J.K. Rowling
Part of a series on Gender |
![]() |
Spectra and binaries |
“”every time rowling tweets the first part of her obituary gets shorter and the second part gets longer
|
—shaun_vids on how Rowling's transphobia has not only tarnished her legacy but will likely define how the future remembers her.[1] |
“”I would say that some of you have not understood the books. The Death Eaters claimed, 'We have been made to live in secret, and now is our time, and any who stand in our way must be destroyed. If you disagree with us, you must die.' They demonised and dehumanised those who were not like them. I am fighting what I see as a powerful, insidious, misogynistic movement, that has gained huge purchase in very influential areas of society. I do not see this particular movement as either benign or powerless.
|
—Rowling telling readers who thought Harry Potter was a story about finding community and fighting bigotry that it's actually about how trans people are just like Nazis[2] |
Joanne Rowling, (1965–) pen name J(ust) K(idding) Rowling[note 1] and sometimes known as[3] the male writer Robert Galbraith,[note 2] is a British author, former billionaire,[4] and prominent TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist). Since becoming a vocal TERF, she has been known among some fans as "she who must not be named".[5] She went from hailed author of the beloved Harry Potter series to a fallen hero who now spends her time concern trolling and defending transphobia as sacred and untouchable.
Harry Potter series[edit]
“”Harry's world says that drinking dead animal blood gives power, a satanic human sacrifice and Harry's powerful blood brings new life, demon possession is not spiritually dangerous, and that passing through fire, contacting the dead, and conversing with ghosts, others in the spirit world, and more, is normal and acceptable.
|
—Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged, a DVD incapable of making a distinction between fantasy novels and the occult or even getting what is in said novels right. |
Harry Potter, a series of seven (or so) fantasy novels by J.K. Rowling, relates the adventures of a teenage boy and his two best friends who attend a school of "witchcraft and wizardry", learning a whole range of magical skills and fighting Dark Magic and evil, and demonstrates how Alan Rickman got snubbed of another Oscar.[6]
The series portrays Good triumphing over Evil. It became a literary and critical success; nevertheless, fundamentalist religious groups condemn it as a harmful work that will seduce children into the occult and witchcraft. In the United States (the so-called "great land of liberty") the books have become the most challenged of the 21st century.[7] Fortunately for Harry Potter fans, magic and witchcraft are only a concern if you're stuck in the 17th century or living in Africa, Indonesia, or Papua New Guinea in the present century.
The response to the books represents an excellent example of modern-day fundamentalism and would-be authoritarianism, with numerous attempts to ban the books.
Commercialisation[edit]
The commercialisation of the Harry Potter series by capitalist industries, especially by Hollywood and the media, has been criticised. Scholar Jack Zipes critiqued the mass commercialisation and corporate hegemony behind the Harry Potter franchise, likening such hegemony to a form of cultural imperialism. In his Adornean analysis of Harry Potter's global brand, Zipes wrote, "It must conform to the standards of exception set by the mass media and promoted by the culture industry in general. To be a phenomenon means that a person or commodity must conform to the hegemonic groups that determine what makes up a phenomenon".[8]
Themes[edit]
Scholars have subjected the Harry Potter novels to serious social scrutiny, with studies of the series' political intricacies performed by columnists, professors, and doctoral students alike. As of 2007, the catalog of the Library of Congress has recorded 21 volumes of criticism and interpretation, and at least seven master's dissertations and 17 doctoral theses have been devoted to the Harry Potter books. Seriously.[9] From the concepts of hierarchy and purity found in the relations between pure-blooded and muggle-born wizards to the struggle for House-Elf freedom, equality is a central theme of the books. It portrays dishonest and incompetent government and media and paints war as a great evil in which innocent people die. The school which Harry attends, Hogwarts, is multicultural, multiracial, and (seemingly) secular. Some critics have, however, called the books patronising and conservative,[10] or sexist and neoconservative.[11] This is odd since Rowling herself is a staunch Labour supporter (though was very critical of Jeremy Corbyn).
Unrelated controversies include comparisons to some older book series such as the Howl's Moving Castle and Wizard's Hall (The Worst Witch is the most commented-on), which have resulted in accusations of plagiarism, or (far worse) being derivative. The works feature frumpy and disaster-prone protagonists, a couple of loyal best-friends (one book-smart and rational, one street-smart and slightly problematic), a blond and rich but cowardly and rather inefficient rival, a scary and seemingly unfair potions-teacher with hidden depths, a childish headmaster with a penchant for candy, and a big bad-guy who desires the destruction of the protagonist after their fateful first encounter. Whether this is more than just a re-hashing of tropes is a matter of debate.[12] Some fans, especially older ones, also believe that Rowling's later additions to the franchise are inferior to the original seven novels, with some outright comparing her work to that of George Lucas on the later Star Wars films,[13] though one could hardly throw a rock within geek culture without running into similar complaints regarding one particular franchise or another.
Rowling is a Christian herself. The final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, contains an epigraph from the Gospels (Matthew 6:21), Harry's parents' gravestones display another Bible quote (1 Corinthians 15:26) and Rowling also has a scene where Harry sacrifices his own life and is resurrected and then proceeds to save everybody.[note 3]
Fundamentalist hysteria[edit]
There have been dozens of legal cases concerning copyright infringement, libel, and breach of contract involving the Potterworld. Flocks of religious leaders (plus Jack Chick) have fulminated against the series.
Note however that many moderate and some evangelical Christians have spoken out in favour of the books. While the Catholic Church has no official position, many Cardinals oppose the books. It seems that once people make the distinction between fiction and real belief in magic, they can see past any objections to demons and witchcraft to realise what the series supports.
Islamic fundamentalists have denounced the series. The Islamic preacher Sheik Feiz Muhammad regarded the books and films as "Satanic" and claimed they were introducing young children to pagan rituals (such as the drinking of goat's blood) which Islam forbids. The esteemed Sheik also criticised Muslim parents who allow their children to watch the films or read the books, claiming they were being irresponsible.[14]
Furthermore, the drinking of dead animal blood, Satanic human sacrifice, demonic possession, etc. described in the quote at the top of the page, are actions practised by the book's Wilhelm-screaming[15][note 4] antagonist, Lord Voldemort, the murderer of Harry's parents; the books do not exactly present Voldemort as a morally praiseworthy figure.[citation NOT needed]
As to the claims that the books promote witchcraft by teaching impressionable children to cast spells, well… we hate to break it to you, but the spells described in the books don't work in real life, even if you wave a piece of carved wood in the air.
Satirical news source The Onion, in its inimitable style, once ran a spoof of the fundamentalists' claims, saying that children were converting to Satanism because of the books.[16] As if to prove their idiocy to anyone yet unconvinced, the fundies took the article as proof that they were right.[17]
Secular criticism of Harry Potter[edit]
Goblins as an antisemitic trope[edit]
In the Harry Potter novels, goblins are presented as a short humanoid race with "swarthy" skin and "dark, slanting eyes." They run Gringotts, the sole banking institution in the wizarding world, and are characterized as shrewd, secretive, and untrustworthy. The films give them hooked noses and pointed ears.
Critics have linked these depictions to anti-semitic caricatures of the Evil Jew and conspiracy theories about Jews secretly controlling the world's financial system.[18][19][20][21] In 2001, a reader letter to The New York Times called out the paper's review of the first film, charging that it failed to identify the "goblin bankers" as a "thinly veiled representation of jewish stereotypes."[22] Christopher Hitchens, in a review of the final book for the NYT in 2007, observed that the "prejudice against bank-monopoly goblins" within the story was "modeled more or less on anti-Semitism."[23] Writing in the literary journal The Lion and the Unicorn in 2010, Jackie C. Horne held that the goblins' features "mark them as physically other," while their role as bankers distinguishes them as "morally suspect" and a "modern-day embodiment of the stereotype of the Jewish moneylender or perhaps even an Italian Mafiaso."[19] Daniel Levy and Avichai Snir, in the journal Oxford Open Economics, note that the movie goblins, in particular, have been condemned for their "acquiline noses and greedy-looking faces, similar to the cartoons that were used to depict stereotypical bankers and financiers in Europe in the late 19th century."[21]
This criticism gained new traction in 2022 after it came up during a discussion on Jon Stewart's podcast:[24][25][26]
Jay Jurden: The Jews have arrived. What chapter of Harry Potter is that in? That's when they get to Gringotts, right?
Stewart: Can I tell you something about Harry Potter? [...] Here's how you know, like, Jews are still where they are. Talking to people, what I say is, "Have you ever seen a Harry Potter movie?" And people are all like, "I love the Harry Potter movies!" I'm like, "You ever see the scenes in Gringotts bank?" They're like, "I love the scenes in Gringotts bank!" Like, "Do you know what those folks that run the bank are?" And they're like, "What?" And then, like, "Jews."
Jurden: And then that person says, "No, goblins." And then you go, "Do you hear yourself?"
Stewart: Let me show you this from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I just want to show you a caricature, and they're like, "Oh, look at that! That's from Harry Potter." You're like, "No, that's a caricature of a Jew from an anti-semitic piece of literature." J.K. Rowling was like, "Can we get these guys to run our bank?" And you're like, "It's a wizarding world." [...] The train station has a half a thing and no one can see it. And we can ride dragons and you've got a pet owl. [...] Who should run the bank? Jews."
Stewart later clarified that these remarks were intended as a "lighthearted conversation" and that he was "not accusing J.K. Rowling of being antisemitic."[27]
House-elves and portrayal of slavery[edit]
One of the most understated parts of the book series is the portrayal of slavery and abolitionism. One of the main characters, Hermione Granger, seeks to abolish slavery and gets mocked for it. The enslaved group, the house elves, are portrayed as comical relief and themselves show hostility to the only slave who sought freedom.[28] Thankfully, this portrayal of slavery is almost completely removed from the films, with only Dobby (who only appears in the adaptation of Chamber of Secrets (where he is freed from the Malfoys) and Deathly Hallows (where he dies)) and Kreacher (where any mentions of Harry owning him are scrapped), likely as a result of the screenwriters noticing "Hey, this part's kinda weird."
