“I wholly assist the trans group,” Blume posted to Twitter late Sunday afternoon. “My level, which was taken out of context, is that I can empathize with a author — or particular person — who has been harassed on-line.
“I stand with the trans group and vehemently disagree with anybody who doesn’t totally assist equality and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ individuals,” she continued. “Something on the contrary is bulls—.”
Lately, Rowling has grow to be a fixture in these public debates. The Harry Potter creator has shared incendiary posts and lengthy missives on trans points. Rowling just lately instructed a podcast that she believes that “there’s something harmful about this motion and that it have to be challenged.” Rowling additionally appeared to match trans advocates to the villainous “Demise Eaters” of her books.
“I’m combating what I see as a strong, insidious, misogynistic motion that has gained big buy in very influential areas of society,” she mentioned on “The Witch Trials of J.Ok. Rowling” in March.
Rowling’s feedback have provoked backlash in opposition to her books and the works primarily based off them, together with the “Hogwarts Legacy” online game launched this yr.
Some accused Blume of bowing to public strain together with her apology. “Judy Blume caved in about 12 hours and put out a wrestle session assertion,” one particular person wrote on Twitter. Others thanked Blume for pushing again in opposition to the Instances article and voicing assist for the trans group.
A number of turned their ire towards Hadley Freeman, who wrote the Instances piece, accusing her story of being “misleading” and “insulting.” The piece was pegged to the upcoming launch of a film adaptation of Blume’s seminal novel, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.”
However the article’s headline zeroed in on Blume’s feedback about Rowling, in a line of questioning that seemed to be spurred by Freeman, who has additionally been accused of transphobia. Final yr, a terse change between Freeman and author Margaret Atwood was featured in a prolonged profile of “The Handmaid’s Tale” author.
“It’s not true that there aren’t any trans individuals, so then plenty of questions come into that, and we’re not going to get into these, though they appear to be your obsession of the day,” Atwood instructed Freeman.
Responding on Monday morning to Blume’s feedback on Twitter, Freeman stood by her story, saying her quotes are “correct and never disputed.”
“I didn’t ask Blume concerning the criticisms in opposition to JK Rowling — she introduced them up herself,” Freeman wrote. (Freeman didn’t reply to a request for remark.)
Just lately, Blume stood up for LGBTQ authors focused for bans by conservative lawmakers and fogeys, who say their work is inappropriate for kids, as a result of they talk about gender and sexuality.
A number of of Blume’s books have additionally been banned, for that includes adolescent encounters with menstruation, masturbation and intercourse, together with “Blubber,” “Deenie” and “It’s Me, Margaret.”
“I imagine that censorship grows out of worry, and since worry is contagious, some mother and father are simply swayed. E-book banning satisfies their must really feel answerable for their kids’s lives,” Blume writes on her website. “This worry is usually disguised as ethical outrage.”
However her experiences aren’t any match for this present wave of ebook bans, Blume told Variety final month.
“It was dangerous within the ’80s, nevertheless it wasn’t coming from the federal government,” Blume mentioned. “At present, there are legal guidelines being enacted the place a librarian can go to jail if he or she is discovered responsible of getting pornography on their cabinets.
“Attempt to outline pornography right this moment and also you’ll discover that it’s the whole lot.”
In Selection, Blume additionally pushed again in opposition to makes an attempt to rewrite Roald Dahl’s books on account of offensive, outdated language. However with regards to bans, she highlighted the works of LGBTQ authors, akin to Jessica Love’s “Julián Is a Mermaid,” Lesléa Newman’s “Heather Has Two Mommies” and Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer.”
In response to Freeman’s article, Blume shared a screenshot during which she praised Kobabe’s memoir.
“It’s in all probability the No. 1 banned ebook in America proper now. And I believed, ‘This younger particular person is telling me how they got here to be what they’re right this moment.’ And I discovered so much, and have become much more empathetic,” she mentioned. “That’s what books are all about.”
