Polls for Our Souls discussion
Random
>
J.K. Rowling Controversy
date
newest »
newest »
What I know is that she's made some very transphobic comments lately about how trans people are bad for the LGBT community and feminism because trans women "want to be women without having any of the struggles of women," and trans men "are toxic feminists abandoning feminism" or something along those lines.I also know that many of the Harry Potter actors and other famous authors have gone against her for saying this.
Hope this helps
JK Rowling has been making a lot of transphobic comments that have caused a lot of backlash against her, is basically the gist of it. I'm not very involved in this kind of thing, so that's really all I know.
Oh my God this author does everything so people talk about her. I'm so sick of her. She isn't even that great an author and I never liked her as a person. Also people buying her other not well written books aside Harry Potter just because they are hers and delusion themselves that they are great on top of it makes me sad for other authors who indeed write good stories!
Kat wrote: "Oh my God this author does everything so people talk about her. I'm so sick of her. She isn't even that great an author and I never liked her as a person. Also people buying her other not well writ..."Totally agree with this. Harry Potter was my childhood and is still a big part of my adulthood, but I have never and likely will never read anything else she writes, except Cursed Child, which I regret reading and even more regret buying.
Mod
I hope not, I'm still a fan of the movies and I want to see what they do next.
Se wrote: "It should be interesting to see what they do with the rest of the Fantastic Beasts movies. They are a lot to put together, and wouldn't be finished until 2024. With Crimes of Grindelwald not well r..."I was reading a bit about this. There's speculation that they might, what with Rowling herself and all the controversial actors in the series (Johnny Depp's rape accusations and a suspicious picture of someone who looked like Ezra Miller). However the article I read also said they were wary to do so because it's a series with a storyline that isn't finished yet.
JK Rowling has been posting transphobic tweets on the internet. Many members of the Harry Potter cast have denounced these tweets and stood by the trans and non-binary community. There was also an incident with her new book, The Ickabog, where she claimed to have accidentally copy and pasted some really hateful words about trans people. There is a lot of information online if you just look up JKR's tweets.
@Ava: Yeah, I'm not on Twitter, but thanks for the update!I'd almost forgotten the Johnny Depp controversy... it's really unfortunate, because I thought the Fantastic Beasts franchise had a lot of potential, but now I just don't care!
Your best bet is to look up what she said on her website. She wrote a lengthy essay on her stance and her reason for saying what she said on twitter. So that you can make up your own mind. Some think she is out of line and are boycotting her. Some think even some trans people are on her side with what she said. I personally don't think you can have a different opinion without being called out and bullied because of it .
Myself I don't have to agree with her or disagree with her, I will still read her books. They are entertainment for me. Personally I think you can disagree with what an author says but still love her books. But in the end each to there own.
Those of us who still like her books shouldn't have to worry about being bullied or suffer hate because of it. At first I didn't agree with what she said but I was only going by what others were saying. But once I read what she actually said I changed my mind.
If she was a no body there wouldn't be such an issue. It would of been forgotten and people would of moved on.
She’s toxic and very transphobic, I saw her comments on Twitter and I had to unfollow her, such a shame a person with a huge platform like hers should use it for good and spread positivity but she chose the opposite.
@M (aka DarkBeauty73) I'm with you.
K Roma wrote..."What were some of her comments?
The great tragedy of words is that they cannot protest their own abuse...If George Orwell was alive today he'd be sipping his tea with a smirk on his face.
Julia wrote: "After talking to a friend this week, I realize how much I have been in the dark regarding J.K. Rowling. I kinda stopped following her after she published the disappointing Cursed Child, and the epi..."She was already accused of being transphobic after supporting a woman on Twitter who was fired because of her transphobic comments. She answered saying that she was supportive of women. Now, she just confirmed she was transphobic by using the whole TERF argumentation (trans women can be predators and we need to protect girls and women first, women's rights are being threatened by trans activists etc).
She's also spreading false information that trans people can deny themselves (she blocked someone who said that the clinic she accused had actually saved their life). When people point out that the debate on trans rights and access to healthcare shouldn't be led by someone who's neither trans or an expert on the subject, she replies that she's an expert on being a woman victim of misogynism.
The worst part might be that she keeps denying she's transphobic, and is acting like she's the victim in all this. She's even praised as a hero by many people and signed this letter defending freedom of speech who's also signed by many others problematic people wanting to defend their freedom of speech because they're not pleased their hurtful behavior has consequences.
Harry Potter has always been my favorite book series and at first I could make the difference between the books and the author, but since I've been insulted (not gonna explain in length, but it wasn't pretty) on her account by women supporting her, I just can't even look at my HP shelves anymore without feeling sick.
