Author J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame is also well-known for her views on transgender issues.
For years, Rowling has used her platform to voice her disdain for those who experience what the DSM-6 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Sixth Edition) classifies as “gender dysphoria.”
It started back in 2018 when the highly successful author liked an anti-trans tweet that called trans women “men in dresses.” Her publicity machine walked that back, as did Rowling herself, saying that she accidentally hit the “like” button.
She then liked another anti-trans tweet in 2019 that described psychotherapist Alex Drummond as “an adult male who claims to be a lesbian.”
A year later, in response to blowback resulting from her support of a woman who’d been fired because of “transphobic tweets,” Rowling published a lengthy essay on her website trying to explain her “interest in trans issues.”
“On one level, my interest in this issue,” she wrote, “has been professional, because I’m writing a crime series, set in the present day, and my fictional female detective is of an age to be interested in, and affected by, these issues herself, but on another, it’s intensely personal…”
In the essay, she listed five reasons for “being worried about the new trans activism:” (1) her support of incarcerated women and those who are abuse survivors, (2) her “deep concerns” about the effect of trans ideology on education, (3) her interest in freedom of speech, (4) (in her view) the significant number of young women who she believes detransition and (5) herself being a victim of abuse and sexual assault.
Last week, Rowling reposted a video of US Representative Jonah Orion Wheeler (D-NH) with the headline: “Every word.” It has 1.1 million views, 13 thousand likes and has been reposted by five thousand other viewers.
The young Wheeler (he’s 23) has a history of anti-trans political efforts. He voted to restrict gender-affirming care for minors and to designate the use of single-sex spaces (i.e., bathrooms, locker rooms) based on biological sex.
The Daily Signal reported Wheeler as saying in his video, “Gender ideology, as defined as the belief system that we are all assigned a sex at birth and need to go through a journey of our own to find a gender identity that is separate from that sex, … is reinforcing the stereotypes its most fervent ideologues claim to be dissolving.”
According to the report, “He also condemned the idea that ‘we are all born in the wrong body and need to medicalize ourselves in order to achieve who we really are.’”
In response to pushback on her repost, Rowling posted a statement in reply to a comment that seemed to indicate some modicum of change in her views.
“I’ve always believed that adults with intractable gender dysphoria may only find peace after surgery and taking hormones. I’m glad you’re happy.”
Lest we think the leopard has changed her spots, the post has since been deleted.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