"Dumbledore is gay" and queer-baiting[edit]
In 2007, at a fan event a few months after the release of the last Harry Potter book, Rowling revealed that she had "always thought of Dumbledore as gay."[29][30] The revelation drew praise from fans and the LGBT community at the time, but predictably angered the religious right.[31] Since then, many fans have taken a critical view of Rowling's outing of Dumbledore, calling out her apparent refusal to make his sexuality explicit in the text.[32][33] The Fantastic Beasts prequels in particular have drawn fire for portraying Dumbledore's relationship with Grindelwald as ambiguous.[34][35][36] Rowling stated in a 2008 interview that, after being made an "utter fool" and "[losing] his moral compass completely" through his love for wizard supremacist Grindelwald, Dumbledore "became quite asexual" and "led a celibate and a bookish life."[37] Critics have linked this to the "hate the sin, love the sinner" framework of anti-gay conservatives, which accepts gay people so long as they renounce their "sinful" desires and never act on them.[38] Academic Catherine Tosenberger, writing in the journal Children's Literature in 2008, observed that Dumbledore "arguably fits into the category of the 'safely contained' homosexual, as he is both elderly (and therefore presumably celibate) and dead."[39] In another journal article published the same year, Tosenberger wrote that, though this might "smack of ageism," it spared "squeamish readers" from having to "confront the threatening specter of a sexually active gay male body."[40] Victoria Vestić wrote in 2018 that, because Dumbledore's teenage sister died in the crossfire of his parting duel with Grindelwald, he "does not pursue other homosexual relationships until his death."[41] Thus, in Vestić's view, he is "punished by the narrative for not sacrificing his homosexuality" in service to the heternormative family ideal, but is offered redemption by "dedicat[ing] his life to the protection of other's children" as Hogwarts' headmaster.[41] In a 2018 article in the Journal of LGBT Youth, Thomas Crisp maintained that gay readings of Dumbledore mean that the "sole depiction of a gay male in this series is of a sensitive man with a flamboyant sense of style and a penchant for fashion, a man whose love for another man is the great tragedy of his life."[42]
Dumbledore/Grindelwald isn't the only time that Rowling has been accused of "queer-baiting" a gay relationship without risking the potential backlash of explicit LGBT representation. Early on in the fandom's history, some readers saw evidence of a subtextual gay romance in the relationship of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, citing canonical details such as their jointly gifting Harry a Christmas present in the fifth book.[39][43][44] In 2004, when asked if Harry had a godmother at a book festival, Rowling replied that his godfather Sirius had been "too busy being a big rebel to get married."[45] However, with the release of the sixth book the following year, Lupin was shoehorned into a heterosexual romance with Nymphadora Tonks.[39][43][46][47] Some fans perceived this as Rowling deliberately shutting down the possibility of canonical queer romance, particularly since Tonks, a pink-haired shapeshifter, has also been interpreted as genderqueer or a lesbian.[46][47] In Deathly Hallows (2007), Harry visits Sirius Black's teenage bedroom and notes "posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls" on the walls, something viewed by fans as another example of Rowling enforcing heteronormativity in her world. As recently as 2016, Rowling peevishly denied that Sirius Black was gay in response to a Twitter inquiry, prompting upset fans to launch the hashtag "#JKRowlingIsOverParty" (this was before the first rumblings of her descent into transphobia).[48][49][50] Tosenberger wrote in Children's Literature that Sirius's character arc in Order of the Phoenix (2003) follows the "trope in early gay-themed YA literature that homosexual characters must be lonely, tormented, and then die."[39]
The release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2016 sparked renewed accusations of queer-baiting and LGBT erasure.[51][52][53] The play, written by Jack Thorne based on a story outline by Rowling, centers on the friendship of Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy (sons of Harry and Draco, respectively).[51][52] Writing for Vox, Aja Romano found that "sexual subtext hovers at the edges of Albus and Scorpius' interactions," with the "poorly written" female characters serving as "shameless props for the giant, flashing 'NO HOMO
!' sign that the play hangs over the two boys' heads."[51] Romano held that the boys' interest in girls seemed to have been "added as an afterthought" in "underdeveloped, unconvincing moments."[51] Billy McEntee, reviewing the play for Logo in 2018, thought that Scorpius and Albus were portrayed as "secret lovers with all of the subtext and none of the follow through."[53] The play's script was eventually reworked in 2021 to remove the references to female love interests and add new dialogue suggesting romantic feelings on Albus's part.[54][55][56]
Rowling explicitly shut down the fan theory that dragon-keeper and confirmed bachelor Charlie Weasley is gay. In the 2007 documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, she was directly asked if Charlie was gay after dropping the Word of God that he never married, and replied, "Um, no, I don't think Charlie's gay. Just more interested in dragons than women."[57]
Werewolves as an AIDS metaphor[edit]
In the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Remus Lupin is introduced as a new professor at Hogwarts, proving to be a competent instructor and a supportive mentor to Harry. It is eventually revealed that Lupin's mysterious monthly absences are due to lycanthropy. For a time Lupin keeps his condition secret with the aid of sympathetic headmaster Dumbledore by sequestering himself away from students every full moon. Eventually, he forgets to take a special potion and nearly attacks Harry, revealing his condition to the wizarding world. He is forced to resign from his teaching post amid angry protests from parents. In Half-Blood Prince (2005), Lupin reveals that he was bitten as a child by Fenrir Greyback, who he describes as the "most savage werewolf alive today." Greyback, unlike most werewolves who attack in a state of uncontrolled frenzy, knowingly plans and stalks his victims in advance. He "specialises in children," following a philosophy of "bite them young [...] and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards." Greyback hopes to "bite and to contaminate as many people as possible" in order to create a werewolf army to "overcome the wizards." In Deathly Hallows (2007), Lupin volunteers to join Harry on his quest, having hastily-married the expectant Tonks. Harry accuses Lupin of abandoning his wife and child-to-be. Lupin calls the marriage a "grave mistake" and worries that he has made Tonks an "outcast." He castigates himself for having "knowingly risked passing on [his] own condition to an innocent child." He says that, even if the child isn't born a werewolf, it will be better off "without a father of whom it must always be ashamed." Tonks and Lupin later reconcile. Their son Teddy is born without lycanthropy, but is orphaned when they die fighting Voldemort.
Rowling first revealed that she'd used lycanthropy as a metaphor for HIV/AIDS in 2008 while testifying in her lawsuit against Harry Potter Lexicon creator Steven Vander Ark:[58]
I know that I've said publicly[note 5] that Remus Lupin was supposed to be on the H.I.V. metaphor. It was someone who had been infected young, who suffered stigma, who had a fear of infecting others, who was terrified he would pass on his condition to his son. And it was a way of examining prejudice, unwarranted prejudice towards a group of people. And also, examining why people might become embittered when they're treated that unfairly.
This explanation was also given in a supplementary biography of Lupin written by Rowling and published on the site Pottermore in 2015:[59]
Lupin's condition of lycanthropy (being a werewolf) was a metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS. All kinds of superstitions seem to surround blood-borne conditions, probably due to taboos surrounding blood itself. The wizarding community is as prone to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin gave me a chance to examine those attitudes.
The AIDS metaphor drew criticism even before its confirmation by Rowling due to the parallels to real homophobic fearmongering.[41][60][61][62] In 2006, Tison Pugh and David L. Wallace wrote in the journal Children's Literature Association Quarterly that if werewolves "serve as a queer figure within the world of the Harry Potter books, it becomes distressingly apparent that they must then also serve as figures of pederasty and child sexual abuse."[60] They described Fenrir Greyback as "delight[ing] in the pederastic pleasures of preying on children," citing a passage in which he tells Dumbledore "you know how much I like kids."[60] Gay people – particularly gay men – have been accused of "recruiting" young people into homosexuality through seduction or abuse since the post-War era.[63] Homophobes propagated urban legends and moral panic that HIV was being deliberately spread during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.[64][65][66] LGBT teachers have long faced public outing and calls for their sacking under the notion they are a threat to children.[67]
Yer a transphobe, Joanne[edit]
The mask starts to slip[edit]
The first indication of Rowling's developing transphobia was her liking of a tweet promoting a Medium piece positioning single-sex spaces as a #MeToo issue in October 2017.[68] She would later confirm that she began "reading books, blogs and scientific papers" related to gender around this time.[69] Some have pointed to a scene in her 2014 novel The Cuckoo's Calling as providing an earlier warning.[70] This scene involves the hero Cormoran Strike warning a trans woman that going to prison "won't be fun for you, Pippa [...] not pre-op."[70] This would read as just another terrible joke about prison rape if it weren't for the weird implication that vaginoplasty would make the experience "fun" for Pippa. Which is exactly the kind of thought someone might have if their brain was already half-cooked by believing in autogynephilia.
