Ser Drewy Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/09/14/jk-rowling-new-book-cormoran-strike-troubled-blood-killer-dresses-woman/ It almost sounds like a parody, but Rowling has written a new murder mystery book about a cisgender man who disguises himself as a woman to commit murders. It's had a huge backlash from trans activists and #RIPJKRowling has been trending in the UK with many proclaiming her career 'dead' now. It really feels like she's dived off the deep-end with this issue, especially given all the previous controversies surrounding her and this topic, and has reached a point of self-parody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 It probably won't impact her career that much, even acknowledging that her murder mystery books only sell a minuscule fraction of the number of copies of Harry Potter and she obviously has enough money to buy Neptune if she wants. It will continue down the path of making her a joyless figure who ends up being much better known for crass bigotry than for bringing joy to tens of millions of children and turning many millions of kids onto reading in the first place, though. Seeing the number of her fellow writers and the actors she's worked with (even the star of her current film project) turn on her has been quite something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 I realise this is far from the most important point, but it's still a bit startling to read that the book is going to be 944 pages long which would be long for an epic fantasy and seems very excessive for a detective novel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The BlackBear Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 This apparently isn't even the first trans-phobic shit in this series: Quote Troubled Blood is the fifth entry in Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series, penned under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The second in the series, The Silkworm, has previously been criticised over its depiction of a trans character described as “unstable and aggressive”. In the book, the woman, Pippa, stalks Strike before attempting to stab him. After the attack the titular detective manages to trap Pippa in his office, where her trans identity and deadname are revealed. At this point, JK Rowling describes the character’s Adam’s apple and hands, with the Strike character warning her that prison “won’t be fun for you… Not pre-op”. via Pink News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jurble Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 It's such an absurd headline that I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it this morning. I've seen a few people try to defend "Well the villain is a transvestite not trans, so it isn't bigoted." I mean, no duh the villain is a transvestite and not properly trans... Rowling doesn't believe trans-women are a thing. She thinks they're all perverted transvestites trying to invade women's 'safe spaces'... This book is literally an articulation of her views on trans-women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 JK Rowling digging ever deeper just in case anyone was still in any doubt about exactly how vile a person she is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Even ickier is the historic reference inherent in her chosen pseudonym - Robert Galbraith [Heath]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Robert Galbraith [Heath] goodness, electric shock gay conversion. charming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Anyone know if the reference is actually intended or accidental? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlyaP Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 21 minutes ago, dog-days said: Anyone know if the reference is actually intended or accidental? There's an article about it here. Whether or not you think her statements about the nom de plume are sincere however, is another matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 My gut feeling based on the article you linked to would be that it is accidental. JKR's generation came of age long before trans rights gained much attention in mainstream society, but certainly after the excesses of mid twentieth century psychiatric experiments became infamous and despised through e.g. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and the background to some of the plays of Tennessee Williams. The choice of obscure (in the UK) sadist Robert Galbraith Heath seems improbable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 1 hour ago, dog-days said: Anyone know if the reference is actually intended or accidental? Obviously accidental, but such small details has never stopped the righteous Twitter mobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Ah yes, the obsessive Twitter mob who are writing ~1000 page detective novels as a very thinly veiled attack on a group of people they hate. I'm happy to forget her, she's the one hung up on people like me - her pals are the rabid mob. And she's absolutely going full Glinner, and you never want to go full Glinner. I wonder if she's at the "blowing up personal and familial relationships" stage yet like he did. I don't feel the need to try and guess if she intended the association with her nom de plume is intentional or not, her behavior in the here and now says all I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 never stopped the righteous Twitter mobs. yeah, a bit frivolous. pseudonyms have a certain license; my nom de guerre here is deliberately adopted from a character in a solzhenitsyn novel who is irredeemably rightwing, and that character is based on an actual person whose politics are as far right as it gets. all this means nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoodedCrow Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 It’s tough when an artist screws up. The anti trans thing is a big mistake, compounded with victims. I believe her dying friend hooked her with some opinions. Why would I like Rowling at all? She taught a generation and all age groups about the Defense against the dark arts, shady stuff in politics, the Patronus, chocolate frogs, and dementors. She seems into a Dark rabbit hole on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaircat Meow Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Has anyone criticising J K Rowling on this thread actually read the book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 It is quite difficult to see how reading the book could alter the basic fact that after years of campaigning about how trans acceptance will lead to men invading women's spaces, putting women in physical danger, Rowling has written a book where a man dresses as a woman in order to kill women. I can't really imagine any context in which that doesn't come over pretty badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 JK Rowling is gross and history will remember her that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A True Kaniggit Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Hey. TooningOut mentioned this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrnHdABdtms Starts at the 2:30 mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 On 9/15/2020 at 10:20 PM, Chaircat Meow said: Has anyone criticising J K Rowling on this thread actually read the book? I expect that the row will give a very handy boost to sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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