JK Rowling is at the center of controversy again after her new book, Troubled Blood, published on Tuesday, spark another round of row with the transgender community.
JK Rowling and the LGBTQ community have a long history of misunderstanding despite the author’s insistence that she is not transphobic. However, the gay community was irked again when her new crime book featured a cross-dressing serial killer.
JK Rowling in the middle of controversy again
JK Rowling published the fifth installment of the Cormoran Strike series entitled Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith — her crime writer pseudonym.
According to reviewer by Jake Kerridge, the book gives one the impression that one should never trust a man in a dress or a crossdresser.
Mermaids, a UK-based charity that supports transgender children and their families, was bothered after learning that the book presents a character using another gender in order to carry out attacks.
The group’s spokesperson also cited Rowling’s 2014 book Strike series entitled The Silkwork, which also featured a transgender character as a suspect.
“We are disappointed to hear that the author might be propagating the same, long-standing and hurtful presentation of trans women as a threat,” the spokesperson told CNN.
The organization noted that they witnessed the pain among the young people who once find comfort, friendship, and pain in Rowling’s fiction books. The author recently aired her support for the trans people to live free from persecution. However, the group felt that her latest work didn’t support it.
Twitter users attacked Rowling again with #RIPJKRowling
JK Rowling was trending again on Twitter with her critics using the hashtag #RIPJKRowling after the release of her new book.
One tweeted about the author saying she’s not transphobic, but releasing a book about a man who dresses up to kill women. The Twitter user pointed out the irony in Rowling’s statement and work. The netizen questioned if Rowling was being disgusting on purpose or she’s smart but just made the wrong choices.
Meanwhile, Vanity Fair published a report describing Rowling’s new book as another proof of her commitment to transphobia.
https://twitter.com/ScaryChildren/status/1306036472026468354
#RIPJKROWLING is trending, and some bookstores have started to boycott the author's books – including the famed ‘Harry Potter’ series. Here’s why 👇 pic.twitter.com/nltEh2BdpS
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) September 16, 2020
#RIPJKRowling and why her new book is so problematic. pic.twitter.com/4kRQI1qfnv
— Bebore (@BlueAri5) September 16, 2020
JK Rowling’s supporters stand by her
Despite the backlash directed at the Harry Potter author, some still support her. Some Twitter users stressed that it was just a book and it was a work of fiction.
Meanwhile, another reminded the others that Rowling also supports her sisters and doesn’t wish ill for others, in contrast, to what the people wish for her based on the hashtag. Also, she has her reasons why she is speaking out in such manner.
“Wake up matey, JK is inclusive. She is also a woman who supports her sisters,” one wrote.
“She’s defending the rights of women and girls, so of course misogynists call her ‘transphobic’ to obscure their bigotry against women,” another wrote.
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