Why I Support JK Rowling
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional nor an expert on transgender issues. I am no more qualified to have or express an opinion on these topics than any of the other thousands of people weighing in and throwing stones.
In all honesty I had not been following the recent controversy surrounding JK Rowling all that closely. Primarily this was because I don’t believe we should control or be controlled by the opinions of others, and secondly because I don’t believe that we should value the opinions of celebrities to the degree that we do. However, I did finally read the essay Rowling published on her website explaining why she decided to speak out about sex and gender issues, an essay which I was surprised to learn had been published weeks earlier. Despite the barrage of headlines I saw popping up about Rowling’s conflict with trans-activists, it was nearly a full month after the publication of her essay that I saw the headline that she had written such a response. Having read the essay and some (not all) of the many tweets surrounding the controversy, I can say that I stand in support of JK Rowling. I have outlined the three main reasons for my support below.
1. Free Speech. One of the five reasons she gave in her essay for speaking out was freedom of speech, and I agree that this is a right we need to guard vehemently. Our ability assess things, come to our own…