In March 2018, Rowling liked a tweet by @racybearhold that declared, "Men in dresses get brocialist solidarity I never had. That's misogyny!"[71] Rowling's representative issued an apologetic statement claiming that she had suffered a "clumsy and middle-aged moment" and accidentally liked the tweet by "holding her phone incorrectly."[71] However, a few months later in September 2018, Rowling liked a tweet by Janice Turner promoting her Times op-ed on trans prisoners.[72] This tweet carried the tagline "No fox has a right to live in a henhouse, even if he identifies as a hen."[72] Trans author Owl Fisher sarcastically replied, "Did you have another 'middle-aged' moment and accidentally like a clearly transphobic article, @jk_rowling?"[72] Rowling ignored Fisher but liked a subsequent tweet by Turner rebuking "the thought police [who] patrol a woman author's every 'like' for wrongthink."[72]
In June 2019 — Pride month, no less — Rowling was revealed to be following nearly a dozen transphobic Twitter accounts.[73][74] Twitter user @Persenche looked through the nearly 670 people Rowling was following at the time and concluded that 11 of them were anti-trans activists (including Julie Bindel and the notoriously vicious Magdalen Berns).[74] Rowling's representative told PinkNews that "J.K. Rowling won't be commenting" and that she "follows a wide range of people she finds interesting or thought-provoking."[73]
On December 19, 2019, Rowling officially came out as a TERF with a tweet supporting Maya Forstater, an anti-trans activist who had recently launched a wrongful dismissal suit against her former employer.[75][76] Rowling characterised Forstater's case as an example of a woman being forced out of her job simply for "stating that sex is real."[75] The reality is that Forstater was working on a contract that her employer did not renew when it expired.[77][78] Forstater's co-workers also went to management because they found that her frequent espousal of anti-trans views (at one point she blasted out 150 transphobic tweets in a single week) was creating a hostile work environment.[77][78]
Rowling's full-throated support of Forstater drew stronger backlash than any of her previous slip-ups. It is commonly thought of as the moment that she officially came out as a TERF. Nonetheless, some held out hope at the time that Rowling was simply misinformed, and sought to educate her rather than condemn her. GLAAD offered to "facilitate an off-the-record discussion" between Rowling and "members of the trans community" but she refused.[79]
Crowning as queen of the TERFs[edit]
She then doubled down in June 2020, when she affirmed biological determinism, claiming "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."[80][81] But trans activists are not trying to erase the concept of sex or stop people talking about "women", they are just saying the concept of "woman" includes trans women. Her views were condemned by some of the actors of her film series and some of her fans.[82][83] Emma Watson, who portrayed character Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, tweeted: "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren't who they say they are."[82]
The author also engaged in petty antics such as deleting a tweet praising Stephen King after he supported trans women[84] and participating in an open letter whinging about cancel culture with James Bennet, who resigned as opinion editor of The New York Times after printing an op-ed by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton which called for Black Lives Matter protesters to be suppressed by the military.[85][86]
Rowling promoted a TERF e-store called "Wild Womyn Workshop" where they sell merchandise for "♀️women♀️" that help whoever's still supporting JK Rowling to proclaim how much of a cunt they are. The products are "great, original designed products, carefully hand-crafted with care and love" featuring careless slogans carelessly mass-produced with carelessness and seething incomprehensible hatred like "Sorry about your dick bro" on a trans flag, "trans men are my sisters" on a trans flag, "f*ck your pronouns", and, unfortunately, more.[87][88][89]

Rowling claimed to have been "doxxed" after three protestors shared a photo of themselves holding signs with trans-rights slogans outside the gate of her Edinburgh mansion in November 2021.[90] However, this property was already known to the public as a listed building featured on tourist sites,[91][92] and has been featured on Harry Potter-themed fan tours of Edinburgh without comment from Rowling.[93] The mansion also ends up in the news whenever Rowling pisses off her neighbours. In 2012, she earned their ire by building two 40-foot-high, "Hogwarts-style" treehouses in her garden.[94][95] She created "traffic chaos" by closing down the road multiple times between 2015 to 2022 to allow her 30-foot-tall hedges to be trimmed.[96][97][98] The Edinburgh Council warned her that the overgrown hedges were blocking streetlights in 2019.[99] Rowling also owns a country estate called Killiechassie, a centuries-old castle with its own Wikipedia article. She seems to expect total privacy and anonymity despite buying and living in famous landmarks.
She has opposed reform of gender recognition legislation in Scotland that aimed to make the process "less traumatic and inhumane for trans people" (according to Scotland's First Minister), because it would remove some of the obstacles to trans women being recognised as women.[100] She also tweeted that politically correct zealots would rename International Women's Day: "Apparently, under a Labour government, today will become We Who Must Not Be Named Day".[100]
In April 2022, she attended a lunch with a number of other prominent TERFs at the River Cafe in Hammersmith, London. Other guests included Rosie Duffield, Helen Joyce, Julie Bindel, Kathleen Stock, Maya Forstater, and LGB Alliance co-founders.[101] Joyce, author of Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, has referred to trans people as "damaged", saying "every one of those people is someone who needs special accommodation in a sane world where we re-acknowledge the truth of sex"; she has also called for immediate action "reducing or keeping down the number of people who transition".[102] Duffield has repeatedly called trans women "male-bodied people".[103] Duffield also called for trans people to be banned from "refuges, women’s prisons, single-sex wards and school toilets".[104]
On May 29, 2022, she expressed support[105] for Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (also known as Posie Parker) and implied that she would financially support her. Posie Parker gained notoriety for organizing an anti-transgender event that attracted the support of neo-nazis.[106][107] Parker is also known to have openly wished death upon innocent transgender people,[108] called for the sterilization (another form of genocide) of transmen[109], and has admitted to lying about being a lesbian[110] to dishonestly bolster her political argument against a gay man. Rowling has also taken it upon herself to speak for lesbians and gay people in general despite not being a lesbian.
On June 16, 2023, she expressed support for a member of the Three Percenters movement, a far right militia that are considered a terrorist group in Canada.[111] [112]
She has liked a tweet that praised the Taliban.[113] [114]
Anti-trans personality cult[edit]

A bizarre personality cult has emerged in TERFdom since Rowling joined its ranks. The phrase "I Love J. K. Rowling" has become one of the most recognisable transphobic dog whistles.[115][116] Far-right anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has famously plastered the slogan on billboards and merchandise.[115] Rowling has claimed that 90% of her fans agree with her transphobia but are "afraid to speak up" due to "fear for their jobs and even for their personal safety."[117]
One prominent example of this cult of personality is the mythical status that Rowling's 2019 #IStandWithMaya tweet has attained within so-called gender-critical circles. Disgraced screenwriter turned professional transphobe Graham Linehan proclaimed the tweet's anniversary of December 19 to be "Gender Critical Coming Out Day" in 2021.[118][119][120] By 2022, the hateful holiday had come to be known as "TERFmas," and Rowling personally wished a follower "Merry Terfmas."[121][122] In 2020, transphobes began circulating a conspiracy theory that Twitter was stealing likes from the hallowed tweet, supposedly as part of a sinister trans-activist plot to artificially lower the like count.[123] The conspiracy theory originated in Twitter failing to display a red heart on older tweets as a result of a glitch or deliberate process.[123][124] Allison Bailey warned Jack Dorsey in November 2020 that he would inevitably need to "defend twitter against accusations of rampant manipulation of data" due to the supposed missing likes.[123] Rosie Duffield declared in March 2021 that she was "putting [her] 'like' on record as it won't stick despite originally liking ages ago - sinister much...?"[123][125] At one point there was even a Twitter account (@RelikeReminder) that posted daily reminders to relike Rowling's tweet.[124]
TERFs in the UK began holding so-called #JKRLadiesLunchs in 2022. These events were inspired by Rowling inviting nearly every prominent TERF in the UK to a "boozy" lunch at a posh London restaurant that April.[126][127] The luncheon took place as thousands marched on Downing Street against a plan to exclude trans people from a proposed ban on conversion therapy.[126][127] TERFs predictably decided that critics were merely upset over women gathering and having fun rather than at a rich transphobe throwing a party celebrating transphobia while trans people were literally fighting for their rights. On April 16, 2022, a Welsh TERF group shared a photo of their lunch date, commenting, "Only fair we had drinks & lunch! Oops do women need permission for that @jk_rowling?"[128] Rowling replied, "It's ok, I'll get your permit postdated for you. I've got a contact in the Women's Lunch Permissions Office."[128]
This isn't the only time that Rowling has directly encouraged the obsessive fawning of transphobic fans. In April 2022, an anonymous Scottish TERF claimed she had quit a book club after its members "roundly attacked and smeared" Rowling, tweeting that she'd founded her own club called JKR's Barmy Book Army.[129][130] Rowling caught wind of this and vowed to personally attend a meeting of the club.[129][130] She made good on her promise in June.[131]
Reaction of Harry Potter cast[edit]
Many actors who appeared in the original Harry Potter films have spoken out in support of trans rights since Rowling's transphobic awakening.[132][133] This has included the series' three main stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.[134][135][136] Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston, stars of the spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts, have similarly condemned Rowling's remarks.[137][138] Potter alumni who have defended Rowling include nearly every major villain and tedious anti-"woke" crank John Cleese.[139][140][141][142]
Transphobes have taken aim at cast members for criticising Rowling and affirming their support of trans people. Helen Joyce tweeted in 2020 that it "must hurt being insulted and betrayed by two young people [Radcliffe and Watson] whose careers she made."[143] In late 2021 Piers Morgan lambasted the stars as "ungrateful little twerps" more interested in "pathetic virtue-signalling" than defending the right of the "woman who made them all rich and famous" to her views.[144] Judith Woods branded Radcliffe "the world's most ungrateful man" in the Telegraph after he reaffirmed his support of LGBT rights in a November 2022 interview.[145][146] Woods accused Radcliffe of being a "33-year-old man child" (but also a "petulant pup") seeking to "once again [...] cancel his creator."[145][146] Graham Linehan labelled Radcliffe an "ungrateful, traitorous, talentless misogynist" in an April 2023 tweet.[147] In early 2023, transvestigators spun the conspiracy theory that Radcliffe's slightly-taller cis girlfriend Erin Darke must be trans, despite the couple having just announced they were expecting their first child.[148][149] Watson set off a wave of abusive online comments by making a mildly trans-supportive quip at the BAFTAs in early 2022.[150] Trolls variously accused her of being an "ungrateful woke brat" and of "biting the hand that feeds [her]."[150]
The framing of the actors' denunciation of Rowling's transphobia as "betrayal" and "ungratefulness" has drawn sharp criticism. Cartoonist Barry Deutsch wondered how playing Rowling's characters could possibly mean "ow[ing] her undying fealty to the extent of never disagreeing with her in public."[151] LibDem councillor Matt Severn similarly observed that a "contract signed by an 11 year old" does not impose a "legal duty of lifelong fealty and/or silence."[152] Twitter user @HimeOnion opined that transphobes were "literally pulling the 'I made you!' bullcrap abusive parents do."[153]
It's been speculated that Katherine Waterston had her role reduced from the female lead of the first two Fantastic Beasts films to a glorified cameo in the third in retaliation for calling out Rowling's transphobia.[154][155] Antonia Kinlay won a discrimination suit in 2021 after being dropped from the television adaptation of Rowling's Strike series due to her pregnancy.[156] One wonders if Rowling actually opposes forcing women out of their jobs or simply wants her TERF friends to be able to say whatever they please without consequence.
Gay rights and homophobia[edit]
On March 12, 2022, Rowling tweeted[157] "Big love to you xxx" to Caroline Farrow, an anti-gay and anti-trans CitizenGo activist who once harassed a trans woman so intensely that a High Court judge granted an injunction against her, ordering her to stop the harassment.[158] Farrow once expressed outrage over "deviant" gay penguins,[159] and accused Disneyland of engaging in "LGBT indoctrination" of children.[160] It is not known whether Rowling was aware of this history of homophobia by Farrow, but she has never retracted her support or apologized after Farrow's views were widely reported. Farrow is also a Kiwi Farms user; police had received a complaint of her alleged activity on the site in 2022.[161]
On March 18, 2022, South Wales Police’s LGBT+ Network established a kiosk with information about their efforts to combat anti-LGBT crimes and attitudes. The kiosk was set up near Bute Park where Doctor Gary Jenkins, who was bisexual, was beaten, robbed, subjected to homophobic abuse, and then murdered. Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch said that the crime was motivated by "greed, homophobia, and a straightforward liking for violence", and that it was "torture, pure and simple". When anti-LGBT Twitter users began to mock the kiosk as "virtue signalling", the South Wales Police Twitter account responded by saying "Good evening, supporting our communities is not virtual signalling and we make no apologies for doing so." On March 21, 2022, Rowling added to the pile-on by tweeting[162] "Virtual signalling. Like virtue signalling, but for people who aren’t really arsed. #VirtualSignalling".
