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Video: J.K. Rowling Speaks For The First Time About The Experience Of Sexual And Domestic Violence
LEGION-MEDIA
The other day, JK Rowling, due to a careless comment on the social network, was at the center of a scandal. The author of the Harry Potter saga spoke on the topic of the article "Opinion: after the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to create a fairer world for people who are menstruating." The writer found such an appeal to transgender people amusing, and on Twitter she deliberately distorted the word “women”: “People who menstruate. I'm sure there was some other word for all this. Help me remember. Zhongshin? Zhanschiny?"
The disrespectful comment provoked a storm of protests on the network, the words of Joan were criticized by the stars of film adaptations of her novels - Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne - and Rowling herself was accused of transphobia.
To soften the public outcry, Rowling decided to share a personal story in response and talked about the experience of violence. The writer published an extended essay on her blog and supported other victims of abuse: “For twenty years the public interest has riveted to me, but during this time I have never told that I was a victim of sexual and domestic violence. I was silent not because of a feeling of shame, but because it hurts me very much to remember and return to that time. In addition, I wanted to protect my daughter from her first marriage. This part of my biography concerns not only me, but hers as well. But recently, I asked my daughter what would happen if I spoke about it publicly, and she supported me in my decision.”
Rowling did not give a specific name, but noted that she was abused by a man in her 20s. And recalled that her first marriage was "full of cruelty." Recall that Joan was married to Portuguese journalist Georges Arantis: he abused drugs, beat his pregnant wife and drove her out of the house into the street.
The writer also emphasized that she sympathizes with transgender people, but for her the safety of women and girls, who are often subjected to violent actions by men - regardless of how the latter define themselves, comes first.
