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JK Rowling attacks visually impaired transgender Paralympian: She’s a cheat!

Posted on by angelo
JK Rowling attacks visually impaired transgender Paralympian: She’s a cheat!

JK Rowling has lashed out at transgender and visually impaired Italian Paralympian Valentina Petrillo, saying that the mere existence of a transgender athlete in sport was “cheating,” even if the athlete followed all the rules set by the competition. Petrillo, in response to the backlash against her inclusion in women’s sport, called on people to treat transgender people better.

“Why all the anger at Petrillo, the inspiration for cheating? The cheating community has never been more visible! Outspoken cheaters like Petrillo prove that the era of stigmatizing cheaters is over. What a role model! I propose we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on,” Rowling said on X.

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Rowling was asked about her response when someone said she was unfairly conflating trans people with cheaters simply by existing in sport and stereotyping trans people as a whole.

In response, Rowling wrote: “Stereotypes are simplistic, prejudiced, blanket assumptions about a demographic that don’t match the facts. I know that not all trans people are cheaters. However, knowing you have an unfair advantage and exploiting it anyway is pretty much the textbook definition of cheating.” She then went on to respond by singling out Petrillo, who is a woman, by mistake.

Petrillo, who is the first transgender person to compete at the Paralympics, failed to qualify for the final of the women’s 400m T12 and finished third in the semifinals. She clocked 57.58 seconds, breaking her personal best.

She told the press after the race: “I pushed… I did my best. They are stronger than me, I had to go down too much, to do a 56 (seconds). With 57.50, I have to be happy even if I am a little behind.”

“But I hope my son will be proud of me,” Petrillo said through tears. “It’s important to me because I’m a trans dad, not everybody’s dream dad. But I hope he’ll be proud of me.”

“I hope he’s always by my side, I hope he loves me even though I’m like this. I can’t help it if I’m like this, I’m sorry. Don’t treat trans people badly. We’re suffering. It’s not fair. We’re not hurting anyone,” she told the news site. The New York Times.

She went on to speak out against discrimination against trans people. “It’s September 2, 2024, right? Let’s mark this day as a historic day. From this day forward, I don’t want to hear about discrimination or prejudice against trans people anymore.”

“There are so many people dying just because they’re transgender, committing suicide just because they’re transgender, because they lose their jobs, because sports don’t include them, and now I’ve done it. So we can all do it if I’ve done it, I’ve done my little part and we can all do it,” she continued.

She also spoke about the beauty of the Paralympics and her time there.

“It’s so beautiful (at the Paralympics). What will it be like after? It’s not beautiful like this. It’s not all purple there,” she said, referring to her favorite color.

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