On November 21, 2022, the day after five people were murdered in a mass shooting at a gay bar in Colorado, Rowling liked a tweet by far-right personality Libs of TikTok, which mocked another Twitter user for criticizing Kanye West amidst his anti-semitism and white supremacy controversy.[163][164][165] Libs of TikTok's well-known, relentless anti-LGBT fearmongering has been credited with setting off a wave of violent threats against children's hospitals and drag events.[166][167]
Forgetting that fans used to like her[edit]
In the third episode of The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, a "fair and balanced" podcast produced in early 2023 by ex-Westboro Baptist Church member Megan Phelps-Roper for The Free Press
, Rowling recounted an incident circa 2000 (she stated she was still writing Goblet of Fire at the time) when she visited a fan-run chatroom using a "random name."[168][169] As retold by Rowling in the podcast, she expressed a "very bland" Potter-related opinion in the chat and was "clearly an idiot who [didn't] know anything," but nonetheless "got rounded on by users who told me in no uncertain terms to get out."[168][169]
Rowling claimed this was an example of cyberbullying and "authoritarian behaviour":
And I was thinking, I’ve written three and a half books where bullying is such a theme from the very first page, where bullying – and authoritarian behaviour – is held to be one of the worst of human ills, and look what just happened, from these people who call themselves such fans of this franchise.
This account of her first bumbling encounter with the online fandom of her books differs starkly from ones given in the past. In March 2004, she posted an update to her official site announcing that "a few weeks ago I did something I've never done before and took a stroll into a Harry Potter chat room: specifically, MuggleNet's chat room."[170] She jokingly lamented that "nobody was remotely interested in my theories about what's going to happen in book seven," and that, after failing to "impart any gems of wisdom," she moved on to a discussion of SpongeBob SquarePants.[170] This spawned a rumour that she had used the handle Squidward in the MuggleNet chatroom, causing fans on the site to adopt this username in jest for some time afterward.[171]
Rowling similarly spoke of this incident as a funny story in a 2005 interview with Melissa Anelli and Emerson Spartz of the fansite The Leaky Cauldron:[172]
ES: How much time do you go on the fan sites?
JKR: It really varies. When my site is quiet, it is genuinely because I'm working really hard or I'm busy with the kids or something. When I update a few times in a row, I've obviously been on the net. So the FAQs and that kind of stuff is just compiled by hard copy post that I get here and fan sites. I go looking to see what people want answered. It's fantastic, it's sometimes frustrating, but I do want to make clear, I do not post in comments, because I know that's been cropping up. You've both been really responsible about that, but that slightly worries me. I did go in the MuggleNet chatroom, it was hysterical. That was the first time I ever Googled Harry Potter. I was just falling into these things and Leaky — actually Leaky I already knew about, but I discovered MuggleNet that first-ever afternoon and I went in the chatroom, and it was so funny. I was treated with outright contempt. [Laughter.] It was funny, I can't tell you.
ES: I’d like to apologize for, uh -
JKR: No, no no no, not in a horrible way, but, "Yeah, yeah, shut up, you're not a regular, you don't know a thing." You can imagine!
Promoting pseudoscience and ableism[edit]
Cross-sex blood transfusions[edit]
On March 27, 2023, Rowling tweeted the false claim that it was "recently discovered" that "transfusions of blood from the opposite sex had poorer outcomes, including fatalities."[173][174][175] Scientists pointed out that the single study cited by Rowling (Alshalani et al. 2022) had a small sample size and only found increased mortality in transfusions from AFAB patients to AMAB patients.[173] It has also been noted that the study's conclusions fail to account for the confounding factor of male-assigned people generally having poorer ICU outcomes than female-assigned ones.[173][176] The two largest studies have both found no link between donor sex and recipient survival.[176][177][178] However, another large study showed a small increase of mortality in transfusions to AMAB patients from AFAB donors with a history of pregnancy, but none in transfusions to AMAB patients from never-pregnant AFAB donors.[179] It has been posited that this may be due to antibodies created through adverse autoimmune responses sometimes triggered by pregnancy.[174] The NHS disallows whole-blood transfusions from those who have been pregnant to newborn babies.[174]
In short: most evidence suggests that AFAB blood recipients aren't put at greater risk by receiving blood from AMAB donors, but mother-of-three Rowling's blood could kill a trans woman recipient according to one study. As a resident of the "mad cow"-stricken UK between 1980 and 1996, she would be deferred as a blood donor in Canada and several European countries,[180][181] and would've been deferred in Australia, Israel, and the United States until recently.[182][183][184] This isn't to say that British mums-of-three shouldn't donate blood (it saves lives!). It's just that cognitive biases tend to heighten the perception of risk related to Others while diminishing the perception of risk concerning oneself.
Rowling's fearmongering over cross-sex transfusions is reminiscent of past moral panics related to blood transfusions. In 1960, the white supremacist publication The American Nationalist raged over the "thousands of critically ill [white] patients" supposedly "made sicker, or even killed" by "tainted Negro blood transfusions," an "evil practice" it said was tolerated in the "sweet name of racial 'equality' and 'democracy'."[185] At the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis and ensuing tainted blood scandal in the 1980s, newspapers in the UK regularly carried lurid stories about the "Gay Plague", "Gay Menace, and "Gay Killer Bug."[186] Rowling's alarmist claims about "trans blood" are unsurprising in light of her widely-criticised use of lycanthropy as a AIDS metaphor in the Potter series.
Link between autism and gender variance[edit]
In her 2020 TERF manifesto, Rowing claimed that there has been a "huge explosion in young women wishing to transition", and that "autistic girls are hugely overrepresented in their numbers."[187][188] Research has shown an increase in transmasculine people seeking gender-affirming care since the early 2000s.[189][190][191] Studies have also found that trans and gender-variant people are more likely to be autistic.[192][193][note 6] The problem is that Rowling has taken evidence-supported claims and twisted them to fit the preconceived conclusion that vulnerable "girls" are being hoodwinked into thinking they're boys by social pressure or Big Gender.[197]
Evan Urquhart of Salon has linked the upward trend in transmasculine transitions to increased public awareness, as the few media reports of "successfully transitioned trans people" in past decades were "almost universally trans women, not trans men."[198] He has also pointed to the early history of gender-related therapy primarily seeking to "cure homosexuality and effeminacy in boys" due to to the greater social stigma attached to gender non-conformity in male-assigned children.[198] Meanwhile, various explanations have been proposed for the increased prevalence of gender variance in autistics, including prenatal hormone exposure, fixation on special interests, and rejection of social norms.[199][200] Bryony White of The Atlantic has cautioned against conflating correlation with causation by presuming that the "need to transition is a result of [autistic trans youth's] autism."[200] Autistic self-advocates have further highlighted how objections to autistic youth transitioning are rooted in ableist attitudes and ideas.[201][202][197] A writer for disability-rights blog Cripple Media cited it as an example of autistics being "talked over, gaslit, and denied [their] right to self-determine," a product of the belief that they are "children who need to be looked after at all times, not adults and adolescences[sic] who get to make choices about [their] own lives."[197] Rowling implicitly endorsed such thinking by approvingly tweeting an anonymous TERF's fear that defining gender by "an internal sense of identity" would make it impossible to ascertain in people with "certain mental handicaps or learning disabilities" or those "unable to develop language skills or [...] communicate at all".[203] She did it more explicitly with a April 2022 praising David Bell for his "deep concern at high numbers of autistic children [...] presenting at gender clinics."[204]
Ableism and transphobia don't just contribute to social stigma, but can adversely impact health, freedom, and equality. Autistic trans people have reported having their access to gender-affirming care blocked or delayed by clinicians.[200] Several U.S. states restricted or banned gender-affirming care for people with autism, ADHD, and other psychological conditions in 2023.[205] A man in the UK sued the NHS to try to prevent his 21-year-old autistic daughter from undergoing gender-confirmation surgery in June 2023.[206]
On June 22, 2023, Rowling shared a tweet by far-right activist Christopher F. Rufo making the pseudoscientific claim that puberty blockers "shut down a child's hypothalamus."[207] The tweet linked to Rufo's interview of an anonymous doctor in the Manhattan Institute quarterly City Journal, who claimed that this imaginary side effect means "shut[ting] down what makes us human" since the hypothalamus contains a "divine spark," and is the "system" that allows people to "stand in awe of the beauty of a sunset" and be moved by music.[208] Rowling uncritically tweeted this metaphysical horseshit despite railing against gender identity as an "unfalsifiable concept" involving "unprovable essences" on June 21.[209]
Stigmatisation of disability and mental health[edit]
In July 2020, Rowling liked a tweet by the transmedicalist @Manaxium characterising hormone replacement therapy as "the new antidepressants", something @Manaxium saw as emblematic of the "pure laziness" of people who "would rather medicate than put in the time and effort to heal people's mind.[sic]"[210][211][212] This prompted another Twitter user to wonder if anyone had foreseen Rowling one day "pivoting to supporting those who call people who take mental health medication 'lazy'."[210][211][212] Rowling quoted-tweeted this user with an 11-part response accusing them of "[lying] about what I believe about mental health medication" and "misrepresent[ing] the views of a trans woman for whom I feel nothing but admiration and solidarity."[211][212][213] Rowling underscored her own "mental health challenges, which include OCD, depression and anxiety," stating that she had "taken anti-depressants in the past" and found them helpful.[213] She claimed that, like the "many health professionals" she couldn't name, she was merely concerned that struggling youngsters were "being shunted towards hormones and surgery" by Big Trans.[211][212][213]
On March 6, 2022, genderqueer trans-inclusive feminist writer Laurie Penny posted a Twitter thread revealing they had suffered a breakdown after "twelve years of relentless trolling."[214] In this thread, Penny mentioned that they had been diagnosed with CPTSD and highlighted nasty reviews of their recent book by The Times, The Observer, and The Critic.[214] The following day, Julie Bindel, author of the Critic piece, put out a tweet claiming that Penny was alleging the reviews "caused her complex PTSD."[214] Shortly thereafter, Bindel mockingly tweeted that she had "diagnosed [herself] with Complex PTSD" after a man "opened a packet of Cheesy Wotsits" on the train, prompting a reply of "thoughts and prayers, Julie" from Rowling.[214][215][216] In response, Penny reminded Bindel that she knew "full well that these reviews didn't *cause* the CPTSD [they] experience," as they had personally disclosed the sources of their trauma to Bindel "back when [the pair] were trying to build bridges."[214] Penny's reply to Rowling was gentler, pointing out that it was their "mental health history" Bindel was mocking in the tweet "along with everyone else who has experienced CPTSD," and hoping that the author didn't think it was acceptable to "shame" people in this manner.[214]
