Harry Potter Scribe J.K. Rowling Accused of Transphobia After Supporting Fired Researcher Maya Forstater

Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling is being accused of transphobia after supporting fired researcher Maya Forstater.

Forstater was fired from her position at the Center for Global Development, where she worked from 2015 to 2018, after she was accused of transphobia for remarks she made on Twitter that included “men cannot change into women.”

Forstater disputed her firing and brought it before an employment tribunal back in November.

During her testimony at the employment tribunal, Forstater explained why she was fired.

“Having researched the issues during 2017–2018, in August 2018 I began to include in my personal twitter posts content about the difference between sex and gender identity, the UK government’s proposal to allow people to change their legal sex through “self-identification”, and discussion about how this would affect women’s rights. I also began to write a long-form article or blog post about the issue in relation to international development and I shared drafts and discussed the issue with colleagues.”

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Forstater continued:

“It was these manifestations of my belief which led to me losing my job at CGD (the events which will be considered by the tribunal at the full merits hearing if there is one).”

She would then state and defend her beliefs.

““Sex” is a material reality which should not be conflated with “gender” or “gender identity”.

Being female is an immutable biological fact, not a feeling or an identity.

Sex matters.”

She added:

“I believe that there are only two sexes in human beings (and indeed in all mammals): male and female. This is fundamentally linked to reproductive biology. Males are people with the type of body which, if all things are working, are able to produce male gametes (sperm). Females have the type of body which, if all things are working, is able to produce female gametes (ova), and gestate a pregnancy.”

She continued:

“Sex is determined at conception, through the inheritance (or not) of a working copy of a piece of genetic code which comes from the father (generally, apart from in very rare cases, carried on the Y chromosome).”

Forstater would go on to defend her belief:

“[Sex] is not a spectrum, although I know that’s a popular theory. There are only two sexes in humans. As I say, sex is the language we use to describe reproduction. People have potential to be either large gamete producers, or small gamete producers. No one produces both; no one produces something else.”

Following her testimony, which can be read in full here, Forstater would receive judgment earlier this week.

The Judgment reads, “The specific belief that the Claimant holds as determined in the reasons, is not a philosophical belief protected by the Equality Act 2010.”

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Following this judgment, Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling would show her support of Maya Forstater using the #IStandWithMaya.

Rowling wrote on Twitter, “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”

Following this tweet, Rowling would be accused of transphobia for supporting Forstater. Not only would she be accused of transphobia, but she would also be labeled a TERF, which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.”

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Others would call for Rowling to be cancelled.

Some just simply insulted Rowling.

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