Her Writes, Your Choice

Due to the recent times we have all been forced into, people of all ages have been trying to find ways to keep themselves busy and entertained. A popular choice has been involved with the Harry Potter franchise, created by the author J.K. Rowling. Although, due to its new found popularity, it’s authors past transphobic remarks have now been brought into harsh light.

         On December 19th, 2019, J.K. Rowling made a tweet to her public twitter saying the following “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?” along with the hashtag “I stand with Maya”. Maya Forstater, a 45-year-old cis-women, stated her belief that people are unable to change their biological sex. While Forstater may believe that, it is an immense offense to members of the transgender community. Who, by definition, is “a person whose sense of personal identity and gender do not correspond with their birth sex.” Due to her stating this, Forstater had lost her job. Many took to twitter and started the hashtag “I stand with Maya” in order to show their support and remorse, which J.K. Rowling part took as well. Countless fans were outraged to read their favorite author was contributing support to a clearly transphobic belief and person. I in fact had the pleasure of talking to Nease’s school librarian, Mrs. Milian, who is also one of the officers of the Gay Straight Alliance club our school has. While she does not agree with the tweet J.K. Rowling made, she can see how Rowling looked at things from a “scientific viewpoint”. “People will see what they want to see…” Mrs. Milian followed up, while there are multiple different sides to this so-called argument, they are solely different opinions which everyone is entitled to. Once the tweet blew up, a GLAAD representative reached out for an “off-the-record conversation” to hear Rowling’s side, although the author declined. While Rowling received a vast amount of backlash, she never made any further comments or responses about this tweet.

         While December 19th shocked many Harry Potter fans, that was not the last considerable transphobic post J.K. Rowling has made on twitter. The following year, on September 22, 2020, Rowling once again took to her public twitter to show off a witch themed T-shirt she enjoys. The tweet stated “Sometimes a T-shirt just speaks to you…” with the following link to the online store she purchased from. (https://wildwomynworkshop.com) It did not take long for people to notice the disturbing products the shop, Wild Womyn, were selling. The shop had their own set of “Badges”/pins they created and were selling. Some noticeable and most hurtful were “F—k Your Pronouns” “Transwomen are Men” “Sorry about your d—k” and “Repeal the GRA” Harry Potter fans which fell under the transgender and non-binary spectrum, once again ached after Rowling endorsed these creators. These pins invalidated and perceived members of transgender community as incorrect in their feelings/beliefs. And besides the clear and blatant disregard for transwomen, the pins also discounted a person’s pronouns. Which is used to show and express a person’s gender identity, whether or not that person is cisgender. Following, the shop had “Repeal the GRA ” which stands for: The Gender Recognition Act, that gave trans people the right to apply for legal recognition for the gender they live as. Continuing from my interview, when asked how public figures can support the LGBTQ+ community, Mrs. Milian stated the quote “Actions speak louder than words.” further explaining that if celebrities supported/donated to LGBTQ+ organizations and simply showed an interest in the organizations, that it shows immense support. Wild Womyn, even though they claim to be a “Lesbian Feminist Activist” store, have their own set of beliefs which wildly hurts and effects members of the LGBTQ+ community. Causing J.K. Rowling to lose a large number of supporters from her fanbase after she supported them. However yet again, it seems Rowling never responded.

         While these are not the only comments J.K. Rowling has made regarding the transgender community, these are some that most hurt and effected trans people. These are J.K. Rowling’s own opinions and do not reflect upon anyone but herself. Although, that does allow others to have their opinions on her as a person. And after clearly having no repentance of her actions, Harry Potter fans are still going to give no remorse to the transphobic author. Hurt and outraged readers have since not considered her the creator of their favorite books and have been figuring out ways to stop supporting her. Considering everything, what is your opinion?