J.K. Rowling's Latest Salvo In Culture War Is Claiming Anime Girl Saying 'STFU TERF' Is The Same As Silencing Suffragettes
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has added yet another item to her lengthy list of TERF controversies this week, this time comparing an anti-suffragette political cartoon from the early 1900s to an anime girl saying "STFU TERF."
"Same shit, different century," was the author's read on the two images.
Depending on how one looks at this tweet, people are perceiving that Rowling is attempting to make the case that those who fought to prevent women from voting in the early 20th century by silencing them are no different from those who are critical of women who say trans women shouldn't use women's bathrooms, or trans men are simply women who got tired of dealing with womanhood, or that autistic people are more susceptible to transitioning (all of which she implied in her "TERF Wars" essay in 2020).
While Rowling hasn't explicitly laid out the basis of her intent behind the controversial tweet, many on Twitter were quick to point out what they felt were fundamental flaws in the potential argument. For example, those against the suffragettes in the early 20th century were largely white men who did not want to cede power to women, while those against TERFs are largely trans people and their allies — a group few argued is politically powerful relative to a billionaire white woman such as Rowling.
While several chose to argue with Rowling, others noted that it was surreal and sort of hilarious that Rowling said a meme showing an anime girl with a gun was the same as a 1910s political cartoon showing a woman bound and gagged to a chair with her jaw clamped shut.
JK Rowling got angry at a meme telling transphobes to shut up, so she compared it to torturing suffragettes. Because of course she did.Awestruck by the level of ego it must take for Rowling to compare her war on trans people to the freaking suffragette movement.#JKRvsLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/YS4864XEnO
— Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️🌈 (@BadWritingTakes) January 29, 2023
— That Damn Panda (@That_Damn_Panda) January 29, 2023
Considering the feelings J.K. Rowling has upon seeing an anime girl in a meme, one wonders how she feels knowing that Hatsune Miku wrote Harry Potter.
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Turahk
stay strong queen ❤
Nurdboy42
Why is this her thing now?
HotPotato
This again/still?
For someone who made a(n explicit) point about retroactively installing LGB (although I suppose not T) and racial (sorry I hate this word) representation in her work, I am confused as to why of all things she would make this her particular hill to die on.
Is it because she is being called out as a hypocrite? Or just because she is called out, period? Is she the only one who can call out people?
Görktürks are furries
It's not like there's any reason for her to feel threatened by these people.
nope, no reason at all
Honestly, it's inconceivable
I mean, I just can't think of any reason, can you?
Kenetic Kups
I know right
civil rights shouldn’t exist either because some were violent /s
ebrainer1
Ironic, considering the British suffragettes killed at least a half dozen people and injured dozens more with a nationwide bombing and arson campaign. That's not enough for Joanie to stop draping herself in their name, but other groups don't get that much forgiveness. Almost like her motivations come from something else.
@RobotWaifuForU
It was mostly radical religious fanatics who fought against suffragettes.
Trans are also, in their own way, radical religious fanatics.
Same thing.
FigNewton
Another bad take from you? I'm shocked. Shocked! Well not that shocked.
supergoron
Go take your meds
Nukegirl
Are you conflating an entire demographic – one that's defined only by the desire to be another gender than the one they were given at birth – with extremists that happen to be among them?
Sumarios
>This only makes sense if you assume that the trans-movement is now in a similar position of power as the patriarchy in the early 20th century.
No joke, the trans movement has a SHOCKING amount of social pull. Especially considering it represents a tiny fraction of the population and only entered mainstream consciousness about five years ago. A sitting SCOTUS judge couldn't even answer a straight forward question: "what is a woman" because she knew the backlash she would get from these people. They have legitimate systemic power.
Kenetic Kups
Rowling when people disagree with her
Rynjin
Damn this bitch really don't know when to shut up.
GeorgiaNinja94
Don't mind me – I'm just eating popcorn as I watch leftists throw crap at one another.
mr.fox
In wich universe is rowlling a leftist?
GeorgiaNinja94
This one.
*sigh*
Feminism is by and large a leftist institution, the fracture within its ranks over the trans question has never stopped that being true.
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UnKewln00b
Once she realized that the Harry Potter well has officially run dry (Trust me, those Fantastic Beasts movies were going to die whether she did the Transphobic shit or officially confirmed that Ron was Trans all along) and that she was able to make enough money from it to never have to actually have to find work again, she took the opportunity to run with it and destroy her entire reputation. But hey, I guess it's worth it to have all the money in the world and be praised only by those she insulted numerous times over her career.
What a shame.
Gumshoe
I actually think HP could have possibly continued on pretty strong for a long time, despite the Fantastic Beasts movies not doing that great. There was always a lot of potential for expanded universe stuff as well as things like games, merchandise, theme parks etc. It may still do that, but I think Rowling's insistence of fighting the anti-trans battle for years has made the brand kind of toxic to the next generation of kids and influencers who are largely very trans-inclusive, which makes it harder to become the sort of intergenerational property with staying power like a Star Wars or Marvel.