked.

In the podcast series “The Witchhunts of J.K. Rowling”, Rowling herself claimed that she is not transphobic; only that she has concerns about how trans rights would supposedly affect the cis women’s fight against misogyny and domestic violence. It is important to note that J.K. Rowling herself has experienced domestic violence and abuse from a long-term partner. She is also a survivor of a sexual attack. She has used this while explaining herself via tweets.

For some people, this helped them understand where she is coming from, but for others, this has further heightened their anger and/or disappointment because they claim that she is trying to make herself seem like a victim to excuse her transphobia. She has also claimed that these tweets were her trying to back many other people that have been in a similar situation (i.e. they posted, or said something transphobic, and then got fired, or banned from a certain organization). She has voiced her opinion that those people were just voicing their opinions and that they had the right to do so under British and American law.

Here are some of her controversial tweets (that have pretty much been deemed very transphobic by society):

“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult that will 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

Okay. First of all, that is not an accurate description of what’s going on. It’s not “forcing women out of their jobs”, it’s organizations deciding to unaffiliate themselves with transphobic people that were currently affiliated with them. I would argue against anyone who says that organizations don’t have the right to ethically and morally do that. You lose that right when you openly say something transphobic- like literally saying that trans women aren’t women on social media. It makes perfect sense to me why the progressive organization would fire Maya Forstator because they want to protect trans children at risk. Also, the whole Maya Forstator fiasco wasn’t because she tweeted that sex ‘is real’, it happened because she tweeted that trans women were not women as well as other offensive material. If you want to read what she has posted, just look up ‘Maya Forstator tweets’ on Google, Safari, or any other platform.

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

I simply do not understand why someone would have a problem with inclusivity. As an AFAB person, I know how it feels to constantly be excluded from the cis AFAB perspective, even if it is simply with wording. The article that J.K. Rowling was critiquing was obviously trying to be inclusive. This is what I would like to say to J.K. Rowling: can’t you just accept that there are AFAB and Intersex people who do menstruate who are not women? And even if you can and are accepting of that, why do you find it necessary to criticize that kind of inclusive thinking?

”Deeply amused by those who tell me I’ve lost their admiration due to my disrespect of violent, duplicitous rapists. I shall file your lost admiration carefully in the box where I keep my missing f s.”

I’m a little confused here… is she implying that trans women as violent, duplicitous rapists?! Or is she saying that… some… trans women are violent, duplicitous rapists? Or… something else? This is very unclear to me. But whatever her reasoning, this is completely uncalled for. In the podcast “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” Rowling states that she wouldn’t have tweeted the things that she has if there wasn't ‘evidence’ of trans women raping cis women by invading ‘women’s’ spaces (which, apparently, doesn't include trans women). Just because there have been a few cases here and there of rape, that doesn’t mean that that counts as ‘evidence’. That’s ridiculous. You can’t just generalize something to a whole population like how she has. Imagine if someone said that cis men shouldn’t be allowed near trans men because there’s ‘evidence’ that the cis man would rape the trans man. It just wouldn’t happen.

Those are just a few of J.K. Rowling's tweets surrounding this issue. You can easily find more of her controversial tweets by looking up ‘j.k. rowling tweets’ on whatever searching platform you use and have available. I hope that you have thought about this issue in a different way than your previous standpoint. Perhaps you haven’t heard of it at all. If that is the case, I encourage you to research this topic from both sides and decide on your opinion. Or don’t. Maybe you want to stay on the fence. It’s your choice.

Society has pretty much decided that J.K. Rowling and her tweets are transphobic, whether she meant them or not, or it made sense for her to be cautious because of personal history, or she has a moral, ethical, and legal right to share her harmful opinion. Personally, I think that this story has a lot to offer about how you think about feminism, sex, gender, ethical and legal rights, and some of the hard questions surrounding TERFism.

Feel free to debate this issue in the comments below, share your opinion, or give me any feedback. Please be respectful.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/23/2170819/-On-the-Topic-of-J-K-Rowling-and-TERF-Wars

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