JK Rowling, the author of “Harry Potter,” took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when the businessman criticized Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for supporting transgender people.
Rowling accused them of being part of a movement that is “eroding children’s hard-won rights,” said they “cheered on” female treatment for adolescents (which she opposes), and said they “can keep their condolences” if they attempt to make any.
Although it’s a difficult situation, the release of a study known as the Cass Review in the United Kingdom this week, which examined how gender-related medicine is applied to children, set this in motion. According to the study, the scientific underpinnings of female medicine as it applies to younger people are “weak.”
The study doesn’t essentially advise against treating children with gender dysmorphia, but it does note that there isn’t enough reliable data to support current protocols. It says in a piece that closing this information gap would be a great help for young people who want to make informed decisions about their care.
In the end, the study recommends more studies be conducted and states that “there is inadequate and/or inconsistent information about the risks and benefits of testosterone interventions in this population.” Although the NHS claims it will now examine all transgender treatment in response to the research, it does not raise any questions about treatment of transgender adults.
Anti-trans activists in the UK hailed the research as a significant success. So it is that Rowling complained about the censure she’s received for her opinions on transgender people on Wednesday night on the social media site previously known as Twitter and posted a lengthy criticism on the document in which she celebrated its opinions while overstating them. In essence, she saw the review as confirmation of her opinions on the subject.
One man replied to Rowling’s string, saying, “Only waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will accept them.”
“No thank you, I’m scared. Celebrities who cosied up to a movement that aims to diminish women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to support the transition of minors can preserve their apologies for traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women who rely on single-sex spaces,” Rowling said.
Although Radcliffe and Watson have avoided speaking out publicly against Rowling about the matter, they both made strong statements in support of transgender individuals and rights in 2019 and 2020.
In a Vogue discussion in 2019, Watson endorsed transgender rights, though she did not mention Rowling.
In an essay, Radcliffe insisted he wasn’t trying to fight with Rowling and didn’t want to make it about that, in support of transgender people. He praised trans people and condemned bigotry against them. To trans “Harry Potter” fans who might be offended by Rowling’s opinions, he said, “I really hope you don’t completely lose what was valuable in these stories to you.”
