JK Rowling's Latest Salvo In Culture War Is Claiming Anime Girl Saying 'STFU TERF' Is The Same Thing As Silencing Suffragettes

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has added yet another item to her lengthy list of TERF controversies this week, this time comparing an anti-suffragette political cartoon from the early 1900s to an anime girl saying "STFU TERF."

"Same shit, different century," was the author's read on the two images.

Same shit, different century. pic.twitter.com/Bn73NseF1n

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 29, 2023

Depending on how one looks at this tweet, people are perceiving that Rowling is attempting to make the case that those who fought to prevent women from voting in the early 20th century by silencing them are no different from those who are critical of women who say trans women shouldn't use women's bathrooms, or trans men are simply women who got tired of dealing with womanhood, or that autistic people are more susceptible to transitioning (all of which she implied in her "TERF Wars" essay in 2020).

While Rowling hasn't explicitly laid out the basis of her intent behind the controversial tweet, many on Twitter were quick to point out what they felt were fundamental flaws in the potential argument. For example, those against the suffragettes in the early 20th century were largely white men who did not want to cede power to women, while those against TERFs are largely trans people and their allies — a group few argued is politically powerful relative to a billionaire white woman such as Rowling.

This only makes sense if you assume that the trans-movement is now in a similar position of power as the patriarchy in the early 20th century.

— Christoph Rehage (@crehage) January 29, 2023

How does it feel to be the new Katie Hopkins pic.twitter.com/shOxr2oI9U

— Eve (My NDA is up) 6000 🦋 (@alsoabouteve) January 30, 2023

Fitting considering a lot of suffragists were exclusionary white feminists that didn't believe black women should have the right to vote

— Amanda (foxgirl arc) (@Amanda_Lorien) January 29, 2023

While several chose to argue with Rowling, others noted that it was surreal and sort of hilarious that Rowling said a meme showing an anime girl with a gun was the same as a 1910s political cartoon showing a woman bound and gagged to a chair with her jaw clamped shut.

Seeing JK Rowling getting intimidated by an anime girl photo is very amusing https://t.co/vTo8LGcixA

— hsssy (@KingHsssy) January 30, 2023

JK Rowling got angry at a meme telling transphobes to shut up, so she compared it to torturing suffragettes. Because of course she did.

Awestruck by the level of ego it must take for Rowling to compare her war on trans people to the freaking suffragette movement.#JKRvsLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/YS4864XEnO

— Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️‍🌈 (@BadWritingTakes) January 29, 2023

pic.twitter.com/2vFYYNZyOO

— That Damn Panda (@That_Damn_Panda) January 29, 2023

Considering the feelings J.K. Rowling has upon seeing an anime girl in a meme, one wonders how she feels knowing that Hatsune Miku wrote Harry Potter.