JK Rowling, the author of the beloved Harry Potter books, is receiving a whole lot of criticism after tweeting several transphobic sentiments over the weekend. The internationally acclaimed writer took to Twitter with claims that a) you have to be a woman to menstruate, and b) trans women aren't actually women - and that their "claim" of the sex undermines the experiences of true women.
Rowling has a long history of being a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), and she's not alone. Doctor Who writer Gareth Roberts has been widely criticized for anti-trans tweets, and Graham Lineman (creator of The IT Crowd) has never been shy about his own TERF beliefs. Rowling just seems to get more attention for her backwards beliefs because she of her influence as the author of the Harry Potter series. She's very visible, and many people on Twitter have been quick to decry her exclusionary views. And we can't blame them. For someone who is heralded for bringing diversity to her imaginary wizarding world, she falls very short within her own politics. And the following Twitter users were eager to call her out.