Potterheads let down by Rowling’s ‘transphobia’

Her definition of women as ‘people who menstruate’ outrages fans who believe in gender fluidity

JK Rowling hit the headlines earlier this week with a comment that many found insensitive to transsexual people.

She criticised the headline of an opinion article titled, ‘Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate’ with a tweet (see box).

Her tweet implied that only women menstruate, insinuating that those who don’t are not women. She triggered a storm of protest and criticism.

For many fans of Harry Potter books in Bengaluru, Rowling posed a dilemma of another kind — boycotting her would mean shunning an integral part of their childhood.

Neha Rajagopal, law student at CHRIST (deemed to be university), says as one from the LGBTQIA+ community, she finds Rowling’s comment shocking.

“Her entire series was about accepting people as they are. Her comment is dismissive of the gender struggle,” she says.

Fallen hero

Amanda D’Souza, assistant professor, English, says it is always disappointing to realise that your heroes have feet of clay.

“This isn’t the first time she has said problematic things. I try and compartmentalise the terrible knowledge that she could be bigoted while I continue to look back at the series with fond nostalgia,” she says.

Namithaa Jayasankar, gender and sexuality educator, says Rowling has always been ‘fame thirsty’.

“She milks her fans, and tries to be that ‘progressive boomer’ for relevance. A lot of her commentary on Twitter has been trans exclusionary. I am surprised that this blew up only now,” they say.

Queer baiting

Many years ago the author had announced that a character in her series, Albus Dumbledore, was gay; a statement many people were offended by and called it queer baiting.

“In all seven parts, there was no indication of this. It seemed like an attempt to commodify my identity. I am still giving her the benefit of the doubt and hoping that in future works she will focus on this,” Neha says.

Her portrayal of Dumbledore can be read as one of an eccentric old man, which gives an insight into her own understanding of the queer world.

For many who began reading the Harry Potter series as children, Rowling has occupied a pseudo-parental space. “We tend to excuse her the way we would a problematic parent,” says Neha.

Namithaa, who has been a gold star fan and won university level Harry Potter quizzes, says it is important to acknowledge that its writer is not a ‘good person’. “There are sagas bigger than her original work that deserve great praise,” they say.

It is possible to renounce her while using her work as stepping stones, fans suggest. Pour the outrage into accessing better, more magical stories and narratives by trans creators, says Rishika Anchalia, gender queer content creator.

Why offended?

Sherin John, avid fan of the Harry Potter series, believes Rowling was not being transphobic or exclusionist. “Trans people identify with either of the two sexes, so what’s so offensive about what she said?” he says.

Sorry, says screen Harry

Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter in the film series, on Tuesday apologised to fans hurt by Rowling’s tweets on gender identity. “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you,” he wrote in a statement published on a website run by Trevor Project, an NGO dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ people.

The tweet that started it all

JK Rowling tweeted in response to a newspaper article titled ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate’. “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Her comment essentially defines a woman as a person who has a menstrual period.

Many pointed out that people who identify as women, such as transgender women and women past menopause, may not get their periods.

There are also people who do not identify as women but still menstruate, such as transgender men and those who identify as non-binary.

She went on to post an additional series of tweets trying to defend and explain her earlier, now-viral statement:

“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,” she posted.

“The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women — ie, to male violence — ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences — is a nonsense.”

About six months ago, Rowling had come under fire for supporting Maya Forstater, a researcher who had lost her job for her transphobic tweets.