YouTube: Asexuality and the Twitter TERF: Addressing J.K. Rowling’s Acephobic Comments

[SkyWorld]

Category: YouTube
Author or Source: Fluently Aspec
Title: Asexuality and the Twitter TERF: Addressing J.K. Rowling’s Acephobic Comments
Date: April 9th, 2025
Link: 

 

He has also included a link to asexual books in his bio. Sharing here and I'll share in the designated asexual books/comics thread. https://www.goodreads.com/genres/asexual

As well as his own book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221950408-limitless

[SkyWorld]

Fluenty Aspec is a very active YouTuber that shares a lot of asexual and aromantic content. Honestly, I don't have the time to go back to share and update all of them here for archiving, sorry! 😅 Though, I highly suggest checking out his content. Edit: there's literally 144 videos to date 🍰 (public, at least)

 

I hated how the day of IAD, I looked up "International Asexuality Day" and the first result was about JKR... 

 

A good point that trans people brought up was that the world of Harry Potter doesn't feel safe for them anymore. Even though some people still enjoy the world of Harry Potter, but condemn JKR. And honestly... as someone who never really got into Harry Potter (and is a proud Rick Riordan fan, a great ally in his writing), even I feel this way. I don't feel safe by those who have Harry Potter continue to be a big part of their lives (bios, t-shirts, the games, etc). I know it's not every fan, but by default, I take that as a sign that I'm not safe around them. There's no way to know for sure if they are "safe" people, unless they're very loud and open about supporting trans people and amplify that more.

 

What are y'all's thoughts?

[everywhere and nowhere]

I guess that I'm too old for fandoms, and anyway I'm too much of a loner and introvert to be a part of almost any community. I have my cultural preferences, but don't really feel like they make me a part of a community. I mostly enjoy books, music, films, games on my own. Actually, I have never read any of the Harry Potter books (I have seen one of the films) due to my anti-majority instinct - when something is popular, I tend to steer clear of it. Now Harry Potter is too "old" for such a hype which tends to repel me so much. But anyway, I don't interact with any fandoms, so I wouldn't feel unsafe. And I really doubt if the average Harry Potter fan has such a devout attitude to everything J.K. Rowling might say. Aren't we actually offending them by assuming them to be blind sheep rushing with the crowd, children who don't have views of their own (I used to have defined political views, at least on some issues, at the age of twelve, and know more people who were politically conscious long before they could vote) and need to be told by a guru what views they should have? In other words, I find the assumption "If J.K. Rowling is a terf and acephobe, we should be afraid that Harry Potter fans might be terfs and acephobes as well" too far-fetched.

As for the video... J.K. Rowling is increasingly behaving like a troll, so I find it too stupid to try "discussing" with her views. They are so dumb, so aggressive, that there's really no point. Unfortunately, I also didn't like the video itself very much because of its leaning towards the attraction-based definition of asexuality. Reducing it to "not fancing a quickie" is idiotic, also because there are many allosexual people who "don't fancy a quickie", who consider emotional connection to be an integral and necessary part of sex (and who are sometimes lead to question whether they might be asexual, because of how any "sex-positive" discourse has been skewed towards treating casual sex as the norm and the most typical behaviour, and therefore might view sex with deep emotional connection only as something inherently "not very sexual") - but there are many asexuals who don't consider "attraction" particularly relevant and instead perceive their lack of desire (or even active counterdesire) for this legendary, amazing Sex as something which defines them and sharply sets them apart from the majority of people.

[Mult]

I just woke up and it's 5:30am so I haven't watched the video, but damn, JKR is still on Twitter? Wow, I shouldn't be surprised really. I guess she fits in well in that cesspool

 

Personally I was never a huge Harry Potter fan. I had read the books and watched the movies but wasn't part of any community around it. My old roommate was obsessed with it though I don't know her opinions on JKR. If a community was vocally in support of trans people and other minorities including those who are not sexual nor romantic, then I'm sure I would feel comfortable. It's the uncertainty that makes a community unwelcoming or the idea that it shouldn't be brought up to "keep the peace"—which isn't peace honestly. So it would depend on a case by case basis.