From what I've seen, she also to some extent seems to be using her history as a domestic abuse survivor to shield her from criticism relating to her transphobia. Which - while what happened to her is horrific - doesn't make any sense.Honestly it's a mystery to me why transphobes care at all. Even if you don't believe a person can "change gender", why direct so much energy towards opposing it? It doesn't hurt anyone else for a trans person to live as their true gender.
I think everyone in this thread covered what she said pretty well, but I encourage all of you to look at what trans people have to say before making your opinion. We don't truly know how much damage her words and actions have caused unless we're trans because that's the community being effected. I personally was on the line between supporting her and hating her at first, but I got out of my head and realized that her words aren't effecting me personally, but they're effecting my close friends, so I listened to my trans friends and I did what I felt was best to do in order to support my trans friends.
Cendaquenta wrote: "From what I've seen, she also to some extent seems to be using her history as a domestic abuse survivor to shield her from criticism relating to her transphobia. Which - while what happened to her ..."I've wondered about that, too, and my guess is that she is either trans or someone close to her is trans. She has to have a reason why she is putting so much effort into hating trans people and maybe her or someone that she knows struggling with their identity is her reason?
Its really quite simple. If you are interested in the books then read them. if you're not then dont them. I don't delve into the lives or beliefs of every single author for the books I read. I read the books for enjoyment. Rolling can believe what she wants I don't really care, I just like the books.
I disagree with her. That doesn't mean I dislike her.
₣łØ₦₳ wrote: "You can like the books but not the author"I completely agree with you
I definitely don't agree with the comments JKR made, but in general I think today's online cancel culture is not ok. You don't have to like JKR, you don't have to buy her books, but spreading hate is something I'm so sick of.Also, can't it be possible to still enjoy her books for good writing/entertaining stories? You can like a book even if you disagree with some of the author's personal beliefs.
I don't feel bad for reading her books because for example HP was written in the 90s and is about friendship and magical adventures, not about today's diversity debate. I'm not saying the debate isn't important! I'm just saying we have to look at the whole picture.
Harry P is just too good. I love those 7 books and 8 movies. I hate the comments she’s made. Just keep to yourself. People are trans get over it and calm down with that letter and the tweets. It’s embarrassing. But I still read and watch.
Honestly, people act as if she wrote "DIE TRANS PEOPLE DIE" in big red letters on the sides of buildings and spends her time pushing old trans ladies under buses. The amount of vitriol and also just casual dismissal of her as being "a piece of trash" is staggering. The internet is just an awful place built on tearing other people down in the name of "social justice". You don't have to like or agree with her. You can criticise her. But to go from that, to vilifying her to such extent is to no one's credit and I have lost respect for so many people seeing them jump on the hate wagon.
as someone who's trans, i've really lost every ounce of respect i had for jk rowling after she said all those things about trans people. i'm not going to continue supporting her work. its very easy to stay out of drama and shit like this, but she didn't. i think she's not a good role model for anyone who looks up to her, and i don't trust anybody who thinks what she said is acceptable. sure, she's not the biggest transphobe of the world, but that doesn't mean she's not transphobic.
Her initial comment about the divergence between trans women and cis women identities in relation to the gendered oppression cis women experience from a very young age throughout their lives, I thought raised an interesting dialogue. Those who are raised female do experience sexism from birth and if that's part of the lived female experience, how do transwomen fit into that? This isn't to suggest that transwomen do not deserve equal rights and dignity before the law and that transwomen do not deserve to be recognized as women. They do and JK Rowling believes they don't, which is wrong. Unfortunately, her transphobic views don't end there.
She's currently using her art and power as the richest, most successful author of all time to create transphobic stories and stoke fear against transpeople. That's diabolical. It's one thing to encourage thoughtful discussions about gender and identity and the role shared oppression has in defining those things, it's another to use your power to cast transwomen as evil murderers. You cannot separate the art from the artist when the artist imbues their art with their prejudice.
She certainly doesn't deserve death threats, but publishers shouldn't print her transphobic works. Publishers have a responsibility in stopping this hate. Arguably, her transphobic works may very well promote violence against transwomen and result in their deaths. Which she clearly has no concern about or regard for. So, to one commenter who said she hasn't written, "DIE TRANS PEOPLE." Well, she might as well have.
^Are you referring to "The Ickabog"? Or to the latest Robert Galbraith book? I haven't read either.