Rowling came under fire for her portrayal of chronic illness and the disabled community in her 2022 Cormoran Strike novel The Ink Black Heart.[217][218][219][220] The book features a description of the Tumblr bio of "disabled artist" character Kea Niven: "CF – fibromyalgia - POTs – allodynia – I need more spoons."[217] A Spiral Dance, a disability-focused blog, held that Rowling "couldn't even get the details of chronic illnesses correct," citing her incorrect rendering of "POTS
" and use of the non-standard acronym "CF" to mean chronic fatigue syndrome.[217] Author Gretchen Felker-Martin wrote that Rowling is "deeply mean-spirited when it comes to anyone non-normative, especially the fat and the disabled," finding The Ink Black Heart to be "particularly savage" in its "bottomless contempt for 'spoonies' and other disabled communities."[218] She contrasted the sympathetic portrayal of "brusque, manly Strike, whose disability is the result of a war wound" with the portrayal of chronically-ill characters as "malingerers, abusers, and emotional manipulators."[218] Kristina Lucien of the blog The Once and Future Cripple echoed this view, commenting that it is "made clear to the readers that [Kea] is the wrong kind of disabled" as "she claims her identity openly," in comparison to amputee Strike trying to minimise his disability by declining to use a cane despite his pain.[219] Psychologist Alicia Hendley declared the book to be "threaded throughout" with "dismissal and lazy stereotyping" of people with invisible illnesses.[220] In Hendley's view, Rowling distinguishes "people who have valid, visible, 'real' illness/disabilities" and want to to "'get on with it', to live their lives 'despite' their difficulties, to even excel" from the spoonie who "not only wallows, but defines themselves by (and perhaps even revels in) being ill."[220]
Statements on Johnny Depp and abuse[edit]
Rowling experienced domestic violence during her "short and catastrophic" marriage to Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes in the early 1990s.[188][221][222] By her account, Arantes forbade her from having a housekey to prevent her from leaving him, at one point taking her manuscript of the first Harry Potter novel and hiding it as "his hostage."[222] Arantes has admitted that he slapped Rowling on the night she fled in 1993 but denies having committed "sustained abuse."[223]
In November 2016, only a few weeks before the release of the first film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it was revealed that Johnny Depp had a cameo as Gellert Grindelwald and was slated to return in the sequels.[224][225] Rumour has it that Depp sought to play the character in the first Deathly Hallows movie back in 2008.[226] His casting sparked outcry from Potter fans due to allegations of abuse made earlier in 2016 by Depp's then-wife Amber Heard.[227] Rowling issued a statement in December telling fans that she understood why they were "confused and angry," but that she and the filmmakers were "not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies" based on their "understanding of the circumstances" of Depp and Heard's marriage.[228] Rowling added that "conscience isn't governable by committee."[228] Rowling is reportedly a long-time friend of Depp, buying his £22 million yacht in early 2016.[229][230] Depp was dropped from the Fantastic Beasts franchise in 2020 after losing a libel case against The Sun for a headline calling him a "wife beater."[231] Depp won a subsequent defamation suit against Heard in 2022.[232]
Rowling sent a bouquet of roses to Depp's close friend Marilyn Manson in January 2020.[233] In 2021, actress Evan Rachel Wood identified Manson as the ex-partner who had sexually assaulted and tortured her, prompting several other women to come forward with similar allegations about Manson.[234][235] Depp stans paid to have the Depp v. Heard court records unsealed in the hope of unearthing dirt on Heard.[236] They instead revealed a trove of unsavoury and embarrassing things about Depp. This included the transcript of a "troubling" 2016 text conversation in which Manson tried to set Depp up with an 18-year-old girl.[237][238]
Rowling personally thanked voice actor Greg Ellis for his work on the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy.[239][240] Ellis is a hardline MRA with his own history of domestic abuse allegations.[240][241] In 2015, Ellis' then-wife successfully filed for a restraining order against him, stating that he had threatened their children.[240][241] Ellis is reportedly a long-time friend of Depp.[242][243] Ellis supposedly met Depp at his infamous Los Angeles bar The Viper Room in the 1980s and worked with him on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.[243] Ellis has been one of Depp's fiercest defenders on social media.[244]
Cormoran Strike[edit]
Since finishing the Harry Potter series, Rowling has focused on a new series, adult detective novels featuring ex-military policeman Cormoran Strike and his female assistant Robin Ellacott. These are published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Some have also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.[245]
Initially the books seemed unexceptional genre works, but that changed when Rowling started to inject her increasingly strange beliefs about trans people and other issues. At first it was subtle; book 2, The Silk Worm features two trans characters who are portrayed in a relatively sympathetic fashion although Shrike is rude to them and threatens one with rape. Book 3, Career of Evil, is about an online community of people who wish to be disabled and have limbs amputated to meet their desire. Body integrity dysphoria is a real condition, but to some people it felt like Rowling was using these people who wished to be disabled as a way to attack or mock trans people, whom she viewed as similarly deluded.[246]
Controversy increased with book 5: Troubled Blood (2020) features a killer who disguises himself as a woman. Naturally, this was read in the light of Rowling's hostility to trans people and belief that trans women are all men dressing as women to attack cis women. It also contains a lot of criticism of 21st century feminism for being sex-positive, pro-porn, holding SlutWalks to oppose slut shaming, etc.[246]
This was followed by book 6, Ink Black Heart, which is about a cartoonist who is murdered after antagonising woke online trolls with remarks about a hermaphrodite worm that are considered transphobic. Rowling insists any resemblance to her life is coincidental; most people don't believe her.[247]
There is also a curious coincidence that the pseudonym Robert Galbraith is very similar to the name of Robert Galbraith Heath, a controversial psychiatrist who was very hostile to LGBT people and pioneered conversion therapy for gay men, including the use of electric shocks. Rowling said she was unaware of the existence of Heath when she chose the pseudonym and she had long been fond of the name "Galbraith"; she chose the name in 2013, while the psychiatrist first came to public attention in 2016, so this at least is almost certainly a coincidence.[248]
Other political views[edit]
“”Because bigotry is probably the thing I detest most. All forms of intolerance, the whole idea of “that which is different from me is necessary evil.” I really like to explore the idea that difference is equal and good. But there's another idea that I like to explore, too. Oppressed groups are not, generally speaking, people who stand firmly together – no, sadly, they kind of subdivide among themselves and fight like hell. That's human nature, so that's what you see here. This world of wizards and witches, they're already ostracized, and then within themselves, they've formed a loathsome pecking order.
|
—JK Rowling explaining why she included themes of bigotry in her books[249] |
In a 2000 interview, Rowling described herself as left-wing.[249] As early as 2002, Rowling claimed that one of her biggest writing influences had been Jessica Mitford, whom she described as a "self-taught socialist" (Mitford had also been a member of the Communist Party of the United States until 1958).[250] She also donated to Labour[251] and was openly supportive of the British welfare state[252] in the late 2000s. In April 2010, she wrote a Single Mother's Manifesto criticising Tory austerity and David Cameron.[253]
However, she was very critical of Jeremy Corbyn, a remnant of Labour's Old Left,[254] and mocked his (honestly mediocre and half-assed) stance on Brexit.[255] This was driven by fear that it would lead to a repeat of the longest suicide note in history, which resulted in the Tories, under Margaret Thatcher, winning re-election in 1983 and control over national politics until 1997.[255][256]
Rowling expressed her opposition to Scottish independence at the time of the 2014 independence referendum, donating to the anti-independence group Better Together.[257] This didn't endear her to some Scottish Nationalists, and she received online abuse, which caused her to double down in her opposition to independence, accusing Scottish nationalists of bigotry; she also called out the "blood and soil" ethnonationalists Siol nan Gaidheal, who are certainly bigots but whose membership is so small they can hardly be considered representative of anything.[258]
Rowling told off Vladimir Putin when he had the gall to compare Western sanctions against Russia to Rowling being "canceled" for her TERF views.[259] In apparent response to her stance, a group of Russian trolls pranked her, convincing her that she was in a video conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Roughly fifteen minutes of strange nonsense ensued, with Rowling agreeing to "look into" changing Harry Potter's scar due to its similarity to the Russian "Z" symbol.[260][261][note 7]
See also[edit]
- Anita Bryant, another celebrity whose bigotry has completely overshadowed her legacy
- Philosopher's stone
- Tatsuya Ishida, another once-popular writer turned TERF
External links[edit]
- Religion in Harry Potter, Skeptic
- Boolean Union Tract Dissections review of The Truth For Youth's Hairy Polarity and the Sinister Sorcery Satire comic
- Harry Potter's big con is the prose
- Harry Potter and the childish adult
- ContraPoints video on J.K. Rowling
- Shaun's videos on Harry Potter and JK Rowling's New Friends
Notes[edit]
- ↑ J. K. Rowling wasn't given a middle name. When choosing to write under initials, she added a "K." after her grandmother, Kathleen. Wikipedia confidently states that her surname is pronounced /ˈroʊlɪŋ/ ROH-ling but most people ignore this.
- ↑ Robert Galbraith is the name under which Rowling writes the Cormoran Strike detective novels for adults.
- ↑ We're kind of over-exaggerating a bit, because it's implied in the final epilogue that he lived a fairly normal life after that.
- ↑ Though, technically, the scream isn't actually the Wilhelm.
- ↑ The closest Rowling had previously come to disclosing this was calling Lupin's lycanthropy "a metaphor for people's reactions to illness and disability" in the 2000 book Conversations with J. K. Rowling. Given that this book was aimed at children, it's possible Rowling's comment was edited without her knowledge, or it's possible that she simply misremembered her remarks after eight years.
- ↑ Although for the record, autism is also associated with more non-heterosexuality.[194][195][196] Considering J.K. Rowling claims to advocate for gay people, this line of logic is perhaps reckless in that regard. Imagine how it could be argued by homophobes in much the same way that gay autistic people were supposedly confused or tricked by gay activists.
