The “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling sees herself as a victim of an intimidation campaign because of her transphobic statements after activists demonstrated in front of her house.
Edinburgh – “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling reported on Monday (November 21, 2021) on Twitter that activists who campaign for transgender rights published their address during a protest in front of their house. The author alleged that three demonstrators posed in front of her house and took a photo that showed her address. The picture was then posted on social media.
Rowling wrote about the incident: “Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house,” she wrote. “I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who reported the picture to Twitter support. Your kindness and decency made all the difference to my family and me. I would also like to thank [Scottish Police] for their support and help on this matter. “
Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible. 1/8
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 22, 2021
“I beg the people who retweeted the picture with the address still visible, even if they did so to condemn these people’s actions, to delete it,” she continued.
JK Rowling: Activist faces transphobic comments and threats
The Post Millennial reported that drag performer and self-proclaimed “trans ally” Holly Stars posted the photo but removed it from social media after the post received an overwhelming amount of transphobic responses in the comments.
“Yesterday we posted a photo that we took at JK Rowling,” Stars posted online. “As we stand by the photo, we have received an overwhelming amount of serious and threatening transphobic news since it was published. We decided to remove the photo. Love for our trans siblings. “
JK Rowling has been transphobic for years
Rowling has repeatedly been accused of transphobia in recent years. In December 2019 she pledged her support to Maya Forstater, who lost her job in the UK after declaring that “men cannot become women” and “it is unfair and unsafe for trans women to compete in women’s sports”.
“Dress how you want. Call yourself what you want Sleep with any consenting adult who wants to. Live your best life in peace and security. But to force women out of their jobs because they claim that gender is real? ”Rowling tweeted at the time with the hashtag“ IStandWithMaya ”.
Her explanations were not well received, and many disappointed “Harry Potter” fans have since called her a trans-exclusive-radical feminist, or TERF for short.
JK Rowling insists on “unchanging biological gender”
Since then she has repeatedly expressed herself transphobic. In June 2020, she posted another trans-hostile tweet. Rowling had shared an article from Devex, a development cooperation platform, and poked fun at the headline. More precisely about the phrase “People who menstruate”, in German “People who menstruate”. Rowling alluded to the need to say ‘women’ in her tweet. Rowling was annoyed that the phrase “people who menstruate” not only includes biological women, but also explicitly trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people. Rowling responded to the criticism with an argument based on an allegedly unchangeable biological gender.
In modern feminism, which includes trans people, both biological gender and social gender, which in English-speaking countries differentiate between “sex” and “gender”, are seen as fluid, i.e. changeable. The sexual and gender identity of people is not necessarily tied to the genital organs with which they are born. The construct of strictly binary genders, i.e. male and female, is considered in some circles to be scientifically obsolete.
JK Rowling accuses trans women of sexual harassment
But Rowling sticks to her stance and wrote on Twitter in June 2020: “When you open the doors of bathrooms and dressing rooms to a man who believes or feels he is a woman – and, as I said, sex confirmations can now be done without surgery or hormones are exhibited – then the door is opened to all men who want to enter. That’s the simple truth. ”With which she accused trans women and men of taking advantage of the situation to harass women.
In September 2020, Rowling published a book that featured a male cisgender serial killer disguising himself as a woman to get closer to his victims. Here the implied correlation between cross-dressing and violence cannot be dismissed out of hand, although there were also critics who could not see any transphobic tendencies in the novel.
JK Rowling sees himself as a victim of “intimidation campaign”
In her long Twitter thread on Monday, Rowling said she had received death threats for her comments and insisted that other women had gone through similar “campaigns of intimidation” in the past. They are “put in a state of fear and distress because they refuse to accept uncritically that the socio-political concept of gender identity should replace that of gender,” wrote Rowling, trying to present their position as a kind of defensive opinion.
JK Rowling not invited to Harry Potter reunion
Rowling’s attitude now also has professional consequences. Rowling is not invited to the “Harry Potter” reunion with the title “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” announced by Warner Bros last week, which will take place on January 1, 2022 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the film series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that could be because of what she said about transgender people.
Although “Harry Potter” is still a popular franchise, Rowling’s statement that trans people should be defined by their biological gender sparked violent reactions in the trans community, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Referring to “sources close to the project,” the magazine reports that the reunion will focus on making the film, the main characters and the team. “Rowling will, however, be seen in archive footage.”
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, the main actors in the “Harry Potter” film series, have clearly distanced themselves from Rowling’s transphobic statements in the past year and have come out clearly in favor of the rights of trans people. (Sonja Thomaser)
