Harry Potter author JK Rowling has once again caused a stir on Twitter with a transphobic tweet. She is known to regularly tweet derogatory comments towards transgender persons, and fans worldwide have criticised her for it. In fact, Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are known to have distanced themselves from her because of her transphobic outlook, and Rowling was not made a part of the HBO special show called ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts’. Now, Rowling has shared a Times UK article titled "Absurdity’ of police logging rapists as women’. The article discusses Police Scotland’s decision to log rapes committed by offenders with male genitalia as being committed by a woman if the offender identifies as female. Sharing it, Rowling wrote on Twitter: “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.(sic)"
War is Peace.Freedom is Slavery.Ignorance is Strength.The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.https://t.co/SyxFnnboM1— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 12, 2021
You literally have a castle and you spend your time doing this— Rob (@robrousseau) December 13, 2021
Imagine inventing as reprehensible a character as Prof. Umbridge and then deciding to be her forever.— JohnBurnsNC (@johnburnsnc) December 13, 2021
I think I misunderstood the point of those books. Apparently it wasn’t so much a warning about fascism but more of a manual.— Josh Russell 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@JoshLRussell) December 13, 2021
Love is peace.Freedom is acceptance.Understanding is strength.Trans women are not a danger to society. J.K Rowling loves to fuel hate towards a whole group of innocent beautiful people.— Daniel Lismore (@daniellismore) December 13, 2021
“Some cis women are rapists. Worth noting that many GCs also want to record trans women rape victims as men. This is all just moral panic to justify taking away all trans people rights. It’s to bypass your rational brain," a Twitter user wrote.
Some cis women are rapistsWorth noting that many GCs also want to record trans women rape victims as men
This is all just moral panic to justify taking away all trans people rights. It's to bypass your rational brain
— Katy Montgomerie 🦗 (@KatyMontgomerie) December 13, 2021
I know it shouldn’t by now, but it never ceases to disappoint me to see what you’ve become. You’ll argue you’re just speaking common sense or defending women, but what you’re actually doing is using those ideas as excuses to hate on and attack a marginalized community. It’s sad.— Mx. Amanda Jetté Knox (@MavenOfMayhem) December 13, 2021
Apart from a discussion on the UK legal system and questions on whether sexual violence is “inherently male", Rowling’s tweet once again brought forward the art vs artist debate wherein people have long contemplated whether or not it is possible to enjoy someone’s art whilst separating it from the artist as a person. If an artist does something morally reprehensible but their art is still stellar, is it ethically wrong to consume the art that would ultimately contribute towards the artist’s well-being? Many Twitter users shared that they were now unable to enjoy the Harry Potter books that they had grown up with.
you really refuse to let us enjoy them lil books you put out.— king crissle (@crissles) December 13, 2021
I enjoy them. But I also don’t associate an artist’s personal beliefs with their stories of fiction, movies, etc. If I did I’d be in a state of perpetual outrage. Btw, hope you don’t like classic lit.https://t.co/vjo8pMqHJG— KkatToonzes (@kkattoonzes) December 13, 2021
This is so awful and hurtful. You have such power, yet you choose to wield it to attack people like my daughter, who is one of the loveliest people I know on this planet. Shame on you, and I hope someday you realize the pain you’re causing and deeply feel regret for your words.— R.B. Shifman (@rshifman) December 13, 2021
One Twitter user agreed with Rowling’s comment; they wrote: “This happened to me. My rapist transitioned and now all guilt seems to be gone under the guise of others being “accepting”. Thank you for speaking out about this even though you receive awful amounts of hate. I worry for women that have to deal with these men in their spaces."
And that would be a different issue. The problem is not that your abusers gender was respected, but that the people around them ceased to hold them accountable. Those are two different things.— Leeningtowerofpizza (@Leeningtowerof2) December 13, 2021
In response, another user tweeted: “And that would be a different issue. The problem is not that your abusers gender was respected, but that the people around them ceased to hold them accountable. Those are two different things."
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