While fans adore J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, they’re not as psyched about the author’s writing on Twitter lately. Rowling is taking some serious heat after voicing her support for Maya Forstater, a researcher who lost her job over a tweet that’s being labeled transphobic.
Forstater’s original tweet had bashed “smart people” who “champion” science and women’s rights who “avoid” what she calls the “truth”: “that men can’t change into women (because that might hurt mens feelings).” Rowling’s response seems harmless at first, even empowering… but it’s the last few sentences that fans are taking issue with. Here it is:
- “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security,” she writes. “But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”
Rowling’s – and Forstater’s – stance on gender isn’t going well with fans. Even The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, have tweeted in defense of the identities of trans and gender non-binary women and men everywhere. But most of all, fans are disappointed that an author with an imagination big enough to create the magical world surrounding Hogwarts can’t accept trans identities.
