LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: JK Rowling has once again participated in a social media banter that led her to get criticized for her allegedly 'transphobic' stance.
On October 17, the 'Harry Potter' creator posted a snap that read "Repeat after us: Trans women are women,” with the caption "No."
A follower of the British author quipped back, "Vote Labour, get a two year stretch!" referring to the recent speculation that misgendering and using "wrong" gender pronouns can be a punishable offense leading upto two years of punishment under a Labour government.
Rowling responded to the fan's tweet by saying, "I'll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex. Bring on the court case, I say. It'll be more fun than I've ever had on a red carpet."
Rowling has never shied away from voicing her thoughts regarding the issue. Starting from 2017, Rowling has liked and unliked several comments that made oblique remarks about transgender people and their rights.
For instance, in 2019, she supported a woman who was ousted from her job for misgendering a trans person at her work place.
Misgendering will be seen as 'hate crime'
Daily Mail reported recently that Labour Party has said that if they come in power in Great Bitain, they would make misgendering an "aggravated offence."
It would mean if a person refuses to use a transgender person's pronoun or refers to them with their former name or birth sex, the person can be subjected to a prison sentence.
A Tory source told the Daily Mail, "Some police forces have shown themselves overzealous in the pursuit of supposed hate crimes and this reform would send them a signal to go even further."
They further added, "We've seen people arrested for misgendering but this isn't enough for Labour – they want them locked up for two years."
Internet labels JK Rowling 'a hater'
Following Rowling's statement, netizens gathered quickly to slam her online.
One of the users said, "Lock her up boys."
"Send her to Azkaban," said someone else referring to the prison for magical convicts depicted in her third book in the 'Harry Potter' series.
"You just know she’s never been in prison before or have any idea how life in prison is," said someone else.
Another user quipped, "She’s so devoted to being a hater lol."
"Imagine having this much hatred in your heart for people simply just trying to be themselves. Very embarrassing," said another user.
Despite the criticism, a staggering number of the netizens supported Rowling for expressing her views, with many people saying she is entitled to her opinion.
One of the supporters quipped, "A person who stands up for their convictions in spite of the insane amount of hate she gets is extremely admirable."
Someone else chimed in, "Why do people gotta just hate someone who has a different point of view? You can respect someone's personal opinion while disagreeing!"
"Wow prison time for an opinion? We have truly lost our way," chimed in another fan.
A fan chimed in, "What makes her transphobic? Because she doesn’t agree or adhere to others views? That’s kinda weird frfr."
