Author J.K. Rowling on Wednesday didn’t mince words when she said publicly that people are entitled to reject the use of trans jargon that’s becoming more prominent in today’s society.
The Harry Potter scribe made the comment on Twitter after the social platform’s owner Elon Musk said the terms “cis” and “cisgender” would be considered slurs by the social media company.
The terms “Cis” and “cisgender” are defined as “a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex the person had or was identified as having” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Trans people use the terms to refer to non-transgender people.
As of Thursday, the English author’s post had 29,000 retweets, 182 thousand likes, and over 16 million views.
Other comments weren’t so agreeable.
Spiderverse Spoilers posted: “asking jk Rowling to know anything about other cultures is asking too much from her.”
Mike Samsa replied: “If she didn’t know anything about other cultures then how did she manage to come up with culturally accurate and respectful names for all of her characters in Harry Potter?!”
Rowling Not Alone in Rejecting Trans Jargon
Meanwhile, other well-known figures like Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator Jordan Peterson and liberal-minded actress Bette Midler have criticized the jargon in the past.Peterson has been especially frustrated when asked to use alternative pronouns and has been on record saying he refuses to use “words made up by people.” He has also said he doesn’t object to trans people or to choosing which traditional pronoun they prefer.
That’s as Midler in July 2022 defended comments she made about women’s rights, which received criticism from many LGBT activists.
For that, Midler was labeled a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF).
Left-Leaning Activists Responsible for Majority of Rhetoric Against Rowling
In general, Rowling, 57, is no stranger overall to controversy about the topic, most of which has been stirred up by those on the left who once hailed the writer as a feminist hero. She’s previously and routinely offered her opinions about the transgender movement, even experiencing death threats issued against her and her family.“Man: no definition needed. Non-man (formerly known as a woman): a being definable only by reference to the male. An absence, a vacuum where there’s no man-ness,” wrote Rowling in a tweet where she included a screenshot of the guide from the school’s Diversity & Inclusion Gender and Sexuality Resources showing its revised definition.
The new LGBT glossary entry itself 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.”
Rowling Adamantly Against Gender Transition Push
In March of this year, Rowling spoke out on The Free Press’ podcast “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling” against the medical establishment and the woke left pushing theories surrounding gender on young children.“We are watching one of the worst medical scandals in a century,” said Rowling. “Those that should have known better—the medics and those who have unquestionably cheered this on—are creating a climate in which those trying to raise red flags have been intimidated and silenced.”
“We’re dealing with children, in my view, being persuaded that a solution for all distress is lifelong medicalization. This is real-world harm. There’s no closing the book and walking away,” she also told Fox News. “I want to see those people protected. I want their rights protected. I wish them lives full of joy and fulfillment. But we’re talking about children, I think that is a very different question.”
In December of 2021 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’” while back in June of 2020, an essay published on Rowling’s personal website also had her sharing her views on transgender issues.
“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.”
Still, amidst the criticism she’s faced for her comments about transgender individuals, she has also received support for her views, backing that led to the hashtag: #IStandWithJKRowling to trend on Twitter.
