Harry Potter Author Tweets More Hate and Bigotry

Why one of the richest white women in the world chose now to spew more hate and ignorance into the world is beyond me. However here we are.

Earlier this week Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling tweeted this:

Not only do her conclusions that “menstruation=woman” erase an entire portion of the world’s population that are trans men or nonbinary folks, they also suggest that anyone who no longer menstruates due to birth control, menopause, or other health factors are conclusively not women.

Harry Potter fans and trans people in general (myself being a cross-section of the two) are outraged. But this isn’t the first time “Jo” has tweeted TERF (trans exclusive radical feminist) sentiments and unfortunately, it won’t be the last.

Nevertheless, fans and allies flocked to Twitter to serve Rowling some much-needed pushback. Some suggested that the author now be referred to as “She Who Must Not Be Named” while others expressed a more direct opposition so eloquently, written by my own cousin:

Included in those who have expressed outrage with Rowling’s tweets is none other than Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe himself. Radcliffe made international headlines the other day for his stance that ‘Trans Women are Women’. Hardly a revolutionary idea and quite frankly, a comment that completely misses the mark.

While Rowling in the past has expressed that trans women don’t belong in female restrooms, prison blocks, and changing rooms, her recent tweets directly attack trans men and trans masc individuals. A group of people who are conveniently left unmentioned in Radcliffe’s “essay.”

As I attempt to reconcile my love for the Harry Potter books, a series that is so important to so many queer and LGBT folx, I’m often told to “love the art not the artist.” But like many fans have pointed out recently, unfortunately JK Rowling’s work reflects much of the exclusivity she seems so hell-bent on maintaining.

There is a staunch lack of diversity within the Hogwarts walls. With minimal POC characters who are often slotted into stereotypical archetypes, like the only Asian character being named Cho Chang. Fans have also pointed out the blatant ableism and fatphobia in the series are also present as there are no positive portrayals of differing bodies at Hogwarts.

If that weren’t bad enough, some have gone as far as to say that the Wizarding World’s banking system is run solely by Goblins that look strikingly similar to anti-Semitic caricatures of Jewish people and reflects a more deeply rooted bigotry within the children’s book series.

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be writing an article slamming J.K. Rowling, and the Harry Potter series as a whole, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am, like so many other fans, angry and hurt. If you, like me, feel these same emotions and are looking for a place to channel them, I suggest donating either to The Trevor Project or the Homeless Black Trans Women Fund.