Julia wrote: "^Are you referring to "The Ickabog"? Or to the latest Robert Galbraith book? I haven't read either."I'm pretty sure they're talking about Troubled Blood (the new Robert Galbraith book). As far as I'm aware of The Ickabog is just a children's story and doesn't have transphobia in it but I may be wrong
Jordan wrote: "Her initial comment about the divergence between trans women and cis women identities in relation to the gendered oppression cis women experience from a very young age throughout their lives, I tho..."Thank you for wording this so respectfully. A huge thing that people on either side of the JKR debate fail to recognize is that cis women should be allowed to talk about their experience as a women and the sexism that they face BUT trans women also deserve rights and transwomen in no way interfere with the talk about women's issues and sexism. I'm not sure how to answer your question and I'm not sure I'm the most qualified to answer it, but it's interesting to note that some trans women face similar sexism to what cis women face because if a man looks at a women and doesn't realize she's trans, the same sexism that cis women face can often come into play. I think this whole topic is something we as a society need to talk about more and we need to work out what the right way to talk about women's issues and sexism without disregarding trans people and their rights is.
DragonWithHeels - New Bio wrote: "as someone who's trans, i've really lost every ounce of respect i had for jk rowling after she said all those things about trans people. i'm not going to continue supporting her work. its very easy..."I agree with you. The part that she said about how easy it is to stay out of drama is so true. She so easily could've just not expressed her transphobic opinions online or she could've just not used twitter in the first place and she would still be considered an amazing author and person.
Romana wrote: "Honestly, people act as if she wrote "DIE TRANS PEOPLE DIE" in big red letters on the sides of buildings and spends her time pushing old trans ladies under buses. The amount of vitriol and also jus..."TW// suicide
I get what you're saying and I think some comments that people have made about her go way over the line but trans people are more likely to die from suicide and even if she didn't explicitly say for trans people to die, expressing transphobia could make trans people more suicidal and may even push them over the edge to attempt to end their life. As someone who struggles with suicidal ideation, you don't have to explicitly tell someone to die in order to make them attempt to kill themselves. Expressing hatred over something that a person can't control has the same effect as telling someone to die.
Shawna wrote: "Romana wrote: "expressing transphobia could make trans people more suicidal and may even push them over the edge to attempt to end their life."Not just that, but JKR's influence is HUGE. Anti trans sentiment is pretty big in both the US and the UK right now. Apparently her essay has been used in support of anti trans legislation in the UK, even though it is not a scientific study or anything. Also trans people, especially those who don't "pass" as cis, are already at risk for physical violence and having someone like JKR expressing anti trans sentiment at all can help boost these sentiments all around and lead to increased risks to them.
Because she tried to frame her essay as not being against trans people (and I actually think that she truly believes that), it's easy to see how many people don't think that she did anything that bad, especially for those who are not already knowledgeable about the issue and/or who don't take the time to do the research on it. On the surface level, it may not seem that bad. And that in a way is what makes it even more harmful, in my opinion. Because imagine if she had just written crazy stuff like "DIE TRANS PEOPLE DIE" as someone mentioned...It would be so obviously bigoted and hateful and I don't think there would be nearly as many people defending her in that scenario!
I was criticising the internet's mob mentality, cancel culture and frequent lack of nuance in general and using JKR as a case study of sorts, rather than defending her. criticising one side doesn't automatically make someone a supporter of the other side.
@Romana: I understand that. I have no other social media, so I had never even heard about her essay until someone directed me to it in this thread. I feel like we are being expected to either like someone, or "cancel" them altogether.I think of teachers I had in school: I liked some as teachers, and I liked some as people, but there were some good teachers who had crooked morals, and some bad teachers who were great people. It seems nowadays people only consider "love" or "hate."
There have been cases where trans women were killed. It's not just ok to put hatred out on all the socia media. And while I don't hate J. K. Rowling I would love to dismiss her as just another person who's full of herself because she's famous. But stoking and supporting hatred has real-world consequences.
I stopped supporting jk Rowling after these incidents and i also stopped buying her books because when we buy her book the money goes into her bank account. While i do realise that the lack of a few dollars in her bank account wouldn't have any effect on her, i believe that's the least i can do to reduce her fanbase. It's pretty stupid and pointless but i can't even imagine doing otherwise. I don't even like Harry Potter anymore, i just can't enjoy the series anymore.
So can someone catch me up, please? I have heard broken ideas here and there about Rowling; that she follows a transphobe online, being in the forefront of my memories. Is that what the controversy around her concerns? Covid issues aside, I have heard that countries don't even want to endorse her anymore or bring Cursed Child to their theatres.
Any info anyone has on this would be greatly appreciated!