J.K. Rowling is in hot water once again.
The “Harry Potter” author faces outrage over her stance on transgender people after an early review of her new book under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
A review in the Telegraph describes Troubled Blood, the 900-page fifth volume in Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series, as being about a cold case involving a woman who disappeared in 1974, and who is believed to have been murdered by “a transvestite serial killer,” using the outdated and often derogatory term for cross-dressing.
“One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress,” the review says.
Details from the review immediately sparked backlash, with many also pointing to transphobic representations in the second Cormoran Strike novel Silkworm.
On Twitter, the backlash was intense, leading to the trending hashtags “#RIPJKRowling”, with activists calling Rowling out for “weaponizing transphobia.”
I really appreciate her being less coy about her transphobia though. I'll remind you all once again, trans people who spent most of their lives taking hormones and getting surgery are very aware of what their biology is. The disconnect is how they know they're trans.
— Mona Lisa Needsa Treatsa (@kat_blaque) September 14, 2020
JK Rowling could have just…not done all of this and her trans fans (there are lots) would have continued to support her. I'm glad she's being honest about it. You really can't write a 900 page transphobic fantasy and then say "I'm not transphobic"
— Mona Lisa Needsa Treatsa (@kat_blaque) September 14, 2020
I know a lot of you who follow me probably share some of the fears around the myth about "men who dress up as women to hurt women". If I wasn't trans I suspect I would too.
But I ask you to look inside your heart and question what is really happening here https://t.co/cdYE2TKmkt
— Paris Lees (@parislees) September 14, 2020
Like many trans people I faced violence all through my childhood and teenage years SIMPLY FOR BEING TRANS whilst being told that *I* was a pervert and a threat to others
Are you happy to live in a society that treats people like this?
And if not how are we going to change it?
— Paris Lees (@parislees) September 14, 2020
Trans people I'm sorry we have to keep seeing this crap I know how upsetting it is particularly if you're having your own problems not to mention worrying about the state of the world. Please know you're not alone and that you're worth so much more than how this society treats us
— Paris Lees (@parislees) September 14, 2020
Earlier this year, controversy over Rowling’s positions on trans people provoked serious outcry from trans people, activists, and supporters after she tweeted negatively about the phrase “people who menstruate.” In a lengthy essay in June, Rowling outlined her stance on trans issues, igniting further controversy.
RELATED: Vancouver Billboard Declaring ‘I ❤ J.K. Rowling’ Defaced, Removed
A number of stars associated with the “Harry Potter” films spoke out against Rowling, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the film series, defended Rowling in a recent interview with Radio Times.
“I don’t think what she said was offensive, really,” he said, according to NME. ”I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.
“They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, Oh, get over yourself. Wise up, stand up straight and carry on.”
He then said, “I don’t want to get involved in all of that because of all the hate mail and all that s***, which I don’t need at my time of life.”