- ↑ Obviously, she learned this was a prank afterwards. But now you know that Harry Potter with a Ukrainian trident for a scar was almost canon. At least if Word of God equals canon to you.
References[edit]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20221217213122/https://twitter.com/shaun_vids/status/1604219451204845569
- ↑ Ellie Harrison, "JK Rowling says she 'absolutely' knew Harry Potter fans would be 'deeply unhappy' over trans views", The Independent, 14 March 2023
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220815043302/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling
- ↑ From billionaire to millionaire, New Zealand Herald, 12 Mar, 2012
- ↑ JK Rowling now 'she who must not be named' for Harry Potter fans (04/07/2020) Newshub.
- ↑ Spoilers!
- ↑ Harry Potter tops list of most challenged books of 21st century, American Library Association
- ↑ Zipes, J. (2002). Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. Page 175.
- ↑ Pottering Around, Inside Higher Ed
- ↑ "Why Harry Potter doesn't cast a spell over me", The Guardian
- ↑ "Hogwarts is a winner because boys will be sexist neocon boys", The Sunday Times
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Harry Potter influences and analogues.
- ↑ Farrow, Max. "J.K. Rowling Is Turning Into George Lucas." ScreenRant, 25 November 2018 (recovered 30 April 2019).
- ↑ Harry Potter — Sheik Feiz Muhammad
- ↑ Voldemort NYAH NYEAH
- ↑ Avada Kedavra, bitches!
- ↑ Harry Potter and Satanism, Snopes.
- ↑ Peter Dendle, "Monsters, Creatures, and Pets at Hogwarts: Animal Stewardship in the World of Harry Potter, in Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter (2008), page 165
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Jackie C. Horne, "Harry and the Other: Answering the Race Question in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter, The Lion and the Unicorn (2010), 34(1)
- ↑ Madelyn Travis, Jews and Jewishness in British Children's Literature (2013), page 5
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Daniel Levy & Avichai Snir, "Potterian economics", Oxford Open Economics, Volume 1 (2022)
- ↑ T. Gossett, "Readers Comment on 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'," The New York Times, 26 November 2001
- ↑ Christopher Hitchens, "The Boy Who Lived", The New York Times, 12 August 2007
- ↑ The Problem With Jon Stewart: The Problem With Goblins: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter, & Jews
- ↑ IndieWire: Jon Stewart Slams J.K. Rowling for Anti-Semitic Goblins in 'Harry Potter' Series"
- ↑ Variety: Jon Stewart Calls Out J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Semitic Goblins in 'Harry Potter' Franchise
- ↑ NBC News: Jon Stewart clarifies comments he made about depiction of goblins in 'Harry Potter'
- ↑ Harry Potter and the problematic slavery parable
- ↑ The Leaky Cauldron: J. K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall Reveals Dumbledore is Gay, dated to Oct 20, 2007
- ↑ BBC News: JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay, dated Oct 20, 2007
- ↑ The Christian Post: Conservatives Urge Ban on 'Harry Potter' Over Witchcraft, Homosexuality, dated Oct 30, 2007
- ↑ The Daily UW: Sex positions: Fishing for a queer audience
- ↑ Esquire: J.K. Rowling Wants You To Know How Gay Dumbledore Really Was
- ↑ Insider: LGBT backlash against Fantastic Beasts, dated to Feb 2, 2018
- ↑ SBS: Rowling omitting Dumbledore being gay is a slap in the face to her queer fans, dated to Mar 19, 2019
- ↑ Insider: Fantastic Beasts director says movie will not address Dumbledore being gay, dated to Jan 31, 2018
- ↑ MuggleNet, "New interview with JK Rowling," 9 March 2008
- ↑ Demisexual and Proud: Albus Dumbledore, J.K. Rowling’s Ex-Gay
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Catherine Tosenberger, "Homosexuality at the Online Hogwarts: Harry Potter Slash Fanfiction", Children's Literature, volume 36 (2008)
- ↑ Catherine Tosenberger, "'Oh my God, the Fanfiction!': Dumbledore's Outing and the Online Harry Potter Fandom", Children's Literature Association Quarterly (2008), 33(2)
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Victoria Vestić, "Harry Potter, Heteronormativity and Pronatalism – the Villain as the Antinatalist", Journal of the International Symposium of Students of English, Croatian and Italian Studies (2018)
- ↑ Thomas Crisp, "Beyond Harold and Dumbledore: (Re-)considering Children's Books Depicting Gay Males, Journal of LGBT Youth (2018), 15(4)
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 The Paris Review: Harry Potter and the Secret Gay Love Story
- ↑ Vanity Fair: Why J.K. Rowling's Latest Apology Is Even More Meaningful than It Seems
- ↑ J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival, 15 August 2004
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 The Print: JK Rowling has always been tone-deaf. Just look at the Harry Potter Universe
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 TN2 Magazine: Not-So-Fantastic Queerbaiting And Where To Shove Your Bad Racial Politics"
- ↑ Screenshots of the original questions and Rowling's reply.
- ↑ Digital Spy: #JKRowlingIsOverParty kicks off in protest of a Harry Potter character's sexuality and a Wizarding War erupts
- ↑ HuffPost: JK Rowling Sirius Black Sexuality Twitter Profile 'Answers' Lead To 'Ton Of Abuse' For Harry Potter Author
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 Vox: The Harry Potter universe still can't translate its gay subtext to text. It's a problem.
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 The Guardian: Harry Potter and the Possible Queerbaiting: why fans are mad over a lack of gay romance
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Logo: Harry Potter and the Relentless Queerbaiting: Why Won't The Magical Closet Be Unlocked
- ↑ Los Angeles Times: Commentary: A ‘Harry Potter’ play claimed to be a family affair. After major changes, it finally is
- ↑ Pride.com: This Harry Potter Character Is Even Gayer in Cursed Child Revamp
- ↑ The Guardian: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: is the shorter, one-part play better?
- ↑ MuggleNet: Asexual Awareness: Protect Charlie Weasley at All Costs
- ↑ Transcript of the first day of testimony in Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. RDR Books
- ↑ J. K. Rowling, "Remus Lupin", Pottermore, 10 August 2015
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 Tison Pugh & David L. Wallace, "Heteronormative Heroism and Queering the School Story in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series", Children's Literature Association Quarterly (2006), 36(3)
- ↑ Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, "The Werewolf as Queer, the Queer as Werewolf, and Queer Werewolves", in Queering the Non/Human (2008)
- ↑ Souvik Datta, "Hijacking the Hysteria: Reading Heteronormativity, Homophobia and a narrative of Queerness into J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels", Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal (2021), 11(1)
- ↑ Heather Murray, Not in This Family: Gays and the Meaning of Kinship in Postwar North America, page 91
- ↑ William A. Rushing, The AIDS Epidemic: Social Dimensions of an Infectious Disease (1995), page 157
- ↑ Christopher R. Fee, Jeffrey B. Webb, American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore (2016), pages 4-6
- ↑ Jeffrey P. Dennis, "'Do You Like Girls Yet?': Heterosexual Presumption, Homophobia, And Pubescence", in Perceiving Gender Locally, Globally, and Intersectionally (2009), page 68
- ↑ Janna Marie Jackson, Unmasking Identities: An Exploration of the Lives of Gay and Lesbian Teachers (2007), pages 2-4
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220127020340/https://twitter.com/TransSalamander/status/922941885160632320
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230330221850/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1269394077176541189
- ↑ 70.0 70.1 Vice: JK Rowling's Transphobia Wasn't Hard to Find, She Wrote a Book About It
- ↑ 71.0 71.1 Indy100: JK Rowling has a 'clumsy and middle-aged moment' by liking a 'transphobic' tweet
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 72.2 72.3 Phaylen Fairchild: Oops! She Did It Again, Transphobic J.K. Rowling: "No Fox Belongs In a Henhouse."
- ↑ 73.0 73.1 PinkNews: JK Rowling under fire for following a 'proud transphobe' on Twitter
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Femestella: J.K. Rowling Has Been Following Anti-Trans Activists and We Need an Explanation
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 Vox: J.K. Rowling’s latest tweet seems like transphobic BS. Her fans are heartbroken
- ↑ Maya Forstater: Woman loses tribunal over transgender tweets, BBC, December 19, 2019
- ↑ 77.0 77.1 NBC News: J.K. Rowling's Maya Forstater tweets support hostile work environments, not free speech
- ↑ 78.0 78.1 The Advocate: The JK Rowling Scandal Is Anti-Trans Bigotry Masquerading as Science
- ↑ Variety: GLAAD: J.K. Rowling’s Support of Anti-Trans Researcher ‘Puts Trans People at Risk’
- ↑ Insider: JK Rowling claims trans activism hurts women and lesbians, dated to Jun 7, 2020
- ↑ 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., JK Rowling, Twitter, 6 June 2020; archived.
- ↑ 82.0 82.1 Slashfilm: More stars condemn Rowling's trans comments, dated to June 11th, 2020
- ↑ HP fans sites distance themselves from JK Rowling, The Guardian, dated to July 3, 2020
- ↑ Rowling deletes tweet after Stephen King supports trans women
- ↑ ‘Whiny BS’: letter signed by JK Rowling, Margaret Atwood slammed as out of touch, The New Daily, July 7, 2020
- ↑ https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cancel-culture-harpers-jk-rowling-scam_n_5f0887b4c5b67a80bc06c95e
- ↑ @DreamsRestless. (September 22, 2020). "JK Rowling is taking the next step in making her hatred of trans people her whole identity by promoting a store with an entire section dedicated to transphobia." Twitter. Archived November 16, 2020.
- ↑ Rachel E. Greenspan (Sep 23, 2020). "JK Rowling promoted a store selling anti-trans merch saying 'transwomen are men' and 'f--- your pronouns'". Insider.
- ↑ Allie Gregory (Sep 23, 2020). "J.K. Rowling Promotes Proudly Transphobic Online Store". Exclaim!
- ↑ James Factora, J.K. Rowling, Whose Mansion Is on Wikipedia, Decries "Doxxing". them.us, 24 November 2021.
