J.K. Rowling Faces New Accusations Of Transphobia Over Controversial New Book — See Tweets

J.K. Rowling is releasing a crime thriller about a male serial killer who disguises as a woman, raising concerns on Twitter. Critics accused the author of making a 'conscious choice to demonise trans people,' among other allegations.

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J.K. Rowling is facing new accusations of transphobia thanks to one of the characters in her upcoming book, Troubled Blood, set for release on Sept 15. The story revolves around a male cisgender serial killer who dresses up like a woman to trick his victims for the fifth installment of Rowlingā€™s crime fiction series Cormoran Strike, which is published under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. Given that the Harry Potter author has made statements many considered transphobic ā€” such as writing that she doesnā€™t want to ā€œmake natal girls and women less safeā€ by granting access inside female bathrooms and changing rooms to ā€œany man who believes or feels heā€™s a womanā€ ā€” the new bookā€™s plot line sparked controversy on Twitter.

ā€œā€¦I have to say, the irony here is rich: Basically JK Rowling is posing as a man (Robert Galbraith) to write a novel about a man who poses as a woman to kill people. PROJECTING MUCH?!?!,ā€ Whipping Girl author Julia Serano tweeted. Meanwhile, fellow author Paris Lees tweeted, ā€œMaybe thereā€™s a twist in JK Rowlingā€™s book and the killerā€™s really a ā€˜realā€™ woman or something, but itā€™s reasonable to assume the worst when sheā€™s spent all year being hostile to trans people and stays silent when Republican senators quote her while blocking votes on LGBTQ rights.ā€

Others pointed out what they saw as an underlying transphobic message in Rowlingā€™s new book. ā€œJk rowlingā€™s claims about the dangers of trans people are so far fetched that she had to write a fictional story to support them,ā€ one such person tweeted, which gained over 1,000 ā€œlikes,ā€ and another wrote, ā€œtw transphobia // every day is a good day to stop giving jk rowling even one precious cent of your money, but ESPECIALLY in light of her moving her violent transphobia out of the subtext of her books and into the text.ā€ HollywoodLife has reached out to Rowlingā€™s rep for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Rowling has faced increasing accusations of transphobia since the end of 2019. At the time, she defended Maya Forstater, a researcher in England who was fired for tweeting that it was ā€œimpossible to change sex.ā€ In the wake of the controversy, Rowling infamously tweeted, ā€œDress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult whoā€™ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?#IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.ā€

The backlash reached new heights in June of 2020, when Rowling responded to an article headline that read, ā€œOpinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.ā€ In response, she wrote over the headline on Twitter, ā€œPeople who menstruate.ā€™ Iā€™m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?ā€ ā€” ignoring the fact that transgender men and nonbinary people menstruate as well. At the time, even Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson ā€” among other celebrities ā€” spoke up to defend transgender women.

Rowling then defended her views with a 3,600-word essay in June of 2020, which referenced her experience with sexual assault for being the reason sheā€™s advocating for ā€œhaving concerns around single-sex spaces.ā€ Although she insisted that ā€œthe majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to othersā€ and ā€œdeserve protection,ā€ she argued about the dangers of letting ā€œany and all menā€ into spaces for women.