- J.K. Rowling has come under fire once again for sharing tweets about the transgender community.
- Twitter users called her a TERF - a trans-exclusionary radical feminist - and soon after "J.K. Rowling is a TERF" started trending.
- "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," GLAAD said in a statement.
"J.K. Rowling is a TERF," started trending on Twitter this weekend.
The term, which is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, has become popular in the UK and US, according to Insider. Though TERF ideology largely exists online with internet forums and fringe groups, said groups have been used to harm the trans community and infringe on their rights, like the ability to use particular bathrooms.
The Harry Potter author retweeted an article over the weekend focusing on girls, women and gender non-binary people who menstruate and how they haven't stopped amid the pandemic and therefore require certain resources.
The article titled Creating a More Equal Post-COVID-19 World for People Who Menstruate prompted a response from the author on Twitter that reads: "'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
The 54-year-old received backlash, reports E! News, with singer and producer Brad Walsh writing: "You're a smart person. How do you not yet understand the difference between sex and gender? The only way I can possibly explain your ignorance at this point is willfulness. It's incredibly disappointing."
The Fantastic Beasts author went on the defend herself commenting on one tweet in which someone called her a TERF: "'Feminazi', 'TERF', 'bitch', 'witch'. Times change. Woman-hate is eternal," before defending herself and saying in another tweet: "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 added in her thread: "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."
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.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
The author's comments prompted a response from GLAAD.
"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," they wrote.
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.
— GLAAD (@glaad) June 7, 2020
This isn't the first time the author's come under fire for her comments about the trans community. She also recently took to Twitter to defend Maya Forstater – a UK tax expert who was fired after sharing transphobic tweets.