- ↑ Global News: J.K. Rowling slams trans rights activists for 'doxxing' her during protest
- ↑ Stravaiging Around Scotland: Whitehouse - Castle in Edinburgh
- ↑ YouTube: HARRY POTTER IN EDINBURGH SCOTLAND, GREYFRIAR GRAVEYARD, ELEPHANT HOUSE, J.K. ROWLING'S HOUSE
- ↑ The Telegraph: JK Rowling wins permission to build magical treehouses in garden
- ↑ The Guardian: JK Rowling wins permission to build £250,000 Hogwarts-style tree houses
- ↑ The Guardian: JK Rowling hedge-trimming blamed for traffic 'chaos' around Edinburgh home
- ↑ Edinburgh Evening News: Traffic halted to let work crew tackle JK Rowling's massive Leylandii hedge
- ↑ Deadline: Scots author J.K Rowling closes road outside of £2.2 million 17th century home to trim back massive hedge
- ↑ The Scottish Sun: Harry Potter author JK Rowling warned by Edinburgh Council to tackle 30ft hedge around her home because it is blocking streetlights
- ↑ 100.0 100.1 J.K. Rowling Doubles Down on Transphobia in International Women’s Day Twitter Rant, Indiewire, 8 March 2022
- ↑ Inside J.K. Rowling’s ‘gender wars’ lunch, The Week, 12 April 2022
- ↑ ‘Gender critical’ author Helen Joyce says she wants to ‘reduce’ number of trans people: ‘Chilling’, Pink News, 3 June 2022
- ↑ Labour MP Rosie Duffield confronted after repeatedly calling trans women ‘male-bodied’ on the BBC, Pink News, 18 Nov 2021
- ↑ Labour MP Rosie Duffield explains ‘gender critical’ views in anti-trans tirade, Pink News, 11 September 2021
- ↑ Twitter: But as I've already told her, she knows where I am., dated to May 29, 2023
- ↑ The Guardian: Anti-trans activist Posie Parker ends New Zealand tour after violent protests erupt, dated to Mar 25, 2023
- ↑ The Guardian: Daniel Andrews says Nazis ‘aren’t welcome’ as Victorian government considers ‘further action’ following salutes, dated to Mar 18, 2023
- ↑ Twitter: Image
- ↑ https://twitter.com/trans_safety/status/1493233608663908352
- ↑ Twitter: Video, dated to Jun 7, 2023
- ↑ Twitter: JK Rowling liking tweets from a "Three Percenter" leader. The "Three Percenters" are a far right militia that are considered a terrorist group in Canada, dated to Jun 16, 2023
- ↑ Twitter: Just wanted to say we stand with you and III% is proudly members of House Gryffindor 🧙♂️, dated to June 14, 2023
- ↑ Twitter: J.K. Rowling said you DO gotta hand it to the Taliban, dated to September 2, 2023
- ↑ Twitter: At least the Taliban know what a woman is, dated to August 29, 2023
- ↑ 115.0 115.1 "I love JK Rowling’ poster taken down at Edinburgh railway station due to ‘political nature’", The Independent
- ↑ "I Love J.K. Rowling sign makes brief, controversial appearance in Vancouver", CBC News
- ↑ J.K. Rowling says 90% of her fans agree with her transphobia but they’re afraid to say so publicly, lgbtqnation
- ↑ PinkNews: A planned 'gender critical coming out day' sparks searing backlash: 'It's despicable in every way'
- ↑ PinkNews: Graham Linehan and anti-trans activists plan pathetic, pitiful Christmas campaign for TERFs
- ↑ LGBTQ Nation: New 'holiday' honors day J.K. Rowling “came out” as an opponent of trans rights
- ↑ PinkNews: What does ‘Merry Terfmas’ mean? Anti-trans activists’ pitiful Christmas campaign, explained
- ↑ The Advocate: J.K. Rowling Lambasted for 'Merry Terfmas' Tweet
- ↑ 123.0 123.1 123.2 123.3 Gemma Stone: 'Likes' are being removed from JK Rowling's transphobic tweet
- ↑ 124.0 124.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20210303034844/https://twitter.com/christapeterso/status/1366958322151088130
- ↑ PinkNews: Rosie Duffield thinks it 'deeply frightening' that 'you have to write womxn with an x'
- ↑ 126.0 126.1 Salon: J.K. Rowling organizes boozy TERF lunch amidst protest and march for transgender rights
- ↑ 127.0 127.1 PinkNews: JK Rowling enjoys boozy lunch with anti-trans lobby while thousands march for trans equality
- ↑ 128.0 128.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220721190313/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1515423379838455808
- ↑ 129.0 129.1 The Telegraph: JK Rowling promises to visit 'gender critical' book club set up in her name
- ↑ 130.0 130.1 Scottish Daily Express: JK Rowling to hang out with feminist Scottish book club named in her honour
- ↑ Daily Record: JK Rowling drops into Scots book club after promise to organiser who backed gender views
- ↑ PinkNews: "Here's everything the Harry Potter cast have said about JK Rowling and trans rights
- ↑ US Weekly: What the 'Harry Potter' Cast Has Said About Where They Stand With J.K. Rowling Amid Controversy"
- ↑ The Guardian: 'Trans women are women': Daniel Radcliffe speaks out after JK Rowling tweets
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly: Emma Watson speaks out for trans rights after J.K. Rowling's controversial comments
- ↑ BuzzFeed: Rupert Grint Just Responded To J.K. Rowling's Anti-Trans Statements
- ↑ Variety: Eddie Redmayne Criticizes J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Tweets"
- ↑ Vanity Fair: Katherine Waterston on Why It's "Important" to Denounce J.K. Rowling's Transphobic Comments
- ↑ Vulture: John Cleese Supports J.K. Rowling, Mocks Trans Rights on Twitter
- ↑ The Hollywood Reporter: Ralph Fiennes Says Abuse Directed at J.K. Rowling Over Trans Controversy Is "Disgusting"
- ↑ Vanity Fair: Helena Bonham Carter Goes to Bat for J.K. Rowling and Johnny Depp
- ↑ Yahoo!Life: Harry Potter's Tom Felton praises JK Rowling for "bringing joy to generations"
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220408043144/https://twitter.com/setoacnna/status/1271180048184283136
- ↑ The Mirror: Piers Morgan hits out at 'ungrateful' Harry Potter stars for not supporting JK Rowling
- ↑ 145.0 145.1 The Telegraph: Daniel Radcliffe is surely the world’s most ungrateful man
- ↑ 146.0 146.1 LGBTQ Nation: Internet mocks anti-trans columnist who said Daniel Radcliffe has been 'ungrateful' to JK Rowling
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230404110620/https://twitter.com/Glinner/status/1643155114776051713
- ↑ Them: Transphobes Believe That Daniel Radcliffe's Pregnant Cis Girlfriend Is Trans
- ↑ PinkNews: Transphobes share conspiracy theory about Daniel Radcliffe's pregnant girlfriend
- ↑ 150.0 150.1 Daily Mail: 'Woke brat' Emma Watson is blasted for her 'ALL the witches' BAFTAs barb at JK Rowling - the woman who 'plucked her from obscurity' - and 'being so desperate to please trans fans, she s**t on ALL women'
- ↑ Internet Archive copy of a Google Cache copy of a tweet. Thanks, Elon!
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220718053652/https://twitter.com/Matt_Severn/status/1540638993179721733
- ↑ Another Internet Archive copy of a Google Cache copy of a Twitter thread.
- ↑ The Daily Dot: Why did Katherine Waterston's Tina Goldstein vanish from the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise?
- ↑ Radio Times: Is Katherine Waterston in the new Fantastic Beasts film?
- ↑ BBC News: Strike actress wins £11k payout in pregnancy discrimination case
- ↑ Twitter: Big love to you xxx, dated to Mar 12, 2022
- ↑ PinkNews: Anti-LGBT pundit Caroline Farrow hit with injunction over ‘abusive tweets’, dated to May 3, 2019
- ↑ PinkNews: Children not ’emotionally ready’ for ‘deviant’ gay penguins, says journalist, dated to Jul 3, 2019
- ↑ Twitter: Image
- ↑ David Gilbert (October 6, 2022). "J.K. Rowling Ally Arrested for Allegedly Doxing a Trans Activist". VICE News.
- ↑ Twitter: Virtual signalling. Like virtue signalling, but for people who aren’t really arsed. #VirtualSignalling, dated to Mar 21, 2022
- ↑ Kelleher, Patrick (November 23, 2022). "JK Rowling 'likes' tweet by far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ Libs of TikTok". PinkNews.
- ↑ Archived "likes" page of J.K. Rowling, showing the Libs of TikTok tweet
- ↑ Twitter: Archived screenshot
- ↑ Washington Post: Twitter account Libs of TikTok blamed for harassment of children’s hospitals, dated to Sept 2, 2022
- ↑ Them: How Libs of TikTok Became an Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Machine, dated Sept 30, 2022
- ↑ 168.0 168.1 Ellie Harrison, "JK Rowling says she was bullied off a Harry Potter forum she joined under a pseudonym", The Independent, 28 February 2023
- ↑ 169.0 169.1 Kian Rains, "JK Rowling: author claims she was ‘bullied’ out of a Harry Potter chatroom after joining anonymously", Edinburgh Evening News, 2 March 2023
- ↑ 170.0 170.1 "Mugglenet Chatroom Uninterested in JKR's Theories", J.K.Rowling Official Site
- ↑ "JKR is deadly serious when she forbids people to call Voldemort 'Voldy'", J.K.Rowling Official Site
- ↑ "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two", 16 July 2005
- ↑ 173.0 173.1 173.2 IFL Science: When You Get A Blood Transfusion, Does It Matter What Sex The Donor Is?
- ↑ 174.0 174.1 174.2 The Mary Sue: Please Do Not Let J. K. Rowling Convince You Blood Is Gendered
- ↑ Gizmodo: Donated Blood Is Safe No Matter a Person's Sex, Large Trial Find
- ↑ 176.0 176.1 Henry Wood & Suzy Morton, Is donor-recipient sex associated with transfusion-related outcomes in critically ill patients?, Blood Advances (2022) 6(23)
- ↑ Nareg Roubinian et al., Association of donor age, body mass index, hemoglobin, and smoking status with in-hospital mortality and length of stay among red blood cell transfused recipients, Transfusion (2019) 59(11)
- ↑ Gustaf Edgren et al., Association of Donor Age and Sex With Survival of Patients Receiving Transfusions, JAMA Internal Medicine (2017) 177(6)
- ↑ Camila Caram-Deelder, Association of Blood Transfusion From Female Donors With and Without a History of Pregnancy With Mortality Among Male and Female Transfusion Recipients, JAMA (2017) 318(15)
- ↑ CBC News: Canadian Blood Services ban on those who lived in Britain not fair, says Albertan
- ↑ TheLocal.se: FACT CHECK: Are Brits banned from giving blood in Sweden?
