Author J.K. Rowling blasted Johns Hopkins after the university’s medical school recently labeled a lesbian as “a non-man attracted to non-men” in its LGBT glossary. Soon after, the medical school removed the definition.
The new LGBT glossary entry went on to note that the updated definition includes non-binary people who may also identify with the label while past definitions referred to a lesbian as a “woman who is emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually attracted to other women.”
“The LGBTQ Glossary serves as an introduction to the range of identities and terms that are used within the LGBTQ communities, and is not intended to serve as the definitive answers as to how all people understand or use these terms,” Megan Christin, the university’s director of strategic communications, said in a statement. “While the glossary is a resource posted on the website of the Johns Hopkins University Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), the definitions were not reviewed or approved by ODI leadership and the language in question has been removed pending review.”
Oxfam Cartoon
Rowling’s tweet came after a controversial tweet earlier this month from the British-founded confederation of independent charitable organizations Oxfam. In an effort to celebrate Pride month, the charity posted a cartoon depicting a demonic-looking female figure resembling the 57-year-old writer. The character had a pin attached to her shirt reading TERF, an acronym that stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, which is used to label opponents of far-left transgender ideology as being equivalent to a member of a hate group. Rowling has previously been referred to as a TERF by activists and some media outlets because of her opposition to what she considers the infringement of women’s rights by the transgender movement.The tweet generated so much online backlash that Oxfam wound up deleting it, stating that the post had been removed because of concerns raised over it. Insisting any likeness was coincidental, Oxfam then reposted an edited version of the cartoon video without the Rowling look-alike figure in it.
Many Twitter users called out the charity after noticing what many considered a defamatory post geared at Rowling.
In the past, the author has noted the criticism she’s received. She’s even said she’s gotten death threats.
An Oxfam spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times: “We didn’t intend to depict J.K. Rowling or any other person in that way but because there was concern we took it down and put the post back up without that image.”
Rowling has widely become known for her philanthropic endeavors, one of which is her passion and support for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis. Her mother suffered from the disease before her death in 1990.
Rowling is no stranger to controversy. She’s previously and routinely offered her opinions about the transgender movement. While she’s faced criticism for her comments about transgender individuals, she has also received support for her views, backing that led to the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling trending on Twitter.
It was in December 2021 that she also expressed her opposition to proposed laws in which police in Scotland stated they would “record rapes of offenders with male genitalia as being committed by a woman if the attacker ‘identifies as a female.’” Prior to that, an essay published on her personal website in June of 2020 had the author sharing her views on transgender issues too.
“When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a man—and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones—then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth,” she wrote.
