British author JK Rowling recently ran into trouble when she tweeted an article — with the headline, 'Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate' — saying that, "'People who menstruate.' I'm sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?" Her attempt to imply that everyone who menstruates is a woman was deemed transphobic, with netizens pointing out that not all women menstruate and not everyone who menstruates is a woman — many transmen, trans boys, girls and non-binary people also get their period. While Rowling issued a clarification statement, coming out as a sexual abuse survivor, she continued to face backlash for invalidating the identities of transgender and non-binary people. In an article for The Trevor Project, which works with the LGBTQIA+ community, Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the film series, called her out for the tweet, and pointed out that allies need to do more to support trans and non-binary folks. But saying you support them isn't enough; one needs to be sensitive, educate themselves, and not take over the conversation. People from the LGBTQIA+ community and professionals who work with them tell us five ways in which cisgender individuals — whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned at birth — can be better allies.

JK Rowling