 

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if JKR goes into the "trad wife" bullcrap. It seems people like her are so insane about trans people that they feel they must degrade cis women into broodmares with a focus on subservience and popping out spawns for their capitalist overlords just to "stick it to the trans" who "can't give birth" (they ignore trans men who can and cis women who can't). Actually hating people who don't have sex falls into that since we don't squeeze out the crotch fodder for the oligarchs. I haven't been paying attention to her at all though, so idk if she's entered that insanity.

[Frameshift07]

8 minutes ago, Mult said:

(they ignore trans men who can and cis women who can't)

It is really refreshing to see trans men not  being ignored

[KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty]

Is it okay to post another video about the same topic? 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qZ5KAIiRyA&pp=0gcJCX4JAYcqIYzv

 

Council of Geeks is in my top 5 favourite Youtubers, and they did a video yesterday about JerK Rowling. 

[Vero Totem]

I became a Harry Potter fan shortly after the first couple of films premiered.  I love the settings, character dynamics, and their portrayals on the screen.  Just because the person who created such a vivid and wonderful world is a complete jerkwad is not going to stop my love of all things Harry Potter.  I have learned from a very young age the importance of separating love of art from love of the artist.  Back when Mel Gibson first had his "mental breakdowns" about the Jewish community or when Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who played Smiles A Lot in Dances with Wolves, was arrested for a sex trafficking scandal or when Wes Studi, who was also in Dances with Wolves as well as many other films, was arrested for aggravated drunken driving in New Mexico doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving their movies.  I'm also a huge Whedonverse fan, but I'm no longer a fan of the man Joss Whedon; I'm not going to stop loving Buffy, Angel, Firefly, or Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog.  The list of toxic celebrities goes on and on.  If the art is worth it, it can still be appreciated without giving the artist any more recognition than they've already received.  Last year, I won a set of Harry Potter books in an auction and I couldn't be happier, since I finally get to read them without J.K. getting another red cent from me.

Edited April 11 by Vero Totem
incredibly long fragment needed fixing

[everywhere and nowhere]

3 minutes ago, Vero Totem said:

I have learned from a very young age the importance of separating love of art from love of the artist.

Yes. We can discuss where should "separating the art from the artist" begin and end - in some cases an awareness that the author has done really awful things will always cast a shadow over our perception of their works. But the first video was, for me, an unpleasant example of "cancel culture". Which is something which only feeds the right wing's woke obsession.

1 hour ago, KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty said:

Council of Geeks is in my top 5 favourite Youtubers, and they did a video yesterday about JerK Rowling. 

And this one is, in my opinion, much better. Thank you for the link. I listened to it with pleasure ("listened", because I admit that I find talk videos too boring to watch and play puzzle games at the same time ).

[Vero Totem]

Yes and yes!  The right wing is a dragon that doesn't need any more feeding!

 

Incidentally, here's an article about Rowling and the connection between transphobia and acephobia:

https://cantonwiner.substack.com/p/and-then-jk-rowling-came-for-the

 

Edited April 11 by Vero Totem
adding info

[Orion_Smith]

Jesus, talk about pity targeting. I feel bad for J.K Rowling, having to be acephobic just for attention cus she threw her career in the shitter for hating trans people for no reason. My god, I think the right-wing are now just racist attention seekers that will cry about anything. Why the fuck does she all of a sudden hate ace folks and need to tell everyone, it's classic attention seeking behavior. She hasn't written anything new (at least that I am aware of) since harry potter, and yet she is still sticking around just to pander to the right-wing crack heads.

 

Just sad in my eyes.

[Mult]

4 minutes ago, Orion_Smith said:

She hasn't written anything new (at least that I am aware of) since harry potter, and yet she is still sticking around just to pander to the right-wing crack heads

I think she wrote or is writing a crappy anti-trans book about a "man wearing a dress" to attack women. Last I heard anyway, idk.

