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We Regret to Inform You That J.K. Rowling Is at It Again

Harry Potter and the Audacity of This Woman.

Whelp, it must be a day that ends in Y, because J.K. Rowling is back to spread more transphobic garbage on Twitter. She knows she can just …. not tweet, right?

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This all started when Rowling liked the following tweet:

Sorry Sophie, but both hormones AND anti-depressants are rarely prescribed as a first option. Both come after much consideration between doctors, psychologists, and parents, if the person in question is underage. No one is cavalierly handing out hormones like they’re Skittles. This tweet perpetuates the false narrative that people with depression and anxiety should just “buck up and power through it.”

THAT’S NOT HOW MENTAL ILLNESS WORKS. That’s not how any of this works. It’s attitudes like this that add to the stigma of not only mental illness, but the life-saving treatment that anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications offer. Therapy is great and wonderful and everyone should have affordable access to it, but at the end of the day no amount of talking is going to replace a deficit of serotonin (or whatever else is physiologically needed for our brains to function).

This is a terrible take on its own, but considering that the pandemic is causing a mental health crisis we have yet to fully comprehend, it is wildly irresponsible to med-shame people. Rowling was quick to respond, and her defense was, well, … something.

First off, you’ve “ignored porn tweeted at children”?!

via GIPHY

But wait, there’s more:

Rowling goes on to describe hormone therapy as as experimental and damaging to youth, which is simply not accurate. In doing so, she perpetuates a false equivalence between conversion therapy and hormone therapy that is radically dangerous. Is it any wonder then, how she chose her pen name Robert Galbraith?

*Blinks whitely into infinity*

Many took to Twitter to call out Rowling’s use of her immense fame, wealth, and platform to spew this trash:

If you are LGBTQ+ and struggling, please contact The Trevor Project.

Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are exactly themselves.

(image: John Phillips/Getty Images)

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Author
Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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