Since J.K. Rowling published “Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues” to JKRowling.com, Harry Potter fans, Wizarding World film stars and LGBTQ+ organizations have been speaking out against Rowling’s statement. Fans of Rowling’s work are questioning how to move forward, whilst LGBTQ+ organizations are publishing responses aiming to combat misinformation within the author’s essay.
The situation originated when Rowling tweeted in December 2019 defending Maya Forstater, whose contract was not renewed after a judge ruled that her tweets about transgender people were not classed as protected speech.
More recently, following a mistype on social media in response to a child’s drawing, Rowling commented on an article via Twitter, taking issue with the piece using the language “people who menstruate” in its title instead of just “women”. She then proceeded to share her opinions on sex, gender identity and transgender people in a thread,
After backlash to these tweets, claiming her views to be narrow-minded, Rowling published a more detailed statement via her website, which she shared on her Twitter with two words: “TERF wars.” The author detailed five reasons she is “deeply concerned” by “trans activism,” disclosed for the first time that she was a victim of domestic abuse and sexual assault, and explained her position on transgender people and her defence of same-sex spaces. Throughout the statement, she explains that her experience of abuse is heavily connected to her opinions on transgender people and rights, as well as her perceptions of “transgender activists,” and this is echoed in a recent feature on The Times, defending Rowling’s freedom of speech. Rowling herself says in her statement:
"I'm mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who've been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces."
After The Sun published an interview with her ex-husband on their front page, headlined “I slapped JK and I’m not sorry,” many who disagreed with her views on transgender rights and gender identity also spoke out against The Sun’s “abhorrent” mistreatment of Rowling’s disclosure of her experience of abuse in an open letter signed by over 60 transgender and non-binary activists:
“We stand alongside JK Rowling in this cruel and malicious reporting, which sends a dangerous message to all survivors that their stories are only valid when corroborated by their abusers. It sends a message to all survivors of domestic and sexual violence that they will not be believed, and it is dangerous.”
In response to her arguments about transgender people, many have taken to social media and features to debunk and dispute information and arguments presented in Rowling’s essay. One such person is Andrew Carter, CEO and Co-Founder at Podium, a user-moderated social network aiming to prevent the spread of misinformation and perpetuation of abuse online:
Whilst some have defended Rowling’s right to an opinion, others, including Forbes.com Diversity & Inclusion Contributor Dawn Ennis, have illustrated the dangers of opinions and misinformation within her statements.
Aiming to combat this misinformation, Mermaids, a leading LGBTQ+ charity in the U.K. supporting transgender and gender-diverse young people and their families, published an open letter to Rowling. In this letter, they offered their solidarity to the children’s author in light of her disclosure of her abuse, and went on to counter points made in her essay, explaining the reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, and sharing various studies and statistics to support the notion that Rowling’s statement was dangerous and spreading misinformation about transgender people. They finish their statement by calling on Rowling to meet with young transgender people:
“For our part, all we are asking is that you meet with transgender young people and listen to them with an open mind and an open heart.
Don’t speak about trans children, unless you’ve listened to them first.”
Daniel Radcliffe, star of the Harry Potter film franchise, published a piece via The Trevor Project, an organisation protecting transgender youth, where he criticized Rowling’s comments and apologized to affected fans of the series, saying:
“If you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life—then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred.”
Eddie Redmayne, star of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, who played transgender woman Lili Elbe in biographical romance movie The Danish Girl, also published a statement condemning Rowling’s views. Other stars involved in Wizarding World who have spoken out include Harry Potter’s Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Chris Rankin, Katie Leung and Scarlett Hefner-nee-Byrne, U.S. Harry Potter editor Arthur Levine, Fantastic Beasts star Dan Fogler, and various Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast members including Noma Dumezweni (the West End and Broadway’s original Hermione Granger) and Jonno Roberts (Broadway’s Year 2 Draco Malfoy). Universal Studios theme parks and Warner Bros. also released statements on their commitment to diversity and inclusion following Rowling’s essay.
Employees working on Rowling’s The Ickabog at Hachette (due for publication in November) reportedly refused to work on the book following her the publication of her essay on transgender people. However, Hachette released a statement declaring that “Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of publishing,” and saying that in line with this, although employees at Hachette are not made to work on content they find upsetting for personal reasons, they cannot refuse to work on a book because they disagree with “an author’s views outside their writing.” A number of writers under agency The Blair Partnership, which also represents J.K. Rowling, announced their resignation on June 22 in a public statement, saying:
“After J. K. Rowling’s — who is also signed to the agency — public comments on transgender issues, we reached out to the agency with an invitation to reaffirm their stance to transgender rights and equality. After our talks with them, we felt that they were unable to commit to any action that we thought was appropriate and meaningful. Freedom of speech can only be upheld if the structural inequalities that hinder equal opportunities for underrepresented groups are challenged and changed.”
The implications of Rowling’s statements and backlash on the future success of the Wizarding World franchise have also been questioned. Scott Mendelson, Forbes.com Hollywood & Entertainment Contributor, questions the future of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, whilst Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com Arts Senior Contributor, says Rowling is “destroying” her legacy.
