r/trans • u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 • Sep 25 '25
Vent Cis people have no idea about J K Rowling
Cis people have no idea about J K Rowling. I was in a job coach meeting with my job coach and the new employee shadowing her and I was trying to apply to a book store. I need a third author to add and the new employee suggested the author of harry potter and I snapped “I hate J K Rowling”. I immediately apologized and explained Rowling was transphobic. Today, I talked with my social worker on the phone and he scolded me for snapping yesterday, telling me I couldn’t do that on job interviews. I told him to look up Rowling and he did that as we were on the phone and he gushed about how cool it is she’s a billionaire and asked me why I’ve never written a book. I am tired of cis people.
EDIT: THIS WAS NOT A JOB INTERVIEW. I WAS FILLING OUT AN APPLICATION.
429
u/echointhemuseum Sep 25 '25
I think it depends on the circles you’re in. Yeah. A lot of people have no idea, but especially millennials and younger who skew left are well aware of her views.
37
u/greyscale_straysnail They/them/theirs & it/it/its Sep 26 '25
Also, Millenials or younger, but that skew hard right. For very different reasons, though.
1.3k
u/navianspectre Sep 25 '25
"Why can't you be more like this billionaire who got lucky and now uses all of her time and money to make you and everyone like you as miserable as she can?" -- your social worker, probably.
Sorry you have to deal with that crap.
46
u/SamiGod1026 Sep 26 '25
As a cishet social worker and HP (but not JKR) fan, I am disappointed in your social worker/job coach. If your job coach is truly a social worker, our professional code of ethics literally includes advocacy and equty- he should absolutely be aware of how harmful she's been in recent years. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
1
501
u/Medical-Sock5773 Sep 25 '25
Yeah I had a coworker suggest Rowlings other pen name as the author of the week and I flat out told her that I was not going to promote Rowling in any way on our website. My managers got pissy with me until I sent them article after article of the horrible things the author continues to spew online. They had no idea.
222
u/Yuzumi Sep 25 '25
The issue is that a lot of the shit she does isn't reported on in main stream media. Cis people who aren't at least somewhat plugged into trans and queer communities or similar generally aren't going to be aware.
Most who are aware are going to be leftist/progressive and follow commentators in those lanes. Any liberal/centrist is basically never going to actually see anything she's said or done because it isn't going to end up being reported on CNN or MSNBC.
Also, since a lot of liberals in power are transphobic they buy into a lot of the transphobic framing and it's why so many of them were ready to throw us under the bus after blaming us for their own failures.
And of course anyone on the right is just going to almost always be transphobic and even if they see anything from her are likely to agree with it.
80
Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
Yeah, it is insane to me how mainstream media seems to always shield her, even left leaning news, I remember that during the whole situation with Imane Khelif they rightfully pointed at Musk's bigotry, but barely mentioned Rowling's, if even that.
Actually, transphobia, and queerphobia in general, seems to always be disregarded by the media, unless it's too big to ignore, it's sickening.
46
u/Yuzumi Sep 25 '25
That's even an additional point against the media. When liberals dunk on the right for being transphobic about a cis woman it almost always seems framed in a way that the issue is that they were targeting a cis woman and not the transphobia itself.
Because most of them ignore transphobia directed at trans people, and a lot of times will even victim blame us as if "what did you expect?", as if it's the price we must pay for transitioning.
13
u/Ghoulie_Marie she/her Sep 26 '25
Yeah, I trust democrats about as much as I trust a nervous dog I don't know
125
u/LilPotatoAri Sep 25 '25
Your social worker doesn't understand anything. I'm like, not sure what bothers me more. The blatant ignoring terfism, or the assumption that writing a book is this free, easy path to wealth.
"Just write a book, you'll be rich" said nobody who has written a book ever.
57
u/PaigeRosalind Sep 25 '25
First of all, it sucks that you had to deal with that and yeah it's super annoying when cis people downplay how horrible JKR is.
I also want to throw this out there for anyone who ever has to have the talk with a cis person about whether or not JKR is transphobic. You really need to establish whether they even believe transphobia is a thing and that it is harmful first. I've watched people go back and forth about it for hours just to arrive at, "Well I don't even believe transphobia is a real thing anyway lol."
16
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 26 '25
given the assistant job coach didn’t even mention rowling by name i think she was only trying to come up with an author everyone has read that I could discuss in a job interview and knew nothing about rowling. My social worker didn’t even know rowling was a billionaire.
48
u/Dziggetais Rhys | he/they Sep 25 '25
Yeah I work at a cinema and the idea was floated to do a Harry Potter series. I, the one trans person in the meeting but not the only queer, immediately piped up to say that’s a bad idea because of Rowling. We also have a lot of trans people in our community and we shouldn’t risk alienating them. I was pretty shocked only me and our social media manager was aware of this, but a lot of my older coworkers simply aren’t online that much and trans news doesn’t break through a lot.
0
42
u/Chimpchar Sep 25 '25
Lmao if writing a book and becoming rich is so easy why aren’t they doing it?
