J.K. Rowling’s newest book criticized for a reportedly transphobic plot line
J.K. Rowling has apparently created yet another Horcrux – this time in the form of her new novel, “Troubled Blood.”
According to a review of the book published Sunday in The Telegraph, “Troubled Blood,” published under her alias Robert Galbraith, centers on the disappearance of a woman “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,” Jake Kerridge writes in his review. (“Transvestite” is an outdated term typically used to refer to men who sometimes wear women’s clothing, which is not the same as being transgender.)
Reviews from other outlets, including the Wall
Street Journal and the Guardian, have not referenced this detail.
The Telegraph review led #RIPJKRowling to trend on Twitter – not because she is dead but because people say the author is killing her own career with her views. Some have used the hashtag to recommend works by trans authors; others have used it to defend Rowling’s freedom to hold these views.
The book appears to lean into problematic stereotypes portraying transgender people as villains, despite studies that show transgender people face high rates of harassment and violence. Earlier this month, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned a U.S. Marine who in 2015 was convicted of killing a transgender woman because of her gender identity.
Critics have also noted that “Troubled Blood,” the fifth novel in her Cormoran Strike detective series, is not the first book in the series with transphobic elements. She had previously been called out for her depiction of a trans woman in the second Cormoran Strike novel, “The Silkworm.”
The “Harry Potter” author has been repeatedly criticized for making anti-transgender comments on Twitter. In June, she took offense at an op-ed that used the more inclusive phrase “people who menstruate” instead of “women.”
Shortly after the backlash to those comments, Rowling published a lengthy essay on her personal website levying a number of inaccurate claims about the transgender community because she was “worried about the new trans activism.”
Her concerns boiled down to the perceived safety of cisgender women in bathrooms; there is no evidence that transgender people using the restrooms that align with their gender identity puts anyone else in danger. (Studies instead show that transgender people often report experiencing harassment, assault and denial of access when attempting to use public restrooms.)
A number of “Harry Potter” actors have spoken out in support of the trans community this year in response to Rowling’s comments.