Various transgender Potter fan community members have also spoken out regarding Rowling’s comments. Jackson Bird, transgender activist, author and long-time Harry Potter fan, originally published a New York Times
Bird shared his disappointment more recently:
“For her to decide to use her incredible platform to be very critical and hateful towards a particular group of people, it just seems an irresponsible use of the platform by one of the most influential people in the world”
In this Variety piece, and another recent New York Times piece, various individuals who have taken an active role in the Harry Potter fan community shared their changing views of Rowling after her comments on transgender people. Many voiced their thoughts on moving forward in the fandom without needing to acknowledge the author of the stories they had been celebrating for over twenty years. Where some fans are choosing simply to walk away from the books, the world, the fandom and its creator altogether, others are choosing to reshape the fandom into a space for fans to express themselves safely. Renae McBrian, a volunteer at MuggleNet, said on moving forward without Rowling: “We created the fandom, and we created the magic and community in that fandom. That is ours to keep.”
Fan creators who have been putting in the work since day one to provide spaces for marginalized fans (e.g. Black Girls Create, The Gayly Prophet and House of Black Podcast) are well versed in expressing their love of the series whilst also being critical of its messages and creator. Proma Khosla, an Entertainment Journalist and self-described ardent Harry Potter fan, recommended these and other fan creators in a list on Mashable:
“Harry Potter has been around long enough that its influence spreads far beyond a certain writer. Songs have been written, merch designed, organizations launched, and discussions furthered far beyonds the limits of what Rowling could ever have imagined. Those of us who read Harry Potter as children are writers, artists, and activists now, equipped to enjoy the wizarding world without her.”
Kacen Callender, an award-winning transgender author, shared an op-ed for them, opening up about how the Harry Potter series saved their life in the past. They also questioned the insensitive and dangerous timing of Rowling’s publishing her essay, and shared that they are worried for “young trans and non binary readers who have been betrayed by Rowling”, given the power of books and Rowling’s influence as a children’s author.
Daya Aliya Levinson, a transgender Harry Potter fan, similarly shared her experiences in an open letter to J.K. Rowling published on HuffPost. Levinson shared her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts before the age of ten, and her discovery of the Harry Potter series. After making it clear that transgender people face a huge amount of discrimination, that “recognizing trans women’s validity doesn’t take anything from you,” and emphasizing that backlash to Rowling’s comments are not down to her “standing up for women,” Levinson closes with a message of hope for future conversations:
“Daring to dream of a better world is something you taught all of us. Please don’t take away that gift by tainting it with transphobia. I pray this is not an end but, instead, the beginning of a journey toward understanding.”
Charlotte Clymer, LGBTQ+ activist, military veteran and former press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, originally wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post back in December 2019 after Rowling’s defence of Maya Forstater. In a new piece for USA Today, Clymer shared her experience as a transgender woman, and explains why Rowling’s claim to “know and love” transgender people is difficult to accept:
“So when J.K. Rowling says she knows and loves trans people, I don't buy it. I don't think she really knows any trans people, not even on the basis of casual friendship, let alone the kind of meaningful connection to get a glimpse into our daily lives.
“Because if she did know trans people on the kind of level that would grant understanding, she would understand that we spend so much of our lives trying to avoid compromising our safety and dignity simply for the act of existing outside our front doors.”
Grace Robertson, a transgender woman, wrote for Vanity Fair on the origins of J.K. Rowling’s “feminist” transphobia, and concluded that diversity, in media, politics and beyond, is the answer to healing spaces damaged by transphobia, racism and similar prejudices:
“The more perspectives you invite in, the more dominant ideas can be challenged and perspectives changed. The feminist voices encouraged and amplified in Britain, and the voices Rowling seems to listen to, come from all too narrow a segment of society. The effects are there for all to see.”
Just this week, Republican Senator James Lankford blocked Senate consideration of the Equality Act, an LGBTQ+ civil rights bill, by quoting Rowling’s essay. During Pride month. Amidst Black Lives Matter protests expanding to include conversations about the rights of Black transgender people, demanding an end to the murders of Black transgender folk such as Tony McDade, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Selena Reyes-Hernandez, Riah Milton and Nina Pop.
On June 19, GLAAD released the documentary Disclosure via Netflix, looking at representation of transgender people in media, and questioning sources of information on transgender people:
“According to a study from GLAAD, over 80% of Americans don't personally know someone who's transgender. That means most people learn about trans people from the ways they're depicted in movies and TV.”
The timing of Rowling’s statement seems purposeful. An intelligent, well-read and tuned-in author like J.K. Rowling (who has been far more active on social media in the past few months than ever before), should be well aware that June is LGBTQ+ Pride month, that we are in the middle of a pandemic, and that this is a crucial time to be listening to and amplifying the Black Lives Matter movement. The release of Rowling’s statement fractured discourse at an important time for the Harry Potter fan community as a whole to be reflecting on how to be more inclusive.
Backlash in the fandom and from those involved in the Wizarding World franchise reflect the importance of fans’ personal connections to the books, as Daniel Radcliffe so beautifully said in his statement. The statements given by fans and Harry Potter stars reflect views that Rowling’s tweets and statement go against the themes of love, acceptance and equality within Harry Potter, as well as importance lessons on speaking out against marginalization and oppression.
“There will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right,” Dumbledore told students in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Though Harry Potter fans have spent two decades admiring Rowling and cherishing her creations and taking one of the biggest fan franchises to new limits, Rowling’s recent actions are where the line is drawn for many.