[Orion_Smith]

6 minutes ago, Mult said:

I think she wrote or is writing a crappy anti-trans book about a "man wearing a dress" to attack women. Last I heard anyway, idk.

Sounds more like desperation than writing, it sounds like it is/was rushed because she ran out of ideas since harry potter. 

[Catpaws]

Thanks to Skyworld and KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty for those video links! I enjoyed both those watches.

 

When I first saw JK's tweet I honestly thought immediately "Sweet, we're going to get a ton of visibility now!" and only then did the grossness of it sink in. My second thought was "what on earth did WE do?" but I agree with some of the video comments that speculate maybe it has to do with childbearing or that ugly concept of "the purpose of a woman" being reproduction.

 

That would explain a lot about her virulence to both transfolk and aces, which seem at first completely opposite but both of which contradict that essentialist view. Which, actually, makes me feel a little bit better to realize she's so sunk in her own biases she can't even see past them.

[Orion_Smith]

3 minutes ago, Catpaws said:

but I agree with some of the video comments that speculate maybe it has to do with childbearing or that ugly concept of "the purpose of a woman" being reproduction.

My biggest problem with everything about this is that NOONE has cared to attack the ace community in years, and all of sudden she comes out with a statement that she hates ace people. TERFs are trying to do the same towards ace people out of nowhere, which just seems like attention seeking to me.

[KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty]

25 minutes ago, Catpaws said:

My second thought was "what on earth did WE do?"

We exist. That's more than enough to make her have a conniption fit. 

[Orion_Smith]

24 minutes ago, KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty said:

We exist. That's more than enough to make her have a conniption fit. 

It should just be that we exist, why does it matter if we don't find people sexually attractive?

[Mult]

44 minutes ago, Orion_Smith said:

My biggest problem with everything about this is that NOONE has cared to attack the ace community in years, and all of sudden she comes out with a statement that she hates ace people. TERFs are trying to do the same towards ace people out of nowhere, which just seems like attention seeking to me.

To be fair, the movement against people not having sex and therefore not having children has been going on for a while especially around the White supremacist and Christian Nationalist crowds. The "manosphere" is pushing the "legacy" narrative where they do jack squat while their broodmare raises their spawn, and the trad wives are pushing the "all women should just be a stay at home moms, only living to make babies. Maybe 13 of them so only a few might die from measles because vaccines bad. I only use essential oils, tee hee". It's all the same reductive ideology that dictates people's lives based on their genitals really. It preys on people who are struggling in their capitalist society under large oligarchs because they buy into the narrative that this will make men more successful and "protect" women from "working" when in reality men don't succeed while shouldering the price of a stay at home wife and multiple children, and women are just as likely to end up on the street without a dollar to their name even with kids to house and feed when their male partner leaves or dies. It's a fantasy, a fetish fantasy at that.

[SkyWorld]

8 hours ago, everywhere and nowhere said:

In other words, I find the assumption "If J.K. Rowling is a terf and acephobe, we should be afraid that Harry Potter fans might be terfs and acephobes as well" too far-fetched.

I would say that they're valid concerns. Personally, I have a few friends that are big Harry Potter fans and they're still advocates for trans people and actively so. They would try to find ways to still enjoy the content without monetarily supporting JKR. With how hostile the world is to trans people (always have been, but more now) there's already less and less safe areas and people. It's vital to analyze, read the room, and keep that guard up, to continue to see if it is safe. 

 

I think it's very important to listen to marginalized people's voices in general. No, not everyone would agree with each other and we're not a monolith. However, I think it's important to take it into consideration, especially if it's a common sentiment or statement among those groups of people.

 

3 hours ago, everywhere and nowhere said:

We can discuss where should "separating the art from the artist" begin and end - in some cases an awareness that the author has done really awful things will always cast a shadow over our perception of their works. But the first video was, for me, an unpleasant example of "cancel culture". Which is something which only feeds the right wing's woke obsession.

