JK Rowling's retroactive Harry Potter continuity additions have been a continuous source of pop cultural embarrassment. But her repeated allusions to trans-exclusionary radical feminism has been even worse. After a few gross anti-trans tweets, Rowling decided to double-down on her discriminatory convictions by posting a massive screed on her website attempting to explain why, actually, trans and non-binary people and those who otherwise deal with gender dysphoria are — to hear Rowling tell it — not real human people but also thieves who are trying to steal money from Rowling's charities.
To be clear: this is bullshit, and it causes further unnecessary harm against trans and non-binary people who represent a sliver of the population but have definitely already dealt with enough bullshit in their lives simply because of antiquated social impositions on them.
The thrust of Rowling's shameful argument is that the 0.3-0.6 percent of people who are trans are selfishly robbing resources from causes that Rowling supports, like domestic violence shelters for women who have suffered from abuse. On the surface, this is an utterly fucking absurd assertion. Rhetorically, Rowling cleverly avoids citing any sources or data in support of any of her arguments — arguments which she, of course, insists are based on (un-linked) facts and not feelings. This fact alone should be enough to dismiss the absurdity of her claims.
But in case you need something more, TCGPlayer writer Cassie LaBelle has annotated Rowling's entire ridiculous blog post. All 13 pages of it. And she succinctly vivisects every stupid argument contained within.
Annotating Rowling [Cassie LaBelle / Imgur]
Image: Kevin Dooley / Flickr (CC 2.0)
