J.K. Rowling has equated being called a TERF to the violence directed at suffragists using a Zombie Land Saga meme with an anti-suffragist cartoon.
As reported by Anime News Network, Rowling’s saga of controversy continues in the Harry Potter series author’s most recent tweet, where she posted an anti-suffragist cartoon from the early 1900s, picturing a woman tied up with a 56-pound weight locked to her ankle, and a Zombie Land Saga meme of Lily, a trans girl, pointing a gun in one hand and holding the peace sign with the other with the words “Shut the f*** up TERF.” In her Tweet, Rowling wrote, “Same sh*t, different century,” thereby implying the threats suffragists faced from anti-feminists had the same impact and weight as those accused of being a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist).
J.K. Rowling’s Trans-Exclusionary Controversy
Back in 2019, Rowling had tweeted her support for Maya Forstater for writing that trans women could not change their biological sex. In June 2020, Rowling retweeted an op-ed piece with the headline “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate,” criticizing how the article did not use the word “women” and used “people.” After fans criticized Rowling for her transphobic tweets, she responded, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
She then wrote a post on her website where she detailed “five reasons for being worried about the news trans activism,” one of which she spoke up about her experiences of domestic abuse and sexual assault. She concluded, “So I want trans women to be safe. At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”
Celebrities Speak Up Against/For Rowling
Rowling has continued to voice her transphobic views on her social media account. Many celebrities who worked with her previously, including Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton and Harry Melling, have spoken up against Rowling, expressing their support for the trans community, with Melling reiterating that “transgender women are women and transgender men are men.” Meanwhile, other celebrities, including Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Brian Cox, have defended the author.
Zombie Land Saga aired in October 2018, with MAPPA helming the production. The story follows high school student Sakura Minamoto who dies in a truck accident. Ten years later, a producer brings Sakura and six other girls back to life as zombies to form an idol group called Franchouchou. One of the girls is Lily Hoshikawa, a trans child prodigy. Lily is one of the first canonically trans characters in an idol group franchise. Viewers have praised her for being a three-dimensional, complex and well-written character.
Source: Anime News Network, Twitter
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