Boycotting is technically "cancel culture". The far right are full of hypocrites. They tried to cancel Bud Light for partnering with a trans woman. They tried to cancel Target for their pride collection, they got what they wanted there. They're literally trying to cancel trans people themselves from their history, education, sports, medicine, etc. They're also trying to cancel black history. They're trying to cancel immigrants, even if they are here legally.

 

I do understand some of the criticisms when it comes to cancel culture for being so quick to jump on a bandwagon. However, when there's a lot of evidence to back it up and how it's actively affecting the social climate now, it's important to be knowledgeable about. There is some difference when supporting the art but not the artist when said artist is dead vs. alive and advocating and donating to harmful organizations.

 

And I do think it's essential to support our community, and that's a general statement that can be applied to anything. Support local businesses, support women-owned businesses, support black-owned businesses, etc. Supporting creators for their books and films can help elevate those voices more. It shouldn't be underestimated how much this media helps people not only find themselves, but also educate others and dismantle misconceptions.

 

It's completely fine for not liking the video. I just wanted to address those things.

[SkyWorld]

4 hours ago, KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty said:

Is it okay to post another video about the same topic? 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qZ5KAIiRyA&pp=0gcJCX4JAYcqIYzv

 

Council of Geeks is in my top 5 favourite Youtubers, and they did a video yesterday about JerK Rowling. 

Thank you for sharing! I think it's great when other people of one of the other letters stand by with those who are a different letter of the LGBTQIA+ community. Definitely going to call out the LGB without the T as well... Learn from the "First They Came" poem. It goes both ways... seeing some (not necessarily a lot) ace people having no issue with JKR and her vibrant transphobia, but when she branches after asexuals, NOW they have an issue. 🙄 Funny how I read one of the comments here saying at this point, they're waiting for a "bisexuals should just pick a side" tweet. 

 

On the surface, I do understand how it can be ridiculous to talk about someone who just rants and raves on Twitter. Transphobia and acephobia is not uncommon at all. Though, just what makes this different is how much influence that person has on society. It actually goes beyond just Twitter and it impacts real lives.

[Tystie]

2 hours ago, Orion_Smith said:

She hasn't written anything new (at least that I am aware of) …

She wrote an adult novel under her own name which got made into a TV series in the UK.

 

She writes thrillers under a pseudonym — at least 8 to date. Also made into a tv series. While not the phenomenon that HP is/was, they’re still very successful in publishing terms.

 

I tried reading one of the thrillers ages ago. Really didn’t enjoy it.

 

I did love Harry Potter but everything which has happened more recently has soured the books for me. I haven’t got rid of them…yet. But I’d like to find a way to dispose of them in a way which could benefit the trans community.

 

I was in two minds whether to reply to this thread. Anywhere other than an ace forum I wouldn’t have done because I hate that even by protesting about what she has said, we end up amplifying her voice. I’d rather she yelled into a vacuum. Pity the world and social media algorithms don’t work like that.

[SkyWorld]

7 hours ago, Mult said:

I just woke up and it's 5:30am

Yeah, I’m up way too late and usually post at awful hours. 😂

[KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty]

14 minutes ago, Tystie said:

She writes thrillers under a pseudonym — at least 8 to date.

Not just any pseudonym. Robert Galbraith, the first two names of the man who invented conversion therapy. 

[SkyWorld]

5 minutes ago, KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty said:

Not just any pseudonym. Robert Galbraith, the first two names of the man who invented conversion therapy. 

Oh I’m even more convinced she’s homophobic, but is more quiet about that to appease terfs who happen to be lesbians.

[Tystie]

7 minutes ago, KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty said:

Not just any pseudonym. Robert Galbraith, the first two names of the man who invented conversion therapy. 

I deliberately didn’t mention the name. Didn’t want to give anyone not in the know info which could lead them to the books. 
 

