Why she was “misunderstood”: On the anti-trans comments of Rowling, a feminist, and a gay/binary woman, in the aftermath of her death
The first two episodes of the show did not address the author’s anti-trans comments. Rowling’s remark about being “misunderstood” appeared in its entirety, but it was more within the context of her legacy and what her critics have said about how she could have remained beloved if she hadn’t made certain comments on social media.
The second episode details how many groups, made up of conservatives, accused the “Harry Potter” series of promoting witchcraft and fought to ban it. The most frequently banned book today is a story about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer community. The final episode has comments from people who opposed the anti-trans comments that were made by Rowling.
Rowling announced her participation in the podcast on Valentine’s Day, the same day an audio trailer was released with the author saying she had been “misunderstood.” Ahead of the podcast’s release, host Phelps-Roper told The Times of London that the series was not meant to “vindicate” Rowling.
During the course of the episode, she told the host that she had lost her first husband before marrying her second. She also said her first husband abused her and showed up to a home where she and their daughter lived after she left him.
In March 2018, Rowling liked a tweet that misgendered trans women, calling them “men in dresses” – a spokesperson for the author said it was a “middle-aged moment” and an accident.
Maya Forstater was fired from her job as a UK think tank employee after she protested against the UK government’s plans to allow residents to self-select their gender on identification documents. For stater believes that those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery are not women, if they have identification documents. She accused her company of discrimination. She lost her case in an initial employment tribunal. (A different tribunal ruled in Forstater’s favor in 2022.)
She wrote that she did not want cis women and Girls to be less safe, as she was aware that allowing trans people to use restrooms that align with their gender could compromise others’ safety. Trans teens are at a higher risk of sexual assault if they don’t get to use restrooms that correspond to their gender,according to a study.
“Harry Potter” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all issued statements in support of trans people after Rowling’s series of anti-trans remarks in June 2020, though only Radcliffe referenced Rowling directly in his comments.
When Rowling compared gender-affirming health care to “a new kind of conversion therapy” in July 2020, “Boy Erased” author and Kennesaw State assistant professor Garrard Conley discussed his own experiences with gay conversion therapy and how gender-affirming care can be lifesaving.
“Research shows that trans people, especially those exposed to this kind of thinking at a young age, are also more likely to attempt suicide,” he wrote for CNN Opinion. Conley cited data from the Trevor Project that trans and nonbinary young people are around twice as likely to seriously consider suicide and experience symptoms of depression compared to cisgender LGBTQ youth, who are already at an elevated risk of suicidal ideation.
The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling: a Children’s Charity for Trans Youth in the UK and the Video Game the Mermaids Project
“As a children’s charity, we are bearing witness to the very real hurt felt by young people who once saw Ms. Rowling’s fiction as a place of comfort, friendship and escape,” said a spokesperson for Mermaids, a UK nonprofit that supports trans youth and their families, in a statement to CNN at the time.
Some Harry Potter fans are no longer fans of the author. The major sports leagues changed the name of the sport because it was inspired by the one played in the series.
Some people were undecided about whether to buy the video game based on the wizarding world of Harry Potter, though many decided not to. The game seems to have the first out trans character in the series. Even as controversy swirls around some of Rowling’s remarks, the game broke pre-sale records. Warner Bros. Discovery, which has rights to the films and books “Harry Potter” and “Harry Potter Legacy”, said that Rowling was not involved with the game.
The second episode of J.K. Rowling’s first book, “The Witch Trials of J.K. Potter,” ended with the voices of her critics condemning her anti-trans comments. It seems Rowling’s response to them won’t come at least until the next episode’s release next Tuesday.