By: Inky Rose
Hello to all my Inky Buds! I've decided to kickstart my blog with some recent controversy going on today. As the title suggests, J.K. Rowling is going through some problems regarding something she's said. Currently, she is experiencing backlash by many people, particularly those from the transgender community. Before I get into the details, we have to go back a little. Her issues and problems started roughly in early June of 2020. Around that time, she made a controversial tweet towards the transgender community.
The tweet states:
"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"
This tweet goes about the fact that there are transgender men, who haven't fully transitioned, therefore meaning they still ovulate, and go through PMS.
Just this post alone generated a lot of backlash, some being a little mature about it, while others being not so mature or respectful.
She didn't stop there though; the following tweets state ideas about people trying to erase the concept of sex.
"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 followed with:
"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."
While many of the comments on her tweets are negative towards her, some people have applauded her for speaking about the mutilation of the genitals to undergo the transition. Some women and girls are sexually abused in such unspeakable ways such as being raped or sodomized with objects.
However, people including doctors are explaining that sex and gender are different. While if you look in a Webster's dictionary, it will most likely list sex and gender synonyms.
However, I have found it runs deeper than that.
It had been stated that sex is the biological characteristics a person contains, being male, female and intersex.
Gender is a state of mind, defining the actual identity of the person. An example being a person who was assigned the gender of female at birth identifying as a woman. This causes many problems with the trans and nonbinary community, which leads to dysphoria. Gender identity has become more of an issue as the years go by. Sadly, this results in a rise of suicide and murders for trans and nonbinary people.
I hope I've cleared that up, now we will go back to J.K. Rowling. She has been somewhat open with where she stands towards the LGBTQ+ community, which seems like she supports them, but says things that target or affect them in negative ways. Though, I must say this, she is entitled to her own opinion, but saying those things on Twitter where many people would see is not the way to go.
Rowling said she respects “every trans person’s rights to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.” She went on to say she would march “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.”
According to ABC:
"GLAAD issued a response on Twitter, calling Rowling’s tweets “inaccurate and cruel.” The advocacy organization dedicated to LGBTQ equality then asked those upset by the author's comments to support organizations that help black transgender people.
“J.K. Rowling continues to align herself with an ideology which willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans,” GLAAD tweeted. “In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people.”
I try my best to remain unbiased in these types of issues. I prefer to hear both sides of the story. Granted, people are allowed to do whatever they please with their bodies in whatever way they wish. There is nothing you can do to stop them. But this goes out to everybody, just because someone doesn't agree with you or anything you do, that doesn't mean they hate you, and you shouldn't just immediately be quick to cancel them out. Not everyone agrees with the same thing and that's fine, it's the world we live in. LGBTQ+ people experience lots of discrimination against religious people who don't believe in their practices, it goes the same for religious people.
I believe that I have explained most of the past, now let's look at the present. She wrote this tweet on October 13th of this year:
"Very much enjoying the recent spate of bearded men stepping confidently onto their soapboxes to define what a woman is and throw their support behind rape and death threats to those who dare disagree. You may mock, but takes real bravery to come out as an Old Testament prophet."
She is regarding a video that Billy Bragg tweeted. It was about Graham Norton speaking out against cancel culture. MSN states that: "Bragg wrote alongside the post: "Norton really good here on John Cleese, telling him that ‘cancel culture’ is just accountability, and J.K. Rowling, suggesting that the media talk directly to trans teens and their parents rather than merely amplifying the takes of a celebrity."
To which she responded with her tweet.
Later on, someone tweeted a tweets saying:
“How do you sleep at night knowing you’ve lost a whole audience from buying your books?”
To which she replied:
“I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly."
Which is extremely rude. She flaunts the fact she is a millionaire author, and shrugs off the fact she's offended millions, and even lost a portion of her fans.
Now this is my conclusion. We all are entitled to have our own opinions, and she should too. However, she shouldn't be writing those things on Twitter for the whole public to see. Keep in mind, I remain neutral on this topic. She just comes out of the blue and starts "attacking" trans people. I believe that Twitter is the WRONG place to be talking about those things. The way she responded to it later on was rude as well. Simply put, she was too rich to care.
This concludes my post for today, I hope you learned something today and I hope you enjoyed it.
Take care.
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Sources:
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