Freedom of Speech on the Example of J.K. Rowling

Essay from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 2,7, University of Leipzig (Anglistik), language: English, abstract: Joanne K. Rowling is one of the most well-known authors of our time, selling more than 500 million copies worldwide. She wrote the famous and internationally known "Harry Potter" novels and created an escape for young and old in wizardry¿s magical and fascinating world. Primarily, the Queer audience benefits from the possibility of escaping reality and the positive values like unconditional love, acceptance, and tolerance preached within the story. Nevertheless, since June 2020, Rowling has repeatedly expressed controversial views on transgender identity on the social media platform Twitter. However, she continued to revisit the issue of transgender identity in various tweets, resulting in an open statement in the form of an essay posted on the 10th of June 2020 on her official website.

The essay titled "J. K. Rowling Writes about her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues", which states numerous arguments, all trying to defend her position through various statements, is analyzed in the following. This essay analysis JKR¿s statements within the essay represent transphobic ideas and cannot be justified in the context of freedom of speech, as they disregard the existence of gender identity besides biological sex, misgender trans women and publicly support transphobic people.