J.K. Rowling, the acclaimed author of the Harry Potter series, has continued to criticize transgender radicalism, calling the movement “dangerous” in a recent podcast episode.
Speaking on the Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast, Rowling said that she tried to understand the views of transgender activists but ultimately concluded that something “dangerous” lurked within the movement. She stated, “I believe, absolutely, that there is something dangerous about this movement, and it must be challenged.”
Rowling also addressed trolls who accused her of betraying the values espoused in her books. She said, “I’m constantly told that I have betrayed my own books, but my position is that I’m absolutely upholding the positions that I took in ‘Potter.’ My position is that this activist movement in the form that it’s currently taking, echoes the very thing that I was warning against in ‘Harry Potter.'” She also added, “I am fighting what I see as a powerful, insidious misogynistic movement that I think has gained huge purchase in very influential areas of society. I do not see this particular movement as either benign or powerless.”
In 2020, Rowling faced severe social media backlash after tweeting that transgender ideology could lead to the erasure of womanhood as we know it by denying the basic biological functions that differentiate women from men. She said, “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
Rowling’s comments led to public statements of support for the trans movement by some of the Harry Potter actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne. However, actors Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort, and Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid, defended Rowling.
In response to the criticism, Rowling wrote an essay about her experiences as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence and argued that the concept of men becoming women erases womanhood entirely. She wrote, “It isn’t enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves. But, as many women have said before me, ‘woman’ is not a costume. ‘Woman’ is not an idea in a man’s head.'”