But, yes. Good point. I’d like to think it was an unfortunate coincidence—they do happen—but given JKR’s liking for wordplay and significant names, I fear that’s not the case.

[Mult]

49 minutes ago, SkyWorld said:

Yeah, I’m up way too late and usually post at awful hours. 😂

I usually get up around that time every day and look at my phone until 6am to "wake up" before work, haha. I need to avoid annoying topics like JKR before bed because I'll probably lay awake irritated. 

[Mult]

23 minutes ago, Tystie said:

But, yes. Good point. I’d like to think it was an unfortunate coincidence—they do happen—but given JKR’s liking for wordplay and significant names, I fear that’s not the case.

Personally if I were publishing under a pseudonym, I would at least search the name to check and the man apparently published numerous studies and files multiple patents. One could probably find his name in a library even without access to a search engine.

 

JKR's pseudonym dominates Google's first page but that wouldn't have existed before she took it on and before it was discovered as her pseudonym. 

 

So yeah, I feel like it is more likely than not she was at least somewhat aware of the connection.

[fantastic mx. foxglove]

7 hours ago, Tystie said:

I was in two minds whether to reply to this thread. Anywhere other than an ace forum I wouldn’t have done because I hate that even by protesting about what she has said, we end up amplifying her voice. I’d rather she yelled into a vacuum. Pity the world and social media algorithms don’t work like that.

That's a good point. I think it's important to discuss certain things like this, yet, at what point are we doing too much and effectively amplifying her voice? It's difficult to say, but I think it would be an interesting conversation

(Not necessarily here and now. pardon me while I fade back into the abyss haha)

[Lilihierax]

On 4/11/2025 at 7:26 PM, everywhere and nowhere said:

In other words, I find the assumption "If J.K. Rowling is a terf and acephobe, we should be afraid that Harry Potter fans might be terfs and acephobes as well" too far-fetched.

I agree. I like the Harry Potter movies (not a super-fan, but I enjoy them). The books... not so much. 😅  In contrast, my best friend is a huge fan and she has been entirely (edit: the most) supportive and welcoming of my asexuality, more than anyone I know.

 

On 4/11/2025 at 6:58 PM, SkyWorld said:

I don't feel safe by those who have Harry Potter continue to be a big part of their lives (bios, t-shirts, the games, etc). I know it's not every fan, but by default, I take that as a sign that I'm not safe around them. There's no way to know for sure if they are "safe" people,

I see a lot of difference between Rowling and the HP online fandom. The fandom is usually liberal and progressive, making queer fanart and ships (the Marauders fandom, for example).  Maybe we just know different kinds of people, but I have seen HP fans embarrassed and really disappointed by Rowling. Like, that's not what they signed up for.

Edited April 13 by Lilihierax

[Lilihierax]

It's the classic 'people getting angry about what they think asexuality/aromanticism is, instead of what it actually is'.

How do we fix this?

 

And that tweet with the comparison to segregated bathrooms in the 1950s is fucking wild. Makes absolutely no sense. wtf is she even saying? Joanne must have smoked some mad magic potion to come up with that shit...

 

edit to add this:  the guy in the video said Rowling has "made a career from attacking the queer community".  Well no, she made a career from writing children's books about wizards. She just happens to also attack the queer community. That's a nitpick but I still think we should not blatantly say things that we know aren't true. 

[SkyWorld]

1 hour ago, Lilihierax said:

I see a lot of difference between Rowling and the HP online fandom. The fandom is usually liberal and progressive, making queer fanart and ships (the Marauders fandom, for example).  Maybe we just know different kinds of people, but I have seen HP fans embarrassed and really disappointed by Rowling. Like, that's not what they signed up for.

I was mostly referring to IRL. I’m not super invested in online fandoms as much as I used to. And, online, one is more easily able to do some internet sleuthing to vibe check a person. Compared to IRL, there’s not as much to go off of.