5 Years Ago, J.K. Rowling Took A Stand Against Trans Activists. She Hasn’t Backed Down.

She’s an avowed leftist and an unapologetic feminist. She’s a billionaire once celebrated by the media and diehard “Harry Potter” fans worldwide. But despite all this, British author J.K. Rowling has become hated for taking a stand in the fight against transgender madness. 

Her journey began five years ago today. Despite being ridiculed, shunned, and facing public pressure, the likes of which most people cannot comprehend, to date, Rowling has not backed down or apologized when facing the angry mob.

Instead, she doubled down.

The saga started on December 19, 2019. That’s when Rowling tweeted her support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who lost her job for sharing “transphobic” tweets. Forstater took her case to an employment tribunal and petitioned the judge to rule on whether “a philosophical belief that sex is determined by biology is protected in law.” 

That judge ultimately ruled that it wasn’t.

Forstater was in trouble for criticizing proposed changes to the United Kingdom’s Gender Recognition Act of 2004, which would allow people to self-identify their gender.

“Some transgender people have cosmetic surgery, but most retain their birth genitals,” Forstater wrote in a tweet. “Everyone’s equality and safety should be protected, but women and girls lose out on privacy, safety and fairness if males are allowed into changing rooms, dormitories, prisons, sports teams.”

Rowling was outraged on Forstater’s behalf.

“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?” the “Harry Potter” author wrote at the time, including the hashtag “IStandWithMaya.”

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? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019

That tweet received backlash at the time. But things really exploded for Rowling after she made her feelings on transgender activism – and the terminology that goes along with it – known in June 2020.

“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?,” she tweeted in response to an article on menstrual health which refrained from using the word “woman.” 

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“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” Rowling shared in a follow-up. 

“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women—i.e., to male violence—‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences—is a nonsense.”

She continued, “I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”

Then, a few days later, Rowling published a lengthy post on her website about “TERF Wars,” referencing the acronym reserved for “trans-exclusionary radical feminists,” which is how the author was being branded.

“This isn’t an easy piece to write, for reasons that will shortly become clear, but I know it’s time to explain myself on an issue surrounded by toxicity. I write this without any desire to add to that toxicity,” she wrote. 

Rowling went on to list “five reasons for being worried about the new trans activism.”

Over the following five years, multiple attempts have been made to cancel Rowling or change her mind on the trans issue, all to no avail. Earlier this month, the author revealed some backlash she’s faced since publicly taking a stand.

Rowling posted a screenshot of a Times article suggesting that trans activists need to tone down their  “unsparing criticism” of those who disagree with them, especially in the aftermath of Trump’s big win in the 2024 election.

“The rewriting of history begins,” Rowling wrote. “Opponents of gender ideology haven’t merely ‘endured unsparing criticism’. I haven’t simply been told I ‘betrayed real feminism’ or received a few book-burning videos.”

“I’ve been sent thousands of threats of murder, rape and violence,” she continued. “A trans woman posted my family’s home address with a bomb-making guide. My eldest child was targeted by a prominent trans activist who attempted to doxx her and ended up doxxing the wrong young woman.”

“I could write a twenty thousand word essay on what the consequences have been to me and my family, and what we’ve endured is NOTHING compared to the harm done to others,” Rowling said. “By standing up to a movement that relies on threats of violence, [ostracization] and guilt-by-association, all of us have been smeared and defamed, but many have lost their livelihoods. Some have been physically assaulted by trans activists.”

She concluded, “A full reckoning on the effects of gender ideology on individuals, society and politics is still a long way off, but I know this: the receipts will make very ugly reading when that time comes, and there are far too many of them to sweep politely under the carpet.” 

Over the past five years, Rowling has faced scorn in the media and among former fans. But she said as causes go, this one is worthwhile. 

In a now-viral post on X, a follower addressed the author, saying, “Love your work. But wonder why is this the hill you want to die on?” 

“If there’s a better hill to die on than the rights and safety of women and children, I’ve never found it,” Rowling replied.

The British author also commemorated the fifth anniversary of her first tweet on Thursday. 

“Five years ago today and my only regret is that I didn’t speak out sooner. To every girl and woman who’s paid a heavy price for fighting to retain their rights and boundaries, to every person striving to halt an appalling medical experiment on minors, I salute you. We will win,” she wrote.