- ↑ Australian Broadcasting Corporation: End of 22-year 'mad cow' ban means more people can donate blood in Australia from today
- ↑ The Times of Israel: Former UK residents no longer banned from giving blood in Israel
- ↑ ABC4 News: Blood donation ban lifted on people who spent time in Europe during 80s and 90s
- ↑ Susan E. Lederer, Flesh and Blood: Organ Transplantation and Blood Transfusion in 20th-Century America, page 129
- ↑ Raphaela van Oers: Stigma, prejudice, and sympathy: British Press coverage of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s
- ↑ Insider: J.K. Rowling said there's been an 'explosion' of young women transitioning and de-transitioning. There's no evidence that's true.
- ↑ 188.0 188.1 J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues
- ↑ Madison Aitken, Evidence for an Altered Sex Ratio in Clinic-Referred Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria", The Journal of Sexual Medicine (2015) 11(3)
- ↑ Matthew C. Leinung & Jalaja Joseph, Changing Demographics in Transgender Individuals Seeking Hormonal Therapy: Are Trans Women More Common Than Trans Men?", Transgender Health (2020) 5(4)
- ↑ Ian T. Nolan, Christopher J. Kuhner, & Geolani W. Dym, Demographic and temporal trends in transgender identities and gender confirming surgery, Transnational Andrology and Urology (2019) 8(3)
- ↑ John F. Strang et al., Increased Gender Variance in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Archives of Sexual Behavior 43 (2014)
- ↑ Varun Warrier et al., Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals, Nature Communications (2020) 11(1)
- ↑ Bertelli, Marco O.; Azeem, Muhammad Waqar; Underwood, Lisa; Scattoni, Maria Luisa; Persico, Antonio M.; Ricciardello, Arianna; Sappok, Tanja; Bergmann, Thomas et al. (2022). Bertelli, Marco O.; Deb, Shoumitro (Shoumi); Munir, Kerim et al.. eds (in en). Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 391. doi
:10.1007/978-3-319-95720-3_16. ISBN 978-3-319-95720-3. Retrieved 2022-06-08. "Persons with [autism spectrum disorder] and/or other neurodevelopmental problems are more likely than the general population to have transgender identity, non-heterosexual sexual orientation, and other gender non-conformities."
- ↑
Lord, Catherine; Charman, Tony; Havdahl, Alexandra; Carbone, Paul; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Boyd, Brian; Carr, Themba; de Vries, Petrus J et al. (January 2022). "The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism". The Lancet 399 (10321): 299. doi
:10.1016/s0140-6736(21)01541-5. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 34883054. "Gender non-conformity, or gender variance, including transgender identity and non-heterosexual sexual orientation, is more common in autistic individuals (and those with other neurodevelopmental conditions) than in the general population. This difference might be part of a different concept of self, less reliance on or reference to social norms, or part of a neurodiverse lived experience of (and outlook on) the world."
- ↑
Graham Holmes, Laura; Ames, Jennifer L.; Massolo, Maria L.; Nunez, Denise M.; Croen, Lisa A. (2022-04-01). "Improving the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Health Care of Autistic People". Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics) 149 (Supplement 4): e2020049437J. doi
:10.1542/peds.2020-049437J. ISSN 0031-4005. PMID 35363286. "A substantial proportion of autistic adolescents and adults are LGBTQIA+. Autistic people are more likely to be transgender or gender nonconforming compared with non-autistic people, and findings from a recent autism registry study suggest that among autistic people able to self-report on a survey, up to 18% of men and 43% of women may be sexual minorities."
- ↑ 197.0 197.1 197.2 Cripple Media: JK Rowling, Autism, and Getting to 'Pick Your Gender'
- ↑ 198.0 198.1 Salon: Why Are Trans Youth Clinics Seeing an Uptick in Trans Boys?
- ↑ Spectrum News: Living between genders
- ↑ 200.0 200.1 200.2 The Atlantic: The Link Between Autism and Trans Identity
- ↑ The Age of Autism: An Autistic's Response To J.K. Rowling's Transphobic Tweets
- ↑ Thinking Persons Guide to Autism: Autistic, Trans, and Betrayed By J.K. Rowling
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220313092936/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1502688881782702086
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220709074622/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1510254904174067716
- ↑ The 19th: Anti-trans laws are targeting autistic youth and those with mental health conditions
- ↑ The Telegraph: 'Heartbroken' father sues NHS to stop autistic son's sex change
- ↑ Twitter: https://web.archive.org/web/20230626120101/https://twitter.com/BadWritingTakes/status/1673007258844667904
- ↑ City Journal: Thrown to the Wolves
- ↑ Yahoo! Life: 'Cisgender' meaning as Elon Musk brands term a ‘slur’ and JK Rowling voices her view
- ↑ 210.0 210.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200704212716/https://twitter.com/TrinerScot/status/1279501444496986113
- ↑ 211.0 211.1 211.2 211.3 Global News: J.K. Rowling under fire for describing hormone therapy as 'conversion therapy for young gay people'
- ↑ 212.0 212.1 212.2 212.3 NBC News: J.K. Rowling calls gender transitioning 'a new kind of conversion therapy'
- ↑ 213.0 213.1 213.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220604183102/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1279755418621878272?lang=en
- ↑ 214.0 214.1 214.2 214.3 214.4 214.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20220307220123/https://twitter.com/BadWritingTakes/status/1500954723968499716
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220819041708/https://twitter.com/bindelj/status/1500799081190498304
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220307143059/https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1500841347015663619
- ↑ 217.0 217.1 217.2 A Spiral Dance: The Online Spoonie Community is Valid and Important
- ↑ 218.0 218.1 218.2 Gretchen Felker-Martin: In the Flesh - The Ink Black Heart
- ↑ 219.0 219.1 The Once and Future Cripple: Rowling’s new book is ableist and so was Harry Potter
- ↑ 220.0 220.1 220.2 Alicia Hendley: JK Rowling, The Ink Black Heart, and the problem of misplaced authority
- ↑ Oprah.com: The Brilliant Mind Behind Harry Potter
- ↑ 222.0 222.1 The Guardian: JK Rowling tells of fear former husband would burn Harry Potter manuscript
- ↑ The Sun: JK Rowling’s abusive first husband admits he slapped her but says 'I’m not sorry'
- ↑ USA Today: Shocker! Johnny Depp is in 'Fantastic Beasts'
- ↑ Digital Trends: Johnny Depp will play a pivotal character in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ sequel
- ↑ Hypable: Report: Johnny Depp almost played Grindelwald in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'
- ↑ Stuff.co.nz: Backlash from Harry Potter fans after Johnny Depp cast in Fantastic Beasts
- ↑ 228.0 228.1 J. K. Rowling: Grindelwald casting
- ↑ The Scotsman: JK Rowling spends £22 million on luxury yacht
- ↑ The Times: JK Rowling lands £22m Depp yacht
- ↑ Variety: Johnny Depp: Why Warner Bros. Finally Cut Ties With the 'Fantastic Beasts' Star
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly: Johnny Depp wins defamation trial against Amber Heard, jury awards him $15 million in damages
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200209142625/https://twitter.com/marilynmanson/status/1223133969232752641
- ↑ BBC News: Evan Rachel Wood: Actress tells Congress about sexual abuse
- ↑ Vanity Fair: He "Horrifically Abused Me for Years": Evan Rachel Wood and Other Women Make Allegations of Abuse Against Marilyn Manson
- ↑ Rolling Stone: Johnny Depp Stans Rushed to Fork Over Cash for Unsealed Court Docs. Did It Backfire?
- ↑ Popculture.com: Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson's Troubling Text Messages Surface in Unsealed Court Documents
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly: Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230212010833/https://twitter.com/EliErlick/status/1624481026163499009
- ↑ 240.0 240.1 240.2 BehindTheMagic.com: J.K. Rowling Under Fire For Publicly Thanking, Hiring "Canceled" Actor Accused of Domestic Violence
- ↑ 241.0 241.1 GeekBuzz: Legal Filings Debunk the ‘Respondent’ Greg Ellis’ Belittling Proclamation Against Family Court
- ↑ OK Magazine: Actor Greg Ellis Says Pal Johnny Depp 'Took Responsibility For His Faults' During Trial: 'He's Never Said He's Perfect'
- ↑ 243.0 243.1 New York Post: Johnny Depp is ‘happy to get his life back’ after trial, says longtime friend
- ↑ Movieweb: Pirates of the Caribbean Star Greg Ellis Supports Johnny Depp, Blasts 'False Allegations'
- ↑ Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return in Strike - Troubled Blood, BBC press release, 2022
- ↑ 246.0 246.1 J.K. Rowling’s transphobic new novel sees her at the mercy of all her worst impulses, Constance Grady, Vox, September 3, 2020
- ↑ J.K. Rowling’s New Book Just So Happens to Feature a Character Persecuted Over Transphobia, Rolling Stone, August 29, 2022
- ↑ Why J.K. Rowling's 'Robert Galbraith' Pseudonym is Linked to Harmful Conversion Therapist, Newsweek, September 16, 2020
- ↑ 249.0 249.1 Jeff Jensen, "J.K. Rowling talks about writing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Entertainment Weekly, September 7, 2000
- ↑ Lindsay Fraser, The Scotsman, November 2002, archived at Accio Quote!
- ↑ JK Rowling gives Labour £1m donation, 20 September 2008
- ↑ JK Rowling on paying taxes and the welfare state
- ↑ The Single Mother's Manifesto, originally pushed in The Times
- ↑ JK Rowling gave "blast of reality" on Jeremy Corbyn
- ↑ 255.0 255.1 JK Rowling mocks "Saint Jeremy" over Brexit. The Guardian, 23 December 2018.
- ↑ JK Rowling is in a massive Twitter war about the future of progressive politics in Britain
- ↑ Alexandra Siierlin, J.K. Rowling Tweets Her Opposition to Scottish Independence, Time, 8 September 2014.
- ↑ JK Rowling attacked for saying Scottish nationalism 'contains traces of bigotry', The Guardian, 6 July 2018
- ↑ Arnaud Siad, Nathan Hodge and Toyin Owoseje, J.K. Rowling hits back at Putin after he likened Russia to her in rant against cancel culture. CNN, 25 March 2022.
- ↑ "J.K. Rowling pranked by Russian pranksters".
- ↑ James Hibberd (June 23, 2022). "J.K. Rowling Pranked by Russians Impersonating Ukraine President Zelensky on Zoom Call". The Hollywood Reporter.