Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has come under fire for comments on Twitter that many have deemed transphobic.
The writer shared a tweet with the hashtag #IStandWithMaya today, which is a show of support for a woman named Maya Forstater who was fired from the charitable organization the Center for Global Development for voicing her opinions that gender is binary and "men cannot change into women."
Forstater repeatedly voiced opposition to changes in the U.K.'s Gender Recognition Act, which would allow people to self-identify as a sex that was not assigned at birth, and her contract was not renewed as a result.
Forstater's employer called her language "offensive and exclusionary," and the judge's recent ruling has echoed this, saying that she "is absolutist in her view of sex and it is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment."
Rowling nevertheless shared her support for Forstater on Twitter this morning. She told her followers that people can "dress however you please," "call yourself whatever you like" and "sleep with any consenting adult who'll have you," but that to "force women out of their job for stating that sex is real" is not okay.
The writer shared a tweet with the hashtag #IStandWithMaya today, which is a show of support for a woman named Maya Forstater who was fired from the charitable organization the Center for Global Development for voicing her opinions that gender is binary and "men cannot change into women."
Forstater repeatedly voiced opposition to changes in the U.K.'s Gender Recognition Act, which would allow people to self-identify as a sex that was not assigned at birth, and her contract was not renewed as a result.
Forstater's employer called her language "offensive and exclusionary," and the judge's recent ruling has echoed this, saying that she "is absolutist in her view of sex and it is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment."
Rowling nevertheless shared her support for Forstater on Twitter this morning. She told her followers that people can "dress however you please," "call yourself whatever you like" and "sleep with any consenting adult who'll have you," but that to "force women out of their job for stating that sex is real" is not okay.
Rowling was hit with an instant backlash, arguing that her comments and support for Forstater are transphobic, as well as discriminatory against intersex and non-binary folk.
See some of the heated response to Rowling's comments below.
