The Unlikely Kinship Between Putin And JK Rowling, Explained

The neverending culture war, a seemingly unstoppable force that greases the gears of the internet, has permeated public consciousness to such a degree that a bloodthirsty, war-mongering tyrant can confidently compare the criticism aimed at Harry Potter author JK Rowling, to the current state of Russia.

Like an aging comedian sliding into irrelevance, Vladimir Putin went on a completely irrelevant tangent about “cancel culture” during a recent speech, citing the supposed cancellation of Rowling (who remains one of the most successful and influential authors who have ever lived), as an example of the decadence of the West.

How on Earth did we get here?

I think most people are familiar with Rowling’s views on sex and gender – she’s broadcasted them often enough to make sure everyone gets the point. While war rages across Europe and the climate crisis ravages the planet, Rowling has dedicated much of her time and energy to questioning the shape of stranger’s genitals – an unhealthy fixation she shares with Putin, who once described teaching gender fluidity as a “crime against humanity.”

One way to orient yourself in the murky, often confusing world of culture war is to see what kind of people share your perspective – it’s safe to say that Rowling and her fellow trans-exclusionary radical feminists weren’t exactly keen for Putin’s endorsement. Hence, Rowling pushed back against Putin’s comparison:

Twitter responded to the surreal event, with many commentators struggling to process how ridiculous the news cycle has become. Surely, there’s going to be a point where important issues are going to overshadow the pronoun debate, right?

Amusingly, Putin’s sympathy for TERFs was already foreshadowed, to some degree, by pronoun-obsessed culture warriors, and British columnists, who seem unable to process reality through any other perspective, even in the face of war.

Ultimately, when it comes to this particular subject, Putin and Rowling are ideologically aligned – one would imagine that this might cause Rowling and her fellow TERFs to question their rigid beliefs, but so far, it hasn’t happened.

It seems that for some, this really is a TERF war.