“I Regret Only That It Took This Long For Us To Highlight Her Unthinking Hatred”: The Onion Is Launching A Crusade Against J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Bigotry
buzzfeed.com
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"I Regret Only That It Took This Long For Us To Highlight Her Unthinking Hatred": The Onion Is Launching A Crusade Against J.K. Rowling's Anti-Trans Bigotry,After posting a series of withering articles about J.K. Rowling and her anti-trans rhetoric, the Onion told BuzzFeed that the author is "a billionaire with a penchant for spreading misery" and that they "regret only that it took this long for us to find a pointed manner to highlight her unthinking hatred."
“I Regret Only That It Took This Long For Us To Highlight Her Unthinking Hatred”: The Onion Is Launching A Crusade Against J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Bigotry
Editor’s Note: This article includes mentions of anti-trans rhetoric. BuzzFeed unequivocally supports trans rights and opposes anti-trans bigotry. If you, like us, feel impassioned about trans rights, learn more or donate here.
Surely you’ve heard of the Onion, best known for their whip-smart satire and hilarious headlines. They also have a long history of going hard against politically conservative and bigoted values — and J.K. Rowling just became the Onion’s latest target.
Dave J Hogan / Getty ImagesRowling claimed that language like “‘menstruators’ and ‘people with vulvas’ strikes many women as dehumanizing.” However, trans-inclusive language does not harm cis women, nor is it “dehumanizing” to refer to “people with vulvas” as “people” (another word for “human”).
In 2023, Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric reemerged in the public discourse, reaching a fever pitch on Feb. 16, when the New York Times published an op-ed by columnist Pamela Paul entitled “In Defense of J.K. Rowling.”
Carlo Allegri / Reuters / The New York Times / Via nytimes.comIn the column, Paul asserts that “nothing Rowling has said qualifies as transphobic.” She also defends the author’s right to speak out against her detractors, citing one of Rowling’s interviews on the podcast The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling in which she claims that “the attempt to intimidate and silence me is meant to serve as a warning to other women.”
In response, a Human Rights Campaign press release criticized the New York Times for “publishing stories that harm the transgender and non-binary community,” called Pamela Paul “one of their most consistently anti-transgender opinion writers,” and referred to J.K. Rowling as “one of the most famous transphobic writers in the world.”
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / Via theonion.comThough the op-ed primarily targeted the Times’ defense of Rowling, the satirical publication took aim specifically at Rowling later that same day, poking fun at the author’s overzealous litigation strategy with “‘Harry Potter’ Fan Always Dreamed Of Receiving Magical Defamation Letter From J.K. Rowling.”
Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett CollectionBefore 2023, the Onion only sporadically wrote about J.K. Rowling or anti-trans politics, rarely publishing more than one article in a month. But in the weeks following their initial op-ed on Feb. 17, the site published six articles directly targeting major perpetrators of anti-trans rhetoric — starting with the Times’ defense of J.K. Rowling before shifting focus to the author.
The Onion / Via theonion.comAlthough the Onion is one of several satirical news outlets that occasionally wrote about Rowling and anti-trans bigotry, the Onion’s recent onslaught is the first time a major satire publication launched a sustained campaign against the author.
At this point, people started realizing just how intensely the Onion was gunning for J.K. Rowling.
Sopa Images / LightRocket via Getty Images / The Onion / Via theonion.comBuzzFeed reached out to the Onion’s senior managing editor, Jordan LaFlure, who explained the reasoning behind the publication’s recent shift in focus. “The discourse around trans rights has never suffered from an abundance of clear, logical thinking from mainstream media. And anti-trans sentiment is no more thoughtless and hateful now than it ever was. All that’s changed around this topic is the fevered pitch the discourse has reached.”
Justin Sullivan / Getty ImagesAs for why anti-trans rhetoric is such an ideal satirical target, Jordan said that it “relies heavily on misinformation and ahistorical beliefs about ‘the way things have always been.’ It comes from a place of fear and willful ignorance. It makes it easy to pick apart, even if it is horrifying to watch in real time.”
Cindy Ord / Getty Images“J.K. Rowling, a billionaire with a penchant for spreading misery, has long been a worthy target. I regret only that it took this long for us to find a pointed manner to highlight her unthinking hatred.”
Julian Finney / Getty ImagesHaving recently poked fun at J.K. Rowling’s litigiousness, the Onion writers are clearly aware that she uses threats of legal action to silence opposition, primarily in the UK. However, libel laws require a higher burden of proof in the US, which means the threat of litigation isn’t as persuasive a tool for silencing J.K. Rowling’s American critics.
John Phillips / Getty ImagesSome people have even speculated that the Onion’s recent actions might bait J.K. Rowling into a legal battle in the US. But when asked if he’s hoping Rowling will take the Onion to court, Jordan shot down the theory with a definitive “no.”
Twitter: @Antiproton_comThat doesn’t mean the Onion won’t defend parody in court if necessary — in fact, it already has. In 2022, the Onion submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, which demonstrated the publication’s willingness to defend satire and parody in the US legal system.
Jemal Countess / Getty Images / The Onion / US Supreme Court / Via supremecourt.govThe Onion’s amicus brief (aka a “friend of the court” document) defends the use of parody under the First Amendment in Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio.
Jordan concluded, “We’re in a golden era of non-credible people making credible threats. Until they’re soundly defeated, all anti-free speech threats should be taken seriously.”
Do you think the Onion is doing a good job calling out J.K. Rowling and anti-trans rhetoric? ???
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