Unfortunately, J. K. Rowling has offered her alternative views of the transgender community again. Although her controversial rhetoric has been around for some time now, the writing community has decided it has gone too far and issued a response. An open letter signed by over 1, 000 literary figures has been written explicitly condemning her attitude towards transgender people. These names include some of the most notorious modern writers, like Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, and Stephen King. To add to this, there were other heavy hitters and upcoming stars involved, such as John Green, the YA romance king, N.K. Jemisin, three-time consecutive winner of the Hugo award and recently the winner of the MacArthur status, and Patrick Ness, writer of the classic Chaos Walking trilogy, and The Knife of Never Letting Go. These are all people from different spheres of the literary world, leading in their own genres, outright telling her she is wrong.

Among all the infamous writers, her feud with Stephen King is particularly notable. After tweeting his support for the trans movement, J. K. Rowling deleted all of her online praises of him and proceeded to block him. To this, he replied wittingly with a review of her then-latest novel. This lead to a heavy exchange of opinions on Twitter between Rowling and King. Unlike the growing mob that seeks to dunk on whatever she says or does, King is still willing to support her when he believes he should. I do not think this is because King agrees with her beliefs on transgender people, but because he knows the way to change people’s opinions is to speak with them, not cancel them. To defend herself against transphobic accusations, Joanne revealed that she was a victim of domestic abuse and sexual assault. She said she refuses to ‘bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstratable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.’ What happened to her is utterly tragic and she has my utmost sympathy. She irrationally confounded trans people with predators. While I do not approve of it, I understand it.

I had hoped she was simply in her own billionaire bubble or that she was only doing it for attention

Nevertheless, her spreading of misinformation and normalisation of hate is dangerous to the lives of transgender people. Until I found out about this irrational confounding, I had hoped she was simply in her own billionaire bubble or that she was only doing it for attention. I, and many others, were truly shocked to witness Joanne first display such an outlook. Authors tend to be the voices of compassion. Alongside the intellectual revelations literature can offer, we first and foremost turn to literature for the profound feelings wound up with being human, from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to Stan Lee’s diverse MCU. Despite what tragedy we might feel for Rowling, her overall history on the subject is quite concerning. She has progressed from queer-baiting Dumbledore, to comparing gender conversion therapy with gay conversion therapy, to retweeting transphobic speakers and their ‘fuck your pronouns’ merchandise, to returning a human rights award, to writing a 900-page novel about a cross-dressing serial killer. (I am not making any of this up).

Her contentions have escalated to the point where her own actors have publicly spoken out against her. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe – her beloved trio – have all done so. Most notably Radcliffe, trying to preserve the sentimental legacy of Harry Potter, commented: ‘If these books have taught you that love is the most powerful force in the universe, capable of overcoming everything; if they have taught you that strength is found in diversity and that dogmatic ideals of purity lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a specific character is trans, non-binary, of fluid gender, gay or bisexual; if you found something in those stories that reached you and helped you at some point in your lives… Then, that is something between you and the book you read, and it is sacred. And, in my opinion, no one can touch that.’ I think this is a pretty powerful paragraph. There is a saying in the writing community that once an author publishes their book out to the world, it is no longer just theirs. The meaning is not contained within the text but where the reader’s soul encounters those words and phrases.

The fictional universe creator who at the premiere of the final Harry Potter film exclaimed, ‘Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home’, what happened to her?

J. K. Rowling worked her way up to become one of the most renowned writers of all modern history. Years after the phenomenon that is Harry Potter,  we began seeing her name in clickbait articles about her polemical stances on sex and gender. In these, she asserts that the two are not independent of each other, which is, of course, perfectly agreeable. Nobody is making the argument that biological reality does not exist. This is not something the trans movement is arguing. What they are actually arguing is that there is a difference between biological sex and socially recognised gender identity. This is an argument that habitually gets misconstrued and gaslighted by, and I hate to say it, prejudicial people. Before she wrote Harry Potter, J. K Rowling was very down on her luck. What happened to the divorced single mother who had barely enough to eat? What happened to the brave woman who mustered enough courage to pursue her dream job when she was pushed to her knees? The fictional universe creator who at the premiere of the final Harry Potter film exclaimed, ‘Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home,’ what happened to her?

It is incredibly strange to see her continually double down on this stake and sink her international reputation further. In order to make sure fans still tune in with the new Harry Potter video game the producers issued a statement to inform fans that she would not be part of the project; the project that was originally hers. It is the most bizarre thing. Ultimately, reconciling with a beloved childhood treasure and a no longer beloved author is different to each and every individual. For some, compartmentalising will be the way. You can still love Harry Potter. You can separate the art from the artist. This is the reason why I still love reading H. P. Lovecraft or why others still may partake in Jules Verne.

I do not think the publishers, the game developers, the actors, the fan fiction writers, and so forth, have deserved the backlash

For those who cannot or prefer not to compartmentalise, I cannot offer much other than a recommendation of the Rainbow Rowell books. They are written by a renowned queer author who has taken a fancy to wizarding schools with queer storylines. In my opinion, the backlash against Harry Potter has grown ridiculously large. There are people who have removed Harry Potter tattoos, vandalised their books, sabotaged their merchandise, even quitted Rowling’s agency in support of transgender rights. If you feel the need to express this sentiment, however, that is fine. On the other hand, you can still support those rights and still believe Hogwarts animated or catalysed your imagination in a way no other text has ever done. Or made you feel emotions and think thoughts you did not even know you could think or feel. I do not think the publishers, the game developers, the actors, the fan fiction writers, and so forth, have deserved the backlash.

Despite all the ruckus, there is a much more positive message to get out of this. Progress is being made. In spite of her reputation and influence, or what remains of it, most people still have enough of a moral backbone to say no, even to her. Someone who helped make our childhoods special. Someone who many would have considered a weaver of dreams. Personally, I still hold out the hope that she one day unlocks the irrational mental leaps she has made in her head, even if it is decades from now, when the trans movement will have strived further. Someone who can stir as many people’s imaginations as she did and wring out their tears the way she did, has a big enough heart to overcome her irrational preconceptions and eventually understand.

Dear Joanne Kathleen Rowling,

‘Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.’

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