Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
She's at it again.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Dec 13, 2021
J.K. Rowling has been up to her usual antics as of late and continues to solidify herself as one of the most controversial voices on Twitter.
Though the "Harry Potter" author has been somewhat shunned by fans of the franchise, her frequent spewing of anti-trans rhetoric and trans-exclusionary radical feminism still reaches a whopping 13.9 million followers.
And this reach has an impact. According to a report from the European association for LGBT+ rights, she has directly contributed to the downfall of the United Kingdoms’ equality ranking.
J.K. Rowling's anti-trans rhetoric is impacting the transgender community in the UK.
Rainbow Europe is a group that is funded by the European Union and was created by ILGA-Europe — the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association for the European Region.
The group ranks all of the countries in the region based on their equality climate, taking everything into account like the laws that are being passed supporting LGBT+ rights and human rights, general social stigmas, or even the loudest voices in the country who support or oppose these changes — enter Rowling.
According to the recent report, Rowling was a direct contributor to the United Kingdom’s tanking rank, which now sits at #10 with a score of 63.73%.
Under the “Bias-motivated Speech” section for the UK’s annual review, it says “Anti-trans rhetoric continued to cause serious damage in the UK again this year. A prime example is repeated transphobic attacks by author J.K. Rowling, on Twitter and in her writing.”
Despite the damning report, Rowling has not changed her tune or, at the very least, considered her impact.
J.K. Rowling has shared yet another anti-trans tweet.
On December 12, Rowling made a tweet and linked an article from a Scottish publication that talked about how Scotland Police would allow rape suspects to identify themselves as women regardless of their genitalia.
“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman,” read her tweet, which references George Orwell’s 1984.
As Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom, alongside England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, her criticisms of the new Scottish rules effects the UK as a whole.
The Scottish police are following in the right direction of the UK's new rules loosening around trans restrictions.
According to a report by The Scottish Sun on Sunday, the Scottish government wants to remove medical checks for those seeking a gender recognition certificate and shorten the time people have to live openly as their gender identity before it is legally recognized.
As recently as July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to ban conversion therapies in the UK after delaying a nationwide ban for years — the pledge of which has yet to yield any updates.
In spite of the UK's slipping grasp on trans rights and equality, activists have continued to push back against transphobia.
Trans activists in November took to the outside of Rowling’s home in order to protest her and her harmful beliefs — posting a picture of three of them standing in front of her gate which revealed part of her address.
Rowling immediately took a defensive stance and attacked the trans activists for ‘doxxing’ her, even though her home address has been public knowledge for years.
Over a year ago, she criticized an article for using the term “people who menstruate” in order to include that not all women have the ability to menstruate and mocked the publication.
Rowling continues to be a voice in halting the progress of the United Kingdom’s quest for LGBT+ equality and makes it harder and harder to keep on loving the magical world she created in her books.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.