OUT.com, a top LGBTQIA newswire from the States reports that billionaire author Joanne Rowling has been publishing obscene pictures on internet platforms, and breaking feminist principles in the process. All because a trans woman declined to stroke Ms Rowling's ego and debate her.

The latest controversy surrounding author JK Rowling erupted last week when Freda Wallace, a trans woman and activist, declined an invitation to debate her online. In response, Rowling shared a photograph taken from below Wallace’s seated position on a stage, exposing part of her upper thigh. Rowling described Wallace as “a paraphiliac exhibitionist who was having the time of his life,” using the photograph to publicly shame her for the way she dressed.

The dispute began on 11 July, when Wallace called Rowling an “idiot” over her reaction to an Amnesty International report that labelled Rowling’s centre for female victims of sexual violence as “anti-rights” and “gender critical.” Wallace repeatedly told Rowling that she was deadnaming and misgendering her, but Rowling continued to encourage her 13.7 million followers to urge Wallace to debate “on any subject he likes.”

Rowling then posted a picture from a 2023 public debate, taken by anti-trans activist Maya Forstater. The image shows Wallace sitting with one leg crossed over the other, wearing a dress over fishnet stockings. It appears Forstater snapped the picture from a position slightly lower than the dais where Wallace was seated, revealing a portion of her upper thigh not covered by the stockings. In the caption, Rowling wrote: “Sadly, Fred is refusing to debate me. To prove I have no hard feelings, and that Fred does engage with some lucky women, here’s a picture of him debating @HJoyceGender. I hear he left an indelible impression on the audience. And the chair.”

Rowling and her followers intimated that Wallace’s genitals were visible alongside her thigh in the image. Wallace denies this, but demanded that Rowling remove the post within 24 hours and apologise, or face legal action. In her defence, Rowling argued that because the picture was taken at a public forum, Wallace had “chosen” how to dress.

The post triggered a wave of online criticism. A nurse with more than 73,000 followers replied: “You’re a truly awful person. You have the world, yet still spend your days bullying people on X. Sad.” Another user asked: “Would you ever post a photo like this of a cis woman? What would you think of a man who posted a photo like this of any woman? So what makes you think it OK to post this photo of a trans woman?”

A further commenter said to Rowling: “You realise you’re doing exactly what men do to humiliate and demean women who they think are too vocal, or too provocative, or politically challenging, or not sufficiently demurely dressed? (See, Angela Rayner, for example).” Another wrote simply: “You’re a gross bully. What a sad woman you must be.”

Wallace addressed the controversy on social media and during an appearance on the British podcast Lavender and Steel on Sunday. She asked: “Why would a woman that has so much global reach and she's respected around the world… people think of her as a national treasure. Why would she focus on somebody like me with 500 followers on Twitter? Just, I've been on telly a couple of times. I've done a bit of public speaking. Nobody's going to know who I am. So… she has the power to change the course of my life because for some people now the only thing they're going to see… when they Google that, that is the only thing they're going to see.”

https://www.out.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@LavenderandSteel