J.K. Rowling
This week, author and transphobic bigot J.K. Rowling is set to release her new book Troubled Blood. An early review reveals a not-so-subtle plot involving a cis male serial killer who dresses as a woman to get closer to his female victims.
Written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, Troubled Blood is a 900-page mystery that drops tomorrow, September 15th. Via PinkNews, the review comes from Jake Kerridge of The Telegraph, who sums up the book’s message as “never trust a man in a dress.” He writes,
“The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer. One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: never trust a man in a dress.”
Rowling’s fictional predator comes after a summer of insisting that such people really do exist. In June she suggested that trans-affirming language “removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives.” She followed that up with a 3,600-word essay, in which she argued, among other things, that allowing gender reassignment would make cis women less safe in “single-sex spaces,” such as bathrooms. She also said that gay people are experiencing a “new kind of conversion therapy.”
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For all of her repeated declamations about her “empathy” for transgender and non-binary individuals, the fact remains that non-cis populations are at much higher risk of becoming victims than the general public. Additionally, research has found that since 1989, trans people are no more likely than their cis peers to be convicted of committing a crime. By centering her views on the safety of cis women, Rowling is making an argument based on feelings and not facts — the very definition of bigotry.
Rowling’s views have been challenged by her collaborators and fellow authors, including Daniel Radcliffe and Stephen King. Last month, she returned a humans rights award after the presenting organization condemned her transphobia.
