J.K. Rowling Casts Transphobic Tweets Again

J.K. Rowling is receiving a new barrage of criticism after sharing an article that objected to Police Scotland’s announced policy of classifying rapists as women if they identify as such.

The policy was reported Sunday, and the Scottish government is considering various pieces of transgender-inclusive legislation, such as ending medical testing for those who want to change their gender marker on legal documents. Rowling, best known as the author of the Harry Potter books, tweeted an article with a headline that called the rape policy an “absurdity,” and she used language invoking George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.

Rowling has made many anti-trans comments previously, claiming to love trans people but also essentially questioning their existence. She has made statements that were supportive of trans-exclusionary radical feminists, a.k.a. TERFs, and defended a woman who lost her job because of anti-trans rhetoric. She has painted trans rights as somehow in conflict with women’s rights, and some conservative politicians have used Rowling’s comments to support their transphobic positions.

Many social media users are speaking out against Rowling’s latest statements.

Rowling’s tweet comes as the trailer has dropped for the film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, with a screenplay co-written by Rowling. The film takes place in the early life of the future Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, whom Rowling has described as gay. The movie will be out in April.