‘Vile & unnecessary post’: J.K. Rowling slams Transgender Day of Remembrance
J.K. Rowling is at it again. Not content with bullying trans people online or transvestigating an Olympic gold medal winner (who has now filed a lawsuit)—she’s turned her gaze to Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place on November 20 every year. It was created out of grief for the deaths of two Black trans women, Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett. It’s an important day that many people and organizations mark … but not Rowling. One day after the Day of Remembrance, she quoted a post from The City of Edinburgh Council showing the trans flag flying above the City Chambers, writing, “Really looking forward to the day a flag is flown for Scottish victims of femicide, but sure, let’s hear the list of trans people who’ve been murdered in Scotland. Ever.”
If J.K. Rowling was truly paying attention to women’s rights in the U.K., she would know that a list of femicide victims has been read out in Parliament every year since 2015. But no. She also seemingly hasn’t grasped that Trans Day of Remembrance is for all trans people, everywhere, not just Scotland. Scotland is flying that flag not to honor Scottish victims specifically, but all victims of transphobic murder.
It’s terrifying that Rowling doesn’t seem to get this, but lots of people are murdered for being trans, particularly people of color. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Public Education and Research program published a study for Transgender Day of Remembrance which found that 36 transgender people were killed this year in the United States, and “an overwhelming amount were young and people of color, with Black trans women disproportionately impacted.” This is why the flag is being flown. It’s not some sort of “us vs them” thing.
Equality campaigner Thomas Willett perhaps said it best, writing: “I’m sorry, but fuck JK Rowling. Every year the names of women who have died at the hands of men are read out in parliament. Rowling’s vile & unnecessary post only perpetuates animosity towards the trans community, contributing to the very violence that threatens their lives.”
Rowling continues to be coddled by her fellow rich people. Although her views have grown more dangerous over the years, everyone still wants a piece of that Harry Potter pie. On Transgender Day of Remembrance, HBO, which is creating a new Harry Potter series with Rowling’s involvement, announced that they believed Rowling had “a right to express her personal views.” In the same statement, they said that her books spoke to the “power of friendship, resolve and acceptance.” Which is it, then? Acceptance or bigotry?
This Transgender Day of Remembrance also saw Sarah McBride, the first transgender woman elected to Congress, banned from using the female bathrooms at the Capitol and House Office buildings. We have a distressingly long way to go for trans equality, and Rowling reminds vulnerable trans people of that virtually every single day.
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