British novelist J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” book series, continues to stand firm against gender political correctness. Last week, she said she happily would go to jail if her government made it illegal to refer to someone by anything other than their preferred pronouns.
“I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex,” she posted on X. “Bring on the court case, I say. It’ll be more fun than I’ve ever had on a red carpet.”
Rowling, who has sold over 600 million books, published the comment after an X user told her that “misgendering” a person could result in, under Labour Party leadership, two years behind bars. Although it’s already considered a hate crime in the United Kingdom to deliberately refer to someone by their non-preferred pronouns, a Labour government would take the law a step further by adding to a penalty of two years in jail.
Lawmakers with the Labour Party would like to see misgendering elevated to an “aggravated offense,” similar to assault and harassment motivated by racial and religious hatred. Rowling has argued that the law is, in effect, compelled speech, because it would require people to use others’ preferred pronouns, even if such a practice violates their sincere convictions.
The novelist has a good sense of humor about the matter, even joking about what her jail cell might look like.
“Hoping for the library, obviously, but I think I could do OK in the kitchens,” she wrote. “Laundry might be a problem. I have a tendency to shrink stuff/turn it pink accidentally. Guessing that won’t be a major issue if it’s mostly scrubs and sheets, though. I’m OK at ironing. It’s the not checking there’s a random red sock in amongst the sheets that’s the issue.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice