J.K. Rowling’s latest book sparks transgender rights row
LONDON : Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has stoked anger in the transgender community by including a cross-dressing serial killer in her latest novel, published on Tuesday.
Penned under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, Troubled Blood is Rowling's fifth book to feature private investigator Cormoran Strike.
Rowling has faced serial accusations of transphobia in recent months and trans activists said the new book appeared to take a deliberate swipe at the community.
"It's really sad to see this road J.K. Rowling appears to be on," said writer and trans advocate Ugla Stefania Kristjonudottir Jonsdottir, who quit Rowling's literary agency in June in protest at her stance.
"It's one thing to have diverse characters, but when you write about a man dressing up as a woman in order to kill women, you are deliberately enforcing an awful trope about transgender people."
The trans rights row does not appear to have dented sales, however, with the various hardback, audiobook and Kindle versions of Troubled Blood all occupying top five positions in Amazon's best sellers' list on Tuesday. - REUTERS
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
