JK Rowling platforms anti-trans shop selling ‘lesbians don’t have penises’ and ‘f**k your pronouns’ merch
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 12: Author J.k. Rowling arrives at the RFK Ripple of Hope Awards at New York Hilton Midtown on December 12, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
JK Rowling broke her Twitter silence following the release of her heavily-criticised new book by sharing a new purchase: a “This witch doesn’t burn” t-shirt from a store which also sells anti-trans merchandise.
The author has refrained from commenting on the firestorm surrounding her book, Troubled Blood, and its depiction of a murderous cis man who dresses in women’s clothing, but returned to social media Tuesday night (September 22) to share a photo of her purchase.
“Sometimes a t-shirt just speaks to you,” Rowling wrote, posting a link to the Wild Womyn Workshop webstore and using the hashtag “support women run businesses”.
Though the t-shirt Rowling bought is innocuous in itself, Wild Womyn Workshop is a hotbed of anti-trans messaging and merchandise.
Sometimes a T-shirt just speaks to you…
(From https://t.co/hhOu3fO1rg, in case you know a witch who'd like one ?) pic.twitter.com/T4E9OCMCMI
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 22, 2020
Directly underneath its “feminist witch” category is a “gender critical” collection, boasting badges that read “F**k your pronouns” and “Don’t call me ‘cis'”, as well as stickers with messages such as “Lesbians don’t have penises” and “Trans-ideology erases women”.
The site is run by Angela C. Wild, a co-founder of the anti-trans, lesbian separatist group Get the L Out. The organisation is best-known for hijacking Pride in London 2018, a demonstration followed by similar protests at Swansea and Manchester Prides in 2019.
At all three Prides, members of Get the L Out – which claims to stand against “any kind of misogynistic politics and systems that prioritise men’s interests” including “queer politics and transgenderism” – manoeuvred their way to the front of the parade.
They were allowed to lead the London march for 47 minutes, carrying banners with messages such as “trans activism erases lesbians”.
Pride in London later apologised and condemned the protesters, whose behaviour they described as “shocking and disgusting”, and showing “a level of bigotry, ignorance and hate that is unacceptable”.
Despite this well-publicised condemnation from one of the UK’s most prominent LGBT+ organisations, JK Rowling— who claims to support trans rights despite regularly offending the community with her views on their lives — was happy to promote Wild’s business.
PinkNews has contacted JK Rowling’s representatives for comment.
