J.K Rowling tweets controversial opinions

By Hank McSheehy, Reporter

        J.K. Rowling’s book series, “Harry Potter,” is a huge staple in the young adult community, introducing fans to a world of wizardry and witchcraft for nearly two decades. Rowling has recently announced a new book and the public's reaction has been mostly negative.
        On June 6, 2020, Rowling went to Twitter to disclose her thoughts on menstruation and the “validity” of transgender women. In a controversial tweet, Rowling shared her frustrations with new terms for menstruating individuals.
        “‘People who menstruate,’” Rowling wrote. “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Many who saw the tweet replied negatively, calling the tweet transphobic and Rowling a bigot. Saying that only women menstruate is exclusive to many; many trans men still menstruate, trans women do not, and even some who are biologically female lack the ability to menstruate.
        Rowling then came out with a 3,700-word essay full of trans exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) claims.
        TERFs are people that claim to be feminists, but believe that trans women are actually men who want to oppress cisgender women. TERFs believe that trans women are a threat to the safety of cisgender women.
        Some U.K. newspapers and politicians echo her bigoted opinions.
        “[Women’s] concerns about sharing dormitories or changing rooms with ‘male-bodied’ people must be taken seriously.” an article from The Guardian said.
        Rowling listens to these anti-trans views and repeats the propaganda, claiming she is a feminist fighting for “real women.”
        “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms. . . to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman. . . then you open the door to any men and all men who wish to come inside.” she said in her essay.
        Rowling related these claims to her own sexual assault. “The assault happened at a time and in a space where I was vulnerable, and a man capitalized on an opportunity,” she said.
        Rowling recently announced her new book. It is to be the fifth book of her “Cormoran Strike” series, which she writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The book focuses on a male serial killer who dresses up as a woman to kill his female victims. Many people were upset by this blatantly transphobic plot. “We are disappointed to hear that the author might be propagating the same, long-standing and hurtful presentation of trans women as a threat,” a spokesperson for Mermaids, a U.K.-based charity, said.
        Actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” films, took to Twitter to voice her own opinions after Rowling's first of many tweets.
“Trans people. . . deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” Watson said.