Author J.K. Rowling has stirred significant controversy after suggesting that people in the UK should photograph individuals in women’s restrooms if they suspect they may be transgender.
The comments, which many have described as dangerous and potentially unlawful, follow a recent UK Supreme Court decision affirming that anti-discrimination laws define men and women by biological sex.
The ruling led the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to advise that trans individuals should not be allowed to use public toilets aligning with their gender identity.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Rowling responded to a query asking, “How are you planning to police public toilets?” Her reply: “Quite easily, really. Decent men will stay out, as they always have, so we can assume all who don’t are a threat, given their disregard for women’s and girls’ safety, privacy and dignity. Photographing, reporting and disseminating such men’s images online will be a piece of cake.”
While Rowling’s statement implies that photographing people in restrooms is a method of “protection,” such actions are typically illegal in the UK and risk causing real harm. Many fear that this could lead to increased public harassment, especially of cisgender women who may not conform to conventional gender expectations.
Freelance writer Darryl Mott voiced concern on Bluesky, stating, “JK Rowling instructed her followers to take photos of anyone in a women’s restroom who doesn’t match their idea of Western feminine beauty standards… You’re now ‘a man’ and will be harassed.”
Recent incidents reflect the real-world dangers of such thinking. In March, police in Phoenix forcibly removed a butch lesbian from a women’s restroom, suspecting she was male. That same month, a tall cisgender Walmart employee was verbally attacked by a customer who wrongly assumed she was trans.
In January, US Congresswoman Lauren Boebert wrongly confronted a cisgender woman in a Capitol bathroom, only to later admit her mistake and apologise.
Further back, similar cases occurred, including a 2016 incident in which Aimee Toms, a 22-year-old cisgender woman, was harassed in a toilet for being misidentified as transgender.
Critics argue that Rowling’s comments, far from safeguarding women, could incite more public policing of gender expression, increasing the likelihood of discrimination and abuse against both trans and cisgender women.
