Arts & Entertainment
GLAAD calls out J.K. Rowling for transphobic tweet
LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD has taken author J.K. Rowling to task for her tweet in support of an anti-trans activist.
The “Harry Potter” novelist went on Twitter to speak out about Maya Forstater, a British researcher with a history of anti-trans activism who was fired from her job after writing a series of anti-trans tweets.
Rowling wrote on Twitter: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill”
Dress however you please.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill
According to GLAAD Director of Communications Mathew Lasky, the organization reached out to Rowling’s PR team with an offer to have an off-the-record conversation involving members of the trans community, but a publicist from Rowling’s team declined.
GLAAD then issued the following statement in response:
“J.K. Rowling, whose books gave kids hope that they could work together to create a better world, has now aligned herself with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender. Trans men, trans women, and non-binary people are not a threat, and to imply otherwise puts trans people at risk. Now is the time for allies who know and support trans people to speak up and support their fundamental right to be treated equally and fairly.” -Anthony Ramos, GLAAD’s Head of Talent
.@jk_rowling has aligned herself with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender. Trans and non-binary people are not a threat to women, and to imply otherwise puts trans people at risk.
— GLAAD (@glaad) December 19, 2019
Many voices from the trans community have also spoken out to express their disappointment with Rowling. Some of their tweets are below.
Well, she finally said the quiet part out loud.
— Jackson Bird (@jackisnotabird) December 19, 2019
This is really heartbreaking for a lot of folks.
If Harry Potter is ruined for you, I completely get it.
I’m going to try to hold onto the magic I’ve found in fandom, the original text, & the magic others have created around it. https://t.co/7beiYgJRBT
With J.K. Rowling's defense of horrible transphobia, there are folks claiming trans people aren't valid and citing "science"… except medical and other scientific experts disagree with that completely. Here's a helpful list of what the experts think about trans folks. (thread)
— Charlotte Clymer?️? (@cmclymer) December 19, 2019
Hey JK Rowling and the other TERFs, a reminder that “biological sex” isn’t what you think it is: https://t.co/fFquzTMiO7
— Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio) December 19, 2019
Books
Thom Gunn bio explores joys, complexities of modern gay life
‘A Cool Queer Life’ presents author’s humanity, poetic genius
‘Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life’
By Michael Nott
c.2024, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
$40/720 pages
A confession: Until reading “Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life,” I hadn’t known much about the accomplished, controversial gay poet’s life or read many of his poems. But this first biography makes me feel like I know him and his large body of work intimately. Michael Nott, coeditor of “The Letters of Thom Gunn,” draws on interviews with friends and family, as well as Gunn’s letters, notebooks, and diaries, to tell the triumphs and tragedies of his life.
Born in England in 1929 to journalist parents, when he was 15, he and his younger brother Ander found their mother dead from suicide. He would not discuss this tragic event in his poetry for years, including one of his last poems “My Mother’s Pride.” He published his first book of poems, “Fighting Terms,” while still an undergraduate at Cambridge University.
At Cambridge, Gunn met his life-long partner, Mike Kitay, an American studying theater. Gunn followed Kitay to America, studying poetry under Yvor Winters at Stanford University. At one point, Kitay, doing his military service, was investigated as part of suspicion of homosexuality among his unit. Gunn wrote to friends of his worry both of what might happen to Kitay as well as to himself. While nothing happened, the event reminds us of the precarious state in which gay men lived until recently.
Eventually, they settled in San Francisco, which Gunn loved. Even when he became worldwide famous, he enjoyed the anonymity of the city’s gay bars, where he could pick up men. He taught at UC Berkeley for 40 years, one term every year so he could concentrate on his poetry. His and Kitay’s home was filled with friends and sex partners, usually of Gunn. This arrangement seems common for many gay men of the time, reminiscent of Dan Savage’s idea of “monogamish,” where committed gay couples might have other side partners.
In San Francisco, Gunn discovered leather and drugs, both of which he took to readily. He caused a stir by appearing in his British publisher’s conservative club in leather gear. Toward the end of his life, he became a crystal meth addict, frequently using with other addicts whom he also slept with. In 2004, his housemates found him dead from substance abuse.
He explored leather, drugs, and gay sexuality frequently in his poems. His collection “Moly” (named after the drug in The Odyssey protecting from the witch Circe’s magic), looked at the appeal and downfall of drugs. The Man with Night Sweats, perhaps his most famous collection, dealt with the AIDS epidemic, the painful death of so many friends and lovers. He won the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant afterwards.
The biography presents Gunn in all his humanity, from his poetic genius to his insecurities. After each book came out, he struggled with writer’s block, which led to hookups and drug use. As he aged, he worried about finding “gerontophiles” who would sleep with him. I hope this book encourages readers to discover or revisit his work, filled with the joys and complexities of modern gay life.
Out & About
Blade to mark 55 years, celebrate Best Of LGBTQ DC
The Washington Blade will celebrate 55 years of delivering LGBTQ news and also the best LGBTQ things in the city on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Crush Bar.
First drink courtesy of Absolut. Must be 21 to attend and the event’s sponsors are ABSOLUT, Crush, and Infinite Legacy.
Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at bestoflgbtqdc.com.
The Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride Foundation is hosting a series of October events, starting with a free documentary, “The New Black,” on Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Branch Towson University in Bel Air, Md. Admission is free; visit ucbpride.com for details and to reserve a spot. There will also be a family-friendly Sunday stroll on Oct. 20, 5-6 p.m. at North Park Loop Trail; meet at the Lock House at 817 Conesteo St. in Havre de Grace, Md.
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