I Read JKR's Essay and Raise her One of Equality

By Sanjna Malik

TW: Transphobia, Sexual Assault

Last month, the Harry Potter author posted an essay to her website to, for lack of a better word, “justify” why people were targeting her with labels and accusations of being a “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) or “transphobic.” This has caused outrage within the Harry Potter fandom, and people are feeling uncomfortable declaring their interest in the series, seemingly unable to remove the author from art.

In her essay, JK Rowling stated that this was the worst generation to be a woman and she “feared bringing up her daughters” in it. I, being the same age as her eldest daughter (26), completely disagree. We are seeing women of color both starting their own businesses and heading Fortune 500s as CEOs. Meanwhile, her books only refer to women of color for tokenism purposes, at best. By allowing them a space in the story, but not developing their characters, it can be viewed as her saying “I see you, but this is all I’m

allotting you.” She has also revealed additional “inclusive” subject matter such as Dumbledore’s sexuality, and Hermione’s race — but only retroactively, ensuring minimal impact on her potential profit, while still trying to look “progressive” online. Had she stopped to recall, I wonder, when originally writing the first Harry Potter book in the 90s, that she was advised to use a pseudonym as people (particularly boys) would not want to read a book written by a woman? In the decades since Rowling and her work rose to fame, there has been a notable growth in the success of young adult book series that have been authored by women using their own, female names — their publisher’s willingness to do so can, in part, be attributed to Rowling’s success.

Twilight, The Hunger Games, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Divergent are examples of these young adult female-authored series that have also led to film franchises. In years to come, hopefully Stephanie Myers, Suzanne Collins, Jenny Han, and Veronica Roth will inspire more female young adult novelists, as JK Rowling has served as inspiration to many present-day authors. The reason she claimed this was the worst time to be a woman was due to the over-sexualization of females. If that is true, then she is, once again, a part of the problem in the context of the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies, where Nagini is revealed to be the animagi form of an attractive, scantily-clad, Korean woman. Overall, her statement and reasoning of not supporting a UK act allowing people to apply for a gender recognition certificate without wanting to undergo surgery is appalling. She seems to be educated in the differences between sex and gender, but continued to use them interchangeably in her essay. Her reasoning stems from a fear that men will claim they are women and enter a ladies’ room to dominate or enact depravities against women. This is one of the most debunked myths 1 and takes the focus away from the fact that trans people are more likely to be the victims 2 in these kinds of situations, as research shows. Not to mention, people are also statistically more likely to be attacked by someone they know personally. She claims that she bases these fears of her own past trauma, but the fact that she is using her platform to spread misinformation and prejudice rather than educating herself, or seeking help and resources (which she can obviously afford) to cope with her past experiences, is disappointing and damaging. It’s common knowledge, as an overwhelming amount of research shows, 3 that, due to the themes and morals expressed in the books, Harry Potter fans tend to be more liberal and accepting of minorities — including LGBTQIA+ people. It is disheartening to see JK

Rowling, who functioned as a role model to many fans, actively put down people who have supported her (and may wish to continue doing so outside of this topic). She also addresses another fear: that the trending/highlighted nature of transgender awareness and activism may influence kids to make what she might view as a decision they may regret. Unfortunately, the transgender community is still very much discriminated against. A trending hashtag won’t do much to change that. This likely leads to her fear of people who “de-transition,” a point she emphasizes heavily in her essay. But what she fails to acknowledge is that this is not an emotionally, socially, psychologically, or financially lighthearted decision and people who are seriously considering transitioning would seek out support or resource groups — or at the very least, do their research and educate themselves about the matter via the internet. 4 The tone of the essay she wrote sounds as if she is trying to moderate a situation that she has no stake in. I do not have a personal stake in this either, but I can only imagine the pain that her comments have caused amongst the transgender community. Now is the time to highlight our support and allyship towards transgender and non-binary people, not to further invalidate their identities, as she so agonizingly has done.

NOTES:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/17/ trans-people-twice-as-likely-to-be-victims-of-in-england-and-wales

2. https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/ pubs/forge/sexual_numbers.html

3. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/ harry-potter-readers-donald-trump/492245/

4. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/transgender/what-do-i-need-know-about-transitioning