J.K. Rowling Addresses Her Critics
As more people burned her books over the weekend, the author confronts the idea that she is ‘dangerous’ and ‘transphobic.’
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling has sparked a conversation all over the world about moral panics, the toxicity surrounding the subject of sex and gender, and more. It’s a story that’s still unfolding—and it’s one that goes well beyond the confines of a single podcast.
In Chapter 7: What If You’re Wrong?, released this morning, Megan Phelps-Roper asks J.K. Rowling to respond directly to the most incisive accusations lodged by her critics. Among those criticisms: that the Harry Potter author is engaging in bigotry; that she is blind to her transphobia; and that her words are creating an environment that is dangerous to trans people.
The two also discuss the difficulty of discernment—why it can be so hard to know if you are standing up for what’s right—and the difference between what Rowling says she believes and what her critics claim she does.
No matter where you stand on this heated debate, we think you’ll find her answers well worth your time.
You can listen now on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Or press play right here:
And if you haven’t had a chance to listen to the show yet, get started now on Chapter One: Plotted in Darkness.
We’ll be back with an epilogue in just a few weeks.
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling is proudly sponsored by Moink Box, Netsuite, and Stamps.com.
Eat well—and stand with the American family farm. Visit: moinkbox.com/witchtrials.
For the first time in NetSuite’s 22 years as the No. 1 cloud financial system, you can defer payments of a full NetSuite implementation for six months. Take advantage of this special financing offer: netsuite.com/witchtrials
Get started with Stamps.com today for a special offer that includes free postage, a four-week trial, and a free digital scale. Go to www.stamps.com, click the microphone at the top of the page, and enter code “WITCHTRIALS.”
I listened to the last episode with interest, particularly the vignette with “Noah” a trans man. One cannot help but be struck by the connection between young women suffering gender dysphoria and anxiety/depression. Does no one understand (on the left) that all of these young transitioners are on meds? That there is no mentally healthy young person with gender dysphoria? And that transitioning does not cure the anxiety/depression? As I listened to Noah saying how “he” would have killed himself if not allowed to transition I thought to myself that this person has severe mental illness and has been deluded by the current social contagion. What makes me angry is the “health care professionals” behind this scam profiting from the mutilation of our young women.
I agree that the series is very good, measured, thoughtful and thought-provoking. But I resent, if that is too strong a word, the fact that it is only Rowling that seems to be the one asked "What if you're wrong?" Megan was so gentle and affirming in last week's interviews but never once did she display the temerity to say to the subjects of her interviews "But what if you're wrong?"
I see this unilateral approach to be highly indicative of a prior assumption, that only a person that is offering objections is the one that might be wrong.