J.K. Rowling has continued to spread harmful transphobic remarks and tried to pass it off as some kind of victim nonsense. For years, she’s started to show how her support for women only extends to her limited and warped view of what it “means” to be a woman.
Recently, she took to Twitter to write a gigantic thread that no one cared about the first time she went on this tirade. Now, she’s saying hormone therapy is being used as a form of conversion therapy. Yep, you read that right. Last month, she wrote an entire essay talking about her transphobic views and how she, essentially, doesn’t think trans women are women because, in her mind, they’re somehow a threat to her. (I don’t know, this kind of thinking baffles me because no one is trying to hurt you, personally, Joanne. But people ARE killing members of the trans community, so maybe get your head out of your ass.)
Now, Harry Potter sites are rightfully turning on the author. For many, their lives have been dedicated to sharing news about the series and talking of this world that we all once loved. Now, it has become something that feels bad to talk about, and that is all because of J.K. Rowling.
A joint statement from both The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet was released denouncing the author and her transphobic stance, and honestly? Good. It’s hard. For many of us, our livelihoods are based around specific properties, and Rowling’s comments just made it that much harder for other writers because supporting the Harry Potter series means supporting Rowling personally, whether intentionally or not.
The statement talks about how many fans have used the series as a means of escape and are now confronted with the fact that the author clearly has warped views on who she thinks is worthy of attention:
“Although it is difficult to speak out against someone whose work we have so long admired, it would be wrong not to use our platforms to counteract the harm she has caused. Our stance is firm: Transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. Intersex people exist and should not be forced to live in the binary.”
You can read their full statement here.
The thing is: I personally don’t think the Harry Potter series has been Rowling’s for quite some time. I found my own personal joy in the people who loved this series, in the friends I made, and the world we created with fanfiction and beyond. The characters who were interesting in her series are the ones she refused to give a lot of time to, and I know that I turned time and time again to the creations of other fans instead of Rowling herself.
That being said, it is a big deal for these sites to step up against her. And they’re not the only ones. Many Potter-based sites are denouncing Rowling or refusing to give space to her comments because the more attention she gets, the more she thinks she’s doing something right instead of realizing how she’s hurting marginalized groups.
Sometimes, you live long enough to see yourself become Dolores Umbridge, and that’s exactly what happened to Rowling. Good on both The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet for working together on this statement, and kudos to all the Harry Potter-centered sites out there making it clear that they do not condone the transphobic rhetoric that Rowling continues to spew.
(via HelloGiggles, image: Warner Bros.)
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