J.K. Rowling's New Book Features Character Persecuted for Transphobia
Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, are gearing up to read her latest novel and have found that the book draws several comparisons to Rowling's personal life.Rowling's book, The Ink Black Heart, is the sixth book in her crime thriller series Cormoran Strike, which is penned under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.In the latest story, Edie Ledwell, a creator of a popular YouTube cartoon, is being persecuted online after the cartoon is criticized for being racist, ableist, and transphobic.
Ultimately Ledwell is found dead afterward, leading Cormoran and private detective Robin Ellacott on the hunt for the anonymous online persecutor.If it sounds at least a little bit familiar, you aren't alone.
Many have claimed that Edie's character reminds them of Rowling's own experience with online criticism.Rowling stirred controversy in 2019 when she publicly supported Maya Forstater, a U.K.
tax specialist who was fired over tweets that were deemed to be anti-trans. The author was also accused of transphobia in 2020 when she criticized an op-ed piece that discussed "people who menstruate" rather than using the term "women." In the same year, she published a lengthy blog post on "Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues."Rowling also recently protested Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill which aims to simplify the process for people legally changing their sex on a birth certificate.Multiple women’s groups have presented well-sourced evidence to @NicolaSturgeon’s government about the likely negative consequences of this legislation for women and girls, especially the most vulnerable.
