In response to criticism over made up of LGBTQIA+ superheroes. In a post describing his interaction with Rowling, Wheeler says the author helped invite a threat to his safety that could stay with him for the rest of his life.
J.K. Rowling is a decorated children's author best known for writing the Harry Potter series and later, a series of crime novels under the pen-name Robert Galbraith. The British author has expressed for figures such as Maya Forstater as well as directly sharing transphobic rhetoric, and garnered particular attention with a personal essay laying out her criticisms of "the new trans activism" which was widely read. On March 8, Rowling took the opportunity of International Women's Day to criticize the UK's Shadow Minister for Equalities, which triggered larger engagement from Twitter s both on Rowling's arguments and the way in which the influential writer opts to use her platform.
On March 12, Rowling once again tweeted on this subject, commenting that she had received for her comments from "innumerable gay people." In response, Justice League Queer writer Andrew Wheeler tweeted at the author commenting, "You are empowering far right forces that endanger all women and queer people with misleading and hateful rhetoric. It's not too late for you to walk back from the dark path you've found yourself on. Please listen to the people who are asking you to lead with love." Rowling quote-tweeted the comment, comparing trans acceptance to Far Right political rhetoric. In a recent 'Wheelergram' blog post, Wheeler notes that due to how Twitter categorizes comments, Rowling's quote tweet massively increased his message's visibility, effectively showcasing it to all Rowling's followers where previously it would have come to the attention of very few. In the blog post, Wheeler asserts that, "There’s no established etiquette around “quote tweeting” someone to disagree with them. The author is entitled to do it; most people recognize that when someone with a lot of followers quote-tweets to disagree with someone, they’re inviting harassment and abuse towards that person."
Rowling followed up her own comment by retweeting a Twitter also quote-tweeting Wheeler, asserting that "OTOH paedophiles, rapists & misogynists are identifying as queer and coming after women who speak up about their rights. And men like this [downward arrow emoji indicating Wheeler's comment] are ing in." In both his blog post on the matter and a subsequent tweet, Wheeler reflects on the potential harm Rowling is causing by utilizing her platform to spread such extreme and harmful sentiments, stating, "This was terrifying. I had asked the author to consider the impact of her words, and she had invited 14 million people to link me with pariahs, with the most detested types of people in the world. Some of those 14 million people are probably not okay. The author had invited a threat to my safety that may hang over me for the rest of my life. Or end it."
Wheeler has a point. It's a well-established aspect of Twitter that public figures with large platforms can effectively set their fans on other s by drawing attention to disagreements, and that's true even with far less incendiary subject matter and can even be done accidentally. While Rowling of course has the right to reply, the escalation of focus is noteworthy. In tearing down detractors, including queer and trans people, Rowling's choices indeed come with the possibility of instigating harassment.
In his blog post on the matter, Wheeler notes, "I’m just collateral damage. The author wasn’t thinking about my safety when she quote-tweeted me, just as she isn’t thinking about trans kids when she elevates the bogeyman rhetoric that has hurt queer people for almost a century." To share with millions of followers the idea that a queer creator is any way linked to "paedophiles, rapists & misogynists" unquestionably s this assertion. J.K. Rowling's comments are understandably disappointing to her fans, but as Justice League Queer writer Andrew Wheeler notes, there is also the potential for many types of harm when such a vast public platform is utilized to villainize real people to such an extreme extent.
Source: @jk_rowling (1, 2), @Wheeler (1, 2), @SonyaDouglas, 'Wheelergram'
