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Rowling has gender-critical views.[1][2][3] She thinks that making it simpler to gender transition could impinge on access to female-only spaces and legal protections for women.[4][5][6] Rowling opposes legislation[a] to advance gender self-recognition and enable transition without a medical diagnosis.[11][12][b] According to English professor Jennifer Duggan, Rowling suggests that children and cisgender women are threatened by trans women and trans-positive messages.[14] Friction over Rowling's gender-critical writings surged in 2019 when she defended Maya Forstater,[15] whose employment contract was not renewed after she shared gender-critical views.[16] Rowling wrote that trans people should live in "peace and security", but questioned women being "force[d] out of their jobs for stating that sex is real".[17][c] According to Harry Potter scholar Lana Whited, in the next six months "Rowling herself fanned the flames as she became increasingly vocal".[22] In June 2020,[22] Rowling mocked the phrase "people who menstruate",[23] and tweeted that women's rights and "lived reality" would be "erased" if "sex isn't real".[24][16] Rowling's views have fuelled debates on freedom of speech[25][26] and academic freedom,[8] and prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary,[27] arts[28] and culture sectors.[29] She has been the target of widespread condemnation,[9][30][31] insults, and threats, including death threats.[32][33] Criticism came from Harry Potter fansites, LGBT charities, leading actors of the Wizarding World,[34][35][36] and Human Rights Campaign.[4] After Kerry Kennedy expressed "profound disappointment" in her views, Rowling returned the Ripple of Hope Award given to her by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.[37] Nevertheless, sales of Harry Potter books grew during the COVID-19 lockdown.[38][39] Rowling denies being transphobic.[13][40] In an essay posted on her website in June 2020 – which left trans people feeling betrayed[11][34] – Rowling said her views on women's rights sprang from survivorship of domestic abuse and sexual assault.[41][42] While affirming that "the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable ... Trans people need and deserve protection", she wrote that it would be unsafe to allow "any man who believes or feels he's a woman" into bathrooms or changing rooms.[42][43][44] Whited's view is that Rowling's sometimes "flippant" and "simplistic understanding of gender identity" had permanently changed her "relationship not only with fans, readers, and scholars ... but also with her works themselves".[45]
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Rowling's views on sex and gender have fuelled debates on freedom of speech[25][26] and academic freedom,[8] and prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary,[27] arts[28] and culture sectors.[29] When Maya Forstater's employment contract with the London branch of the Center for Global Development was not renewed after she tweeted gender-critical views,[16][17] Rowling responded with a tweet that transgender people should live in "peace and security", but questioned women being "force[d] out of their jobs for stating that sex is real".[17][d] She mocked the phrase "people who menstruate"[22][23] and tweeted that women's rights and "lived reality" would be "erased" if "sex isn't real".[24][16] Rowling opposes legislations[e] that advance gender self-recognition and enable transition without a medical diagnosis.[11][12][f] She argues that making it simpler to transition could impinge on access to female-only spaces and legal protections for women.[4][5][6] Rowling's statements have been called transphobic[48][49] and she has been referred to as a TERF, a "trans-exclusionary radical feminist".[49][50][51] Rowling has been the target of widespread condemnation,[9][30][31] insults, and threats, including death threats.[32][33] Criticism came from Harry Potter fansites,[52] LGBT charities,[53] leading actors of the Wizarding World franchise,[34][35][36] and the Human Rights Campaign.[4] GLAAD, an American LGBT media monitoring group, called her comments "cruel" and "inaccurate".[54] After Kerry Kennedy expressed "profound disappointment" in her views, Rowling returned the Ripple of Hope Award given to her by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.[37] Rowling has rejected these characterisations and the notion that she holds animosity towards transgender people, saying that her viewpoint has been misunderstood.[13][48][55] In an essay posted on her website in June 2020,[11][34] Rowling said her views on women's rights sprang from survivorship of domestic abuse and sexual assault.[41][42] While affirming that "the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable ... Trans people need and deserve protection", she wrote that it would be unsafe to allow "any man who believes or feels he's a woman" into bathrooms or changing rooms.[42][43][44] Writing of her own experiences with sexism and misogyny,[56] she wondered if the "allure of escaping womanhood" would have led her to transition if she had been born later, and said that trans activism was "seeking to erode 'woman' as a political and biological class".[57] Harry Potter scholar Lana Whited asserted that Rowling's sometimes "flippant" and "simplistic understanding of gender identity" had permanently changed her "relationship not only with fans, readers, and scholars... but also with her works themselves".[45] Nevertheless, sales of Harry Potter books grew during the COVID-19 lockdown.[38][39] |
Rowling's responses to proposed changes to UK gender recognition laws,[4][5][g] and her views on sex and gender, have provoked controversy.[9] Her statements have divided feminists;[6][58][59] fuelled debates on freedom of speech[25][60] and cancel culture;[30] and prompted declarations of support for transgender people from the literary,[61] arts[62] and culture sectors.[63] When Maya Forstater's employment contract with the London branch of the Center for Global Development was not renewed after she tweeted gender-critical views,[16][17] Rowling responded in December 2019 with a tweet that transgender people should live their lives as they pleased in "peace and security", but questioned women being "force[d] out of their jobs for stating that sex is real".[17][h] In another controversial tweet in June 2020,[35] Rowling mocked an article for using the phrase "people who menstruate",[23] and tweeted that women's rights and "lived reality" would be "erased" if "sex isn't real".[65][66] LGBT charities and leading actors of the Wizarding World franchise condemned Rowling's comments;[67][68][i] GLAAD called them "cruel" and "inaccurate".[54] Rowling responded with an essay on her website[13] in which she stated that her views on women's rights were informed by her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault.[42] While affirming that "the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable ... Trans people need and deserve protection", she believed that it would be unsafe to allow "any man who believes or feels he's a woman" into bathrooms or changing rooms.[42][74][75] Writing of her own experiences with sexism and misogyny,[56] she wondered if the "allure of escaping womanhood" would have led her to transition if she had been born later, and said that trans activism was "seeking to erode 'woman' as a political and biological class".[57] Rowling's statements – beginning in 2017[9][76][55] – have been called transphobic,[48][49] and she has been referred to as a TERF, a "trans-exclusionary radical feminist".[49][50][51] She has rejected these characterisations and the notion that she holds animosity towards transgender people, saying that her viewpoint has been misunderstood.[13][48][55] Criticism of Rowling's views has come from the Harry Potter fansites MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron;[52] and the charities Mermaids,[35] Stonewall,[53] and Human Rights Campaign.[4] After Kerry Kennedy expressed "profound disappointment" in her views, Rowling returned the Ripple of Hope Award given to her by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.[37] After the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 had come into force in April 2024, Rowling, who resides in Edinburgh, tested the law by posting on X a list of transgender women, and wrote that they were "men, every last one of them".[77] Police Scotland stated it had not received any complaints over the posts[78] and that "no action [would] be taken" as they were not illegal.[79][80] |
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