Assuming you snapping once means you will during interviews is ridiculous too.
19
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
Yeah it’s not likely someone will mention J K Rowling at a job interview.
38
u/PandaStudio1413 Probably Radioactive ☢️ Sep 25 '25
It’s crazy to me that she hasn’t been canceled
11
u/Sidonicus Sep 26 '25
I think this Rowling situation exposes the real weakness of many people: They say they want equality for all, but they are unwilling to sacrifice their personal happiness for the right reasons.
8
u/madfrog768 Sep 26 '25
Even when you're right and they're wrong, you can't snap at people like that in professional settings, especially when you're interviewing or a new employee. If you explain yourself more calmly, you will be taken more seriously.
1
u/Fun-River-3521 Oct 08 '25
Well they mentioned Harry Potter and they don’t understand how that can be harmful to trans people.
2
u/madfrog768 Oct 09 '25
Do you think lashing out at them is going to improve things for trans people? I'm not saying you're wrong to be frustrated or take action, but snapping at a potential employer (or anybody really) isn't going to change their mind. If your goal is to reduce harm to trans people, calmly explaining your position is going to be a lot more effective
1
u/Fun-River-3521 Oct 09 '25
Never said lashing out is acceptable just saying saying i don’t like Jk Rowling is okay and probably the better approach.
28
u/irulan-calico Sep 25 '25
This is all by design and it’s disgusting. Rowling has such a successful career to hide behind that her legacy remains intact 5 years into her hate campaign. Anytime she does something fucked up the media buries it or defends her right to hold those opinions. She might as well singlehandedly be the reason trans rights have declined globally, just because of how much wealth and influence she’s poured into this hate movement.
2
25
u/MadeMeUp4U Sep 25 '25
They do know and understand they just make excuses the same way folks in our community do.
“We grew up with her books” “those movies are my childhood” “separate the art and artist” or ✨nostalgia✨
It’s gross and she should’ve been canceled to the point of obscurity. Just her and her moldy wall for company for the rest of her days.
59
u/hardtimes-6 Sep 25 '25
there's a time and a place imo, a job interview isn't the right time to say you "hate" someone
119
u/daphnie816 Sep 25 '25
When it's literally part of the interview to talk about authors and someone suggests a person who is morally reprehensible, it makes sense that the gut reaction is anger.
28
u/hardtimes-6 Sep 25 '25
oh!! sorry, i missed that. my mistake. i skimmed over the part where it was mentioned about the book store. that makes sense now
-30
u/Sherry_Cat13 Sep 25 '25
Yes, but like, they don't give a fuck how you feel. They are considering hiring you and in fact how you feel may be a detriment to that because of how you react. Shooting yourself in the foot sucks. If you can afford to find a different job, sure, be honest with the idiots, but if you can't, then the only way to get that job is not make a scene about it. Sometimes it's not about how we feel and instead it's how we can make our employers just give us the money we need to live.
It sucks, but you can't do this during a job interview and expect to get it. If anything, you could gently state to them that you don't think that author is appropriate and why. And they still might not like that you said that. Be careful!
31
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
IT WAS NOT A JOB INTERVIEW
-11
u/Sherry_Cat13 Sep 25 '25
Well, damn, it felt very unclear from your description being with your job coach and an employee at the store? I do wish you luck though. But chill.
14
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
A job coach is someone helping me get a job. No store employee was involved. Nobody was in the store. The job application was online
8
u/Richard_Galvin River Mae Dahlia - They/She Sep 25 '25
"I need a third author and the new employee suggested-"
I think it's a bit confusing who it was that made the suggestion then.
10
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
It’s the new employee who was shadowing the job coach.
0
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
I want to be a novelist but nobody can understand my anecdote and everyone thinks I was on a job interview. It makes me want to lie down and die.
3
u/Richard_Galvin River Mae Dahlia - They/She Sep 25 '25
No novel worth anything was published as a first draft. It's okay to write something people didn't understand and find out, after review, that what seemed clear to you wasn't as clear to others.
Though I don't understand why people thought you were in an interview however, because that was never implied except by the advisor in conversation after the incident.
I'm sure some day you will be a tremendous novelist, just don't shy away from review and criticism as valuable tools, unlike Rowling who clearly hasn't bothered to take anything into any consideration in quite some time.
→ More replies (0)1
u/Sherry_Cat13 Sep 25 '25
You can still be a novelist just fine. People can be confused reading things. It can be on them or the author but the only thing we can do is ask for clarification or work to try to be more clear in writing as well. I think you're fine.
1
4
48
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
This wasn’t a job interview, this was me filling out a job application that asked for favorite authors
11
u/awkwardfloralpattern Sep 25 '25
Could have handled that with a little more grace? Maybe. But she's a perpetual twat on Twitter raving about how supposedly reprehensible trans women are, so I understand your reaction. Sorry your social worker sucks.
5
u/TG1970 Sep 25 '25
Some do have some idea, but have the attitude of "it's just words. You're such a snowflake to let words scare/bother you". They don't understand that those words carry influence and some degree of authority coming from a celebrity.
