JK Rowling Says She’d Accept Jail Time to Defend Free Speech
JK Rowling is digging her heels in on gender issues again. A recent Daily Mail article said that newly proposed sentencing guidelines from Britain’s Labour Party could result in two-year prison terms for misgendering a transgender person, which apparently falls under “abuse or violence.” A few days later, Rowling tweeted “No” in response to a tweet demanding people say “Trans women are women,” and when musician Scott Spalding responded jokingly that this kind of talk could get her “a two year stretch,” the Harry Potter author replied that she’d gladly take the heat to fight for female identity and free speech:
I'll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex. Bring on the court case, I say. It'll be more fun than I've ever had on a red carpet.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 17, 2023
JK Rowling has been championing this cause for a while. The trans movement has been attempting to redefine what it means to be a woman, and Rowling, along with many other women, is understandably less than thrilled about it. And this is a movement that seemingly will not stop, with this lunacy about locking people up over pronouns just the most recent example of how far into the land of fascism activists and their government supporters are willing to take it. You can write her comments off as Rowling being a keyboard warrior, but in fairness, she’s done tangible work in this regard, such as opening and funding (by herself) Beira’s Place, a support service for victims of domestic violence that serves only women. She’s also stood firm in her beliefs when the entire media apparatus (which backs the trans movement fully because of course it does) came for her, and she not only survived but benefited, with sales for the video game Hogwarts Legacy going through the roof despite an organized boycott because of her views. It’s highly unlikely she’ll find herself having to face a prison term over misgendering (one hopes, at least), but if anyone famous would face it head-on, it would be her.
