Harry Potter fan sites distance themselves from J.K. Rowling, “reject her beliefs”
By Ariba Bhuvad
J.K. Rowling has been taking a lot of heat lately after penning a lengthy essay widely criticized as transphobic. Many prominent people, including several closely associated with the Harry Potter series, have come out against it, including Daniel Radcliffe, who rebutted Rowling’s Rowling’s views in a post for the Trevor Project:
"Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I."
There have been many other detractors. GLAAD issued a statement condemning Rowling’s rhetoric, and plenty have tried to carefully explain the inaccuracies, inconsistencies and misstatements in Rowling’s essay, such as Brynn Tannehil of Medium or the YouTuber Jammidodger:
Now, prominent Harry Potter fansites like MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron have released a joint statement on the matter:
"As this fandom enters its third decade, J.K. Rowling has chosen this time to loudly pronounce harmful and disproven beliefs about what it means to be a transgender person. In addition to the distaste we feel for her choice to publish these statements during Pride Month—as well as during a global reckoning on racial injustice—we find the use of her influence and privilege to target marginalized people to be out of step with the message of acceptance and empowerment we find in her books and celebrated by the Harry Potter community. Although it is difficult to speak out against someone whose work we have so long admired, it would be wrong not to use our platforms to counteract the harm she has caused. Our stance is firm: Transgender women are women. Transgender men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. Intersex people exist and should not be forced to live in the binary. We stand with Harry Potter fans in these communities, and while we don’t condone the mistreatment JKR has received for airing her opinions about transgender people, we must reject her beliefs."
Harry Potter fans have been trying to negotiate the difficult task of loving J.K. Rowling’s work while acknowledging that her beliefs have harmed people. Maybe this statement can help some find a way through.
Along with the statement, the sites plan to make some changes. On Twitter, they plan to use the hashtag #JKR when talking about Rowling so fans can mute posts about the author if they wish. They’re also going to stop talking about Rowling’s personal life, specifically any of her achievements or philanthropic work that have nothing to do with the Harry Potter franchise.
Furthermore, they’ve removed purchase links to any of Rowling’s work outside the Wizarding World. MuggleNet is also removing any fan art, memes, or the like pertaining to the author.
Given how instrumental the Harry Potter franchise has been to many of our lives, this is a difficult situation to get a handle on. Without J.K. Rowling, there is no Harry Potter, and it’s hard to imagine what that world looks like.
And given that the Harry Potter books are so much about inclusivity and the power of love, fans are having a particularly hard time coming to terms with her transphobic comments, and her persistence in explaining them.
Sometimes we’re let down by the people we admire, and realize that celebrities who are put on a pedestal are regular people with opinions and thoughts we don’t agree with. How do we separate Harry Potter from the woman who created him? Can we even do that? And how do we move forward from this given what we have read and seen over the last few weeks?
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