Okay, before you say anything—Tabitha King is married to Stephen King.
Does that mean that Tabitha King is literally Stephen King’s wife? Yes. But that’s not all she is… even if that’s what the Internet seems to think. After Stephen and Tabitha’s generous $1.25 million donation to The New England Historic Genealogical Society, news outlets were quick to reveal the good news: “Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M,” “Stephen King, Wife, Donate $1.25M.” In the process, they may also have revealed certain sexist tendencies. Stephen King certainly thinks so, and he took to Twitter to express his (and her!) frustration:
My wife is rightly pissed by headlines like this: “Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M to New England Historic Genealogical Society.” The gift was her original idea, and she has a name: TABITHA KING. Her response follows.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2019
We’re all over this post from Tabitha King’s adoring husband!
Image Via The Independent Ireland
The situation may be uniquely insulting, especially considering that Tabitha King is an author herself. But the situation, unfortunately, is not unique at all. In 2017, Elite Daily published an article lambasting headlines calling Amal Clooney ‘George Clooney’s wife’… instead of a successful human rights lawyer with clients including Julian Assange and Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine. Of course, all that pales in comparison to how she looks in a dress.
Tabitha and Stephen King are a power couple for sure, and they’re at the helm of a whole power family! Tabitha King is the author of eight novels. Sorry, is EIGHT not good enough for you?! Her sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, are also both authors. It would be incorrect to view each member of the family solely through each’s relationship to Stephen King—but it would be especially pernicious to view Tabitha as someone whose identity is secondary to her husband’s. She’s a novelist, a librarian, and a philanthropist. And hell, she probably also looks good in a dress.
Image Via PicCLick
Tabitha King’s best-known works include Small World, The Trap, and One on One. Check them out if you prefer the horror of unsettling events and dark truths in small-town Maine to the far less interesting horrors of everyday sexism.
Fun fact—Stephen King wrote Carrie on Tabitha King’s personal typewriter when he couldn’t afford his own. Yeah.
Featured Image Via Lilja’s Library