JK Rowling
Credit: Reuters File Photo
J K Rowling has yet again stirred up controversy in her latest comment on transgender issues. Rowling has said that "no child is born in the wrong body."
The renowned author of the Harry Potter series, in her latest post on X, claimed that transgender children "do not exist," responding to a critic who condemned her controversial views on transgenders as "hurtful" and "unnecessary."
The user criticised Rowling for not using her influence for a positive change. "I wish you would use your immense power for good. Your hateful focus on trans kids is hurtful and unnecessary," wrote the user.
J K Rowling in her response to the comment wrote, “There are no trans kids. No child is born in the wrong body."
She went on to say, “There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology that will end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies and false memory syndrome combined.”
Agreeing with Rowling one user claimed that parents were the problem. Rowling responded that this was “not always” the case, and claimed children were also watching TikTok videos “of surgeons selling the idea that bodies can be modified like Lego”.
She went on to claim that, "schools affirm kids' trans identities behind parents' backs." “A certain kids’ charity in the UK sent out breast binders to pubescent girls without parental consent,” she went on. “Many parents are struggling to protect kids from a Zeitgeist telling them that anxieties about puberty, sexuality and growing up can be fixed by lifelong reliance on Big Pharma and by doctors who make Frankenstein look ethical.”
Rowling's remarks were met with immediate backlash, critics accused her of perpetuating harmful rhetoric against transgender individuals.
One user wrote, "Isn't that the same logic homophobic people used in the previous century against gays and lesbians?" While another quipped, "You're also a medical expert. Didn't know that. This thing that everyone famous for anything feels the urge to act as an expert of something else ... makes me crazy! I surely need to be visited by a novelist..." to which Rowling replied, "But being trans isn't a medical condition, or so we're told."
Another comment read, "Whatever you believe doesn't matter. If a person feels and identifies as a different gender, who are you to judge? Let people be who they want to be. It doesn't affect your life in any way shape of form. They're not forcing their beliefs on your lifestyle. Stay in your own lane."
Rowling's remarks also found support from some quarters. One user wrote, "You don't need to be a medical expert to know right from wrong or child exploitation when you see it."
This is not the first time Rowling has recieved backlash for her views on transgender. In August, 2024, she criticised Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's participation in the Paris Olympics 2024, suggesting that Khelif, who defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in a 46-second match, was a man competing against women. Accusing organisers of enabling "men's power over women," Rowling criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allowing Khelif to compete.