some author thought
I’m kind of a “separate the art from the artist” person, and I won’t lie: some of my favorite authors have problematic political or gender views. I think it’s naive to expect every author and creator to have no problematic tendencies, or to share our political alignment. After all, they’re human.
I can stomach an author having questionable views. If they’re conservative, homophobic, sexist, etc., yeah, it sucks, but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying their work. I do have my own boundaries, though. To me, it’s one thing to simply hold bad opinions on politics, minorities, and gender, especially when they come from culture (like living in a conservative country) and ignorance. I draw the line at people who do what JK Rowling has done by funding and contributing to anti-trans cause, or who are notorious bullies like Mikito Chinen, or who are rapists like Neil Gaiman. The former you can ignore, and if you’re optimistic, they may change their views over time. The latter are actively harming people.
That applies to living authors. I personally don’t care as much if they’re dead (hello, classic authors). Yes, they were racist and misogynistic, but they’re also dead.
That said, I understand if people are uncomfortable when their favorite author turns out to be bigoted. That’s okay. Everyone has their own boundaries, and there’s no need to put people down for having different ones. There’s also nothing wrong with not wanting to support an author.
Personally, I already assume that most of my favorite authors might be bigoted or problematic, as long as they aren’t actually hurting people through abuse, assault, or bullying. That’s why I’m pleasantly surprised, lol, when a favorite creator turns out to be a decent person or shares my politics.
This is also why we SHOULDN’T be parasocial with creators or put them on a high pedestal. Just enjoy their work in peace, and if you dislike them as a person, don’t follow or support them. We’re all adults here.
I think what matters is that we accept when a creator is problematic instead of flatly denying it. For example, I love Lovecraft’s work, but I know he was racist.
As for whether an author’s views show up in their work, I think that needs nuance and a case-by-case approach. We can’t generalize: it’s often the case, but not always. For example, Haruki Murakami’s works from what I've heard have misogynistic elements (I haven’t read them, only some scripts), yet he has criticized the Japanese government for trying to deny the comfort women issue and its war crimes. Neil Gaiman’s works are quite progressive and don’t have much problematic content, yet he was raping women. And JKR’s politics are ingrained in her work. So it’s a nuanced topic, because we have to look at the author’s politics, their behavior, and their work. Basically, case by case.
Sorry for the long rant. I wrote this because BookTwt is so black and white about this topic, and I think expecting purity from authors can be a dangerous mindset. It’s okay to have boundaries, but you shouldn’t expect others to share them, because you can’t control what other people enjoy. I also think it’s better to uplift authors who genuinely support marginalized people, or who are simply decent, than to keep talking about bad authors and giving them publicity. And sometimes separating art from artist is necessary, but it’s still up to you to decide your own boundaries!