Linda Riley, the publisher of DIVA magazine and founder of Lesbian Visibility Week (which is happening right now) has taken to Twitter to berate the Harry Potter author for using Lesbian Visibility Week to single out a trans member of staff at Stonewall to seemingly mock their gender identity.
The spat started when Rowling tweeted a picture of Alison Bailey, a barrister who is currently suing Stonewall, on a gay rights march in San Francisco in 1991. Ms Bailey is alleging that both Stonewall and Garden Court Chambers have taken discriminatory action against her because of her “gender-critical” beliefs, which include the idea that self-ID for trans people is a threat to women.
Riley responded to Rowling’s tweet, accusing her of using Lesbian Visibility Week to “stir up hate”, prompting Rowling to respond with an image of Stonewall’s Alex Drummond, who identifies as a lesbian, referring to Drummond as a “white, bearded, Stonewall-approved lesbian”.
Those tweets in full
Speaking exclusively to OutNewsGlobal, Riley commented, “I founded Lesbian Visibility Week as a celebration for ALL women who love women and I do not appreciate it being hijacked by JK Rowling to further her divisive and damaging political agenda.”
She continued, “I am baffled and saddened by her relentless focus on attacking a community that is already misunderstood, vilified and marginalised. As an ally you should amplify the wishes of the community you are claiming to support, something which, clearly, JK Rowling is not doing.”
Ms Bailey is one of the founders of the LGB Alliance, an organisation opposed to trans inclusion.
Find out more about Lesbian Visibility Week.
