Over the past several years, we’ve seen JK Rowling go from being the creator of one of the most beloved fantasy novel series of all time, ‘Harry Potter,’ to becoming known as a transphobic writer that nearly always finds herself in the middle of some controversy. Normally, she’s able to disappear from social media for a bit and the furor wanes. But with her most recent transphobic comments and the reaction from some stars of the franchises she spawned, it appears that Rowling is no longer content with sitting back and letting the controversy pass.
Today, JK Rowling wrote a lengthy essay attempting to clarify her seemingly anti-trans comments of the past several years. However, in doing so, the writer has presented an essay that not only doubles down on her previous statements but very well might anger fans even further.
While the essay is lengthy and should probably be read in full by everyone that has an interest in the Wizarding World and are confused by Rowling’s public statements, the overall tone is not apologetic at all. Instead, it’s a detailed defense, as the author goes on about how she’s researched the topic extensively and thinks of herself as an expert on trans topics.
The bulk of the essay is devoted to the five reasons “for being worried about the new trans activism,” which she often talks about as being violent and threatening. This is because there are many activists that put Rowling in the group known as TERFs, aka Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists, aka people who claim to have feminist beliefs but often leave trans folks out of the discussion.
Long story short, Rowling claims she is afraid of the effect that replacing laws based on sex with laws based on gender will result in chaos and will negatively affect children and cis-women. While that statement alone would be a bit problematic, the author goes even further by using her “extensive research” to make claims about how she believes there is a large number of people that mistakenly consider themselves trans when they’re in fact just going through mental health crises.
In one section, Rowling wrote about how she might have transitioned if the support would have been there when she was younger, even though she doesn’t consider herself as someone dealing with gender dysphoria.
“The more of their accounts of gender dysphoria I’ve read, with their insightful descriptions of anxiety, dissociation, eating disorders, self-harm and self-hatred, the more I’ve wondered whether, if I’d been born 30 years later, I too might have tried to transition,” she wrote. “The allure of escaping womanhood would have been huge. I struggled with severe OCD as a teenager. If I’d found community and sympathy online that I couldn’t find in my immediate environment, I believe I could have been persuaded to turn myself into the son my father had openly said he’d have preferred.”
Obviously, this is the type of writing that infuriates trans folks and allies, as it invalidates the feelings of many in the trans community by equating their transitioning to a simple choice made out of confusion and/or impulse.
But one of the more egregious parts of the essay is when Rowling brings up the anti-trans, fear-mongering argument regarding bathrooms. Except, in the case of the ‘Harry Potter’ creator, she prefaces her transphobic argument by claiming she wants to somehow protect trans people.
“So I want trans women to be safe,” she said. “At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”
Again, the entire essay is worth reading for more examples such as those.
Rowling’s anti-trans tweets started this mess, which led to Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Redmayne both speaking out against the writer. Now, with this essay and the full extent of Rowling’s feelings being known, it’s clear that this controversy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
And as the writer of one of the biggest film franchises being made today, with ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ it’s interesting to see what Warner Bros. will do next. Will the studio support Rowling, as the creator of the Wizarding World? Or will the studio part ways with the creative mastermind behind the franchise and move ahead without the person who birthed the entire mythology? It’s an interesting situation, to say the least.
