JK Rowling’s New Book Receives Criticism for Seeming to Be Transphobic
The best-selling author of the Harry Potter series has recently experienced extreme hostility from several of her loyal followers over her new book Troubled Blood. The novel, featuring a cross-dressing serial killer, is the latest installment of a series following private detective Cormoran Strike. Earlier this year, Rowling sparked controversy on Twitter, subjecting herself to a lot of backlash for the transphobic messages within her tweets. Although Rowling attempted to clarify the situation and express her empathy towards transgender individuals, her new book has been further subjected to criticism by activists.
With an estimated earning of $92 million in 2019 along with royalties from the movie adaptations of her books, Rowling received critical acclaim as one of the highest-paid authors in modern times. Even so, she has received relentless criticism through social media. As Rowling tried to defend herself against this criticism, she has lost millions of fans and followers. Several books strive to be diverse in their portrayals. To the public eye, Rowling's work seems to lack sufficient diversity.
The author is now receiving criticism from activists advocating against transphobia. Rowling's remarks have classified her as a trans-exclusive radical feminist, or T.E.R.F.. The term refers to women who feel that trans-women should not receive the same treatment as “real” women do. Instead of embracing trans-women into the community, a T.E.R.F. would consider them to be threats. In her tweets, Rowling blatantly referred to women as “people who menstruate.” Not only did this statement isolate trans-women, but it also discredited trans-men who menstruate and non-binary individuals who were assigned female at birth. Many of her consecutive tweets and remarks have continued to anger fans; some have even tweeted about burning Rowling’s books.
"J.K. Rowling is single-mindedly obsessed with trans people and actively frames them as predators in her novels," tweeted culture critic Elle Dawson. Rowling's former book, The SilkWorm, had also portrayed transgender people as aggressive antagonists.
The rising number of transgender homicides in various regions of Central America is devastating, yet Rowling's book seems to highlight it as a paradoxical image. The instances of cross-dressing serial killers in our world are far and few. Rowling is still in the heated controversy over her remarks on sex and gender, as she jumped to the defense of a woman who lost her job for stating that biological sex must determine one's gender.
Recent rumors claim that Rowling's pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, was inspired by an anti-LGBTQ conversion therapist though the author denied such speculations. This particular choice in an alias aroused suspicions earlier this year after Rowling penned a series of transphobic tweets, which were later followed by a 3,000-word op-ed attacking the trans rights movement. Following a common trend, Rowling’s angered fans have called her a monster instead of an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. She has been receiving requests to speak about how she was inspired to take the name of such a transphobic man. Once again, the author has denied all rumors, claiming that she had never once heard of nor met a Robert Galbraith.
Transphobia has plagued our society for decades and will continue to haunt our society for many more. The term "transgender" is often used as a joke to label people who deviate from stereotypical gender roles. We can all help uplift the status of transgender individuals by supporting and representing them through art, journalism, and activism. We can hope for controversies of this nature to fade away while expecting more inclusive books not just from Rowling, but all authors in order to celebrate diversity within our society.
