Transphobia is Not Feminism

Transphobia is Not Feminism

Chrysanthie Jumper

“It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” says iconic author, gatekeeper of womanhood, and present-day TERF J.K. Rowling. Rowling defies every stereotype of a transphobe; she is not conservative, ignorant, or a religious zealot. Rowling’s style of white collar transphobia originates from the world of bigots known as TERFs: Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists.

On June 6th of 2020, Rowling began a tirade on Twitter by taking issue with an op-Ed’s use of the term “people who menstruate”. After doubling down on her opinion with a slew of increasingly transphobic tweets, Rowling posted a 4,000 word manifesto detailing her opinions on the transgender community titled “TERF Wars”. Rowling faced immediate backlash for her statements but did not simply stop there. On July 5th of 2020, she referred to the safe, regulated medical practice of hormone treatment as “a new kind of conversion therapy for young gay people.” In September, Rowling published a novel detailing the crimes of a fictional serial killer who dresses in women’s clothing in order to lure his victims into a false sense of security.

Rowling purposefully and repeatedly mischaracterizes her transphobia as a defense of sex. Transgender activists are not, and have neer advocated for the idea that biological sex doesn’t exist. Still, Rowling fights against the notion because it makes transgender activists seem irrational and unreasonable. Bigots often assert that they do not have any bias against a particular group, they simply want to “protect” their own identity. White supremacists advertise that they are protecting the white race, homophobes claim that they are protecting “traditional” marriage, and Rowling insists that she is protecting the sanctity and safety of womanhood. Even as she conveys her support for transgender rights, she works to invalidate the community, commenting that she would march with them “if” they were “discriminated against on the basis of being trans.”

In one of her tweets from July 6th, she writes “If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased.” Invalidating trans women through the idea that socialization is inherent to gender is an extremely unreasonable argument. Women can be poor, white, black, latina, trans, butch, fem, queer- there is no single “lived reality” in a group of 3.82 billion people. The experiences of women cannot be erased by the acknowledgement that female identity is more complex than a set of chromosomes or pink frosting on a gender reveal cake.

J.K. Rowling is a victim of sexual and domestic abuse; it is impossible to discount her very real experiences and the impact they have on her worldview. Hate doesn’t always format itself in preachers screaming on street corners or crowds picketing the graves of soldiers. Hate can also be soft spoken, eloquent, well read, and well written; hate can come from real, genuine fear. Unfortunately, instead of using that fear to help and protect women, Rowling has decided to further disenfranchise a vulnerable minority under the guise of activism.