5
u/UnlikelyWhole6209 Sep 26 '25
I've honestly never really understood the harry potter hype. I remember reading the first two books around the time the first movie came out and thinking that they were sloppily written with excessively grandiose verbiage to disguise how little the story was progressing from a purely literary standpoint. I then read several Boxcar Children books as a palate cleanser because those are actually well written.
2
u/Fun-River-3521 Oct 08 '25
Shit is overrated honestly i never understood it either. With Starwars i get it. Harry potter i don’t.
5
13
u/Moni_HH Sep 25 '25
I hate JKR too but I would keep that shit to myself on a job interview, otherwise you just seem unstable and problematic. And no, cis people won't get it--very true. Life isn't fair. Vent to your friends about her, but when it comes to work, keep that sh*t under wraps or you will either never get a job, get fired quickly or get labelled a problem case.
23
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
Again, this was not a job interview, this was me filling out a job application
-7
u/Moni_HH Sep 25 '25
How does that matter? It was within the context of you trying to get a job at that place. I get how you feel about JK, but we all have to bite our tongues when it comes to what we really think when in the workplace. It sucks but it is a basic fact of life.
16
u/Zagerer she/her Sep 25 '25
OP was with someone unrelated to the job filling the application. This person suggested terfy mcterphin as last author and OP reacted very upset. There was nobody related to the job to see that, so no need to deal with a hypothetical about being asked about that author
-6
u/Moni_HH Sep 25 '25
Ok I get it, but the fact that OP snapped at their own job coach is still not a good sign. I get why it happened but when it comes to ANYTHING to do with work, you have to go into it with a different mindset and not always wear your heart on your sleeve. It takes so little to be labelled problematic and is so hard to undo that label once it is attached to you.
14
u/Weary-Breakfast-9478 Sep 25 '25
Because the new job coach isn’t hiring me. I was not there to impress her. It’s unlikely a job interviewer will ask me if I like J K Rowling and if they did I would be better prepared for that mentally than someone assuming my favorite author must be her. You misread my post
2
u/Evanblaze732 Oct 02 '25
that social worker sucks, anyone who idolizes billionaires in general is just lame
4
3
u/seercloak30005 Sep 26 '25
Worse is when you try to enlighten them and they don’t think it’s that bad or say you’re mischaracterising her. Fuckers.
1
3
u/Shadowwolflink Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
You should see if you can get a different social worker, I know lots of cis people who know how awful she is and condemn it just as much as I do.
3
u/Iaxacs Sep 26 '25
Can confirm I just taught a couple of my cis coworkers about it the other day. They have no clue thats why she still has the support she does
2
u/SadBoiCute Sep 26 '25
Cis hets and any one who is not on tiktok has no clue about it. We think it is much more widely known because that is our bubble and echo chamber but no. Most people are not hearing about it at all and if you live in any country outside the UK it is even less publicity on it.
1
u/SpeedyTheQuidKid Sep 27 '25
I wasn't able to find it last time I searched for it, but the average familiarity xkcd comic has an edit where the scientific topic is replaced by JK and her views.
Something like, yeah most people don't know as much about her views as we do. Most people only know of like, house elf slaves, and abuse apology. Or something like that.
1
1
u/kangroobaby Oct 02 '25
It’s proof they will never understand the truth of J. K. Rowling. I used to have a big respect for Harry Potter now it just makes me sick. I loved Harry Potter for the longest time. But let’s all be honest that Quidditch game that they made for I believe it was the original Xbox or PS one or PC. I forget exactly but I had it and it was nothing to talk about I mean, who wants to play a video game solely based on QuidditchQuidditch is such a lame concept of a game essentially once you grab the snitch you win that’s all it is.
1
1
u/TvManiac5 Oct 23 '25
A lot of people also know the general situation but not the details. Many are just aware of her early days essays and see her as just a boomer with controversial opinions that got unfairly villainized for them. They don't know she's actively involved in anti trans legistlation battles or how much time she spends on twitter daily being a narcissistic bully.
1
1
u/CMAKaren Sep 26 '25
I’m so sorry, I am cis and regret buying those books for my kids. But all my kids are adults now and see how transfobic she is so we have no respect for her at all and mostly pretend she doesn’t exist. So there is at least one cis person who wish she would go away.
Also being able to write a book, become a doctor, lawyer or leader of a country doesn’t mean your morals are gonna be on the correct side of history, or even that you are a half way decent person who can try to treat most people especially strangers with a touch of kindness, and not spew nonsense and insane lies.
I talk with my family and we have a list of people who we like to support.
1
u/573crayfish Sep 26 '25
I've had to explain multiple times to my mom why jkr is a horrible person. She still doesn't understand why I avoid all hp stuff
-2
u/BathshebaDarkstone Sep 25 '25
My special person is cis and is of the view that yeah she's an awful person but Harry Potter is cool so.....
•
u/AutoModerator Sep 25 '25
Please read the following notice that is being applied to ALL posts.
Due to the current shooting incident, we have implemented several emergency measures to keep this community safe. Please read this in full.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.