JK Rowling is at it again, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
After the children’s author took a two-week break from social media — seemingly a result of a potential legal battle with Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, a victim to transphobic rhetoric accusing her of being a biological man (ironic, since being transgender is illegal in Algeria, the country she was representing) — Rowling unfortunately made the decision to pick up her phone again and attack Italian Paralympic runner Valentina Petrillo for being a trans woman.
“Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo?” she posted to X. “The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility! Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on.” She then called for Paralympic officials to ban trans women from the games, despite the 51-year-old Olympian failing to qualify for the T12 400-meter semifinal, beaten by Iranian Hajar Safarzadeh Ghaderijani by half a second. Yet, Rowling insists that transgender women have an “unfair advantage”.
How did Rowling go from a beloved figure to a bigot choking on her own hatred for trans women? That’s where the black mold comes in.
On July 31, X user @mushycrouton tweeted in response to her profile picture, depicting a smiling Rowling in front of sepia walls supposedly covered with black mold, a common complaint of those living in poverty in the UK. “Is that why she’s the way she is?” asked the user. And sure enough, the post went viral, being memed across the internet and leading to Rowling changing her profile picture by Aug. 3, only after the damage was done.
A story reminiscent of a horror novel, black mold truly is no joke. According to The Guardian, black mold is an umbrella term for multiple types of mold, including Cladosporium, Alternaria and Stachybotrys chartarum. The first two molds can cause severe asthma attacks, while the latter causes sick building syndrome, which causes people to feel ill in response to the release of toxins. As a whole, these types of mold can cause sneezing, a runny nose, red eyes and skin rashes. Mold can also cause people to feel anxious, paranoid and irritable. Could this be the cause of Rowling’s incessant hatred?
In response to a video essay about the black mold by YouTuber Brigitte Empire, commentor @crystalkirlia4553 argued that yes, it can make you more depressed and anxious, leading the user to shun the world outside of her bedroom, but then becoming “much happier and healthier” after leaving the environment. “Black mould, however, did not make me a bigot. The people around me and my prepubescent brain did. I’m learning, why can’t JKR?” stated @crystalkirlia4553.
Another commenter, @nigeladams8321, pointed out that it may not be the cause of her hatred, but a manifestation of the hatred taking over her life: “She is so involved and invested in her hatred that she has let the world around her deteriorate.”
So, what’s the verdict? The answer is most likely “no,” but it certainly isn’t helping. It should be noted, however, as fun as it is to meme about this type of thing — as making a mockery of her causes us to take her less seriously — the best thing to do is ignore this prejudice and focus on uplifting the trans women around us. Trans women in sports are becoming increasingly attacked, and this eugenics-style “transvestigating” has led chronically online people to analyze women’s features to determine their biological sex, like Rowling did with Imane Khelif. It should not matter if anyone is trans or not: everyone should be able to live as they are and embrace their womanhood regardless of their genitalia.
Heck, I even saw a tweet doing this to Albert Einstein’s wife, Elsa Einstein! And she’s been dead for decades!
The real black mold is the transphobia taking over our society, and it is our job to fight it and stop listening to people like Rowling. If we don’t, we could end up spending our days hunched over a computer harassing these poor women instead of doing something actually meaningful with our lives.
Emily Madison Rutz is a first year English major. ER1034711@wcupa.edu