She Chose Truth

J.K.Rowling has done what relatively few people in the history of earth have done…she’s become an international icon.

Her tale of a neglected, rejected little boy with a very special purpose has inspired and comforted millions of Harry Potter fans over the years, and created a world-wide phenomenon that now lives next to Star Wars and Shakespeare in the public imagination. Fans have found an escape from their own lives, and even hope, in the stories that have poured out from Rowling’s mind. For dedicated fans, she has occupied the place of almost a spiritual guide. The worlds she has created feel like their worlds.

It may seem silly to those of us who aren’t really on the Harry Potter train, but it isn’t uncommon for people to find great comfort in art. Rowling’s work has filled a lot of empty hearts, and that’s meaningful.

It is for this very reason that Harry Potter fans, particularly those in liberal media, have taken Rowling’s personal politics so…well…personally. The multi-millionaire writer has been extremely vocal in defense of womanhood in the face of a perplexing, growing assault on women’s rights by the transgender lobby.

It began to take on a wide public controversy when she objected to the description of women as “people who menstruate” in an article about supporting women in poverty.

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?

Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

She was excoriated and the drubbing from the internet mobs continues to this day. But Rowling hasn’t backed down. In fact, she’s doubled down. When a small group of lesbians came forward to share their concerns over being pressured to be sexually active with biological males who identify as female (and lesbian), Rowling hosted dialogues with the women to hear their concerns. A self-declared gay ally, she has repeatedly said her loyalty is to science, biology, and the gay community she has always supported.

The U.K.-based writer has the comfort of millions of dollars and professional success for the rest of her life. Her advantage over others in speaking out is that she doesn’t have a livelihood to lose. That’s a good thing, but some of her fans have decided that being financially secure should make her quieter, not louder.

The massive effort to silence science and common sense on the part of transgender activists has been unprecedented. They are ruthless and unbending in their ideology. Accept men as women, or be labeled inhuman. In an era in which the #MeToo movement has given a new voice to women, and feminists have made huge strides in making sure women are heard and believed, the limit of our importance seems to end where the desires of confused men seems to begin.

It shouldn’t be considered “brave” or even “violent” to speak up in favor of womanhood. It shouldn’t make someone an outlier just for pointing out biology. There is no scientific doubt about gender. It has been the same for the entire span of human history. Women have vaginas and men have penises and altering those organs does not change one’s gender. The fact that it needs to be said out loud is absurd. The fact that a woman of Rowling’s intelligence and accomplishment must defend her very humanity just for pointing out gender is absurd.

Rowling is no conservative. She’s a proud liberal, an ally of the gay rights movement, and she’s also made many people extremely rich with her creativity. Many of those people, in turn, have abandoned everything they know about her character and generosity in favor of ideological shunning.

Rowling’s fight against the erasure of womanhood has prompted some members of the cult of gender ideology to ask why she can’t just take her money and fade away. Why can’t she just shut up? One Twitter user summed up the frustrations in a recent tweet:

“JK Rowling really could have just remained a wealthy, beloved author for the rest of her life. And she chose Twitter instead. Incredible.”

But Rowling did not choose Twitter. She is, quite literally, one of the most famous people in the world. What would she have to gain by becoming a “Twitter celebrity?”

No, J.K.Rowling did not choose a social media platform over a legacy. She did not choose Twitter fame over Harry Potter fandom. She chose what is often, in times of great strife, the riskiest choice of all.

She chose truth.